Customer Reviews

Seven Paths to Death (Samurai Mysteries)

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

 

 

A wonderful young adult mystery series. These are not for the very young due to the subject manner, yet much more benign than the titles would indicate. Even into this latest book in the series, every paragraph is filled with new insight into the culture of historical Japan, enhancing the intriguing elements of the mystery that draws one into the compelling story.

I really love this series and this book, while not as action packed, is just as intriguing as the previous books. In this one, Seikei and his foster father Judge Ooka find themselves on the search of the killers of various men who had been elaborately tattooed on their backs. Some men remain alive, but for how long? And what is the connection between these men, the yakuza and their tattoos? Is this connected somehow to a plot to overthrow the shogun? And which of the lords is in the position to gain from such a plot?


Set in the 1700s, attention to historical detail is very strong and it's easy to lose yourself in the story. While it is written for middle-school readers, I am not ashamed to admit that as an adult I have really enjoyed the whole series (of which this is said to be the last). Readers with an interest in feudal Japan may also find the rest of the series a joy to read along with these titles: Musashi, Warriors of Medieval Japan (General Military) and The Bamboo Sword: And Other Samurai Tales.

I've read them all - they are really fun. I wish there were more books in the series.

I think of these as being like a younger version of the Robert Van Gulik "Judge Dee"stories - Judge Dee was of course Chinese, while Judge Ooka is Japanese.

I lived in Japan, I've studied a lot about medieval Japan, these are well done and entertaining. The boy is wonderfully naive. The books rate fairly well in terms of historical accuracy.

The Samurai Mysteries series is a high interest resource for teaching the ancient culture of Japan. I use one of the books in the series as an introduction to social classes, social values, the judicial system, and geography. It is easy to draw students into these potentially "boring" topics when set against 14 year old Seikei's adventures with the samurai Judge Ooka. I purchase the other books in the series as prizes at the end of our quarter long study of Asia.

This is the final book in the Samurai Mysteries series. It is pretty much similar to previous books in the series in style and plot pace. So if you were a fan of previous books you'll like this one. I really enjoy all the interesting historical facts about Japan and love that the authors tell you what is real history and what is made up at the end of the book.

In this book Seikei is drawn into a mystery involving a man found near death with part of a map tattooed on his back. Ends up this map is tattooed on seven different men's backs. Seikei and Judge Ooka need to find out where the map leads if they are going to unravel a plot to overthrow the shogun.

As I said this is pretty much on par with previous books. There is not as much adventure in this book, it is more of a mystery. Seikei spends a lot more time with Judge Ooka than by himself. In this book we learn a lot about the history of the yakuza and the Japanese art of tattooing. The writing style is somewhat simplistic, which matches the previous books in this series.

Overall it was a great mystery with some very interesting historical facts about Japan thrown in. The ending wraps the story up nicely, but there really isn't anything pointing at this book being the last book in the series. I keep wondering if they will write more books, but on their website it states that this is the last one. I would recommend this book for younger readers (elementary school to middle school) who like mystery and action.

In the newest volume of this award-winning series of samurai mysteries for young people set in 18th century Japan, a young samurai named Seikei and his foster-father Judge Ooka are confronted with a strange series of murder victims, who seem to be unconnected except for the elaborate tattoos on their backs, which suggest puzzle pieces which form some kind of map. Seikei must find all seven tattoos in order to figure out who is responsible for the murders and where the map leads. This series is action-packed and full of interesting cultural and historical details about life in the samurai period. I would highly recommend these novels for older elementary school and middle school readers.

A great series that will help young people build a good personal value system. When read with a parent the stories will invite interesting discussions about our life decisions, consequences and unexpected consequences.