Der Ring des Himmels

Young Samurai #8

by Chris Bradford

Jack wich vor seinem Gegner zurück. Die Bretter der Brücke knackten unter seinen Füßen und er spürte, wie er abrutschte. Er ließ sich mit dem Gewicht nach hinten fallen, unfähig, sich zu verteidigen. Kazuki hob das Schwert, um es Jack ins Herz zu stoßen.
„Jetzt bekomme ich meine Rache, Gaijin.“

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

480 pages, Hardcover

First published August 2, 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]

A great book and an incredible series. I loved every book in this series. 8 book 5 stars each 40 stars in all.

Another book that has it all great story, lots of action, and great characters. Curse you Chris Bradford, you made me care and angry for every character. I cheered there every victory, and felt their/my frustration at every obstacle and set back, and of course sadness for their sacrifices.

Jack is on the final leg of the journey. They say the final push to the finish is the hardest, and that is definitely true of this book. Jack and his friends and going to have put all their skills, courage, loyalty and morals to the test.

I love all the aspects of the Martial Arts the spiritual, the mental and the physical. If your are any type of Martial Arts fan this book has you and me covered. Looking back over the series I can see Jack's skills evolve. This book will show many resolutions and the end of Jack's journey in Japan one way or the other. I have heard the there is going to be a book 9 in the future, I can't wait and my expectations are sky high.

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In The Ring of Sky, the last book in the Young Samurai series, Jack Fletcher finds himself washed ashore after a fierce storm. His friends, drowned. So alone he must finish his quest to find the port city of Nagasaki where he hopes to find a ship bound for England. Pursued by the Shogun, his school rival, Kazuki and his Scorpion gang, with the bounty on his head growing insanely large, it seems the entire nation of Japan is out to get him. But now Nagasaki is close, only a few days away. Or is it?

As with all the books in this series, I found the book to be a quick and exciting read. Jack seems to go from one fire to the next. Although the manner in which he escapes isn’t always believable it’s still a fun read. It’s this unbelievable side to the book that stopped me from giving it five stars.

Any young reader that is into martial arts will love this book and of course the entire series. It’s definitely worth the read.

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 Seven - The Ring of Wind

[Atharva Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Samurai Book 8
*The Ring of Sky*
Oh! I never ever did realize that the book would end in this way! Don't get sacred, it's a happy ending, but unbelievable and surprising beyond imagination. There are ups and downs in the book but the end is just perfect. So let's begin. In the ultimate book of the series, Jack Fletcher is on the run from Shogun's Samurais(Yet Again) and Kazuki, his archenemy and is on a quest to reach Port Nagasaki to grab a ship that will take him to England and reunite him with his sisters. The book begins after a period of a week from the Way of the Wind where Jack is adrift on an island and believes his friends, Yori, Saburo and Miyuki are dead. Running from the Shogun, he discovers a joker and an entertainer Benkai, a funny and cheerful character who helps him throughout the book and they both run thrown the Nine Hells area to reach a new village but again are surrounded by Samurai when Jack is reunited with his Sensei Kyuzo who beats him up and cuts off his little finger, much to his sorrow. Next, Jack escapes Kyuzo and lands into a peaceful home of an elderly person who teaches his to cope up with his loss of finger, i proves his stance and gives tips about the two heavens technique. Next, our band of heroes is reunited with Miyuki, Yori and Saburo, which brings Jack lot of happiness and joy but again trapped by Samurai, they frame a quick plan and activate a volcano and rescue to the villagers. Next, Kzuki shows up and we have a stunning fight on the bridge where Jack hurts Kazuki very much but later on Benkei is trapped by a group of Ronin's and Jack helps him free a circus dance performer from the bandits but the bandits in turn try to decapitate our heroes and are saved yet again by Akiko1 Yes, you heard it right! Akiko, from the Iten Ryu and Jack['s most beloved friend. So with another happy reunion, they move on towards Nagasaki but a death trap awaits them where Kazuki has arranged a group of sixty ronin and hacks Jack, Akiko, Miyuki, Benkei, Saburo and Yori altogether. There's a lot of fighting, bloodshed, loss of life and emotional turbulence here. Miyuki, sadly dies here and everybody else is running away to Nagasaki, but before that Jack drives his sword through Kazuki, still failing to kill him. Young Samurai reach the Nagasaki Port and find a Dutch Ship that will take jack to England but Kazuki returns and threatens the Captain to give back jack Fletcher. Jack and his friends get ready to be burnt at the stake but a messenger appears and inform tha the Shogun is dead and saves our Young Samurai​. Jack, surprisingly along with Yoir and Akiko leave Japan, with tears and​ mourning and head for England. That's the end of our Young Samurai series. That was the story and I hope you find it interesting. Here's the review:-
The first part of the book is terrible with all the running and escaping and more samurai's keep flooding up, not entirely good, the story fails except the appearance of Kyuzo and the Paintbrush tutorials by that old wise guy. But mostly the first part is just running and escaping. I like the new character, Benkei who tries to stay cheerful and tries to stay nonchalant at even the most desperate times. It's also funny how he helps Jack and the circus parade, who too play a very important role in a few chapters. There's a lot of hiding and secrecy involved. involved. I don't know why Mr. Bradford framed Miyuki, Saburo and Yori dead without a more detailed explanation, which makes it a 100% sure that they will return to save Jack and that's what happens. Jack gets his neck saved a ton of times, sometimes costing the lives of his friend, Miyuki later. The plot develops slowly. The book feels like a triad of chapters forming a short story and after filling in the gaps and just filling up 150 pages the story begins. There are 3 appearances of Kazuki, each time ending with a duel and Kazuki getting hurt. The first time is on the volcanic bridge and heavy sword dueling with Jack, alone. Jack, is a little set back as he fails to perfectly deliver​ blows due to his little finger decapitation. Soon, Akiko appears, I mean I certainly didn't see that coming. After she appears and saves Jack there's a lot of emotional feelings. A lot of love, friendship and emotional attachment, helpfulness is given more than necessary highlighting. It affects the readers positively in the end. Moving on to the best part of the book, there's a lot of blood, fire, sword duels, arrows, piercing, suffocation, screaming, praying, healing and death at the mega trap where we see a lot of action and turbulence of power. Kazuki completely loses here. Miyuki gives up her life? Was that necessary, I always liked her. Should have substituted Saburo instead. Anyways, moving on the ring of the sky is revealed near the end. Jack has finally perfected his skills and saved the life of his friends in redemption. The end is just thrilling and surprising. Akiko and Yori also come aboard with Jack. Masamoto teaches a lot of things to Jack and many mysteries are unveiled. In case, you wondered, Dragon eye​ does not make an appearance in this book, that mystery was settled in the previous book. Many positive and inspiring thoughts, quotes and feeling are highlighted in the book which make it a wonderful read, specially the second half. And we get to learn about a hoard of new terms and words here. Japanese culture​ is not portrayed much in the story. What a great way to end this series, with a massive reunion and and some major character deaths. I'll always remember these characters who have been through so much and risked their life for their friends. This series really puts up morals and values for young generation and carves the mind with gentle, yet fascinating stories that you can learn a ton from. Farewell, Jack and all the young samurai that enlightened my life for the past month. It's really been an amazing, fascinating and a thrilling journey. Nice Reading!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in my mid-twenties and I think this series is the bomb diggity. I know rights have been purchased for a TV series, but these are so good they deserve a major Hollywood blockbuster series. Amirite, or amirite?

Although I enjoyed other books in the series more, this final book was no let down. It was great to have most of the major characters reunited with some new ones introduced as well. I thought the author did a great job of bringing new characters into the series, like JunJun, without overwhelming us with too much detail about them. I guess SOMEONE had to die, but it would have been nice for Miyuki to have pulled some crazy ninja magic and lived. Sigh.

The ending was satisfactory and while I'd obviously LOVE a ninth book, I feel satisfied with how the story was wrapped up. Personally, I was hoping that Jack's sister, Jess, had pulled a totally rad stunt and sailed across the ocean, looking for Jack and their father after they didn't return home on schedule, allowing all of the characters to stay in Japan. A girl can dream, right?

[Jakub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Długa to była droga, podobnie jak Jacka do domu. Cudownie było wrócić do opowieści z dzieciństwa i spotkać się ponownie z Japonią XVII wieku. Piękna opowieść o odwadze, lojalności, przyjaźni i miłości, dla której bez wahania poświęca się życie. Wszystko to napisane językiem przystępnym dla dzieci. Uważam, że jest to idealna książka, by zainteresować najmłodszych historią dalekiego wschodu jak i samymi sztukami walki, których rodzajów niemało na przestrzeni wszystkich ośmiu tomów. Dla mnie nostalgiczna podróż do przeszłości i mimo tego, że niekiedy historia wydawała się rozwleczona i zbyt uproszczona, to wciąż uważam ją za kompletną i dobrze zakończoną. Jako podsumowanie można napisać, że książki idealnie ukazują, że nic nie jest ani czarne ani białe i zawsze należy zapoznać się z dwoma stronami medalu oraz by umieć wybaczać - idealne morały dla dzieci. 5/5

[Adeeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. This series is great! Don't get put off because it's a middle grade series. It's really awesome

[Len · Rating 4 out of 5]

Take away the love interest, the glimpses of traditional Japanese culture and the respect for non-British people and societies and this is a strangely old fashioned style of adventure story. It harks back to the time when young male adventurers had names such as Frank Fearless or Jack Trueheart and could better their enemies with peerless swordsmanship and true British fighting spirit. If they are captured have no fear. Whatever their dire imprisonment there is always the phrase, "with one bound Jack was free" to hold in reserve.

So it is with Jack Fletcher's final traumatic journey as a samurai in seventeenth century Japan. He falls into all sorts of scrapes and battles and always comes battered and bruised but smiling gamely. Whether he is facing a turncoat martial arts instructor in hand to hand combat, ranks of ferocious ronin, or the flames of his execution pyre something always happens to pull him through. Coincidence plays a big part in his survival. In one scene Jack and his pals have stolen a rich man's palanquin so that Jack may be smuggled into a city unseen. But where will they find four strong men to carry it when they are all alone?

"'Perhaps we can help?' said a familiar voice.

Jack and the others spun to discover the old farmer Takumi standing unexpectedly behind them.
He was accompanied by four younger men from the Christian village they'd saved.

'What are you doing here?' exclaimed Jack."

I was going to ask the same question. The answer is complex and involves a vindictive samurai lord, an erupting volcano and a deadly landslide. You really have to read the book to get to the bottom of it.

If you are looking for common sense and reality this book is probably not for you. On the other hand, if you want high adventure, sword fighting, cruelty, violence, evil villains, courageous heroes, a bit of romance - but no much, and a desperate quest to be achieved, you need go no further. You have found the book series you must have longed for. And if you're about twelve years old, or twelve years old at heart, even better.

[Wadana Kakakhel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost feel bad for giving the other books in the series five stars because if they're five stars this deserves six!

I just finished this book like five minutes ago, and I'm so shook right now. It's a good kind of shook. I don't want to give any spoilers so I'm not going to go into much detail but I just want to say: the ending will drive you insane. I'm literally lost at the moment.

This was such an emotional roller coaster, reading about Jack's journey through the pages of eight friggin' books all led up to this last moment. It's crazy. You're happy but you're sad but you're thinking about how that's virtually impossible but somehow that's exactly what you feel and you don't know what Chris Bradford has done to you but the only thing that you're sure of is this: THE YOUNG SAMURAI IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOK SERIES TO HAVE EVER EXISTED. Legit. It's not even an overstatement. More likely to be an understatement! I honestly don't know what else to say, this series touched my heart.

I'm not going to say anything else because I'm currently in the midst of a fangirl outburst and I'm afraid if I continue I'm most probably going to end up sounding like a lunatic who needs to see a shrink. (Which I am...)

[15GrahamA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great but sad ending to the young samurai series. Miyuki dies at the hands of Kazuki and his ronin after saving Jack from a daiymos prison and running to Nagasaki. He also meets a friend called Benkei who helps him through by guiding him but has to be saved many times. Also Jacks sensei Kyuzo cuts jacks little finger off at a prison so jack must learn a new way of using the two heavens to beat Kazuki. Jack and his friends are pinned to stakes at the end as they try to board a ship to Nagasaki but the Shogun dies before they got caught so a Dayimo who is jacks friend as he saved her sister, takes over and orders Jack and his friends to be taken off the stakes so they wouldn't burn. Kazuki sets the stakes alight so jack must use the ring of sky with a ninja friend Zenjubo to cause rain to put out the fire.

[Panda Mother Supreme · Rating 5 out of 5]

INCREDIBLE SERIES. MY HEART WHEN MIYUKI DIES. I was waiting for her to spring out of no where. I was transfixed in the last few chapter, so much was happening - everything was unfolding.

I am pleased with the end of Jack Fletcher’s journey. All the characters are beautifully written. My personality resonates with Yori and who can’t appreciates Benkei’s unconventional humour.

The next book is a definite must-read - a top priority on my list. I wish the story to never end, but with its close I will continue to feel the essence of “the way of the warrior”.

Favourable quotes:

Pg 60
“Pain is inevitable but suffering is optional”

Pg 301
“-the Way of a Warrior is not to destroy and kill, but to foster life. To protect it.”

[Fawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good series for understanding the world of 'shipping'. When the plot was more important than the love life. ;(

[Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack found new friends and was trapped in a fight with his old school bully, Kazuki. He defeated him and went on a boat with his friends back to England.

[Tanzeela · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHAT AN AWESOME BOOK. I can't beleive he actually left Japan. Can't wait to read the last book.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting final chapter in this series. I was getting emotional toward the end of the book. I'm so glad finished this series

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

'I always knew what sacrifice I might have to make for you, Jack. And I do so with all my heart.'

Ik ben vier jaar lang - vier jaar! - bezig geweest met het herlezen van deze reeks uit te stellen, en dat heeft alles te maken met dit boek. Hou je dus maar vast.

Laten we beginnen met een paar positieve punten. Ten eerste, het is doorheen het hele boek te merken dat Jacks reis ten einde komt, want de laatste loodjes wegen het zwaarst. Er zijn de hele tijd problemen, het ganse boek door, en dat maakt het echt ontzettend spannend. Je verveelt je hier geen moment.
En het is dan maar voor heel even, en op het einde van het boek, maar Masamoto keert terug, mét goed nieuws.
Oh ja, mijn naam staat trouwens in dit boek, helemaal achteraan bij de dankbetuiging. Dat heb ik te danken aan een kleine wedstrijd. Dus da's wel leuk.

Maar dan! Dit boek heeft mij een van de meest dramatische en traumatische leeservaringen ooit bezorgd. (Ik zet dit in spoiler, en het is een lange spoiler met veel uitleg. Je bent gewaarschuwd.)
Miyuki gaat dood.
Als er nu één personage was dat van mij niet dood had mogen gaan, was zij het wel. Want Miyuki was awesome.
Laat me het meteen nuanceren: ik begrijp dat er een oplossing gezocht moest worden. Bradford zat met een liefdesdriehoek die hij weg moest krijgen. Akiko was verliefd op Jack, Miyuki ook, en Jack was eigenlijk enkel op Akiko verliefd. (Hij had Miyuki gerust aan mij mogen geven, maar ja, dat ging natuurlijk niet...)
Miyuki moest dus verdwijnen. Met dat feit op zich heb ik geen problemen, dat begrijp ik best. Maar de manier waarop ze aan haar einde komt, vind ik verschrikkelijk. Te gruwelijk voor woorden, en veel te onverwacht ook. Een personage als zij verdient beter, als je 't mij vraagt, en dat hebben we niet gekregen.
Voor een deel klopt het wel, wat later in het boek gezegd wordt: ze is als ninja ten onder gegaan. Daarmee ga ik akkoord, maar dan nog had de auteur wel een iets minder verschrikkelijk einde kunnen verzinnen. Of hij had haar gewoon kunnen laten leven, dat had best mogelijk geweest. Helaas...
Nu ik de hele reeks heb doorgelezen, heb ik de indruk dat er een in dit boek én het vorige een paar momenten zijn waarop er al naar gehint wordt. Dat maakte het nog erger om dit boek te lezen.
Bon, laat het gezegd zijn: als ik dit boek uitlees, dan voel ik me altijd gedeprimeerd. Ik heb dringend iets anders nodig om te lezen en om m'n gedachten te verzetten.

6/10. Het spijt me, maar ik kan echt niet meer geven.

[Intan Musa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack's journey brought him to Nagasaki. Along the way, he met Benkei, Junjun, Yori, Saburo, Miyuki and Akiko. Together they helped a village of Christians and were almost burned at the stake. Kazuki also got to know of Jack's whereabouts and ambushed Jack. He was also almost burnt at the stake. But Masamoto came at the last moment to announce that the Shogun had died. And that Jack had been pardoned. Luckily, there was a Dutch ship that was willing to send Jack back to England. Yori and Akiko agreed to follow him home. Jack felt complete with Akiko's presence and was assured with Yori presence. He was finally going back to see Jess.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last action filled adventure of this excellent 8 book series.
Jack gets to finally set out for home, but he brings a little bit of Japan with him.

I know that authors bring books and series to an end, but the strength of this is that I want it to continue and to find out what happens next.

[Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The balance of Chris’s mind and spirit

I think the thing I appreciated most about this series is the balance of Chris’s mind and spirit. He knows Hollywood has made ninjas assassins and evil, so in this book we meet many who are brave and principled and compassionate. He knows Hollywood and global culture revere the samurai so he shows us how wicked many of them were. Yes he shows us true bushido too but still, he seeks to balance everything out. He expresses kindness to Buddhist and Shinto beliefs AND to Christianity as well. He shows how Christians were mercilessly persecuted at different times during the Edo period, in this case the early 1600s. His love for Japan and its martial arts like ninjitsu doesn’t make him try to cover up the failings of feudal Japan. If our world could hold all things in balance like Chris does how much better off we would be. Think of it as balancing sunlight on the tip of your katana. Not easily maintained for any length of time as your arm tires and the sun moves across the sky, but beautiful to see on a well-polished steel blade for as long as you can hold it and balance the sun between earth and sky.

[Jolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers in this review so read at your own risk
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My only complaint is that the gate that blocked off Miyuki was made of bamboo. They have steel swords, that only a few paragraphs back cut through other, (although battle-worn) steel swords. Surely they could've made two cuts to the bars and made a hole Miyuki could've escaped through.

This is not a complaint about the sword though sword as that is technically possible. My complaint is that Chris Bradford or one of his proof-readers could've realised that those bars needed to be made of metal not maybe. Which going by the other things they have at that time would've been entirely possible and smth Kazuki should've known before setting up the trap.

However, I do really like that Miyuki was the one to die. Her sacrifice fitted her character and the way the others reacted was very in-character and written astoundingly. But from no on any rereads I will be imaging those bars as metal.

[Farseer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack, separated from his firends after the events of the previous book, has to travel the last stretch of his journey to Nagasaki, where he hopes to find a European ship that can take him back to England. Of course, the persecution against foreigners in general and against him in particular continues, and his former school mate and rival, Kazuki, is in charge of the hunt.

At this point in the series, everyone knows what to expect. Adventures, dangers and friendship, without too much depth but entertaining enough. I think I have mentioned in my reviews of previous books in the series that, after Jack left the samurai school, the series has gone on a bit too long, but here we finally get some resolution. The fate of the different characters is decided, and I can't say more to avoid spoilers. There is one book more in the series, but the story of Jack in Japan concludes here.

[Merinereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nur noch ein Buch, und dann ist die Reihe auch leider schon zuende....
Dieser Band war wieder ziemlich heftig was Action und Spannung betrifft, und ich liebe es wie die Kampfszenen einfach immer kreatives Chaos sind!
Auch gut fand ich die Weiterführung von Jacks und Kazukis Konflikt, der sich in den letzten Bänden bereits aufgebaut und gesteigert hat. Das was in diesem Buch passiert ist, war auf kurz oder lang unvermeidlich.
Ein paar mal hatte ich echt Angst um die Charaktere, so oft wie es ihnen in diesem Band beinahe an den Kragen ging.
Zum Ende wurde es nochmal richtig knapp und aufregend, und ich fand es eine sehr gute Einleitung für den letzten Band!

[Anh Dang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hãy lắng nghe trái tim, con sẽ tìm được đường về...

Mình thích kiểu truyện hành động xen lẫn tình cảm này thực sự. Đọc 7 cuốn đầu của bộ này từ 3 năm trước, nhưng là sách đi mượn nên là thiếu mất tập cuối, giờ mới đọc được nốt. Đây là một bộ truyện hơi hướng kiếm hiệp, hành động nhưng không lạnh lùng, khô khan mà được kết hợp nhuần nhuyễn với cảm xúc, tình cảm. Không có nhiều tình cảm nam nữ, mà chủ yếu là tình bạn, tình thân, gia đình. Tình tiết biến chuyển nhanh nên không nhàm chán. Nói chung là mình thích 😍

[Uzair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Akiko again.I would rathe rhave it if w=she was still at Toba, makes the whole series better. and more realistic.And for some reason Kazuki can never win,even with Metsuke and all that he has.I mean Masamoto just Miraculously arrives at the end?And again the Ring of Sky was kinda pushed in.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ending to the series (? I heard he is writing a new one coming out soon, I guess a follow up , because this one pretty much ended Jack’s adventure and wrapped things up nicely). It really wrapped up Jack’s story in a satisfying way. Although not everything is happy, it was a good ending.

[Dan Bokete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn that ending almost left me in tears. The journey that felt like it would end truly happily, did. Chris Bradford the author that introduced me into reading, my first love(not literally). How lucky am I. Out of all the books in this world, I landed at your masterpiece, I could never be happier!

[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.

[Mörderchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the series but the end was a little dissapointing.

[Sankalp R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible run to freedom for Jack. Dangerous, Hunted and Lost. My heart goes out to Miyuki.
The ending is totally unexpected.

[TheReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is just amazing! And this book is a worty ending. It was perfect...

[Emile · Rating 5 out of 5]

good