Dukkha Unloaded. Loren W. Christensen
Praise for Dukkha Unloaded…
Sam Reeves is back with the Portland P.D. in this third martial arts thriller, Dukkha Unloaded, by veteran police officer and martial artist Loren W. Christensen. This is as good as it gets if you’re looking for an action packed authentic martial arts cop novel. Christensen’s years of experience shine through in his writing, keeping the reader both on the edge of the seat in anticipation of what will happen next and nodding in approval with the realistic descriptions of police work and violence. Full of action, suspense, and a little romance, Dukkha Unloaded is an engaging and entertaining continuation of the series. This is the best cop fiction around!
—Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Lost Conscience: A Ben Baker Sniper Novel and others
These books just get better and better! Great characters, rock-em-sockem plot with a perfect blend of police procedures and martial arts action from an author eminently qualified in both fields. Don’t miss out on the action! Essential reading for any fan of martial arts, police or action novels!
—Dave Grossman, author of On Combat and On Killing
Dukkha Unloaded is a fast-paced thriller written by an author who’s been there and done that. Loren W. Christensen takes his experiences as a veteran, law enforcement officer and martial artist, and creates a well-rounded character in Sam Reeves. The outstanding action scenes are obviously heavily grounded in reality, and it shows in their depth. Everything that happens is realistic, making it that much more real for the reader. If you are to read any action series, pick up the Dukkha series, you won’t regret it for a moment.
—Bert Edens, avid reader and martial artist
Detective Sam Reeves experiences life changing events that would destroy most of us: involvement in police shootings which cause major uproars in the community, finding his Green Beret father long thought to have been killed in the jungles of Vietnam, a beautiful and capable “sister” which stir emotions and confusion, a war with Southeast Asian organized crime which involves his newly discovered family and results in non-stop action and death.
Loren Christensen has produced another non-stop action novel in the Detective Sam Reeves series. What makes his work unique from others in the genre is the detail and heart stopping reality based on first hand experience. Christensen worked the dangerous streets of Portland, Oregon during the hay day of the White Supremacists Movement, the rise of gang violence and racial turmoil. Although fictitious, his police and community characters are real for those of us who shared those responsibilities with him. That he is an accomplished martial arts student and instructor is without question. The fight scenes had me always on the edge of my chair. He understands the impact of PTSD and the stresses of the day to day job of both the soldier and the cop.
When I came to the last page of Dukkha Unloaded I almost yelled out “NO!!! It can’t end here!!!” Fortunately the story continues. I can hardly wait.
—Robert E Kauffman, Commander (RET), Portland Police Bureau, Lieutenant Colonel (RET), USAR, US Army Special Forces (Abn)
Dukkha Unloaded is a fast-paced, riveting tale that deftly handles deep subjects like violence, PTSD, and race relations in a compelling yet unpretentious manner. Christensen’s experience as a soldier, law enforcement officer, and martial artist lends a gritty realism that’s sadly lacking in similar stories. It’s enthralling, entertaining, and consequential, so good you may not realize that you’re actually learning something when reading it.
—Lawrence A. Kane, best-selling author, martial artist
Loren Christensen peels back the veil on police work in his newest book in the Dukkha series. Some action writers would have you believe that violence is just one more literary technique to move the plot along. Christensen draws upon his career as a cop to show violence in all its many facets, both its allure and the toll it takes on the lives of victims, perpetrators and law enforcement professionals. Dukkha Unloaded is an edgy story that places an honorable man between haters and the society they would harm. If you find yourself relating to detective and martial arts instructor Sam Reeves, don’t be surprised if you finish the book with a bit more starch in your spine and an itch to go out and find a heavy bag to work.
—Susan Lynn Peterson, author, martial artist
As Sam Reeves is disembarking at the Portland airport, he is thrust into the middle of a riot. The action begins fast and doesn’t let up. He soon learns that his friend and former boss has been the victim of a hate crime and the hunt is on for the perpetrators.
Christensen’s characters leap off the page and his narrative sounds like reality. I’ve been a cop for thirty-five years. When I read most books in the genre, they don’t get a lot of things right, like the way cops talk to each other and to the public, the way cases are actually put together, the way cops really investigate crimes, etc. I don’t have that problem with Loren’s books. The cop banter sounds authentic, the characters act like real cops, the cases are solved in a manner that is reasonable. As with [his] previous books, the action sequences shine. In one instance I got so angry with someone in the book I had to stop reading. I then realized that I’d been totally sucked in to the narrative. That is very rare for me.
If you’ve already experienced the Dukkha series, I don’t need to encourage you to grab the newest installment. If you haven’t, and you enjoy realistic and action-packed police work set in a well-written book, do yourself a favor and pick up the whole series.
—Steve Holley, Chief of Police, HSPD
Sam takes dukkha to a new level. While he struggles with his demons, he finds true love but it doesn’t keep him out of problems. The events in this book are loosely based on real events of the Portland Police Bureau. They are at once believable and unbelievable in their raw descriptions of the realities of police work.
—C. W. Jensen, Captain (Ret.) Portland Police Bureau; TV commentator World’s Wildest Police Videos
Also by Loren W. Christensen…
Fiction
Dukkha the Suffering
Dukkha Reverb
Non-Fiction
On Combat
Warrior Mindset
Meditation for Warriors
and many others…
YMAA Publication Center, Inc.
Main Office
PO Box 480
Wolfeboro, NH 03894
800-669-8892 • www.ymaa.com • [email protected]
ISBN Paperback: 9781594392832
ISBN Ebook: 9781594392849
© 2014 Loren W. Christensen
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Dukkha Unloaded was edited by Leslie Takao, and its cover was designed by Axie Breen. This book has been typeset in Adobe Garamond Premiere Pro and printed on 55 LBS FSC-Env100 Ant EDI Creme paper.
Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication
Christensen, Loren W.
Dukkha unloaded / Loren W. Christensen. -- Wolfeboro, NH : YMAA Publication Center, c2014.
p. ; cm.
ISBN: 978-1-59439-283-2 (pbk.) ; 978-1-59439-284-9 (ebk.)
“A Sam Reeves martial arts thriller.”
Summary: Police detective and martial arts instructor Sam Reeves learns that during his two months absence, a number of hate crimes have rocked Portland, including a lynching. Still undecided if he will continue in police work three months after his “bad shoot,” Sam accepts reassignment to the Intelligence Department. He is quickly consumed