NINJA

Review

NINJA - Racy Li

ISBN: 978-1-59632-378-0

February 2007

Erotic Paranormal Romance - Superhero

Metrocity - The Near Future

In 1989, the Jorans attacked. Earth fought back with the help of mysterious aliens called the Blue, and twenty years later, the Planetary Protection Agency licenses "independent agents" to help them fight crime. I'd call them superheroes, myself, but Ninja fiercely resists being so labeled. He's only one man, dammit, even if he's smoking hot and knows all kinds of martial arts. This book is worth reading just for the opening lines alone: "A ninja never reveals his existence. If you have a name, you are not a ninja. If you have been seen, you are not a ninja. If people are aware of you, you are not a ninja. Which is why Ninja knew his teacher would've smacked both him and his sister upside their heads if she knew what they were up to." Those words set the tone for the novel, part comedic melodrama, part comic book, and the rest kickass smut.

Fans of Dara Joy will love Racy Li's NINJA. Seldom have I read a novel that is so unabashedly campy, borrowing liberally from sci-fi and old comic books to achieve a near future world where ninjas fight the bad guys with throwing stars alongside helpers named Teapot and Hawk. At the start, we meet our hero, Ninja, saving some elementary school children from a bomb. Not just any children either, poor underprivileged Hispanic children who would surely have been blown to smithereens without...the Ninja. The author even gives our hero a sister named Joy, so maybe that's a nod at the first lady of camp.

They manage to save the kids, but it turns out to be a setup, and now the evil Snakehead Triad has confirmation that a ninja exists. To console himself, Ninja takes off to Liz Blackwell's apartment. Why, you ask? Well, when you're under stress like Ninja, the obvious solution is watching a sexy redhead masturbate. But don't try this unless you're a ninja because our heroine lives on the 23rd floor.

Next we learn that Ninja is really Kent Alistair, Liz's dorky half-Asian, half-Australian secretary in disguise. He totally has a yen for her but she cannot see past his geeky exterior. There are echoes of the Clark Kent / Lois Lane / Superman triangle going on in this book, big time, but you can tell the author paid homage with a tongue in cheek smirk.

Liz runs some errands and gets waylaid by some Triad goons for reasons that aren't exactly clear, but later on we learn it's because one of the alchemists wants to kill and eat her. He likes the taste of redheads, I think. Needless to say, Ninja appears in the nick of time and kicks some bad guy butt. The natural thing for Liz to do is take him home and have sex with him, just to say thanks, of course! Too bad Ninja won't go all the way. He wants her to say his real name when they finally do it, and he's all torn up because she only wants him while he wears the mask. Will Lois, I mean Liz, ever want the real Kent?

To find out, read the book. If you're looking for a deep, serious read, this novel is not for you. Don't expect anything above comic book level in terms of plot. However, if you want something to crack you up, if you want something silly with copious overuse of the word "ninja", then you might want to check out NINJA for the pure fun factor.

Ann Aguirre