Ukishima [Kindle Edition]

Nigel Sellars (Author)

Book Description

In the waning days of World War II, dying Japanese fight pilot Minamoto Ichiro joins a kamikaze flight with plans to die honorably by sinking an American warship. At the last moment, however, Ichiro is plucked from his plane by Hachiman, the Japanese god of war. It seems Hachiman needs Ichiro to save the universe.
Ichiro, now a samurai, finds himself in a parallel Japan—Nihon—where magic is real and Europeans have not yet arrived. He soon learns of Lord Taira, a warlord in league with dark forces. Taira has already stolen two of Nihon’s sacred icons, the sacred jewel and sacred mirror The warlord now only needs the sacred sword, the legendary Kusinagi, the Grass-Mower, in order to control the universe. But sword is in Ichiro’s hands, as only a member of the powerful Minamoto clan can wield the sword safely.
With the aid of a female ninja named Shizuka and Yukio, a naïve young Buddhist monk, Ichiro must battle a series of evil forces, including dragons, undead warriors, river demons, a giant spider and a Dutch vampire sea captain in order to rescue the imprisoned young emperor.
But rescuing the emperor is not enough. Ichiro soon realizes the only way to save the universe is to reach the Bridge of Heaven, located on the island of Hokkaido, the home of the barbarian Ainu. Only then can he hope to bring the sacred sword, the sacred mirror, and the sacred jewel together to restore the Emperor’s power and divine status. Assuming, of course, that he can defeat Taira’s naval forces and somehow close the demonic gateway through which the forces of chaos might escape to overwhelm everything. That, however, will require Ichiro to enter Yomi, the very domain of Death itself…

Product Details

• File Size: 1712 KB
• Print Length: 459 pages
• Publisher: Hydra Publications (February 3, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0075CP4CA
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #578,578 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Something for Everyone! Stupendously good! February 11, 2012

By Grandma TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ukishima is the tale of a modern-day Samurai who decides to become a kamikaze pilot in the last days of World War II. As he crashes his rattle-trap flying bomb held together with the proverbial chewing gum and bailing wire into the ship, his plane skitters just over the deck and falls into the sea below. I would tell you more of this fantastic tale of love, loss, adventure, & mythology with a bit of history and even some horror thrown in for good measure, but that would spoil what is one of the very best books to cross my desk in a decade or so.

Nigel Sellers has done a stupendously good job, both with his story and his presentation of Japanese history and culture. Ukishima is riveting and it will keep you, as it did me, turning pages far past the midnight hour.

Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting, fast-paced tale of an alternate Japan March 11, 2012

By A Few Words

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Demons, vampires, and feudal warriors surround you in this tale of Ichiro, a kamikaze pilot who gives up his life and in the process, becomes swept away to the distant past of another Japan. This is one of the most quickly-paced novels that I've read in a long time and it's very easy to pick it up, thinking that you'll read a chapter and then find yourself lost in the book for hours more.

Because of the number of twists and turns in the story, as a previous reviewer noted, it's difficult to discuss the plot in too much detail for fear of giving it away. What really intrigued me about Ukishima the most, however, was the characters and the story that Sellars has built.

Ichiro is an intriguing protagonist. Many of the life choices that he made prior to the beginning of the book haunt him still and I wish that we could have had more scenes of this aspect of his life. (This would be a rich area for short stories!) He is surrounded by other characters with whom he has a wide variety of relationships with, from a protege that he relates to in ways that I hadn't expected to a ninja who works with him in spite of his code of honor.

The mythology of Ukishima is likewise fascinating. If you're tired of the traditional epic fantasy reliance on dragons, you'll definitely find much to enjoy in the fox demons and other creatures presented in this story. While vampires make their appearance, this is no Twilight but a terrifying moment for the characters--and reader--to encounter.

My one criticism of the book is that I felt it was a little too fast-paced for me as a reader. The story constantly propels you into action, often reading like an action novel, and while by the end, I enjoyed this, there were times when I forgot to breathe when reading the book! I hope that in subsequent novels, either in this series or others, we see more of the quieter moments. In part, however, I admit that this reaction is largely because I was so curious about the characters that I just wanted to know more and more about them.

All in all, Ukishima was a wonderful book and I look forward to seeing what more comes from this terrific author.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! Such a UNIQUE story! Like nothing else! May 9, 2012

By Desiree Finkbeiner

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

WOW! WOW! Did I say, WOW?

First off, let me say that I'm a hard reader to lure in. I need action, and LOTS of it, and Ukishima exceeded my expectations. I'm only sorry I didn't read this sooner. It's been sitting on my kindle for weeks but I finally pulled it from my library one lazy evening and found myself staying up half the night til my eyes were dry and red from staying up late to read on.

Ichiro is an interesting character. He faces some serious internal struggles and finds it hard to face his demons. On his final suicide mission to bomb an American ship, he realizes that the entire purpose it to die with HONOR, rather than to waste away with cancer. When he realizes that there would be no honor in his death by taking innocent lives in a war Japan had already lost, he changes his decision at the last second to commit suicide and deliberately misses his target... Okay, I need to stop with the spoilers!

...A voice speaks to him, to tell him that his journey has only begun, that his bravery is needed elsewhere, so his life is spared. And what a journey it is! He's thrust into an alternate reality, a Japan before his own time, filled with dark creatures atypical to most Japanese stories. And Nigel has his own voice in this story, borrowing elements from obvious research about the history of Japan's lore and mythical creatures. But with such an interesting twist!

This make a fantastic motion picture. An excellent and original read.