A Sudden Dawn by Goran Powell

[GeneChing]

I just started reading this. It's new from YMAA


A Sudden Dawn: Martial Arts Fiction by Goran Powell (http://ymaa.com/publishing/books/fiction/sudden_dawn)
List Price: $12.95

New martial arts fiction!

The epic journey of Bodhidharma, who brought Zen and martial arts to the Shaolin Temple.

This epic historical fiction novel opens with a young man named Sardili born of the warrior caste in 507 A.D. Sardili realizes that he would rather seek enlightenment than follow his family’s military legacy and sets out on a life-long quest for truth and wisdom.

Sardili becomes the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, known as Da Mo in China. He travels throughout India, brings Buddhism to China, and single handedly establishes the Shaolin Temple as the birthplace of Zen and the Martial Arts.

A Sudden Dawn is a refreshing take on the mythical origins of Kung Fu with a good pace, enjoyable interpretation of legendary characters, and wonderfully written adventures during the long journey across Asia.

AUTHOR(S)

Goran Powell

His martial arts training spans more than 35 years, and today he holds the rank of 4th dan black belt in Goju Ryu Karate. He is a qualified instructor with Daigaku Karate Kai (DKK), one of the United Kingdom’s leading clubs, and assistant coach to the successful Mixed Martial Arts team, DKK Fighters.


Goran Powell's website. (http://www.goranpowell.com/a-sudden-dawn.html)

[GeneChing]

I'm about half way through this now. Reviewer Rosenfeld has written for us in the past, and has also written his own martial fiction.

Arthur Rosenfeld
Novelist, philosopher, martial arts teacher.
Posted: July 7, 2010 10:47 AM
A Sudden Dawn: A Book Review (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-rosenfeld/ia-sudden-dawni-a-book-re_b_636978.html)

There are few legends so celebrated in the East as that of Bodhidharma, (Da Mo in Chinese, Ta Mo in Japanese) who is reputed to have brought Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism to China some 1500 years ago. After enlightening the emperor, the charismatic Indian giant, an indomitable fighter, is also reputed to have taught energizing exercises to "weak" monks at the famed Shaolin temple, thereby transforming them into the worshiping warriors of legend. It doesn't matter that some modern scholars dispute many of these details. What matters, as with any legend, is the archetype, the lessons, and in the case of A Sudden Dawn, (Boston, 2010, YMAA Publication Center) the pure pleasure of the exotic, action-filled story.

British writer, Goran Powell, is an accomplished martial artist with an advertising background, and this, his first novel, is a sort of Far Eastern On The Road, albeit it with one of the world's great religions tucked into the trunk. Powell did the requisite homework in writing the book, particularly the sort that helps him to evoke a place with detailed descriptions. He also takes a novelist's poetic liberties, of course, to help us imagine what it must have been like to cross the Himalayas 1500 years ago, to gain access to a Chinese emperor (arguably the most cloistered, closely-guarded and inaccessible figures in history), and perhaps most of all, to wrestle with the profound truths of the Buddha's sutra's and attempt to integrate them into daily life.

In the novel, Bodhidharma, born with the surname Sardili, receives the Buddhist precepts (and more than a few whacks to the head) from Prajnatara, a sixth-century Buddhist sage, before being renamed and sent across the daunting Himalayas to China. The monk travels in the company of a mendicant monk, a palace maid, and a soldier with a past, among others. Powell describes his travails with the gusto, but being a martial artist, he offers up his best with renditions of hand-to-hand combat:

Ko (a disciple) was momentarily stunned by her agility. It was as if she had trained for many years already. He wondered how a simple palace maid could know so much about fighting. Her foot lashed out toward his groin. He blocked with his knee just in time. It caught her hard on the shin. She hid the pain well, but it had hurt her badly. She kicked again, this time to his stomach. His hand came down to parry. Her kick switched in mid-flight and landed on his jaw. Clusters of white light popped in the blackness. His legs buckled under him.

Bodhidharma is a passionate sage, for all his discipline and self-restraint, and the book is not devoid of tales of the flesh. Balancing the sometimes juicy exposition, however, are frequent references to the Zen state of mind, emptiness, and other elusive but bedrock concepts of Buddha's philosophy:

A dwarf deer wandered into the glade and nibbled on a patch of wild grass, unaware of his presence. Sardili clicked his tongue and the little deer noticed him and darted away. He found himself smiling at the creature's stupidity. One moment it had thought the glade safe, the next, a place of danger. But the glade had not changed. Only the deer's mind had changed.


He wondered if he was the same. Could it be so simple?

He dismissed the idea. It was nonsense. But even as he did, he knew it was true, and his life would never be the same. He rose and walked in circles, checking and rechecking his revelation. Was there a flaw in his thinking? A gap in his logic? There was no flaw, no gap. This was beyond intellect or logic. It was something more profound, a simple acceptance that needed to be made. It was the truth about himself.

Powell interweaves Bodhidharma's story with that of a cruel, heartless soldier, a character who is the embodiment of self-centered dispassion and thus the antithesis of the Buddhist idea. We expect that his path and that of the Bodhidharma will intersect, but while the anticipation of that intersection does supply some tension, the salutatory structure is perhaps the novel's only real weakness. Even so, Powell's sense of pacing, especially for a first novelist, is so sharp that it does not really intrude.

A Sudden Dawn is delicious candy with a grain of medicine at its core, and as such is a far more satisfying entertainment choice than some less-than-stellar Asian themed martial arts movies that have come out lately. If you have the slightest interest in Chinese history, if you yourself have wrestled with some of the profound truths of Buddhism, and of course if you are a fan of the martial arts, get a copy, settle into your favorite chair, turn off your cell phone, and prepare to be transported to a wondrously pure land.

[GeneChing]

USA Book News Awards YMAA Publication (http://www.evliving.com/2010/11/08/usa-book-news-awards-ymaa-publication/)
November 8, 2010 · Published By Editor

Los Angeles - The Los Angeles based online magazine, USA Book News, announced its 2010 winners for “Best Books.” Over 500 winners and finalists were announced in over 140 categories covering print and audio books published in 2010 and late 2009.

Jeffrey Keen, President and CEO of www.USABookNews.com, said this year’s contest yielded an unprecedented number of entries, which were then narrowed down to over 500 winners and finalists.

YMAA Publication Center, a 27 year-old company focusing on martial arts book and DVDs received five awards from USA Book News. Two books received for Winner awards were, Western Herbs for Martial Artists and Contact Athletes by Susan Lynn Peterson, PhD. in the “Health: Alternative Medicine” category and A Sudden Dawn by Goran Powell in the “Fiction & Literature: Historical Fiction” category.

Three YMAA Publication books received the Finalist award in “Sports: General” Tai Chi Chuan Classical Yang Style –The Complete Long Form and Qigong by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming; The Art of Hojo Undo—Power Training for Traditional Karate by Michael Clarke; and Taekwondo—A Path to Excellence by Doug Cook.”

Western Herbs–Winner
Healing with herbs has long been a tradition in the martial arts. Western Herbs for Marital Artists and Contact Athletes focuses on effective treatments for common sports injuries using 64 herbs available in health food stores everywhere. The author, Susan Lynn Peterson, PhD, is versed in martial arts and holds a 5th degree black belt in Shuri-ryu karate. In writing this book she spent many years and thousands of hours investigating the way herbs have been used in various cultures to treat injuries such as bruises, sprains, strains, breathing, dislocations, adrenaline, and more. Based upon her findings, the author presents the results in our own native Western traditions of herbology. The result is delightful and scholarly and the layout of the book is easy to follow for both the non-martial artist and the traditional martial artist.

“Writing involves huge amounts of time alone in a room with a computer screen,” said Peterson. “That’s why it’s so nice when someone outside the confines of these four walls finds the work notable. I am very grateful to USA Book News for the 2010 “Health: Alternative Medicine Award.” I hope they are the harbinger of many who will find the work useful in their athletic training.”

A Sudden Dawn—Winner
Although this is a book of historical fiction, it is so grand, so rich, and so memorable, that you want it to be true. A Sudden Dawn has been compared to James Clavell’s Shogun; it is that masterfully written, and hard to put down.

This epic novel opens in A.D. 507 with a young Indian man named Sardili, born of the warrior caste; he chooses to follow the teachings of Buddha and becomes a monk, Bodhidharma (Da Mo.) He travels through Tibet, brings Buddhism to China, and establishes the Shaolin Temple as the birthplace of Zen and the martial arts. It is a tome of adventure, life, love, and following the Way. And the combat scenes are where the author’s martial arts skills excel in the construction of realistic and completely believable fights.

“I was thrilled to win the best “Fiction & Literature: Historical Fiction” category, because this is such an exciting and growing genre,” said Powell. “Whether it’s Romans, Spartans, Vikings, or in this case Shaolin monks, historical fiction allows the reader to feel part of past events in a way that factual writing can’t. This emotional connection enables the reader to engage with the legend of Bodhidharma on a personal level, to feel the subtle beauty of Zen and, I hope, to share in my lifelong passion for the martial arts.
I enjoyed The Art of Hojo Undo.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Well, they got the FICTION part right :D