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Shibumi is a novel issued in 1979, written in modern English by Trevanian, pseudonym of Rodney William Whitaker, a Northern-American collegiate who remained through his life somewhat mysterious. Shibumi, whose plot takes place at the end of the 1970s, details the deadly struggle between a secret organization, which intends to exploit and rule the planet Earth - and a man, a kind of modern samurai, who, just as he thought he was about to reach the state of shibumi (or shibui [1]) is compelled to take arms again, and to stand for the values of friendship and honour.

Elaborately written, using a very extended vocabulary, based on a sound knowledge in history and geopolitics, switching easily from pessimism to wry humor, Shibumi is more than a mere thriller, and may be compared to other works such as Brave New World, Nineteen Eighty-four and Fahrenheit 451 dealing with dystopia