Customer Reviews

Black Arrow (Sugawara Akitada)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A rich and textured novel set in 11th century Japan reveals layers of society in a period not much known by Westerners. Sugawara Akitada, a minor government official with a penchant for finding truth is sent to a far northern province to analyze accounts and serve as goveror. He immediately finds himself surrounded by intrigue and, with bodies piling up in his makeshift morgue, there plenty of immediate problems to solve. Rebelling warlords, secretive outcasts, and the sexual shenanagans of ordinary folk are almost too much for one man to manage, but Akitada threads his way through the morass and unravels the tangled mysteries. A fine read, and terrific listen!

Black Arrow is just one of a truely brilliant historical novel series. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes samurai detective novels. Kindle is probably the easiest and cheapest way to acquire the full set.

With all due respect to most of the other reviewers, I found the BLACK ARROW barely adequate.

This is the fourth book in the Sugawara Akitada series but it was the first I read - and I do understand this to be an obvious impediment. On the other hand, good novels should be able to shine on their own merit.

Without risking any spoilers, I found both the triggering murder case and the underlying conspiracy to be trivial, the plot predictable and the final solution too easy and precipitating out of thin air. What is worse for any novel, there were hardly any characters to empathize with.

To be fair, I have to mention that the writing does manage to convey both the serenity and the underlying brutality of 11th century Japan; to contrast the refined yet greedy nobles opposite the coarse yet (mostly) honest peasants; and to present both the easy choices of evil and the even easier ones of virtue.
In the end though, it was not enough to make this book raise above mediocrity.

I've been a huge fan of Laura Joh Rowlands and only recently have discovered Parker's books. I absolutely love this mystery series and cannot wait for the next book to come out. Parker's characters are very real and have depth and humor. The plots are full of twists and surprises. The detailed descriptions of everyday life and places are very well researched. I feel that I've been transported to ancient Japan.

Of the series this book has the greatest amount of action. The battle scenes are well done and graphic. Sugawara is at his best with sword drawn and facing his destiny. The 11th century comes alive with intrigue --highly recommended.

OK, I'll admit my bias right up front, I love historical mysteries, especially Japanese ones. That being said, this one is quite excellent by any standard.

The best part is that it is a thinker's mystery, a "try to figure out who did it" mystery. The humor, the historical information, the authentic detail aside, it is easy to enjoy this one just for the puzzle of the interrelated crimes.

Why would Amazon be charging 3-4 times as much for a Kindle edition of this book than the paperack? Especially since several other books in the series are around 4 dollars for the Kindle edition....

In the Sugawara Akitada murder mysteries--though not as good I think as the Chinese Judge Dee series-- the chronology of his life is not the order in which the books have come out/were published. Black Arrow takes place after Sugawara has married and gone to a northern Japanese province of Echigo, but before the birth of his son. (The events in Dragon Scroll take place before the events in Rashomon Gate.) So far, Black Arrow seems the most tightly and evocatively written, less gruesome and more personal, in terms of Sugawara's human relationships. Looks like I'll go on to read more volumes ...

The opening forward hooks you right into the action. Although this is one in a series, it doesn't spend an extraordinary amount of time rehashing the characters pasts. The plot is satisfyingly cunning while the character development is entertaining.

I love these books for their portrayal of Japanese culture - and the mysteries are all right, too! I have even tried to get each of her short stories from old Alfred Hitchcock magazines. Don't miss these if you love historical fiction/mysteries.