Customer Reviews

The Sword That Cut the Burning Grass (The Samurai Mysteries)

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"The Sword that Cut the Burning Grass" by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler is a story about a young shogun samurai named Seikei, who trying to complete a task handed down to him from the Shogun himself. He goes through obstacles and dangers throughout his journey and learns of an unexpected conflict with twist and turns that takes him between life and death many times throughout the story. Along the way of his journey, he teams up with a mysterious man who he knows nothing about to complete not only the shogun's mission, but also the mission he has set out for himself. He gains enemies and comrades along the way of his mission but is persistent not to let any of them get in his way.

This book is action and mystery packed to keep your interest which every move that Seikei makes and experiences throughout his journey. There is a mysterious man in the story that will keep you reading until you find out who he really is even if you have to finish the book to find out about him. This story goes back to Japan's shogun era so there are samurais, peasants, shrines, taking over castles, and action packed sword fighting through out the story. It is the kind of book to grab you and make sure you finish it. If you're the kind of person who loves swords, Japan shogun's era, or looking for a good mystery to keep you busy while being on the bus, on the subway, or even just to read during your free time.

Synopsis:
During the period of Yoshimune, the 8th shogun of the Tokugawa family, Judge Ooka was well respected for his wise and honest decisions and regarded as the Sherlock Holmes of Japan.

Seikei was born to a merchant family, but had won the Judge's respect when he voluntarily assisted him solve a case and prevent serious injustice. Judge Ooka adopted Seikei and is fulfilling Seikei's dream to become a samurai.
Now fourteen year old samurai apprentice Seikei is called upon to assist his adoptive father, Judge Ooaki, serve the Shogun. The emperor of Japan is a young boy and has refused to perform his duties. The Shogun sends Seikei to Kyoto convince the emperor to leave the temple and to resume his duties. The Shogun explains that the emperor must make a public appearance at the time of the spring solstice, plow a furrow of land and sow rice seeds to maintain the peace. If the emperor fails to perform this duty, the farmers will fear for the harvest and will be unable to deliver the proper quotas to their daimyo lords, and this will result in widespread unrest. Seikei must convince the emperor to resume his duties.
Seikei meets with the emperor, but soon after he leaves the temple, sudden violence erupts. The emperor is suddenly missing and Seikei is arrested.

To save himself and to serve his country, young Seikei must track down the emperor's whereabouts and prevent a daimyo's grab for control with the help a mysterious samurai and a young serving girl. Meanwhile, Judge Ooaki is unaware of the dangers that track his young charge.

Review:
I enjoy historical fiction and detective novels. Japan during the 1700s, the time of the powerful Shoguns, holds particular fascination for me. Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler's series are made even more enjoyable by their choice of lead characters. Judge Ooka is a historical figure with a reputation for wise and honest decisions and has been described as the Sherlock Holmes of Japan. He served the 8th shogun of the Tokugawa family. In his official capacity, Judge Ooka is assigned to solve crimes and to help the Shogun maintain the peace. Judge Ooka is assisted by his adoptive son, the young Seikei.

The point of view of Judge Ooka's adoptive son, Seikei works particularly well. Born as a merchant's son, Seikei wants to become worthy of his new samurai status. Seikei has a strong sense of honor and considerable courage but is still developing his samurai skills. When asked which do he values more, life or honor? "Honor," replies Seikei dutifully, "because everyone must die, but honor lasts forever."

Since a fourteen year old boy can blend in and observe a great deal, Seikei undertakes critical missions much more than an easily recognized official of the Shogun. Stout of heart and determined, Seikei serves his father, the Shogun and the Emperor well. This particular installment is one of the more captivating of the series because of the friendships and adventures that Seikei makes along the way.

In this well written novel the adventures of 14 year old Seikei and Judge Ooka continue. All the books in the series are well written, riveting, educational, and just plain fun to read! My male and female students alike highly enjoy learning about Japanese Samurai culture through the Hoobler's novels.

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, and the plots are well done.

Another in the series about Seikei, the foster son of a judge in 18th century Japan. Seikei must travel to the emporer, who is 14, and talk the emporer into resuming his duties. Along the way Seikei hears of a plot to overthrow the shogun but he deems it implausible. As in the other books in this series, the plot twists and turns to a satisfying conclusion. In order to fully understand this book, reading the others is a must. The Hooblers introduce the reader to a culture that may be new and mysterious in itself, without the actual mystery. The series is very popular among 5th and 6th graders.

This is the fourth book in the six book Samurai Mysteries series by the Hooblers. It was a great addition to the series and Seikei starts to show a lot of maturity in some of the decisions that he makes.

In this book Seikei is sent by the shogun to try and convince the boy-emperor to resume his duties. The emperor is a boy Seikei's age and has run away to a temple because he does not believe he is the true emperor. Seikei sets out to find the emperor but runs amok of a plot that is much bigger than just a one foolish young boy. Seikei will have to navigate his way through layers of treachery is he is going to save the emperor and the shogun.

This was the best book in this series so far. Seikei matures a lot and is making independent decisions and traveling on his own. Again there is a lot of adventure, you can tell that Seikei has learned from past decisions. He is not so naive and actually does a good job thinking things through. We also get some very cool new characters that travel with Seikei. One is Hato, a spunky young girl who believes Seikei is actually the emperor and the other is Reigen, a mysterious old man who fights awesome. Each of the books has focused on some aspect of Japanese history and this book explains a lot about the emperor and the traditions surrounding that position.

Overall this was a great book. As with previous books the writing is at a bit lower level than most young adult books, but it is more complex than then first few books. The plot is also more complex than previous books. People will enjoy all the action and adventure as well as the dilemmas Seikei is faced with. I look forward to reading the next book and seeing what kind of trouble Seikei gets into this next time.