The Art of Arrow Cutting : A Novel of Magic-Noir Suspense [Paperback]

Stephen Dedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 15, 1999

If he'd known all the trouble following her, itinerant photographer Michelangelo "Mage" Magistrale would have thought twice about helping the beautiful, distressed woman at the bus station. In return for a ticket she gives Mage what she says is the key to her apartment, but he quickly discovers that it's much more: it's a key to any door, to any place, to incredible power--and there are people who will stop at nothing to possess it.

Suddenly Mage is on the run from Calgary to Los Angeles, under constant attack from ninja, Yakuza thugs, and terrible creatures ripped from Japanese mythology. His only hope is to discover the secret of the key and master its power--to learn the art of arrow cutting--before he comes to the inevitable confrontation with the dark forces pursuing him.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Agreeable but aimless, Michelangelo Magistrale has a photographer's eye for form and detail and a knack with women. It hardly seems out of the ordinary when penniless Amanda Sharmon asks him for bus fare and gives him a room key in return. After Amanda catches a bus west, Magistrale becomes the focus of incomprehensible attacks and nightmarish supernatural manifestations. Luckily, he happens to bunk with sometime-stuntman-ninja Charles Takumo at a youth hostel, and Magistrale's weird experiences engage Takumo's interest. What is the key really for? Where is Amanda Sharmon? Why was she so skittish and sad? Who is behind the attacks, and what is their purpose? Egged on by Takumo and pressured by his unknown and ubiquitous pursuers, Magistrale applies himself to figuring out how he, the strange key, and Amanda are connected.

Stephen Dedman's first novel is one long, suspenseful chase scene. It's reminiscent of Tim Powers's work, but without Powers's sprawl. Dedman's characters are suitably charming (or menacing), and the mythic and contemporary Japanese details are entertainingly skewed in fantastical Hong Kong cinema style: everything is just a little exaggerated, just larger than life. The structure is filmlike, too--tightly paced and without unnecessary digressions. Plan to put your feet up and read this book all in one sitting! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Always set in the present, Dedman's short sf lays the groundwork for his first novel, a realistic fantasy pitting itinerant photographer Michelangelo Mageo Magistrale (Mage) against a reclusive wealthy and powerful Japanese American businessman with ancient magical powers. To clear himself of a murder charge, Mage searches for the real killer while learning to use and control the magic. Dedman skillfully blends realism, Japanese magic, organized crime, mystery, and memorable characters, heightening belief that the magical acts could actually happen. Recommended for fantasy collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (February 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312868324
• ISBN-13: 978-0312868321
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,536,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Where to begin? I grew up (though many would dispute this) on the outer limits of Perth's metropolitan area, far enough from a good library that I had to make up my own sf and horror stories. I continued to do this when I should have been studying, and after false starts at two other universities, received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Film in 1984. Since then, I've held too many boring jobs and a few interesting ones, including actor, tutor, experimental subject, editorial assistant for Australian Physicist magazine, education officer and used dinosaur salesman for the WA Museum, and the manager of a science fiction bookshop. I've been writing for fun for more than thirty years, and for money for twenty; I sold my first short story in 1977, and my first novel in 1995. I quit yet another boring job in 1996 to write full time, and am currently working on two novels and (usually) writing one new story a month.

My novels are THE ART OF ARROW CUTTING (Tor, 1997) and FOREIGN BODIES (Tor, 1999); I've also written a non-fiction book BONE HUNTERS: ON THE TRAIL OF THE DINOSAURS (Omnibus, 1998), and 13 of my best short stories are collected THE LADY OF SITUATIONS (Ticonderoga Publications, 1999). A bibliography can be found at www.eidolon.net/stephen_dedman

I still live in Western Australia, and enjoy reading, travel, movies, complicated relationships, talking to cats, and startling people.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Japanese mythology today, October 24, 2003

By 

K. Maxwell "katmax1" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Arrow Cutting : A Novel of Magic-Noir Suspense (Paperback)

Mage (Michelangelo Magistrale) is a photographer by trade and a rootless drifter by nature. When he runs into Amanda Sharmon at a Greyhound bus station in the backwoods of Canada he doesn't realise that by helping a stranger in need he is about to change his own life - and get an introduction to the strange world of Japanese mythology.

I wouldn't call this a mystery novel, though it does have elements of that. Its more like a modern urban fantasy. Its easy to read and the main characters are likeable, though you can get mixed up at times with all the unusual Japanese names which keep on cropping up.

If you like light fantasy and Japanese mythology then this is a book worth reading and I'm happy to read the sequel SHADOWS BITE and see if it is as enjoyable and light as the first book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book, I'd buy fifty more just like it!, November 8, 2001

By 

Lyda Morehouse (Saint Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Arrow Cutting : A Novel of Magic-Noir Suspense (Paperback)

My taste is clearly not the same as your average Amazon.com reviewer's, because I loved this book. What did I like about it? For me, the big selling point was the characters. These are cool people. Magistrale and Takumo are people I enjoyed hanging out with in my head. Plus, I think that Dedman really has a light (and I mean light, not "shallow,") touch with dialogue, which made this novel a blast to read.

Maybe I'm just a sucker for a rip-roaring tale of adventure and magic. If you are, too, you'll love this book.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yakuza and yadomejutsu = superb entertainment, June 29, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Arrow Cutting (Hardcover)

The title of this book can be somewhat misleading for anyone not familiar with Japanese and the martial arts. The subtitle of "A Novel of Magical Noir Suspense" helps, but doesn't even begin to give the multitextured flavor of this unique blend of fantasy, suspense, creatures from the Japanese underworld and just plain good story telling.

Superior writing, excellent imagery and a fascinating, surrealistic feel. And there is even a glossary in the back to help you with the Japanese and ninja terminoligy which give a real punch to the mix. Highly recommended