The Musashi Flex

The Musashi Flex is not only a well told tale, but a believable and interesting portrayal of combat; something that is rare in Sci-Fi. I can easily imagine UFC-type competitions evolving into what the author has entertainingly described in his book. His experience in martial arts makes it a fascinating read, at least for guys like me who have experience with the real thing and have a hard time wading through the unrealistic fluff that many authors crank out. This outstanding tome has realistic fight scenes, compelling characters (particularly Mourn), an interesting plot, great pacing, and a fun vision of the future. This is the first of Perry's books that I have read and most certainly not the last! Highly recommended!

Steve Perry has a way of putting a reader into his unique world filled with intrigue, fast-paced knife fighting and characters so real they leap off the page. This sci-fi backdrop he's created seems familiar and fresh at the same time. Perry's writing is tight and hard-hitting. I could scarcely put the book down. My favorite parts were the insights into human existence and fate-like this line: "Luck could take you places, but She could never be trusted to stay in your bed once you got there." The whole Matador series is excellent and I plan to re-read all of the books. Thank you, Steve, for writing this prequel! I enjoyed every word.

M. Perry has crafted a triumphant return to the love, honor, and politics of the Matador 'verse. If you are a fan of the Matador series, you will appreciate both the background provided here (pre-Pen) and the return of the author to a beloved series. Thank you M. Perry, for this gift.

"Musashi Flex" by Steve Perry is another great offering for those who have enjoyed the Matadore series. This is a fast paced book, as all of Perry's Matodore books have been. Perry manages to insert his readers into a far distant future, but still make them feel at home. Many of the technologies that were at first "cutting edge" when Perry began his series with "The Man Who Never Missed", are in production and common place today. To me, this points out the visionary quality that writers like Steve Perry and others in the SciFi genre have. They seem to be road maps for what is to come. "The Musashi Flex" focuses primarily on the semi-illegal fight game going on among the many Confed planets. The Flex is kind of a cross between NHB martial arts with a taste of the old west gunfighters. The Flex players move from planet to planet essentially dueling each other for the title of Primero...the number one fighter. This little book has all the elements of the current state of sports, with illegal performance drug use and constantly imroving training technique and fighting technique. However, Perry manages to describe fairly accurately the movement of these competitors from fighter to Spiritual warrior. For those that have enjoyed this series, this book is also the origin of the 97 Steps martial art featured in all the Matador novels as well as showing the origin of the rebellion against the Confed. A good read from Steve Perry. Hopefully, he will delve further into this series and continue to flesh out his fascinating view of the future.

This book is great for any and all fans of the Matadora series. Taking place years before any of the existing books, this helps to flesh out the Confed and history that becomes important later on in the series. Fast paced as these books generally are, this is a good addition with some good surprises. I, for one, am hoping for more books to flesh out this universe even more or to link the story in this book to the rest of the books with more of Perry's creative storytelling.