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Samurai Wind: Ukishima
In the waning days of World War II, dying Japanese fighter pilot Minamoto Ichiro joins a kamikaze flight with plans to die honorably by sinking an American warship. At the last moment, however, Ichiro is plucked from his plane by Hachiman, the Japanese god of war. It seems Hachiman needs Ichiro to save the universe. Ichiro, now a samurai, finds himself in a parallel Japan—Nihon—where magic is real and Europeans have not yet arrived. He soon learns of Lord Taira, a warlord in league with dark forces. Taira has already stolen two of Nihon’s sacred icons, the sacred jewel and sacred mirror The warlord now only needs the sacred sword, the legendary Kusinagi, the Grass-Mower, in order to control the universe. But sword is in Ichiro’s hands, as only a member of the powerful Minamoto clan can wield the sword safely. With the aid of a female ninja named Shizuka and Yukio, a naive young Buddhist monk, Ichiro must battle a series of evil forces, including dragons, undead warriors, river demons, a giant spider and a Dutch vampire sea captain in order to rescue the imprisoned young emperor. But rescuing the emperor is not enough. Ichiro soon realizes the only way to save the universe is to reach the Bridge of Heaven, located on the island of Hokkaido, the home of the barbarian Ainu. Only then can he hope to bring the sacred sword, the sacred mirror, and the sacred jewel together to restore the Emperor’s power and divine status. Assuming, of course, that he can defeat Taira’s naval forces and somehow close the demonic gateway through which the forces of chaos might escape to overwhelm everything. That, however, will require Ichiro to enter Yomi, the very domain of Death itself…
406 pages, Paperback
Published January 6, 2018
12 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 21, 2018
This book came to my attention after having read the likes of Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson and The Wizard Knight duology by Gene Wolfe, which deal with a man and boy respectively who are snatched out of the modern world and set on a quest in a fantastic medieval world that draws from Carolingian and Norse legends.
I was similarly intrigued at the premise of a Japanese kamikaze pilot transported to a fantasy version of ancient Japan, and I give the author credit for creating a sense of place in drawing on ancient Japanese conventions and myth to build his world and tell story.
However, the chief draw of those works in a medieval setting was the point of view character: a modern man who had been trapped in a brutal and confusion situation in the modern world, sent to a reality where he instead lives by those ancient values.
With the hero of this story, that sense does not come through nearly as strong. I think the author's major misstep was having a break of time between the character's transportation to the ancient world. We begin a chapter - I believe chapter three - where he's already acclimated and become a trusted friend of the Emperor. Thus we miss the fish out of water (for fish acclimating to a different type of water) that were the chief attractions of those other stories. Better, I would have thought, for him to immediately begin his quest, only meeting the Emperor later, in the course of rescuing him. It would have made an interesting progression as well, from ronin to servant of the empire.
But none of that takes away from the strongest point: the exotic and mystic atmosphere.
And on a side-note, it was very interesting to see there was none of this 'refusing the call' business. No: the kami (god) takes him out of his world the moment before he would have died, tells him 'This is your quest' and the hero, like a good knight or samurai, immediately accepts it. Where is the help of the gods in all this? He's it.
I was similarly intrigued at the premise of a Japanese kamikaze pilot transported to a fantasy version of ancient Japan, and I give the author credit for creating a sense of place in drawing on ancient Japanese conventions and myth to build his world and tell story.
However, the chief draw of those works in a medieval setting was the point of view character: a modern man who had been trapped in a brutal and confusion situation in the modern world, sent to a reality where he instead lives by those ancient values.
With the hero of this story, that sense does not come through nearly as strong. I think the author's major misstep was having a break of time between the character's transportation to the ancient world. We begin a chapter - I believe chapter three - where he's already acclimated and become a trusted friend of the Emperor. Thus we miss the fish out of water (for fish acclimating to a different type of water) that were the chief attractions of those other stories. Better, I would have thought, for him to immediately begin his quest, only meeting the Emperor later, in the course of rescuing him. It would have made an interesting progression as well, from ronin to servant of the empire.
But none of that takes away from the strongest point: the exotic and mystic atmosphere.
And on a side-note, it was very interesting to see there was none of this 'refusing the call' business. No: the kami (god) takes him out of his world the moment before he would have died, tells him 'This is your quest' and the hero, like a good knight or samurai, immediately accepts it. Where is the help of the gods in all this? He's it.
March 5, 2018
Banzai
Good story. Held my interest. Poor editing usually doesn't bother me, but was so frequent that it did detract from the book. Also, I thought Samurai were more stoic than portrayed here. I wished the author had shown the hero's compassion in different ways. All in all, I did enjoy this story.
Good story. Held my interest. Poor editing usually doesn't bother me, but was so frequent that it did detract from the book. Also, I thought Samurai were more stoic than portrayed here. I wished the author had shown the hero's compassion in different ways. All in all, I did enjoy this story.
November 24, 2023
This is a book that shows much potential for the author. Unfortunately, the failings kept pulling up as I read. I don't blame him directly, however. His editor failed him. Typos, grammar, plot issues, even continuity were all involved.
The story is rather engaging, which kept me reading to the end. I found the character development full enough to follow. But...
One character's name changed for three pages.
Simple typos were scattered throughout the book.
Grammar was an issue at times.
Some characters were introduced but not developed, even though they had influence on the story line.
Word exchanges; "grow" where "got" should have been, for example.
Acknowledging that gratuitous sex helps sell books, it was still disturbing and ultimately unnecessary for the story.
I also think he could have made the story better by introducing multiple view points - everything was following the main character, where other ones could have helped flesh out the story.
I expected the ending to be... different. Once I read it, I understood why, but still...
The author also made many assumptions about the audience, while explaining some things far too well.
The story is rather engaging, which kept me reading to the end. I found the character development full enough to follow. But...
One character's name changed for three pages.
Simple typos were scattered throughout the book.
Grammar was an issue at times.
Some characters were introduced but not developed, even though they had influence on the story line.
Word exchanges; "grow" where "got" should have been, for example.
Acknowledging that gratuitous sex helps sell books, it was still disturbing and ultimately unnecessary for the story.
I also think he could have made the story better by introducing multiple view points - everything was following the main character, where other ones could have helped flesh out the story.
I expected the ending to be... different. Once I read it, I understood why, but still...
The author also made many assumptions about the audience, while explaining some things far too well.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews