The Samurai and the Prisoner

3.5 stars......more

Hobobu Yonezawa did a good enough job with this book, there are some issues that stopped it from being a great as I wished it was, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Either that or I wasn't the target audience for this book or I just didn't understand what Yonezawa was actually trying to achieve with......more

In Summary A detective-style novel set in a samurai castle town! Those unfamiliar with the Warring States Era will likely get tripped up by the numerous historical figures and events mentioned in the book as the author assumes readers have knowledge about that background. However, if you’re a Japanes......more

I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, and that goes doubly so for historically accurate historical fiction. There are many reasons for it, but one of the main ones is that I find it hard to empathize with characters in these kinds of settings. I don't think characters need to be relatable in......more

Tough to get into. An interesting portrait of feudal Japan, presenting a fictionalization of the relationship between real historical figures. But none of them are especially compelling here as characters in a novel. Murashige is the worst; although we see a lot of his internal reactions to things h......more