Der Ring des Windes

Young Samurai #7

by Chris Bradford

Ein Schrei gellte durch die Nacht. Einer der Matrosen zeigte mit zitternder Hand nach Backbord. „Winddämonen!“, schrie er mit von Panik verzerrtem Gesicht. Aus der Nacht tauchte ein weißes Segel mit einer aufgemalten großen, schwarzen Spinne auf. Es hielt geradewegs auf sie zu. Jack will mit seinen Freunden nach Nagasaki, um dort auf einem Schiff nach England anzuheuern. Aus Angst, den Samurai des Shoguns in die Arme zu laufen, entschließen sich die Gefährten für den Seeweg an der Küste entlang. Doch auch auf dieser Route lauern todbringende Gefahren …

Genres: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Historical, Japan

480 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

Chris Bradford is the bestselling author of the Young Samurai, Bodyguard and Soul Series.

Chris is renowned for his inspiring author events and ‘method writing’ style. For his award-winning Young Samurai series, he trained in samurai swordmanship, karate, ninjutsu and earned his black belt in Zen Kyu Shin Taijutsu.

For his BODYGUARD series, Chris embarked on an intensive close protection course to become a qualified professional bodyguard.

And for the Soul Prophecy trilogy, Chris travelled extensively to experience first-hand the cultures featured in the story – from living with the Shona people in Zimbabwe, to trekking the Inca trail, to meditating in a Buddhist temple amid the mountains of Japan.

His books have been published in more than 25 languages and been nominated for 30+ book awards, winning among others the Northern Ireland Book Award 2011, the Hampshire Book Award 2014 and the Brilliant Book Award 2014. Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior was deemed one of Puffin’s 70 Best Ever Books, alongside Treasure Island and Robin Hood.

To discover more about Chris or book an author visit: www.chrisbradford.co.uk

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven books in the series must be loosing some steam. Wrong!!! What an incredible rollercoaster of a ride. Every time Jack and his friends escaped one situation they were thrown or faced with an even deadlier threat. I was exhausted just reading it. This I think was the best book of the series so far for me.

Forced to take to the sea Jack and his friends must face every danger imaginable, from mortal but deadly Ninja Pirates, to natural predators like sharks, and the fury of the ocean it's self.

There are also more of a spiritual touch to this book, spirits, fortune tellers , and the return of an old advisory. However the best thing about this book is the way Jack manages to put all his skills and knowledge together. His sea faring knowledge earned from years at sea, his samurai & ninja fighting skills and mist of all it tactical and leadership skills he has developed in the last few book.

This book is like a Michelin star meal made from all the great ingredients of the previous books in the series so far. Awsome!!!

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Japan has expelled all foreigners so Jack Fletcher is trying to make it to a port, find a ship and return to England but there is still a price on his head. Ambushed by samurai, Jack and his friends are forced to escape onto the sea. Now Jack has to use all his old sea-faring skills to save them.

This was not my favorite of the series as it focused more on the sailing aspect of Jack's background. But again it was still a fun and entertaining read. Jack and his friends go from one challenge to the next. Solving problems using both brain and brawn plus more than a little luck at times. All the characters have their own strengths and weaknesses which plays out in the story. Jack continues to stand out as a leader although many times he doesn't want to be. It's great watching as the characters grow throughout the series.

Great series! Will hate to see it end.

To see my review of other the books in this series, please use the links below:

Book One - The Way of the Warrior
Book Two - The Way of the Sword
Book Three - The Way of the Dragon
Book Four - The Ring of Earth
Book Five - The Ring of Water
Book Six - The Ring of Fire
Book Eight - The Ring of Sky

[jia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack Fletcher.

Samurai. Ninja. Sailor. And now what? A pirate.

Jack really has it all, huh? But still. *facepalm*



I mean don't get me wrong, I am totally in love with Jack! But The Ring of Wind just didn't work well with me compared to the other books in the series. It seemed more like a filler book that's just there to extend the series, although ONE important event happened in the book. But really, it just wasn't as good as the others. Jack will always be undefeated that part if true and I am ware of but like other readers I just want him to reach his goal already!

What has the Ring of Wind taught Jack? I wasn't quite sure.

The fighting is getting a bit cliche now. I skimmed about a majority of the pages, I just wanted to get it over with really.

Though, I am still excited for The Ring of Sky as it is the last book in the series and I really want to know what's going to happen already!

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack was trapped with the Wind Demon Pirates and escaped. But his old enemy the Dragon Eye came back and blocked his escape, so he fought and now was trapped on a raft, randomly sailing in the ocean.

[Tanzeela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This book was incredible!

[Kailib · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last third of the story was good, but the book really felt like a stepping stone for the next in the series.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a big fan of Jack Fletcher and the Young Samurai series over the last few years. I enjoyed reading this book, but I didn't love it. I still love Jack. He is everything I would like a young hero to be. He and his friends are fleeing pursuing samurai and they evade them by seeking passage on a ship which is quickly attacked by pirates. I like that Jack's story moves to a new location--Jack has talked about the sea throughout the series, but this is the first time we really get to see him on it.

I believe I've said this before about this series, but I'll say it again: I enjoy reading it, I love Jack, but the first three books are much better than the rest of them. It almost seems like a completely different author. Looking back, the series seems obviously plotted to end at the conclusion of the third book, with Jack happily on a ship back to England. None of the "Ninja" books have the same quality or depth as the first three.

The Ring of Wind is ALL action. Lots and lots of action. More action than all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies put together. It would be no stretch at all to say that "the action never stops." I know that the heroes of these kinds of stories are virtually undefeatable, but Jack's exploits have begun to border on the absurd. I didn't mind the foray into piracy. What little I know about pirates does suggest that this area of the world had quite a few in this time period, and getting onto a ship and mixed up with pirates does seem to be a reasonable possibility for Jack. However, Jack's immediate indispensablity to the pirates is pushing my suspension of disbelief. But I could probably accept all that if there was just a little less action. There are 63 chapters in this 332 page book, many of them no more than four pages long because of the shift in action. While this certainly makes the book easier for reluctant readers (and maybe that is the goal), I want something more.

Jack's relationships in book are strained as well. His contact with his friends in this book is minimal. The new villains are not nearly as multi-dimensional as Dragon Eye or the Scorpian Gang. I cannot quite work out Jack's feelings for the young girl pirate. Additionally, the sheer amount of grotesque violence, along with Jack's ability to deal with it, is a bit more than I can appreciate in a book for children--even older children.

Overall, Jack has changed very little in this book in order to make this a complete story. I have described this book to a friend as a continuing episode of an animated cartoon on television. Lots of action with a hint of something more. I want the reverse: a great story with action. I would recommend this book to regular readers of the series and kids who need the non-stop action.

[Ishaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 7th book of this amazing series( Young Samurai), amazed me yet again. The twists and the turns of the story kept me glued on the book from start to end. The story was very original and very different from all the other stories. Yet again I learnt more about the 1600s in Japan. This book was mainly centered around pirates unlike the other novels. The action scenes were very detailed and quite exciting. The characters were described marvellously, it was incredibly easy to picture the ruthless pirates and to picture the helpless young boy who risked his life to help the protaginist; Jack and his friends to escape the ship. Since Chris Bradford plans this to be the second-last book of the series, a few very surprising secrets were revealed. However, it is a necessity to read the previous stories before you can start this book. 6 novels may sound a lot but after you start reading, you will never regret the decision.

" 7 times down, 8 times up"

[Marla · Rating 4 out of 5]

. Jack, Miyuki, Saburo and Yori are running from the Shogun who wants all gaijin out of Japan and has a reward for Jack, personally, the gaijin samurai. They can only afford sea passage across the Seto Sea on a sketchy boat and are captured by sea ninja, Wind Demons, deadly, cruel ninja pirates. Caught between the Wind Demons and the Sea Samurai, Jack must betray his father's memory by revealing some of the secrets of the rudder in order to survive the Wind Demons.

Different than the other books, since this takes place at sea and Jack isn't actually learning a new skill from a new mentor. But Jack gets to show off all his acquired talents from being a rigging monkey on a ship for 2 years, a navigator trained by his father, a samurai and a ninja.

[Samantha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Umm the ninja pirates and other sea captains got to me. I can only deal with so much torture. I got about 1/2 way through and skimmed the rest of the book so that I could have ground work for the last book. Ugh...shudder...

[kylah p · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I've enjoyed the previous Young Samurai books more than this one. This book was just too disgusting and bloody for me, however, the plot and overall vibe of the book were still good. I hope the next book gets better. Still a great series that I would recommend to most of my friends!

[Atharva Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Samurai Book 7
*Way of the Wind*
I just finished the penultimate book of the young Samurai and I'm feeling very excited due to the turn of the events and the book progressing steadily towards a wonderful conclusion. This time, the book recurs some previously​ seen characters as Jacks companion on his way to the Nagasaki port in order to return to his homeland, England once and for all, but things run bad when they are intercepted by Seko Sea pirates and form an uneasy alliance with the Pirate Queen, Tatsumaki. Overall, it was particularly well planned, a lot of twists and turns and plotlines which you cannot deduce. Many secrets and revelations are unveiled which answers previous questions and raises some new ones and generates a very interesting theory. Anyways, the characters in the limelight are Jack Fletcher(Obviously), Miyuki,(His ninja friend) Saburo, (His Samurai Friend), Yori, (Samurai Zen Friend, Very Wise) Tatsumaki, (The Pirate Queen with an ambition to rule the whole Seto Sea) a merciless and ruthless gang of pirates (Tigerhead, Kakumaro, White Shark) and a young disguised girl (Lin Lang). The story has a steady pace, as always. Much importance is given to the rutter and the fact that Jack Fletcher is a 'Gaijin' is very much emphasized by the pirates here. The story begins when Jack sees a vision of an old man who warns him about a returning enemy while our group of young samurais board a ship which gets captured by Captain Kamkumaro (a pirate) and hijacked with jack as prisoner delivers him to Tatsumaki who takes a sudden interest discovering his rutter and threatens to hurt his friends if he does not obey her commands and sends him on various missions in order to gain the upper hand against the Japanese Sea Samurai. That is when Jack discovers his archenemy/Nemesis is back, namely 'Dokugan Ryu' or Dragon Eye and they battle fiercely, this time, Jack gaining the upper hand with his Samurai as well as ninja skills and report the traitors back to Tatsumaki, who feels indebted to Jack and frees him. Jack, through the destructive battle at Pirate Town rescues his friends and gets back his rutter and swords (That feels like a quest) but again he is intercepted by Dragon Eye, who Jack kills and it is revealed that the lineage continues and another person always takes up the place of the Dragon Eye and he can never be killed. Evading and occasionally killing some pirates, Jack and companions board a small boat and begin their journey to Nagasaki port. So that's it. The rutter is also given much importance in the story with Jack actually beginning to decode it for the first time. Miyuki, Yori and Saburo, even though they are in the plot, seem a little distant and their participation is much less as compared to the previous books, they just keep getting tortured, heal each other and keep getting thrown in prisons. The book gets very thrilling and full of action sequences after 20%, the pirates truly have a murderous background and hurt the young Samurai's very much. emotions like love, anger, compassion and most of all friendship and 'Bushido Spirit' are highlighted and given paramount importance. The side characters like TigerFace and Lin Ling also play key roles in moving the main characters in the story. Many new Japanese words, mostly covering the seafaring technical terms of boats and sailing are seen throughout. I especially like the personality of Tatsumaki, who is a symbol of powerful and Dangerous women. Some scenes are repeated two times in the book, with the chain of same events happening. Jack and friends really find it difficult to survive the big bad world and its inhabitants and I pity them so much after they have gone through so much. Some new weapons, strategies and other roles are revealed, but as i previously said the key point of the book is revealing the Dragon Eye mystery and revealing the true identity. Also, Chris Bradford gives the readers hope that Yamato may still be alive but banishes it to disappoint many of us. A great compliment to the Young Samurai series which stands out as a unique edition as it contains seafaring and sailing. Recommended. Loved it. Hope to see that damned Kazuki return in the final book. Very excited. Nice Reading!

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an exciting adventure story, this was packed with action and turns of events, but I didn't like this one as much as the others. I could totally see this book as a movie with it's twists and turns, and constant action, and even the Pirate town and the monkey and the Pirate leader Tatsumaki...It seems kinda "familiar". I did like that it was another new setting for Jack, with new alliances and new enemies (the author does a great job of making each book novel yet continuous in the story arc of Jack's attempt to get home to England). But I didn't like the fact that none of the new alliances, even if temporary, were worthy of any sympathy for. It was really everyone for himself in this book, and Jack is just doing whatever it takes to improve his chances to survive, but maybe because there was no emotional attachment, it wasn't as compelling of a story as the previous books. This was one also the most ruthlessly violent, with its many acts of torture and the frequency of attacks from one side or another-lots of deaths by beheading or slicing or impaling...it goes on and on. I guess overall, the series has had a lot of death and violence, since he's using samurai and ninja skills, but this one seemed excessive. There was also just a LOT of back and forth attacks and captures, and while it kept the pace of the story fast, it just seemed like TOO much going on, and often the few unlikely survivors being Jack and his friends just felt like it was TOO convenient that they kept managing to survive.

[Erni · Rating 5 out of 5]

(english translation below)

tu chyba nie ma dużo do powiedzenia. książka jest tak samo dobra, jak każda poprzednia i ma jeden bardzo, bardzo ważny fabularnie element, więc nie można jej pominąć. może wydawać się nieco różna od poprzednich tomów, bo jackowi cały czas towarzyszą ludzie, których już wcześniej poznał, i w trakcie podróży ich relacje się rozwijają (co jest bardzo intertekstualne; sam rozwój relacji nie stanowi jednego z wątków akcji, ale pod koniec widać, że każdemu bardziej na sobie zależy po tym, co razem przeżyli).

not much to say here. the book is as good as previous volumes and it has that one very, very important element for the plot so you can't skip it. this one can seem a little different than other volumes, because jack the whole time has to keep the safety of his friends in mind - friends he already knew - and during their journey their relationships develop (which isnt that obvious, you kinda have to read between the lines to see that as its not an individual arc, but at the end you can see that they are much more attached to each other).

[Panda Mother Supreme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, the first half bored me quite a bit. But when it came to the PRIATE ISLAND and it’s badass Pirate Queen, Tatsumaki, I was hooked. THE ACTION. THE BETRAYAL. THE TRAGEDY. I live for it all. Push through the first 150 pages and you’ll be in for a worthwhile treat. RIP for a second time Yamato.

Character Favourite: Tatsumaki

Top Quote: “Ten sailors wisely led will beat a hundred without a head” page 296

[15GrahamA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains jack and his friends having to escape wind ninjas( sea pirates) and sea samurai, the pirates want the rutters info and the sea samurai want to capture jack so he can be crucified by the Shogun. Jack and his friends manage to narrowly escape both pirates and the sea samurai( who are enemies to each other) to voyage closer to Nagasaki.

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pirate’s life for me

I’ll confess I found the first half of the book tedious - escape, capture, escape, capture, escape, capture. Storm, another storm, even more storm. Yawn. However once Jack and his friends are stuck on Pirate’s Island things begin to get very intriguing. Four strong stars for the second half of the book.

[Farseer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samurais, ninjas, pirates... Jack Fletcher's attempt to escape from Japan sure is complicated, despite the help of his loyal friends. This turns out to be an entertaining entry in this middle grade series. There is a lot of action, so don't expect great depth or character development, but it was a nice read.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting to see more of Jack's sailor skills, but still didn't find it adding anything to the need-to-get-out-of-Japan story arc. If anything, they went backwards. The one big thing was the apparent return of Dragon Eye?!

One more thing: where is Masomato?! Is he ever going to show up again? He just seems to have been forgotten. Same with Akiko.

[Merinereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die erste Hälfte des Buches war diesmal tatsächlich ziemlich brutal, die zweite wieder gewohnt spannend und actionreich.
Die Hauptantagonistin fand ich als Charakter ziemlich interessant, eine badass Piratenkönigin ist definitiv mal ein cooler Gegenspieler!
Außerdem gut gemacht fand ich in diesem Band definitiv das foreshadowing.

[f.rds · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly not Chris’s best work- I really liked the ring of water but I feel like the ring of fire and wind are just not that great and probably some of the worst books in the series. The plot is honestly just so boring and it was so hard to finish this book

[Jake Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is a good mixed between historical nonfiction source material and fiction creation the main character jack fletcher is a good take on the original sourced English man William Adams but for a young adult.

Jack fletchers guardian in the book shares a lot of characteristics of the source inspiration being that of Miyamoto Musashi.

The whole series from The way of the Warrior book to the Return of the Warrior book is excellent.

I especially liked the glossary in each book that helps teach you pronunciation of Japanese words and there English counterparts.

[Saskia (Smitie) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een stuk beter dan het vorige boek. Jack en zijn vrienden zijn overgeleverd aan de Seto binnenzee en alle gevaren die daarbij horen. Het boek zit weer vol actie en spanning. Jacks ervaring als zeeman komt nu ook meer tot zijn recht.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO MUCH ACTION IN THIS BOOK. OH MY GOD.

[Emile · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Nicholas Chowske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ninja? Pirates? Ninja-pirates? What's not to love?!

[samihah ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.4 stars ~

(spoiler for the previous book) I miss Hayato, man. :'(

[emma ♖ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice change of scenery but ultimately nothing new was added to the plot

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is one of my favourites of the series, I don't remember how much I liked it on my first read through but I'd put this on the same level as the way of the dragon (book #3).

[Nuqksh Sapra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack gets kidnapped by ninja pirates then sea samurai and ninja pirates again. he meets his arch nemisis dragon eye(dokugan ryu)