The Silver Ninja

The Silver Ninja

By Wilmar Luna

3 out of 5

Synopsis:
Life was good for New Yorker Cindy Ames. Sure, her husband’s top secret weapons projects were a little… weird, but at least her career as a gymnastics instructor didn’t involve any covert government contracts. Cindy’s life was peaceful. That is until she snuck into her husband Jonas’ lab after hours. What began as an innocent curiosity catapults her life into an exciting thrill ride, as Cindy accidentally merges with Jonas’ prototype nanosuit. Like a teenager stealing her parents’ car for the night, Cindy becomes an armored super heroine known as The Silver Ninja or so she thought...

She soon discovers that the suit is not at all what it appears to be. As it secretly blurs the line between good and evil, Cindy unknowingly becomes more aggressive, violent and apathetic to the world around her. Cindy becomes her own worst enemy as she plummets into a downward spiral of psychological oblivion. To make matters worse, she must prevent a violent coup d'état from erupting in New York City. Cindy will have to suit up and fight through an avalanche of futuristic weaponry to stop more innocent lives from being lost.

But can she overcome her personal demons before becoming the villain? Will Cindy be able to save herself in time to save her family?

Review
This was 2-3 stars for me.

The good stuff: it was imaginative and a wild adventure following the Silver Ninja in her rise to be a superhero. Luna has given us a big and bold story that isn't afraid to delve into city-wide disasters. The story starts small, with just a simple woman, and evolves into something fantastic.

The bad stuff:
I never got on with Cindy. A professional gymnast who just so happens to be an ex-cop and seriously good at martial arts. Personally, I thought her being an ex-cop was an unnecessary addition to her history, but it wasn't negative in any way.
But I always thought that martial arts was supposed to improve the mind, as well as body. And don't cops go through character profiling? Yet Cindy swings from whiny little twit, to homicidal killing machine in a heartbeat (the urge to kill is explained later on, but her attitude was far too "woe is me" while killing. I would have more easily believed black-outs, or complete character changes); and uses bulimia as punishment. She screamed weak, and annoying to me.
I think she is the main reason I read the rest of the book (that can be thrilling and exciting) with impatience, and eye-rolling at her next dumb move.
Seriously, I think my favourite example was Michael tells Cindy not to get electrocuted because that's the worst thing that could happen to the suit. Cut to the next scene where Cindy is trying to find a way to gain access to her next target, and what does she choose as her best option - punching a generator...

And because I was so annoyed with the main character, other little things that I would have let slide, started to niggle. For example, as some of the other reviewers have said, the author is excessive in their descriptions. I love metaphors and symbolism as much as the next person, but: "Her entire form was now enveloped like a chocolate banana dipped in metal."
I'm not sure when the last time was that I dipped my chocolate-coated banana in metal. I understand what Luna is trying to say, but it could be put more smoothly.

And there were a couple of inconsistencies that made me stop and go back to check where I'd gone wrong. Like when Cindy had daydreamed/slept-walked the whole day away, yet when her sister asks if she's talked to her husband that day, Cindy tells her that Jonas hasn't been picking up all day. Strange thing to recall on a day that was completely blank.

Goodreads link
Amazon.co.uk