Product Description

August 1611. Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan – his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates. Rescued by the legendary sword master Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope is to become a samurai warrior. And so his training begins. But life at the samurai school is a constant fight for survival. Even with his friend Akiko by his side, Jack is singled out by bullies and treated as an outcast. With courage in his heart and his sword held high, can Jack prove himself and face his deadliest rival yet?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9193 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
. . . a fantastic adventure that floors the reader on page one and keeps them there until the end. The pace is furious and the martial arts detail authentic

A beautifully written, excellently researched and thoughtfully presented work . . . Chris Bradford has caputered the essence of what it meant to be samurai

A really exciting, action-packed martial arts adventure . . . the fast pace and attention to detail makes this a wonderful read for all children, whether they are involved in martial arts or not

About the Author
Chris Bradford has earned his black belt in Tai-jutsu, the secret fighting art of the ninja. He has also trained in judo, karate, kickboxing and samurai swordmanship. Before writing Young Samurai, Chris was a professional musician and songwriter. He lives in the South Downs with his wife and two cats called Tigger and Rhubarb.

Customer Reviews

Shogun for younger readers
I really enjoyed this story, I am fascinated by the Samurai of medieval Japan, but I wouldn't call myself an expert on them. I thought this book would be a great story and introduction to the Samurai for younger readers. However, I am 37 and still liked it. Its not as good as the legendary Shogun by james Clavell but that would be hard!

If you like stories about Samurai then you could do a lot worse then giving this a try. The beginning of a promising trilogy. I would certainly encourage my children to read this.

Young Samurai
What a brilliant book! Great for the younger generation and for those of us who like to think we are still part of the younger generation.

A gripping story, with punchy chapters - when's the next one out??? This book must be made into a movie, move over Harry Potter.

A scorching story!
This is a really excellent book. There are two important aspects to it :-

i) the story is completely believable and well told,
ii) the little details that often get missed in stories like this are definitely left in and apart from the terrific story the book also serves as a first-class introduction to Japanese society.

Jack is an 11-year old who is shipwrecked on the Japanese coast in 1611. His fellow crew-members (including his father) are slaughtered by pirates who turn out to be ninjas. Jack is rescued and adopted by a famous Samurai and has to prove himself to his master as well as his class. He is treated as an outcast by the other pupils as he is a `gaijin' or foreigner and is singled out and bullied. He is alone in a country where he has no knowledge of either the language or the customs.

Jack learns the hard way that he can expect no favours. He has a secret, however, which he has to keep to himself as it will attract unwelcome attention.

This is an action-packed tale which has you turning the pages in order to find out what happens next. The fight scenes are accurately described and the tension is maintained and even increased as the story unfolds.

I am impressed by the depth of research that the author has undoubtedly undertaken in order to complete this book. Japanese culture is notoriously difficult to come to grips with and this book also manages to get across the utter alienation felt by Jack who is alone in a foreign country with no idea when (or even if) he will ever get home.

I would recommend this book without hesitation, and am particularly excited by the fact that there are two more books to come!