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Matthew Legare - Thriller Author

Website for Matthew Legare, writer of historical, thriller, and noir novels, including the Reiko Watanabe/Inspector Aizawa series set in 1930s Japan.

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Reviews

Japan’s Greatest Victory, Britain’s Worst Defeat By Masanobu Tsuji Review

June 10, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Japan's Greatest Victory by Masanobu Tsuji

It’s often said, “history is written by the victors,” and this only half true. While the narrative of World War II is definitely constructed from the Allied lens, this does not mean that the vanquished were unable to tell their stories. German officers and soldiers pumped out volumes of memoirs during the postwar years, many of which were consumed voraciously by readers in America and Britain. Japanese memoirs were more sparse, at least regarding translations that made it to the West. One notable exception was Masanobu Tsuji’s memoir Japan’s Greatest Victory, Britain’s Worst Defeat.

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Tagged With: History, Japan, Japanese History, Japanese Military, Memoirs, World War II

Tokyo Vice Book Vs TV Show Review

May 15, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Tokyo Vice posterTokyo Vice is a crime thriller series currently on HBO Max and based on the memoirs by Jake Adelstein. Set in 1999 Japan, it follows an American reporter working for a Japanese newspaper as he delves deep into Tokyo’s seedy underworld and the criminal kingdom of the yakuza.

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Tagged With: film noir, Japan, noir, TV Series

Japanese Destroyer Captain – A Memoir of The Pacific War

April 14, 2022 by Matthew Legare 6 Comments

Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi HaraJapanese Destroyer Captain is the postwar memoir of Tameichi Hara, a Japanese Navy officer who earned the nickname the “Miracle Captain.” He is one of the only Japanese captains to have survived the entire Pacific War from its beginning in 1941 to its end in 1945. Of the 175 destroyers the Imperial Navy possessed during World War II, 129 were sunk.

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Tagged With: History, Japan, Japanese History, Japanese Military, Memoirs, nonfiction, World War II

All She Was Worth by Miyuki Miyabe Review

March 15, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

All She Was Worth by Miyuki MiyabeAll She Was Worth is a 1992 noir mystery written by Miyuki Miyabe, one of Japan’s most famous genre writers, including crime fiction. Taking place in the early 1990s, the novel captures the zeitgeist of the Bubble Economy of the 80s/early 90s, which would soon pop and led to the infamous “Lost Decade.”

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Tagged With: Japan, Japanese fiction, mystery, noir

Ryuko by Eldo Yoshimizu Manga Review

February 13, 2022 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Ryuko by Eldo YoshimizuRyuko by Eldo Yoshimizu is a manga about espionage, crime, and war, topped off with a Japanese pulp aesthetic.

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Tagged With: comics, Japan, manga, Pulp

Red Phoenix Burning Review & Larry Bond Interview

January 15, 2022 by Matthew Legare 1 Comment

Red Phoenix Burning by Larry BondLarry Bond’s 1987 novel Red Phoenix detailed a second Korean War, day by day, hour by hour. Red Phoenix Burning by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson is a follow-up, a narrative of how North Korea collapses into a full-blown civil war.

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Tagged With: Author Interviews, Book Reviews, North Korea, technothrillers, Thrillers

Tengu by Graham Masterton Review

December 12, 2021 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Tengu by Graham MastertonAncient Japanese devils come alive in modern-day Los Angeles as part of a plot to avenge the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. This is Tengu by Graham Masterton, a 1983 horror-thriller novel.

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Tagged With: 1980s, Book Reviews, Forgotten Fiction, horror, Japan, mystery, Pulp, Thrillers, World War II, Yellow Peril

10 Japanese Film Noir Recommendations

November 14, 2021 by Matthew Legare 2 Comments

Dragnet Girl Japanese noirFilm noir is a tricky thing to define, and some still question whether it’s just a style relying on distinct lighting and shadow play or if it’s a genre unto its own. The term derived from French critic Nino Frank who, in 1946, saw many American crime movies like The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Double Indemnity (1944) for the first time, and dubbed them film noir – black films, both for their heavy use of shadows and dark subject matter.

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Tagged With: film noir, Japan, movie reviews, noir, recommendations

Nightblood by T. Chris Martindale Review

October 29, 2021 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Nightblood by T. Chris MartindaleAn old evil awakens in the remote Indiana town of Isherwood. Hordes of ravenous vampires threaten to devour everyone and only one man, a Vietnam vet with lots of ammo, can stop them. This is the 1990 horror novel, Nightblood by T. Chris Martindale.

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Tagged With: Book Reviews, Forgotten Fiction, horror, Pulp, vampire

10 Junji Ito Horror Manga Recommendations

October 2, 2021 by Matthew Legare Leave a Comment

Uzumaki by Junji Ito spiral girlSince it’s spooky season, I wanted to highlight one of Japan’s most famous horror manga artists/writers – Junji Ito. For those not in the know, manga are Japanese comics, and Ito’s realistic and hyper-detailed artwork, combined with his macabre and haunting plots, are a perfect nightmare cocktail. Here are ten recommendations to start you off, from his longer-form works to short stories. Also, to existing Junji Ito fans, yes, there are plenty of well-known recommendations here, but if I didn’t list your personal favorite, well, there’s always next Halloween…

 

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Tagged With: Book Reviews, comics, Halloween, horror, Japan, manga, recommendations

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