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The Foreworld Saga
Cimarronin: A Samurai in New Spain #1
A disgraced outcast samurai living in early seventeenth-century Spain, Kitazume is contemplating ritual suicide when a divine force (of a sort) intervenes: Luis, a mischievous Jesuit priest and Kitazume’s longtime friend. At Luis’s insistence, the samurai agrees to help smuggle a Manchu princess to Mexico. But little does he know that he’s really been dragged into an epic struggle for power.
Several forces have their malicious sights set on the New World’s rich silver mines: an insurgent Spanish duke, political Chinese interests, and the escaped African slaves known as the cimarrónes. And working in secret among them is a mysterious, long-lost order that has its own plans for the precious metal.
As politics and greed collide, Kitazume must call upon his deadly skills once more. But he’s not just fighting to save his friends—he’s fighting for the redemption he so desperately craves.
Several forces have their malicious sights set on the New World’s rich silver mines: an insurgent Spanish duke, political Chinese interests, and the escaped African slaves known as the cimarrónes. And working in secret among them is a mysterious, long-lost order that has its own plans for the precious metal.
As politics and greed collide, Kitazume must call upon his deadly skills once more. But he’s not just fighting to save his friends—he’s fighting for the redemption he so desperately craves.
26 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 16, 2014
15 people are currently reading
501 people want to read
About the author
Neal Stephenson
89 books28.9k followersNeal Stephenson is the author of Reamde, Anathem, and the three-volume historical epic the Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World), as well as Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, Snow Crash, and Zodiac. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 27, 2017
One word for this volume: WOW!
I never read Foreworld Saga before, and I admit I checked this graphic novel for the cover art.
The art is detail and realistic enough but not too gory. The setting is so exotic: a Japanese ronin, a (devious) Jesuit priest, Spaniards, and Manchurians! the first pages are successfully gripped my attention.
wish the next volumes are as good as the this first one.
I never read Foreworld Saga before, and I admit I checked this graphic novel for the cover art.
The art is detail and realistic enough but not too gory. The setting is so exotic: a Japanese ronin, a (devious) Jesuit priest, Spaniards, and Manchurians! the first pages are successfully gripped my attention.
wish the next volumes are as good as the this first one.
October 7, 2015
Cimarronin opens in Manila in 1632 with a masterless samurai (i.e. a ronin, hence the latter part of the name) about to commit ritual suicide. The ronin, Kitazume, is interrupted by a Catholic priest who Kitazume knows and who—it’s hinted—has the kind of nefarious past that one has trouble reconciling with the priesthood. The priest offers Kitazume a mission.
The opening hooks one. It raises several questions that the reader will want answered: Why is a Japanese samurai hanging out in the Philippines in 1632? Students of Asian history will recognize that Japan’s long warring period is a couple decades past and there are a lot of warriors out of work. But is that all? Is the priest really a priest, and, if so, how does a blackguard end up a holy man? And most crucially, will Kitazume take the mission, and—if so—will he succeed (and will he be glad he did?) The reader always knows that the priest has something up his sleeve, but it’s only gradually revealed what that is.
We soon discover that Kitazume has some skill as a detective. This enhances our curiosity about the character. The higher echelons of law enforcement in feudal Japan were staffed by samurai, but it still adds another interesting dimension to the character.
The three book collection continues with the discovery that the priest is facilitating the transport of a Manchu princess to Mexico. (Philippines to Mexico, hence the “New Spain” subtitle reference.) The priest’s plot unfolds in the middle book, and we get a better picture of his scheme.
The second book ends with a fight with the Cimarrones—a bellicose, indigenous tribe (and the reason for the first part of the title,) and in the third and final book the Manchu Princess’s own scheme is revealed. The differing goals of the various major characters set up the potential for an excellent story. Kitazume has the simplest goal: to have a mission that makes life worthwhile and to conduct his life with some semblance of the virtue for which the samurai were known. The priest and princess weave a more complex web of scheming.
The story is peppered with flashback sequences that give us some of Kitazume’s backstory, and a substantial part of the third book is such backstory. The graphic artist uses a subdued scheme to make it readily apparent which panels are flashback and which are in the timeline of the story arc.
As this is the first three books of a larger collection, the ending is lacking (which is to say it’s not so much an ending as the set up for the story to unfold.) The story is much stronger in its beginning than its ending. The third book ends trying to entice one to read the concluding volumes more than it tries to wrap anything up. This situation also results in the fact that we don’t get a good picture of why Kitazume is the lead character in the story. I suspect that’s why there is so much backstory, to try to build sympathy and curiosity for the character while making him weak enough that his success is not apparent. At any rate, Kitazume doesn’t come off as the strongest or most competent character in the book by a long shot. Hopefully, this is so that he can pull out an underdog save in the end, but that’s just speculation.
I found this collection to set up an interesting story, but it doesn’t stand alone. It does have plenty of action and intrigue. If the historical fiction premise intrigues you, you may want to get the complete collection.
The opening hooks one. It raises several questions that the reader will want answered: Why is a Japanese samurai hanging out in the Philippines in 1632? Students of Asian history will recognize that Japan’s long warring period is a couple decades past and there are a lot of warriors out of work. But is that all? Is the priest really a priest, and, if so, how does a blackguard end up a holy man? And most crucially, will Kitazume take the mission, and—if so—will he succeed (and will he be glad he did?) The reader always knows that the priest has something up his sleeve, but it’s only gradually revealed what that is.
We soon discover that Kitazume has some skill as a detective. This enhances our curiosity about the character. The higher echelons of law enforcement in feudal Japan were staffed by samurai, but it still adds another interesting dimension to the character.
The three book collection continues with the discovery that the priest is facilitating the transport of a Manchu princess to Mexico. (Philippines to Mexico, hence the “New Spain” subtitle reference.) The priest’s plot unfolds in the middle book, and we get a better picture of his scheme.
The second book ends with a fight with the Cimarrones—a bellicose, indigenous tribe (and the reason for the first part of the title,) and in the third and final book the Manchu Princess’s own scheme is revealed. The differing goals of the various major characters set up the potential for an excellent story. Kitazume has the simplest goal: to have a mission that makes life worthwhile and to conduct his life with some semblance of the virtue for which the samurai were known. The priest and princess weave a more complex web of scheming.
The story is peppered with flashback sequences that give us some of Kitazume’s backstory, and a substantial part of the third book is such backstory. The graphic artist uses a subdued scheme to make it readily apparent which panels are flashback and which are in the timeline of the story arc.
As this is the first three books of a larger collection, the ending is lacking (which is to say it’s not so much an ending as the set up for the story to unfold.) The story is much stronger in its beginning than its ending. The third book ends trying to entice one to read the concluding volumes more than it tries to wrap anything up. This situation also results in the fact that we don’t get a good picture of why Kitazume is the lead character in the story. I suspect that’s why there is so much backstory, to try to build sympathy and curiosity for the character while making him weak enough that his success is not apparent. At any rate, Kitazume doesn’t come off as the strongest or most competent character in the book by a long shot. Hopefully, this is so that he can pull out an underdog save in the end, but that’s just speculation.
I found this collection to set up an interesting story, but it doesn’t stand alone. It does have plenty of action and intrigue. If the historical fiction premise intrigues you, you may want to get the complete collection.
October 16, 2014
A beautiful graphic novel! Historically well researched, and a fun read! I hope there are many more!
September 12, 2015
I bought this out of curiosity. I am not generally a reader of graphic novels, Manga, etc., but I was intrigued to see Neal Stephenson's name on the story. Overall the story was good, but not exceptional with bringing a ronin to New Spain and also coming along is a Chinese princess. There is a pretty good backstory of renegade slaves and the politics of the time in Spain, Japan and China. Perhaps I under rate the book because I am less appreciative of the media form.
February 23, 2018
Una historia de detectives con peleas entre Chinos Japoneses, Españoles y Aztecas. Sí.
Un samurai en la nueva España. Sí.
Katanas contra sables. Sí.
Una princesa guerrera en peligro. Oh Dios mío sí!
Muy divertido y muy bien dibujado.
La historia tiene tantas cosas geniales que es casi imposible quejarse de lo poco realista que es.
Un samurai en la nueva España. Sí.
Katanas contra sables. Sí.
Una princesa guerrera en peligro. Oh Dios mío sí!
Muy divertido y muy bien dibujado.
La historia tiene tantas cosas geniales que es casi imposible quejarse de lo poco realista que es.
February 10, 2015
Fun read!
The attention to detail and the story flow make this series great. The history is well-researched as are the combat situations.
The attention to detail and the story flow make this series great. The history is well-researched as are the combat situations.
September 4, 2017
Fun historical fiction...
...still, the Ronin literature is hard to break into without a truly compelling plot line. This is only slightly interesting.
...still, the Ronin literature is hard to break into without a truly compelling plot line. This is only slightly interesting.
February 15, 2018
Ugggghhhhh I wanted this to be sooo much better than it actually was. I mean, Neal Stephenson! But alas, this did not hit me. :(
July 19, 2016
Intriguing, not yet compelling.
August 12, 2016
Fun graphic novel and fanciful story, but wouldn't have read it — even from library — if it weren't for Neal Stephenson listed as an author. Bonus point for the puntastic title.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews