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Samurai Barber Versus Ninja Hairstylist

Zed Dee (Goodreads Author)

liked it 3.00 · Rating details · 5 ratings · 4 reviews

Change is in the hair.

Ninjas are wreaking havoc by cutting people’s hair without their permission. Behind this follicular terrorism is a master ninja, the Ninja Hairstylist, whose chaotic hairstyle embodies the anarchy that is about to tear the city apart.

The Samurai Barber must step up and cut down the evil strands on the Ninja Hairstylist’s head. It is not just keratin t ...more

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Published November 28th 2020 by Matador

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Nov 09, 2020 Peter Baran rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When I was a kid, I remember in a reading lesson moving on to the class reading The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Initially I was super excited, finally we got to read a superhero comic. Then I discovered it was not that, it was a weird anti-war kids prose poem type thing. But even I was won over by it, and certainly the bits that are the plot of the Iron Giant are great. And then the giant bat-angel turns up in the last chapter and any sense of a thematic whole is squandered. Samurai Barber Versus Ni When I was a kid, I remember in a reading lesson moving on to the class reading The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Initially I was super excited, finally we got to read a superhero comic. Then I discovered it was not that, it was a weird anti-war kids prose poem type thing. But even I was won over by it, and certainly the bits that are the plot of the Iron Giant are great. And then the giant bat-angel turns up in the last chapter and any sense of a thematic whole is squandered. Samurai Barber Versus Ninja Hairstylist reminded me of that. Its a silly bit of fluff, which then becomes a really powerful allegory, before taking a weird final act turn into a weird family space soap opera.

The good, because most of this is good. It really is what it says on the tin. In the future everyone lives in the city of Lionfish, including the Samurai Barber who is an itinerant barber who lives to give people the haircut that will complete their lives. Tā come across a ninja on a (sentient) train who is cutting someone elses hair without tāde permission (did I mention Malay (actually Mandarin see below*) sourced gender neutral pronouns - there are and it is easy to get your head around to the degree its a little sad that they are latterly explain in quite so much detail). To cut someone elses hair without permission is anathema to the Samurai Barber so a fight ensues. The hairdressing is a metaphor of course for political thought, free will and within the structure of the book revolution. Do you have the right to change someones life for them, to instigate revolution of behalf of others even if they don't believe they need it. This stuff is really good, particularly as the futuristic bits are nicely peppered in (phones being like pets are a lovely touch), and it builds to a nice climax where the problems of this hyper-capitalistic society are going to be challenged by the newly radicalised Samurai Barber. And then the Giant Bat-Angel Thing turns up (it doesn't but it sort of does).

I found the last section of SBvNH quite disappointing because for all the initial clunkiness of the political allegory, it was actually a good one. The lightness of touch, the silliness of the conversations about the perfect haircut leant itself surprisingly well to the allegory and the potential violence inherent in the anarchy suggested had a nice match in the violence of the state and the perceived violence of the haircuts themselves. Its a quick read, and perhaps sticking the landing for any kind of cosmetology revolution would have been tricky, but I would have liked to have seen Zed Dee try because I think tā could have pulled it off.

[NetGalley ARC]

*The author contacted me - and I got this wrong, the source of the pronouns is Mandarin not Malay. Tā were very gracious about this, but I apologise for my lack of detailed reading and reference. ...more

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Nov 20, 2020 Bronwyn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

In a story which combines hairdressing and societal issues, the Samurai Barber faces a Master Ninja hairstylist who threatens everything the Samurai believes in by cutting people’s hair without their permission.
I was expecting this book to be light-hearted yet thought provoking, and it did deliver on that. However, I did find it hard to be invested in the concept as the pronouns were unfamiliar to me and the society was written in a way that made it seem like normality, so although I understood ...more

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Jan 17, 2021 Kate Sibson rated it liked it · review of another edition

I have to say this book lost me. It starts well enough with the Samurai Barber hunting for the Ninja Hairstylist, who is cutting hair against people's will. This was enjoyable especially the world building (pet phones!). But then it moved into more of a social commentary, concerning society structures, free will and unwired consequences. It took several turns which I wasn't expecting but, again, it was good. I did find the pronouns a bit confusing but that is more my ignorance showing that any e ...more

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About Zed Dee

Zed Dee

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Zed Dee grew up in Malaysia where he was exposed to three languages; English, Malay and Mandarin. Then he moved to Singapore when he was nine, where he studied English as a first language and Malay as second, because he couldn't read Chinese.

He has a BA in Sonic Art but found out he wasn't really that good at it. So, he decided to work in the games industry, starting off as a game tester, then bec ...more