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Samurai Awakening

by Benjamin Martin (Goodreads Author)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 28 ratings · 17 reviews

David Matthews is having a rough time. Being a teenager is bad enough, but when he picks up and moves to Japan for a year, with barely any knowledge of the language or social behaviors of Japanese teenagers, things go from bad to worse.

Until one day, David attends a temple ceremony and finds himself possessed by a Japanese god.

Suddenly, he can understand and speak Japane...more

Hardcover, 1st Edition, 320 pages

Published October 10th 2012 by Tuttle Publishing

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Samurai Awakening
by Benjamin Martin (Goodreads Author)

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Science Fiction & Fantasy Titles for 2012!

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Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 910)

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Aug 11, 2012 Katy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have a new found interest in Japanese culture, especially in the days of the samurais, and I was really excited about this one. However, I just don't think this book was for me, and now that I think about it, this book would probably be a reading assignment more suited for a world literature class.

Before I begin, I wanted to point out that I did read Martin's bio, which is not a usual habit for me, and I was very impressed by his extensive knowledge of the Japanese culture. And it showed in...more I have a new found interest in Japanese culture, especially in the days of the samurais, and I was really excited about this one. However, I just don't think this book was for me, and now that I think about it, this book would probably be a reading assignment more suited for a world literature class.

Before I begin, I wanted to point out that I did read Martin's bio, which is not a usual habit for me, and I was very impressed by his extensive knowledge of the Japanese culture. And it showed in his writing because he made sure readers could picture every little detail.

But perhaps that was the problem because I felt the book was so bogged down with every intricate element that I felt like I was reading an encyclopedia or a guidebook. I guess the thought in my mind was I don't think it can be made into a full-length film because there wasn't enough actual meat to the story. But I know making a movie was not something Martin had in mind, so that's kind of beside the point.

For a book about spirits and samurais, this book really lacked action. And when there was a fight - the criminal, the reveal of who was involved with the ōkami and the possession, Natsuki's fight with the large ghost - it was all very short-lived. Usually it was just the metal or a few moves or a stab, and it was over in a matter of paragraphs. I was looking forward to reading some cool martial arts moves.

The showdown in Chapters 33-34 did have a lot of action, but some of the fight scenes were just glossed over. And I pictured David and the wolf (don't want to ruin the story) leaping forward, but it's one of those where all of a sudden, everything goes white, and then you have someone waking up with no idea what's going on.

I thought Martin did a nice job packaging everything at the end, and I liked how everything was explained about what had happened and how everyone is dealing now. But unless I missed it, the question that was never answered was why David? In these types of books, there's always the dramatic end where all is revealed and the epiphany of "my child, you were chosen because…" or whatever, LOL.

But I never saw that. There has not been a Jitsugen Samurai in "many years," and along comes a foreigner who has had no Japanese background or knowledge of its language or traditions whatsoever. I just wish there was something about David's lineage or the spirit finding some strength in his character or anything that would just give me an explanation of why this fascinating thing happened to this random person.

Overall, this was not a bad book by any means, and I don't want to give an impression that I felt that way. I think Martin is very intelligent, and he is a talented writer. But it was just not at all what I was expecting so I just couldn't get into it. So yeah, not the book for me, so I'm giving it two stars for "okay," but I'm sure there will be a lot of Japanese fanatics will eat the book up.(less)

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Sep 15, 2012 Eustacia Tan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley

While I don't really care about how accurate books set in Western countries are, I have this almost fanatical need for any book set in Asia to be accurate. This normally means my books set in Asia are normally written by Asians (except Neil Humphrey, although he could practically be considered a Singaporean by now).

So it was with some trepidation that I started reading Samurai Awakening. I wondered, how would you make it plausible for an American to become a Samurai? But I needn't have worried,...more While I don't really care about how accurate books set in Western countries are, I have this almost fanatical need for any book set in Asia to be accurate. This normally means my books set in Asia are normally written by Asians (except Neil Humphrey, although he could practically be considered a Singaporean by now).

So it was with some trepidation that I started reading Samurai Awakening. I wondered, how would you make it plausible for an American to become a Samurai? But I needn't have worried, this book exceeded my expectations. It's a must-read!

Before I start my usual ramble on character and plot, can I talk about how happy I was that Japanese was included in the first few chapters? (before David, the protagonist, understood Japanese). It wasn't some random word in romaji too, it was a proper sentence, with kanji! And the way they translated the sentence into English wasn't a literal translation, but something like how we would translate for people. That was probably the defining section of the first chapter that caused me to fall in love with this book. I was actually jumping about in my room screaming about this!

Character-wise, it was great too! David isn't a Gary Sue (thankfully). He's a gaijin, but he's a gaijin that's willing to learn and adapt. He might have been a bit annoying in the beginning, especially when he didn't seem to try and fit in, but I have days where I feel like that, so I can't criticise much. The Japanese characters all have diverse personalities and are clearly not stereotypes. In particular, I thought the change in Natsuki's character was really interesting.

Plot-wise, it was interesting. I might be repeating myself a lot, but it felt like the first book in the series. There might be too much introduction for some people, but I enjoyed reading about how David grows into a true warrior. It's not an action book, but it's definitely interesting.

With regards to accuracy, well, most, if not all, of the modern Japanese culture touched upon felt accurate to me. When the book switched to oni, obake, youkai and the mythological legends of Japan, I'm pretty sure a lot of creative license was taken. So if you're fanatical about having your mythologies accurate, you might feel frustrated at this point.

And while I was so happy to see that Kendo would be playing a part, it's clear that this kendo is completely different from the kind I learn (I think it's made up too). But, it's quite interesting to read about it, and it wasn't mentioned that much. But for this, I would have preferred if a more general term was used (like 武道 budou - the way of the warrior) rather than a specific discipline since creative liberties were taken.

If you're a fan of Japan, you have to read this book!

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

First posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile (less)

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Dec 06, 2012 Kat Heckenbach rated it 3 of 5 stars

I got this book through Amazon vine and my 12 year old son immediately snatched it from me. He loves all things Japanese, and dove into the book enthusiastically. When he was done, he told me he loved it. I asked what he'd rate it, and he said four stars. His reasons--all the detail about Japan. The fact that the main character is a samurai and can turn into a tiger. I asked what he thought of the characters and the story--he said he "liked" them.

So, I tried to read it. But I could not get past...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Liviania rated it 4 of 5 stars

I found the synopsis of SAMURAI AWAKENING somewhat troubling. Exchange student David Matthews gets possessed by a Japanese god, gets powers, and must rescue his host sister. That's definitely a set up with lots of room for cultural appropriation. But I wanted to give it a chance since Tuttle Publishing is the largest publisher of books on Asia. I didn't even know they published young adult novels. They're mostly a publisher of nonfiction. But Tuttle's reputation made me want to take a chance.

SAM...more I found the synopsis of SAMURAI AWAKENING somewhat troubling. Exchange student David Matthews gets possessed by a Japanese god, gets powers, and must rescue his host sister. That's definitely a set up with lots of room for cultural appropriation. But I wanted to give it a chance since Tuttle Publishing is the largest publisher of books on Asia. I didn't even know they published young adult novels. They're mostly a publisher of nonfiction. But Tuttle's reputation made me want to take a chance.

SAMURAI AWAKENING does avoid some of the worst pitfalls. When David bonds with a kami, it might allow him to speak and understand Japanese, but he doesn't have the accompanying social and cultural knowledge he needs to be truly fluent. He's not sure of when to be formal or informal and doesn't know when to bow or make other physical gestures, among other issues. It does solve several of his problems, but not all of them. David must also train with Kou, the kami, if he is going to use his abilities effectively. After several months of training he's still not as good with a sword as the other characters who have been practicing for years. That's nicely realistic.

Mythology fans will probably get a kick out of SAMURAI AWAKENING. David fights Japanese monsters and he needs to learn the lore. Debut author Benjamin Martin does a good job of marking when he's making up a legend for the novel and when an actual myth is being discussed. Those less interested in monsters might find the passages relating to them a bit of an infodump.

There are a bunch of characters to keep track of. Some people who seem important at first just fade out of the narrative. Natsuki, who seems like a generic mean girl, turns out to be very important. In fact, she's the secondary hero. But generally, the characters drifting in and out of the frame is just one of the ways SAMURAI AWAKENING lacks polish.

The whole story told a bit too dryly. David suffers some major changes to his life, but gets over them almost instantly. He gets one major bomb dropped on him that he worries about for maybe a day. The editing could have been better as well. Chul Moo and Chul Soon's names are often swapped and there are several tense errors. (Other sentences, there are no tense errors, but they're phrased in a way that's easy to parse incorrectly.)

I still found SAMURAI AWAKENING fun. It's full of lots of things I like, including lots of sword fights and a girl character who isn't about to change to make a guy happy. There is some awkwardness in how the Koreans are handled, which is unfortunately very Japanese of Martin. I think it could be the start of a series, and while there's room for improvement, I'd probably read the next novel. Manga and anime fans looking for a non-graphic novel will probably devour SAMURAI AWAKENING pretty eagerly. (less)

1 like · like · see review

Apr 11, 2013 Phil rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction

So, apart from a goofy title and tagline, Samurai Awakening is a lot of fun. David is an American living in Japan, with almost no knowledge about the language or customs. So he’s not having a great time of it. Due to a mishap at a ceremony, he ends up bonding with a god. This gives him new powers, including a complete understanding of Japanese. If this were just a nerd wish fulfillment fantasy, I would be completely ok with it, because who doesn’t love a little escapism now and again? However, b...more So, apart from a goofy title and tagline, Samurai Awakening is a lot of fun. David is an American living in Japan, with almost no knowledge about the language or customs. So he’s not having a great time of it. Due to a mishap at a ceremony, he ends up bonding with a god. This gives him new powers, including a complete understanding of Japanese. If this were just a nerd wish fulfillment fantasy, I would be completely ok with it, because who doesn’t love a little escapism now and again? However, by virtue of being well written, apparently having accuracy about Japan (see next paragraph), and developing believable characters and interpersonal relationships (for the most part), I’d argue it stands apart from your typical “teenager gets super powers and/or a giant robot and saves the world” kind of story.

Several reviews I read of the book praised its accuracy in depicting Japan. I don’t know a whole lot about the real Japan, but I do have a picture in my head built from years of watching anime and Japanese movies, and Samurai Awakening matches that pretty well. I can say that the book is accurate to the general pop culture representation of Japan, so the author at least knows that well.

Not everything was perfect. I would have liked to have seen more drawn out action scenes. What was there was good, but it would have been fun to see more of each scene, or more scenes in total. A couple of the character conflicts are resolved too quickly and neatly. Given the type of book and the intended audience, you could argue that type of resolution was to be expected, but the author handles other conflicts very well, so it made the ones that didn’t wrap up so believably to be a bit more frustrating.

These are minor complaints, because on the whole the book was great. It usually takes me about a week to finish books of this length, and I knocked this one out over a couple of days, if that tells you anything. I don’t know if there are sequels planned, but if any come up I’m definitely looking forward to reading them.
(less)

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Aug 03, 2012 Ornella rated it 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars - Don't know if to round up or down yet.

I am still not quite sure how to rate this one. The book was good. The background story, the setting was all very well developed. The characters were all very nicely fleshed out as well, and they all grow throughout the book. My problem with this one was that I just couldn't connect with the MC. He was younger than I thought and the third person view always made it kind of awkward for me to be able to get into the book. It was more like I was bei...more

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Mar 19, 2013 Kevin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have always loved watching martial arts movies as a kid growing up. I have read a few YA books about Americans in Japan or studying to be samurai's recently. I liked the storyline of the book, american teen as a exchange student in Japan. He doesn't set out to learn to be a samurai or learn martial arts, which disappointed me, it was more by accident. He does because of a ritual gone wrong and possessed/saved/brought back to life by a Japanese god existing within him. He instantly knows how to...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Lyuba rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, net-galley

I love Japan and many aspects of its culture, so picking up this book I, while not expecting greatness, expected at least some enjoyment. Unfortunately I barely got any enjoyment at all, and instead got to read the longest 320 pages that just wouldn't end. I don't even know where to start... because I literally don't have anything nice to say (and no, I will not go by the good ol' rule of rather not saying anything in this case).

There was absolutely nothing interesting or unique about any of the...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Christina (Ensconced in YA) rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: net-galley

I was given this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I give this book 2.5 stars.

Samurai Awakening by Benjamin Martin is about an American, David, who becomes a Japanese exchange student. The Masomoto family that he stays with is well versed in the ways of the Samurai, and one fateful day, by trying to save the family's grandfather and patriarch, he becomes part of the legend. The rest of the book deals with his learning to become part of the Japanese culture, and this new warrior...more

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Sep 27, 2012 Bookworm1858 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012, middle-grade, sffp

3.5/5

After reading Stormdancer, I was in the mood for other stories set in Japan, happily chancing upon this one while browsing. The title was definitely appealing although the cover doesn't do anything for me. Perhaps it will appeal to youngsters?

The first surprise for me was that this book was not narrated in first-person. This is especially surprising to me as the book continued and there were a lot of scenes where I think diving into David's head would have given me more insight into him as...more 3.5/5

After reading Stormdancer, I was in the mood for other stories set in Japan, happily chancing upon this one while browsing. The title was definitely appealing although the cover doesn't do anything for me. Perhaps it will appeal to youngsters?

The first surprise for me was that this book was not narrated in first-person. This is especially surprising to me as the book continued and there were a lot of scenes where I think diving into David's head would have given me more insight into him as well as cleared up confusion about what exactly was happening. The third-person narrative felt more formal to me and less engaging so I was ultimately pretty disappointed with that.

The second surprise (because I didn't really read the synopsis) is that this book is about an American thirteen year old doing an exchange program in Japan (without speaking a word of Japanese-how did the organizers let that happen?) who is selected to be something incredible. There are so many things in that sentence! I really can't believe they let a thirteen-year old do a foreign exchange program without being able to speak the language; I think it's too young and quite frankly irresponsible. He was barely passing his classes. Next I was not sure what was so special about him that he was chosen-he has a good heart, true, as well as a strong work ethic but I don't know why someone in his host family couldn't have been selected. And I sometimes felt very protective of him and his host siblings (all thirteen). They were so young and I feel like I would have been more comfortable had they been a bit older (say, sixteen).

But a third cool surprise was all of the mythology and history included. Martin has studied Japanese culture extensively according to his bio and Tuttle Publishing has been focused on Asia-set books so if you're looking for something for a young person to read that has accuracy, this might be good for them. I could definitely see it being a read for school.

Overall: Decision to narrate in third person kept me very disengaged with the text as I crawled through it.

Cover: I do not like those colors-I think he kind of looks like a zombie.(less)

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Apr 19, 2012 Benjamin Martin rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

This is a review by the author.

I loved writing my debut novel. Creating the Jitsugen Samurai stories is a journey of discovery, and a reflection on my time living on small islands in Japan. I wrote a story I'd want to read, and I look forward to bringing you more of Japan.

Of course, Samurai Awakening is a fantasy. In addition to experiences in Japanese schools, I drew upon the Japanese myths and history set forth in The Kojiki: Records of Ancient Matters and asked myself, what if it had all bee...more

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Sep 12, 2012 Ryan rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, mythology

Great Book!!! I loved it. great writing that really grabs you and drags you in. I love the ins into the Japanese culture the author was able to capture. I've been to Japan tons of times and as a white male you don't learn anything like David does. the David and Kou relationship add some great humor at times. The bad guys were a little easy to figure out for me. But I tend to figure stuff out easier then my wife in movies (it annoys her when i ruin movies halfway through lol). I really can't thin...more

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Jan 18, 2013 Tammy Huynh rated it 4 of 5 stars

An amazing book with a whole lot of action. I love Kou and his ability to take over David whenever trouble's near, though I found multiple spelling problems. But overall, I book I would recommend for people with the love of Japanese history and Samurais.

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Sep 02, 2012 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult, 2012-books, fiction

This is a decent book filled with action and some astute observations about Japanese culture. Sure some of it may be a bit far fetched, but this is a bit of a fantasy book. Recommended for young people interested in Japan. Not recommended for evil spirits.

Also includes cute tiger humor.

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Feb 19, 2013 Cathy (Ms. Sweeney) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Set in contemporary Japan, based on Japanese culture, traditions, history and myths, see through the eyes of an American high school exchange student. An exciting modern day fantasy adventure with its roots in ancient Japan.

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Aug 19, 2012 Lexie Gilbert rated it 5 of 5 stars

I think most boys will love this but girls.. not so much.

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Aug 22, 2012 Bodea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arcs, the-cover-made-me-do-it

Review to come!

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May 18, 2012 Thomas marked it as to-read

Great book with a strong plot..... my boys also enjoyed reading it!

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About Benjamin Martin

Benjamin Martin was born in Phoenix, Arizona where he was first introduced to Japanese Culture when his family hosted a children's choir member from Japan. Later, he studied Japanese Language, Culture, and History at the University of Arizona. He joined the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme in 2008 and has been living and teaching in Okinawa ever since. His manuscript was a semi-finalist in th...more

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Books by Benjamin Martin

The Tanner's Daughter (Jitsugen Samurai Diaries, #1)

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