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Path of the Samurai #1
Winter Raven
One rogue Samurai will sacrifice everything – apart from his honourJapan’s warlords are on the march and nothing is as it appears. After a failed assassination attempt on the Emperor, an anonymous samurai is coerced into a suicide mission that will test his skills to the limit. He must face this challenge for his young charge, a girl who is the last remainder of his duty.
The samurai and the girl must journey to a far and impregnable mountain fortress, fighting off threats and dangers on the way. The girl, knowing no other life, hopes to learn all she can of the ways of the warrior.
But they do not travel alone. The hunters are also the hunted.
In Winter Raven, the first in an epic and engrossing historical series, written in spare and precise prose, we are transported to an incredible time and place in history. Brutal, tense and action-packed, Winter Raven is sure to appeal to readers of James Clavell, Bernard Cornwell and Ben Kane.
The samurai and the girl must journey to a far and impregnable mountain fortress, fighting off threats and dangers on the way. The girl, knowing no other life, hopes to learn all she can of the ways of the warrior.
But they do not travel alone. The hunters are also the hunted.
In Winter Raven, the first in an epic and engrossing historical series, written in spare and precise prose, we are transported to an incredible time and place in history. Brutal, tense and action-packed, Winter Raven is sure to appeal to readers of James Clavell, Bernard Cornwell and Ben Kane.
450 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 26, 2016
147 people are currently reading
414 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 25, 2023
epic warrior tale
I was thinking about the things epic samurai warrior fiction has in common with epic fantasy …….
Well, there is the small band facing enormous odds.
There is the hazardous and impossible task to complete.
There is the enormous villainy of male and female enemies.
There are swords, horses, castles and battles including swordplay and archers.
There is journey. Journey without in the material world and journey within that is of the heart and soul.
Romance.
The major difference being samurai warrior fiction is centered on the Japanese philosophy of bushido and on Zen. Even if it isn’t wholly a Japanese setting for the story. Think of Kill Bill. Lots of Japanese warrior stuff in there even if Japan isn’t part of the story. It’s as much samurai warrior fiction as The Last Samurai. So is comix stuff like Hero Killer.
The Book Itself
A samurai dying of cancer teaches a young woman (names and ages are not included but I think she’s 16-18) all his skills turning her into a samurai. They, along with three ragtag convicts, must journey to an impregnable castle and defeat its dangerous warlord. Only the girl and one of the men emerge from the apocalyptic clash unscathed.
She is true samurai now, blooded in battle, and takes the name Raven. Leading into the sequel. Which I’m totally looking forward to because she is so awesome. I’m always grateful for strong female leads especially in samurai fiction.
The journeying aspect slows things down but that is the way of it in samurai and fantasy fiction (I felt that way about the long, long journey down to Mordor in the book version of LOTR.) But of course things happen, danger happens, swordplay and archery and martial arts happen.
It’s well written and not a hash job. Four solid stars.
I was thinking about the things epic samurai warrior fiction has in common with epic fantasy …….
Well, there is the small band facing enormous odds.
There is the hazardous and impossible task to complete.
There is the enormous villainy of male and female enemies.
There are swords, horses, castles and battles including swordplay and archers.
There is journey. Journey without in the material world and journey within that is of the heart and soul.
Romance.
The major difference being samurai warrior fiction is centered on the Japanese philosophy of bushido and on Zen. Even if it isn’t wholly a Japanese setting for the story. Think of Kill Bill. Lots of Japanese warrior stuff in there even if Japan isn’t part of the story. It’s as much samurai warrior fiction as The Last Samurai. So is comix stuff like Hero Killer.
The Book Itself
A samurai dying of cancer teaches a young woman (names and ages are not included but I think she’s 16-18) all his skills turning her into a samurai. They, along with three ragtag convicts, must journey to an impregnable castle and defeat its dangerous warlord. Only the girl and one of the men emerge from the apocalyptic clash unscathed.
She is true samurai now, blooded in battle, and takes the name Raven. Leading into the sequel. Which I’m totally looking forward to because she is so awesome. I’m always grateful for strong female leads especially in samurai fiction.
The journeying aspect slows things down but that is the way of it in samurai and fantasy fiction (I felt that way about the long, long journey down to Mordor in the book version of LOTR.) But of course things happen, danger happens, swordplay and archery and martial arts happen.
It’s well written and not a hash job. Four solid stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2017
Excellent read
Wow! This was a good one. I wasn't sure at first then bang the action started. I hope the author continues the girl's story, you want to know more about her, who she really is and how she will develop as a samurai. It would make an excellent film and I recommend it to everyone. I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next one.
Wow! This was a good one. I wasn't sure at first then bang the action started. I hope the author continues the girl's story, you want to know more about her, who she really is and how she will develop as a samurai. It would make an excellent film and I recommend it to everyone. I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next one.
January 2, 2021
I have no idea why people give it good ratings/reviews.
Story: It is what an action flick would look like on paper. Not a very intellectual plot, but lots of running around and killing people. Change this to Dubai 2020 and use FBI/CIA agents and it could be part of the Mission Impossible franchise.
Characters: Little to no development. The main character is Tom Cruise. See my previous comment.
Word choice: Cringe-worthy. At some point the main character straight up says "Ohayo" in stead of "Good Morning" and then went back to full English. Don't mix the languages for trivial phrases like that.
Overall it is something a high-school kid would write. The cover is cool. Everything else was garbage.
Story: It is what an action flick would look like on paper. Not a very intellectual plot, but lots of running around and killing people. Change this to Dubai 2020 and use FBI/CIA agents and it could be part of the Mission Impossible franchise.
Characters: Little to no development. The main character is Tom Cruise. See my previous comment.
Word choice: Cringe-worthy. At some point the main character straight up says "Ohayo" in stead of "Good Morning" and then went back to full English. Don't mix the languages for trivial phrases like that.
Overall it is something a high-school kid would write. The cover is cool. Everything else was garbage.
February 12, 2017
At first I thought I'd made a mistake picking this book the first few pagers were more like a factual history book, but as I read on the characters started to fill out. Enjoyed the descriptions of ancient Japanese culture
October 9, 2017
Enjoyable Book.
I would certainly read more from this author.
I enjoyed the flawed hero's and the satisfying conclusion.
Not Shogun but still enjoyable.
I would certainly read more from this author.
I enjoyed the flawed hero's and the satisfying conclusion.
Not Shogun but still enjoyable.
October 29, 2017
A Good Flight of Fancy
I chose 4 stars as the book flowed well for the most part, but occasionally dragged a bit. The characters states true to what little I know about the Shogunate period and his weaving of the plot fit well. I would definitely read more from this author and look forward to further adventures from the new protagonist.
I chose 4 stars as the book flowed well for the most part, but occasionally dragged a bit. The characters states true to what little I know about the Shogunate period and his weaving of the plot fit well. I would definitely read more from this author and look forward to further adventures from the new protagonist.
August 28, 2019
Outstanding
Very well crafted and very well written. Marvelous description of life of times, the culture artfully and instructively explained. The characters beautifully developed and each given a complete story and personality. A great narrative and exciting narrative with a strong moral and emotional satisfaction all along the quest.
Very well crafted and very well written. Marvelous description of life of times, the culture artfully and instructively explained. The characters beautifully developed and each given a complete story and personality. A great narrative and exciting narrative with a strong moral and emotional satisfaction all along the quest.
August 10, 2017
A good story with historical detail
An enjoyable read . Fast paced and includes historical detail without slowing down the plot. Hope to read more from the author
An enjoyable read . Fast paced and includes historical detail without slowing down the plot. Hope to read more from the author
May 13, 2024
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For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
MY ⭐️ RATING: 3.5/5
FORMAT: Kindle eBook
This has been on my TBR backlog for a while because the cover is so stunning. I’ve pushed it back multiple times for no reason other than mood, but after reading Undead Samurai by Baptiste Pinson Wu earlier this year, I knew I had to add more Japanese historical fiction to my repertoire. Then came the massive success of Shogun, which made me decide to fast track it to the top, and I do not regret that decision. Baker does a fantastic job of setting a gritty tone of his story, with a battle among two brothers in the prologue, which sets the events of the story, of a samurai who is on a suicide mission to fulfill his oath. I love that there is a mysteriousness to the samurai because there is never a name revealed, it gave me a similar vibe of V for Vendetta, who was dying and on a suicide mission while hiding his true identity.
Winter Raven is an epic tale of adversity and tenacity with action that was non-stop and many scenes just left me in awe, one in particular was when the samurai was choosing who to take with him on the mission, it was very Squid Games-like, and I never knew who was actually going to be chosen. There were many times during this story that the imagery was pretty gruesome, but felt very realistic and made it more impactful that this time was brutal and unforgiving. One scene really stuck out to me, and it was the worst of them all with a prisoner being “executed,” it had my stomach turning knots. The way this finished kinda has me a bit conflicted, on one hand, it was an incredible finish, but on the other, I did not like the fact that Baker made the decision to not show the final showdown between The Samurai and Motohide. This should’ve been a well drawn out final fight scene, but instead it was “getting ready to fight and then he’s standing over the dead body”… that really killed how good the finale was, up until that point.
“That is the danger of the life we lead. Searching for an ultimate truth. Trying to see to the heart of things. It’s like staring at the sun. It can burn out your eyes. It can drive you insane.”
I loved the characters though, they were all flawed in different ways, The Samurai is magnetic, even when he’s not being a bad dude, I still felt that energy when he was there. The Girl might be my favorite of the bunch, because while the story is about The Samurai and fulfilling his oath, it has a lot more to do with her and her future. The others are prisoners that were recruited to help The Samurai on his mission, very Suicide Squad-like. There is some growth with the characters, but it could’ve used a little more fleshing out, the mysteriousness surrounding The Samurai and The Girl prevented that part, so maybe the growth is fine the way it is.
There is some good prose, but with that said, one thing that I try not to harp on, is editing errors like, misspelled words, a letter left off or an extra letter added… things that would be minor and not really an issue for me, but this had a litany of issues that could’ve been addressed with beta readers, a better editor or an editor in general to have the mistakes taken care of. It’s a really great story with fantastic and flawed characters, but all the editing errors just drove me a bit crazy. I wanted to like this a lot, and even with the writing errors, I was still looking at a solid 4, but then the final showdown was skipped and that just really put the nail in the coffin, and I just couldn’t give it 4 stars after that.
For more reviews, go to: https://wolfmantula.com/recent-posts/
MY ⭐️ RATING: 3.5/5
FORMAT: Kindle eBook
This has been on my TBR backlog for a while because the cover is so stunning. I’ve pushed it back multiple times for no reason other than mood, but after reading Undead Samurai by Baptiste Pinson Wu earlier this year, I knew I had to add more Japanese historical fiction to my repertoire. Then came the massive success of Shogun, which made me decide to fast track it to the top, and I do not regret that decision. Baker does a fantastic job of setting a gritty tone of his story, with a battle among two brothers in the prologue, which sets the events of the story, of a samurai who is on a suicide mission to fulfill his oath. I love that there is a mysteriousness to the samurai because there is never a name revealed, it gave me a similar vibe of V for Vendetta, who was dying and on a suicide mission while hiding his true identity.
Winter Raven is an epic tale of adversity and tenacity with action that was non-stop and many scenes just left me in awe, one in particular was when the samurai was choosing who to take with him on the mission, it was very Squid Games-like, and I never knew who was actually going to be chosen. There were many times during this story that the imagery was pretty gruesome, but felt very realistic and made it more impactful that this time was brutal and unforgiving. One scene really stuck out to me, and it was the worst of them all with a prisoner being “executed,” it had my stomach turning knots. The way this finished kinda has me a bit conflicted, on one hand, it was an incredible finish, but on the other, I did not like the fact that Baker made the decision to not show the final showdown between The Samurai and Motohide. This should’ve been a well drawn out final fight scene, but instead it was “getting ready to fight and then he’s standing over the dead body”… that really killed how good the finale was, up until that point.
“That is the danger of the life we lead. Searching for an ultimate truth. Trying to see to the heart of things. It’s like staring at the sun. It can burn out your eyes. It can drive you insane.”
I loved the characters though, they were all flawed in different ways, The Samurai is magnetic, even when he’s not being a bad dude, I still felt that energy when he was there. The Girl might be my favorite of the bunch, because while the story is about The Samurai and fulfilling his oath, it has a lot more to do with her and her future. The others are prisoners that were recruited to help The Samurai on his mission, very Suicide Squad-like. There is some growth with the characters, but it could’ve used a little more fleshing out, the mysteriousness surrounding The Samurai and The Girl prevented that part, so maybe the growth is fine the way it is.
There is some good prose, but with that said, one thing that I try not to harp on, is editing errors like, misspelled words, a letter left off or an extra letter added… things that would be minor and not really an issue for me, but this had a litany of issues that could’ve been addressed with beta readers, a better editor or an editor in general to have the mistakes taken care of. It’s a really great story with fantastic and flawed characters, but all the editing errors just drove me a bit crazy. I wanted to like this a lot, and even with the writing errors, I was still looking at a solid 4, but then the final showdown was skipped and that just really put the nail in the coffin, and I just couldn’t give it 4 stars after that.
November 24, 2020
It had a good idea but the execution was quite disappointing. It's not a long or particularly difficult book....... BUT I had to check it out like 4 different times before I actually finished it.
It was hard to connect with any of the characters. The story felt very disconnected. And it was very disappointing and aggravating that the crippled samurai was only crippled when it was convenient for the story. There was no change in the character or how he dealt with losing an arm. You forgot he was even missing an arm. Plus he was dying for like the entire story.... but didn't actually die until the end..... and not even to his illness.
Just a book that needed more... anything really. A good idea is just not enough for a book.
It was hard to connect with any of the characters. The story felt very disconnected. And it was very disappointing and aggravating that the crippled samurai was only crippled when it was convenient for the story. There was no change in the character or how he dealt with losing an arm. You forgot he was even missing an arm. Plus he was dying for like the entire story.... but didn't actually die until the end..... and not even to his illness.
Just a book that needed more... anything really. A good idea is just not enough for a book.
March 31, 2020
I really struggled between 2 and 3 stars. The story was quite predictable (I know Samurai stories usually are that way by nature). The character development was really awful. I know there is some mystery behind Raven's background but she isnt compelling at all. I gave no desire to follow up the story and see what becomes of Raven so that brought it to a 2 star. There were some moments where the glamor of the samurai code is rubbed off to expose some of the harsh realities. And really, no duel between Samurai and Motohide?
May 19, 2022
Outstanding. Great paced read, and many interesting philosophies…
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m going through a phase of reading ‘Warrior Style’ books about older/historic Japan, so far, this is right at the top. The characters, the stories, and the phases of the book are all superb. I’m about to go and purchase part 2 of this - it’s a clear recommendation from me.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m going through a phase of reading ‘Warrior Style’ books about older/historic Japan, so far, this is right at the top. The characters, the stories, and the phases of the book are all superb. I’m about to go and purchase part 2 of this - it’s a clear recommendation from me.
June 20, 2017
Pretty good
It was entertaining and action-packed, it was a nice little book, could've been longer and maybe a little bit of background
It was entertaining and action-packed, it was a nice little book, could've been longer and maybe a little bit of background
August 9, 2019
Good, quick read. The writing and grammar is very basic. Do not expect this book to be in any way like Shogun, either in terms of description of Japanese culture or writing style.
May 11, 2023
Pretty good read
Great plot in general and definitely worth reading for fans of ancient Jspan. Good character development and the plot had a good pace
Great plot in general and definitely worth reading for fans of ancient Jspan. Good character development and the plot had a good pace
December 5, 2020
I’d give this a 3.25 if I was feeling especially persnickety.
This book gave me fits. Sometimes soaringly cool but plenty of other times it’s a real grind.
The first sighting of our heroic Samurai was stellar. And theeeeeen that’s it for him being a badass fighter for a hundred pages. Don’t get me wrong his presence is magnetic so anything with him is good but this is not the action-filled romp I was expecting. A lot of time spent walking the countryside or climbing mountains and it just wasn’t fun.
It had a strong finish but ultimately didn’t do enough to make me want to read the next installment.
This book gave me fits. Sometimes soaringly cool but plenty of other times it’s a real grind.
The first sighting of our heroic Samurai was stellar. And theeeeeen that’s it for him being a badass fighter for a hundred pages. Don’t get me wrong his presence is magnetic so anything with him is good but this is not the action-filled romp I was expecting. A lot of time spent walking the countryside or climbing mountains and it just wasn’t fun.
It had a strong finish but ultimately didn’t do enough to make me want to read the next installment.
April 1, 2021
Besides bland writing lacking completely in atmosphere and an uninteresting plot with flat, horrible characters, the author wrote a book set in Japan, but with no knowledge of Japan or the Japanese language. For example, Adam Baker described the naginata, a glaive which use involved a lot of cutting techniques, as a "spear" and implied it to be a primary thrusting weapon. Horrible book, and senseless occasional Japanese phrases making it seem like something written by an inept neckbeard obsessed with Japan but without any knowledge about its culture.
February 12, 2017
Bugeisha of War in Japan
One of the best historical novels I have read. James Clavell & Bernard Cornwell couldn't have done better. Is Book 2 ready yet?
One of the best historical novels I have read. James Clavell & Bernard Cornwell couldn't have done better. Is Book 2 ready yet?
October 29, 2016
For my review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2016/10/29/w...
https://theidlewoman.net/2016/10/29/w...
February 3, 2017
Quietly enjoyable.
I found this book enjoyable and east to get into even after not reading out for a few days. Going to read next one.
I found this book enjoyable and east to get into even after not reading out for a few days. Going to read next one.
March 30, 2017
A little mean to give this two stars perhaps... and I probably will read book two. Writing a historical fiction is difficult enough, writing an engaging one on Japanese history, difficult still.
The first part of the book lost me a little as it tried to put the reader into context of the times, instead of delivering it slowly within the story. It almost killed me reading the rest of the book... probably because I am a student of Japanese history and the background the writer provided was lacking... I was not properly transported to the time and place. There was a lack of true understanding of Samurai culture and the book in places was misleading, and in fact did a great mis-service in its depiction of its time.
It's a bold writer who tries to engross the reader into Japanese Samurai culture, and I'm afraid this writer did not do it well enough for me to like the book... yet... there is promise.
The first part of the book lost me a little as it tried to put the reader into context of the times, instead of delivering it slowly within the story. It almost killed me reading the rest of the book... probably because I am a student of Japanese history and the background the writer provided was lacking... I was not properly transported to the time and place. There was a lack of true understanding of Samurai culture and the book in places was misleading, and in fact did a great mis-service in its depiction of its time.
It's a bold writer who tries to engross the reader into Japanese Samurai culture, and I'm afraid this writer did not do it well enough for me to like the book... yet... there is promise.
April 23, 2017
Good book
Nice story flow. Great detail. Great character development and spot on plot progression. Highly recommend it if you like samurai books.
Nice story flow. Great detail. Great character development and spot on plot progression. Highly recommend it if you like samurai books.
April 29, 2017
Brilliant
One of the better authors found this year and I will definitely read more of his books. Please hurry up and write the sequel.
One of the better authors found this year and I will definitely read more of his books. Please hurry up and write the sequel.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews