Blood Ninja
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4.3 • 28 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A boy from a small fishing village must face a new reality after his father is murdered and he is rescued by a mysterious ninja in this heart-stopping first novel in the Blood Ninja trilogy.
Could Taro, a fisherman’s son, be destined for greatness? In the course of a day, Taro’s entire life changes: His father is murdered before his eyes, and Taro is taken by a mysterious ninja on a perilous journey toward safety. Someone wants Taro dead, but who—and why? With his best friend, Hiro, and their ninja guide, Shusaku, Taro gets caught in the crossfire of a bitter conflict between rival lords for control of imperial Japan. As Taro trains to become a ninja himself, he’s less and less sure that he wants to be one. But when his real identity is revealed, it becomes impossible for Taro to turn his back on his fate.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
British author Lake's promising U.S. debut takes three of the most overused ideas in fantasy the boy with a destiny, vampires, and ninjas and combines them into a highly effective adventure. Marked by destiny, Taro has no idea that he is anything but a simple peasant until ninjas murder his father, driving Taro and his mother from their home. Protected and mentored by the ninja Shusaku and accompanied by his best friend, Hiro, Taro must come to terms with the heritage that makes him invaluable to two lords vying for control of feudal Japan, the revelation that the murderous samurai are not the noble heroes he admired, and his unexpected transformation into a kyuuketsuki (a vampire). While the ending sets up an inevitable sequel, the riveting, often gruesome, action and rich, comprehensible mythology should have readers racing through the chapters. Terry Pratchett wrote that clich s are "the spanners and the screwdrivers in the toolbox of language," and Lake uses the story's familiar elements skillfully, combining them into an imaginative and original whole. And, really, with vampire ninjas, how can you lose? Ages 12 up.
Customer Reviews
One of the best books iv read
This is one the best books I'v read in a long time. I love that Nick Lake kept as close to the true history as he could while writing the amazing story. I cannot wait to read the next two books in the series.
TheDudeInThePurpleSpandex
Awesome book. Nuff said.
The book is great
This is a fantastic book. At the beginning, I thought it was a little far reaching but as the book came along, it turned out to be great. There were many twists and turns that caught me off guard and I am usually good at spotting them. Great book, glad I took the time to read it and now I am going to go buy the second book!
One of the things that I did not like about the book was some of the chapters were written completely in italics and for that short chapter, my eyes got very tired from reading such an odd font for such a long period of time. I have been reading since I was little and I can go on for hours and hours with reading and not getting a headache. Two full pages of italics really did give me a headache.
Other then the italics, this was a phenomenal book.