Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale (Seasons of the Sword, #1)

by David Kudler

James Egan (Cover Designer)

• ISBN10: 1938808347
• ISBN13: 9781938808340
• Publish Date: 15 June 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Stillpoint/Atalanta
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[Chelsea]

What I Loved

Firstly, can we all just take a moment to appreciate that cover? That's an A+ cover. It fits with the mood of the story perfectly.

Normally I would hesitate at a historical fiction book. It's not usually my genre of choice but I've been obsessed with Japan ever since finishing Ink by Amanda Sun and I thought this was an excellent choice to learn more about it! I don't know how historically accurate these events are (since I know next to nothing about Japan) but they felt like they were at least based on fact. I ended up loving this book for the history it told us! I was actually interested in the war that was happening and what our characters were doing in relation to it. This war was a lot different than others I've read about so it was actually really fun for me.

The story started off innocent enough. In the beginning I was worried it was going to be more of a middle grade book. It still could be considered middle grade but after getting through more of the story I was confident in classifying this as a young adult book just I felt some younger kids wouldn't be able to understand what was happening. Either way, as an adult even I still enjoyed reading this book.

This is one of those stories where it's hard to talk about the plot or the characters because I found that everything flowed really nicely. It's a story where we got to watch a young girl being taken from her home and then trying to figure out a way to survive. Our main character was a really clever young girl though still young. It was cute sometimes seeing her take a second to clue into something you figured out a page before. I loved that we got to learn things as our character did and I loved seeing her stick to her morals. It was just a really cute story that was fun to read.

What I Didn't Like

There wasn't much I didn't love. I found the story to be a little slow at the start but as I kept reading it I got used to the flow of the story and it made much more sense. This is not a face paced book by any means so keep that in mind when reading!

Who I'd Recommend To

I'd recommend this to any one looking for a slower paced book with lots of rich detail and history. It's an adventure story not action so don't expect lots of sword fights. It's quite the opposite actually, our character is still growing into herself and most of our story revolves on her growth. It's a cute story though and I highly recommend it.

[Sarah Says]

The book opens with a rumbling of tummies and I immediately felt a fondness growing in my heart for Risuko. After the death of Risuko’s father her mother can barely keep enough food on the table for her and her sister. She ends up selling Risuko to a woman who at first seems to just have been travelling through. And so the adventure begins with the protagonist Kano Murasaki aka Risuko (Squirrel) proving herself to be a remarkable girl early on.

Poor Risuko has to get her head around being ripped from her home and dropped in a situation like nothing she’s never ever dealt with before. She discovers new friendships, unravels mysteries and feels the sting of betrayal. I found the story engaging and fast paced. I loved the plot and the whole ‘school’ for creating very special women (yeah I’m not saying any more than that or I’ll give away some of the mystery).

I was immediately suspicious of Lady Chiyome and found it quite sad when Risuko’s mother sold her. Actually the only negative feelings I have towards the book are because of Lady Chiyome. I had no problem with her being cold and calculating, she should be, but by the 70% mark the way she spoke to everyone around her was grating on my nerves. I found her speech to be unnecessarily nasty. She hadn’t seemed so mean spirted at the beginning and it made me end up really disliking her. Unfortunately, I do think this effected my overall enjoyment of the book.

Risuko and the friends she makes, Emi and Aimaru are extremely likable and I look forward to watching the trio grow throughout the series. I think the world Kudler has conjured up could be a brilliant series and I am looking forward to seeing what he does with it next.

Four ‘I really enjoyed’ stars.

Thank you NetGalley and David Kudler for eCopy in exchange for an honest review.

[Beth C.]

Risuko - Squirrel - is a young girl in Japan set in the feudal days. Her father is dead, her mother struggling to keep them all alive. Then one day, her mother sells her to a lady - and so begins her training as a Kunoichi, a Japanese lady warrior.

The premise sounded interesting, as did the time and place - unfortunately, the book failed to live up to that promise. Without giving any spoilers, I can say that when one of the characters is written so completely awry that it jerks the reader out of their suspension of disbelief, that is a problem - as is the fact that any reasonable reader will see the conclusion coming a mile away.

In the book (again, no spoilers), there is a chef who is from Korea. Remember, this is during the feudal days long ago. However, this Korean chef has the speech pattern of a southern cowboy, minus the "ya'll". It's terribly jarring, and I can't help but think that there must have been some other way of differentiating him from the Japanese around him? In addition, the ultimate outcome of the story - more precisely, who might be the "bad guy" - was obvious from fairly early. There was no big suspenseful moment, just a realizing of the story arc that was coming.

Overall, the story itself was somewhat interesting, particularly considering this is based on a possible reality. However, those two issues I mentioned definitely detract from the story as a whole. Frankly, the explanation at the end was of more interest than the story once I got to the Southern Korean and the obvious plot hook.

This story is the first in a series, and sadly, it is not one I will continue.