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Empire of Blood
In 1975, the Japanese Empire rules Asia with an iron fist—until the assassination of an Imperial Princess threatens to unravel everything.
Major Suzuki Wataru thought he understood loyalty—until the Empire he served ordered him to investigate the assassination of an Imperial Princess. His only ally is Lieutenant Park Ji-won, a newly assigned officer from Korea with her own covert agenda. Together, they navigate the treacherous underworld of Manchukuo, Japan’s puppet state in China, where every clue pulls them deeper into a web of lies, betrayal, and buried traumas.
Beneath layers of deception lies a conspiracy so explosive it could ignite war between Japan, Nazi Germany, and the USSR. As enemies close in and the line between loyalty and treason blurs, Suzuki and Park must uncover the truth—before it consumes them.
Major Suzuki Wataru thought he understood loyalty—until the Empire he served ordered him to investigate the assassination of an Imperial Princess. His only ally is Lieutenant Park Ji-won, a newly assigned officer from Korea with her own covert agenda. Together, they navigate the treacherous underworld of Manchukuo, Japan’s puppet state in China, where every clue pulls them deeper into a web of lies, betrayal, and buried traumas.
Beneath layers of deception lies a conspiracy so explosive it could ignite war between Japan, Nazi Germany, and the USSR. As enemies close in and the line between loyalty and treason blurs, Suzuki and Park must uncover the truth—before it consumes them.
- GenresMystery
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 3, 2025
11 people are currently reading
4328 people want to read
About the author
Munehito Moro
4 books37 followersMunehito Moro is a Japanese author who writes in English. Born in Ibaraki Prefecture, he grew up immersed in espionage novels. After studying at both the University of Tokyo and International Christian University, he earned a liberal arts degree, which, as it turns out, is only truly useful for crafting fiction.
A veteran English teacher, Moro channels his experiences and passions into his novels. His debut, Empire of Blood , examines Japan's imperialist past and the lingering shadows of historical atrocities. His second, Talking Cure , offers an incisive look at the life of an English teacher in Tokyo.
Instagram: @munehito_writing_japan
A veteran English teacher, Moro channels his experiences and passions into his novels. His debut, Empire of Blood , examines Japan's imperialist past and the lingering shadows of historical atrocities. His second, Talking Cure , offers an incisive look at the life of an English teacher in Tokyo.
Instagram: @munehito_writing_japan
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 15, 2025
Page Turner!
This book was unlike anything I have read before. The beginning was calm and then out of nowhere everything changed! I really enjoy material that avoids falling into common themes or predictable patterns. Feeling like “WOW! I did not see that coming!” is great because it keeps me guessing and wanting to know more. I look forward to exploring other books by this author.
This book was unlike anything I have read before. The beginning was calm and then out of nowhere everything changed! I really enjoy material that avoids falling into common themes or predictable patterns. Feeling like “WOW! I did not see that coming!” is great because it keeps me guessing and wanting to know more. I look forward to exploring other books by this author.
April 4, 2025
read in one sitting!
Reminiscent of “A Man in High Castle”, but set entirely in East Asia. Seamlessly blends history with speculative historical fiction, with a consistent plot that keeps the reader on their toes. Truly enjoyed this book and looking forward to the author writing more!
Reminiscent of “A Man in High Castle”, but set entirely in East Asia. Seamlessly blends history with speculative historical fiction, with a consistent plot that keeps the reader on their toes. Truly enjoyed this book and looking forward to the author writing more!
February 17, 2025
An alt-history thriller worth reading
What if the Allies hadn’t won WWII? Munehito Moro writes this espionage tale from the perspective of a post-Axis-win. Set in 1970’s Japan, Maj Suzuki, an Imperial Army intelligence officer turned instructor, and his partner, Lt Park, a new Korean instructor, are sent on a mission to unravel the assassination of Japan’s beloved princess. During their mission, they discover more about each other, their pasts, and their reasons for joining the Army. As they uncover clues, Suzuki is attacked in his hotel room. The assailant asks him about Otani, which means one of the suspects in the princess’ assassination is still missing. As the investigation is coming to an end, both are arrested by the Kwantung Army. During their interrogation Park and Suzuki piece together the involvement of a communist organization, the opium trade, and a secret Kwantung Army research facility. Without spoiling too much of plot, they’re rescued and returned to the Japanese homeland for debriefing. In their debrief, they reveal most of what they’d learned, leaving out selective details. They also learn of a larger plot allying the Germans and Kwantung Army against the USSR. Upon leaving the debrief and returning home, Suzuki receives a call from Park asking him to meet her in a hotel room. I’ll omit the ending as I highly recommend this book and want to encourage others to read it. I hope this is one of many from Munehito Moro. His world building, character development, and plot lines are fantastic. The storyline progressed quickly and kept me engaged. I am grateful to have received this book as a giveaway as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
What if the Allies hadn’t won WWII? Munehito Moro writes this espionage tale from the perspective of a post-Axis-win. Set in 1970’s Japan, Maj Suzuki, an Imperial Army intelligence officer turned instructor, and his partner, Lt Park, a new Korean instructor, are sent on a mission to unravel the assassination of Japan’s beloved princess. During their mission, they discover more about each other, their pasts, and their reasons for joining the Army. As they uncover clues, Suzuki is attacked in his hotel room. The assailant asks him about Otani, which means one of the suspects in the princess’ assassination is still missing. As the investigation is coming to an end, both are arrested by the Kwantung Army. During their interrogation Park and Suzuki piece together the involvement of a communist organization, the opium trade, and a secret Kwantung Army research facility. Without spoiling too much of plot, they’re rescued and returned to the Japanese homeland for debriefing. In their debrief, they reveal most of what they’d learned, leaving out selective details. They also learn of a larger plot allying the Germans and Kwantung Army against the USSR. Upon leaving the debrief and returning home, Suzuki receives a call from Park asking him to meet her in a hotel room. I’ll omit the ending as I highly recommend this book and want to encourage others to read it. I hope this is one of many from Munehito Moro. His world building, character development, and plot lines are fantastic. The storyline progressed quickly and kept me engaged. I am grateful to have received this book as a giveaway as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
February 20, 2025
WOW
This book took on such a crazy, complex, and amazing ride! The idea of a Japanese empire after WW2 was executed beautiful through the eyes of an intelligence officer for the empire. We see the complexity of politics, the urge to do the right thing, and the insane adventures of espionage. Munehito Moro brings you on the edge of your seat as you go along this journey of bringing to light the plan of the assassination of the Empire’s beloved Princess. We see the in depth processing of thoughts from our main character, Major Suzuki, which highlights the impressive character development and strong storytelling. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery novels and historical fiction!
This book took on such a crazy, complex, and amazing ride! The idea of a Japanese empire after WW2 was executed beautiful through the eyes of an intelligence officer for the empire. We see the complexity of politics, the urge to do the right thing, and the insane adventures of espionage. Munehito Moro brings you on the edge of your seat as you go along this journey of bringing to light the plan of the assassination of the Empire’s beloved Princess. We see the in depth processing of thoughts from our main character, Major Suzuki, which highlights the impressive character development and strong storytelling. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mystery novels and historical fiction!
March 2, 2025
Empire of Blood by Munehito Moro has an interesting start through the historic lectures in a spy academy where they teach not only how to be a good spy but also what went wrong in past wars and missions.
If you like espionage stories with political thrillers, go for this book. It’s also an interesting read for people who want to learn about other cultures.
The author did a great job for their first English language novel. This is a very well-written story that will keep you engaged and wanting to read more. I loved how all the loose ends were tied up in the end. There were callbacks from the first few chapters at the end of the book. This tells the author did a good job of characterizing.
If you like espionage stories with political thrillers, go for this book. It’s also an interesting read for people who want to learn about other cultures.
The author did a great job for their first English language novel. This is a very well-written story that will keep you engaged and wanting to read more. I loved how all the loose ends were tied up in the end. There were callbacks from the first few chapters at the end of the book. This tells the author did a good job of characterizing.
September 11, 2025
This book only took me so long to read (if anyone can see my dates read) because I wasn't used to reading ebooks at the time I started it. I read the whole second half in a day. (Though I wasn't doing much else.)
This was an exciting read and was very twisty. If I could give half star ratings, it'd be 4.5 stars.
(I've never written a review, but wanted to explain why it took so long to read, and there's no way to make notes, only reviews.)
This was an exciting read and was very twisty. If I could give half star ratings, it'd be 4.5 stars.
(I've never written a review, but wanted to explain why it took so long to read, and there's no way to make notes, only reviews.)
Read
April 5, 2025I bailed at page 38. The translation was awful. The prose was wooden, and there were grammatical and spelling errors on almost every page. And the story hadn't started yet. If someone has read a better translation, I'm eager to try it.
May 2, 2025
Suspenseful and excitingly twisty.
A really original story that was written to grab your interest and not let go!
A really original story that was written to grab your interest and not let go!
July 27, 2025
Wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. It was a fun, quick read. Alternate history historical fiction with an engaging mystery. Clearly set up for a sequel but also stands on its own.
I won a copy of this book from a goodreads giveaway.
I won a copy of this book from a goodreads giveaway.
April 12, 2025
Empire Of Blood Forged by Creativity & Espionage
“Korea is part of the Empire of Japan. It has been so far for the last six decades.” Park told him. The year is 1975. Major Suzuki Wataru is training the empire’s next generation of imperial spies at the Nakano school while also trying to deal with a past that haunts him. When a plucky strong willed Korean recruit Lieutenant Park arrives to work with Suzuki, things get exciting and change forever when the Princess of Japan is assassinated and both are drawn into espionage, spying and secrets that the empire had kept since winning the war. What, Japan won the war? That’s impossible! Allow my review to take you to the world of alternate history where Japan won the second World War…
Story, Writing, & Characters
The story is excellent because it makes us ponder & wonder What if history had happened this way? It’s almost reminiscent of The Man In The High Castle that amazon had as a show over a decade ago where Germany, Italy & Japan had won World War II and it’s a scary reality to consider. The writing flows well. It starts off a little slow at first, but things quickly get exciting when the assassination happens. I also enjoy the twists as to who was involved in the assassination of the princess and why. Suzuki & Park work well together and are likeable characters and both, especially Suzuki, grow throughout the story. The ending leaves me wanting for more. I could read several books about Suzuki & Park’s adventures. Munehito proves he’s very versatile when being creative with new stories. This is different from his book Talking Cure. If you enjoy books that tell of an alternate history or are a historical fiction fan in general, I suggest ordering a copy of Empire Of Blood by Munehito Moro.
“Korea is part of the Empire of Japan. It has been so far for the last six decades.” Park told him. The year is 1975. Major Suzuki Wataru is training the empire’s next generation of imperial spies at the Nakano school while also trying to deal with a past that haunts him. When a plucky strong willed Korean recruit Lieutenant Park arrives to work with Suzuki, things get exciting and change forever when the Princess of Japan is assassinated and both are drawn into espionage, spying and secrets that the empire had kept since winning the war. What, Japan won the war? That’s impossible! Allow my review to take you to the world of alternate history where Japan won the second World War…
Story, Writing, & Characters
The story is excellent because it makes us ponder & wonder What if history had happened this way? It’s almost reminiscent of The Man In The High Castle that amazon had as a show over a decade ago where Germany, Italy & Japan had won World War II and it’s a scary reality to consider. The writing flows well. It starts off a little slow at first, but things quickly get exciting when the assassination happens. I also enjoy the twists as to who was involved in the assassination of the princess and why. Suzuki & Park work well together and are likeable characters and both, especially Suzuki, grow throughout the story. The ending leaves me wanting for more. I could read several books about Suzuki & Park’s adventures. Munehito proves he’s very versatile when being creative with new stories. This is different from his book Talking Cure. If you enjoy books that tell of an alternate history or are a historical fiction fan in general, I suggest ordering a copy of Empire Of Blood by Munehito Moro.
November 20, 2025
Empire of Blood
A man working for the government with no prospects of advancement. Then tragedy strikes and he becomes the main suspect. From there he becomes the lead investigator. Needing to piece together what happened while flying under the radar is becoming impossible. Thanks to his helper, they are able to figure out what they set out to do, and managed to stay alive. But what happens now?
#GoodreadsGiveaways
A man working for the government with no prospects of advancement. Then tragedy strikes and he becomes the main suspect. From there he becomes the lead investigator. Needing to piece together what happened while flying under the radar is becoming impossible. Thanks to his helper, they are able to figure out what they set out to do, and managed to stay alive. But what happens now?
#GoodreadsGiveaways
December 2, 2025
I thought the book was good. My biggest concern is that it is written in the first person with no counter arguments to add tension and drama to the story. I know it is war time but it would have been to have multiple characters who are fletch out and a richer story for the readers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews