Young Samurai: The Way of the Dragon
1613, Japan. In his third adventure, young Jack Fletcher is continuing at the samurai training school, this time struggling to master the Two Heavens, the secret sword technique of his foster-father, the famous samurai, Masamoto. He is also desperate to recover his father’s rutter, the priceless navigational aid stolen by his arch enemy, the ninja Dragon Eye.
Outside, the storm clouds of war are gathering. The late emperor’s son is a minor and a Council of Regents rules Japan. But there are tensions within it and the powerful samurais are taking sides. The most dangerous faction wants all foreigners killed and, all too soon, Jack learns that atrocities against Christians are escalating.
It is time for Jack to leave Japan but first he needs to recover the rutter and then he needs to make his way to a port and find a ship to take him home. With war imminent, neither will be easy.
As we have come to expect, Chris Bradford gives his readers a roller-coaster of a ride. The pace is terrific and our hearts are in our mouths for Jack and his young friends. However, what gives Chris Bradford’s books their special quality is that they are more than just deeds of derring-do. He also gives us a glimpse into the soul of 17th-century Japan and includes the importance of the right code of conduct for an honourable samurai: the virtues of self-control, courage, loyalty and self-sacrifice, and the recognition of the spiritual and the beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the haikus – short, stand-alone poems encapsulating a moment or the essence of an object; the students are expected to compose haikus as well as fight.
Boys of 11 plus will love it. Highly recommended.
