John Donohue

John Donohue is an American martial artist and novelist whose works explore the implications of a life of action in elite martial arts training. Donohue got his first start in the martial arts in the seventies in an era when Kung Fu and Bruce Lee movies were very popular. As a person that had always had an interest in foreign cultures even going as far as studying them for his doctorate, he was captivated with the Asian perspective of old-fashioned martial arts that integrated physical technique and philosophical concepts.

The best place to start is the Connor Burke and Yamashita Sensei series, the earliest of John Donohue's multi-book series: it opens with Sensei (2003) and runs to 6 books across 2003–2023, ending with Keppan (2023).

John Donohue has 12 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1991 and 2023. 6 of them belong to 1 named series — the largest being the Connor Burke and Yamashita Sensei series with 6 books — and 6 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.

Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. John Donohue's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Connor Burke and Yamashita Sensei (2003–2023, 6 books).

This guide splits John Donohue's 12 books into 1 named series and 6 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Connor Burke and Yamashita Sensei (6 books, 2003–2023).