The Katana

By Marc Olden

For the sake of his master's memory, Sand will kill to recover a magnificent sword.

Though useless in battle, the emperor's katana is a beautiful weapon. Cast from solid gold, this 1,200-year-old blade was thought to be lost until Master Konuma, teacher of samurais, presents it as a gift to the people of Japan. Soon after, he is savagely murdered, leaving his American student, Robert Sand, to avenge his death. The sensei is gone, but the sword remains as a symbol of his generosity -- until the day the katana vanishes.

A madman snatches the treasure from the Metropolitan Museum, wanting the katana at his side as he makes a bid for world domination. Now it's Sand's turn to steal it back, and destroy the monster who dishonored his sensei's memory. The katana is too valuable to use in a fight, but for its sake much blood will flow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Head of Zeus
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781784087456

Marc Olden

Marc Olden (1933–2003) was the author of forty mystery and suspense novels. Born in Baltimore, he began writing while working in New York as a Broadway publicist. His first book, Angela Davis (1973), was a nonfiction study of the controversial Black Panther. In 1973 he also published Narc, under the name Robert Hawke, beginning a hard-boiled nine-book series about a federal narcotics agent. A year later, Black Samurai introduced Robert Sand, a martial arts expert who becomes the first non-Japanese student of a samurai master. Based on Olden’s own interest in martial arts, which led him to the advanced ranks of karate and aikido, the novel spawned a successful eight-book series. Olden continued writing for the next three decades, often drawing on his fascination with Japanese culture and history.