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The Legend of Sithalkaan #1
The Legend of Sithalkaan
The feudal strife of the Sengoku Jidai has soaked Japan in blood. Despite the perils, an ambitious young musketeer is chosen to guide a group of Jesuit priests deep into the Japanese hinterlands in search of an ancient and terrifying artifact. Alas, they are not the only ones pursuing it. A fanatical enemy willing to devastate the country in its wake has already launched its own campaign to seize it.
Villages vanish beneath the marching feet of bloodthirsty marauders.
Cauldrons of intolerant faith scorch the populace.
Lust for vengeance boils beneath the surface.
An eternity of pain hangs in the balance.
Unfathomable horrors grate the musketeer and his pious patrons. Blood will stain them. Grief will besiege them. But can they defy the odds and safeguard the artifact before this savage enemy unleashes a cataclysm on the country?
This is the first of a 4-book set.
Villages vanish beneath the marching feet of bloodthirsty marauders.
Cauldrons of intolerant faith scorch the populace.
Lust for vengeance boils beneath the surface.
An eternity of pain hangs in the balance.
Unfathomable horrors grate the musketeer and his pious patrons. Blood will stain them. Grief will besiege them. But can they defy the odds and safeguard the artifact before this savage enemy unleashes a cataclysm on the country?
This is the first of a 4-book set.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
420 pages, Paperback
First published April 17, 2015
20 people are currently reading
461 people want to read
About the author
J.N. de Bedout
6 books58 followersJ. N. de Bedout is a freelance fiction writer. His long career in software development, anchored by degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University, help him pay the bills and finance his passions, one of which is storytelling. A wife and dog complete his home in southeastern Texas.
The Legend of Sithalkaan
by J. N. de Bedout
Available on Amazon.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 7, 2019
The Legend of Sithalkaan is an epic adventure story set in feudal Japan. I’ve never read a story around this time period so some of the historical details were interesting to me and I could tell the author did a lot of research. Don’t miss out on the map and glossary at the very end!
The story focuses around a quest for an ancient artifact amidst a terrible battleground. It doesn’t skimp on the gory details either so this book might not be appropriate for younger or even squeamish readers, like myself. I had to skim the really intense portions.
Overall this book was a creative and imaginative tale that weaved a dose of fantasy into a rich and detailed history.
The story focuses around a quest for an ancient artifact amidst a terrible battleground. It doesn’t skimp on the gory details either so this book might not be appropriate for younger or even squeamish readers, like myself. I had to skim the really intense portions.
Overall this book was a creative and imaginative tale that weaved a dose of fantasy into a rich and detailed history.
January 15, 2019
While this book is targeted at a younger audience than I am, I enjoyed the twists and turns. I loved the historical details of feudal Japan There are some rather intense, gory scenes that might not be appropriate for younger readers. Descriptions of strategy, rituals, the impact of war and the people of power helped move the story from a simple tale to a richer one.
December 4, 2017
An interesting book - the setting gives it a really interesting twist, something a little more unusual. If you like a fantasy read then this has the right ingredients, an evil enemy, a race against time and a mysterious artefact. Perfect teen to YA read. Writing pace is quick, characters well draw as they embark on this epic adventure.
July 29, 2018
One of my favorite time periods—besides the middle ages—notably for its warrior culture, is feudal japan. As such, this was a real treat, and I have to say the clothing, weapons, and other cultural mechanics were described with careful detail. It is clear the author has done his homework.
Adventure unfolds as a motley crew searches for an ancient artifact, and the battles that happen along the way, while not sparing any blood and gore, keep things action-packed and exciting. I also enjoyed the characterization. The two harquebusiers, Kodu and Agedoru, added humor with their antics and questions, the ethnocentrism between them and their European priest party members adding even more laughs to the tale.
A few twists that I won’t mention here were pleasant surprises, and I’ll definitely need to grab the next book to see how it all plays out.
Adventure unfolds as a motley crew searches for an ancient artifact, and the battles that happen along the way, while not sparing any blood and gore, keep things action-packed and exciting. I also enjoyed the characterization. The two harquebusiers, Kodu and Agedoru, added humor with their antics and questions, the ethnocentrism between them and their European priest party members adding even more laughs to the tale.
A few twists that I won’t mention here were pleasant surprises, and I’ll definitely need to grab the next book to see how it all plays out.
March 2, 2019
The Legend of Sithalkaan by J.N. de Bedout is a sprawling, fantastical adventure set in medieval Japan. The story combines actual historical people and places with fictional characters and plot. The writing style reminded me of Robert E. Howard's classic Conan tales. A simple peasant soldier is thrust into a complex search for a mythical artifact while the Japanese countryside becomes a horrific battlefield as diabolical forces threaten to overrun the country.
I enjoyed the story and its creative mythology combined with a historical setting. Battle scenes are described in full strategic and gory detail, while pieces of the ancient supernatural mystery are unraveled. The Legend of Sithalkaan is part of a series, so complete resolution is not achieved by the end of the book, although the story breaks at an appropriate point.
On the negative side, I felt the story ran too long, burdened with repetitive scenes of our heroes fleeing danger. I found some dialogue anachronistic for the period, character point-of-view (POV) switching occurred more often than I enjoy, and the story had a significant amount of information dumps, where 'telling' overwhelmed 'showing.'
At its best, The Legend of Sithalkaan is an imaginative, page-turning, enthralling adventure, while at its worst, it becomes somewhat of a repetitive wild goose chase. However, in my opinion, the positive far outweighs the negative, making The Legend of Sithalkaan an exciting, enjoyable read.
I enjoyed the story and its creative mythology combined with a historical setting. Battle scenes are described in full strategic and gory detail, while pieces of the ancient supernatural mystery are unraveled. The Legend of Sithalkaan is part of a series, so complete resolution is not achieved by the end of the book, although the story breaks at an appropriate point.
On the negative side, I felt the story ran too long, burdened with repetitive scenes of our heroes fleeing danger. I found some dialogue anachronistic for the period, character point-of-view (POV) switching occurred more often than I enjoy, and the story had a significant amount of information dumps, where 'telling' overwhelmed 'showing.'
At its best, The Legend of Sithalkaan is an imaginative, page-turning, enthralling adventure, while at its worst, it becomes somewhat of a repetitive wild goose chase. However, in my opinion, the positive far outweighs the negative, making The Legend of Sithalkaan an exciting, enjoyable read.
May 2, 2019
The Legend of Sithalkaan is a fantasy novel that spans generations as it begins with a grandfather telling his grandchildren a story and soon travels to the Sengoku period. This was a particularly bloody and war-filled period for Japan and de Bedout's ability to meld fantasy and history actually had me intrigued enough to research what actually happened during that period.
One of the things I enjoyed most about de Bedout's writing style is his mastery of the narrative. His ability to paint a scene is impressive and made me feel as though I was right there in the moment. The story moved quickly even though the book is long and I was always curious about what happened next.
I've seen previous reviews that mention the book is geared more towards a YA/Teen audience. To me, the book is a bit violent and bloody for the younger end of that spectrum--especially since de Bedout is very good at describing torture and death scenes.
My one main criticism about the book is that the dialogue is a bit stilted. Though it is set in the late-Medieval period a lot of the vernacular used was modern. It felt a bit awkward against the beauty of the narrative but wasn't enough to keep me from enjoying the book.
Overall, if you aren't squeamish about blood and gore and love historical fantasy stories, I recommend this book for you.
One of the things I enjoyed most about de Bedout's writing style is his mastery of the narrative. His ability to paint a scene is impressive and made me feel as though I was right there in the moment. The story moved quickly even though the book is long and I was always curious about what happened next.
I've seen previous reviews that mention the book is geared more towards a YA/Teen audience. To me, the book is a bit violent and bloody for the younger end of that spectrum--especially since de Bedout is very good at describing torture and death scenes.
My one main criticism about the book is that the dialogue is a bit stilted. Though it is set in the late-Medieval period a lot of the vernacular used was modern. It felt a bit awkward against the beauty of the narrative but wasn't enough to keep me from enjoying the book.
Overall, if you aren't squeamish about blood and gore and love historical fantasy stories, I recommend this book for you.
May 8, 2019
A solid Historical Fantasy read
I can usually only give a 5 star rating to a book that, in spite of some flaws, overcomes those flaws in an overpowering way. This was a really solid book all around, but a few things knocked it down from 5. First the pros:
I've read some historical fantasy where the author clearly did zero research on the period. This is 100% NOT the case here. Place names, historical terms, even travel times between locations were all spot on. (Or close enough that you won't notice.) This consistency throughout led to a well-detailed world of Japan in the 1500s. Even noting which characters spoke what languages, or required a translator, was handled realistically. A+ The meat of the story is kind of a... Indiana Jones & friends vibe (emphasis: Temple of Doom), even though no one is actually the clear protagonist/Indy. There's ancient history, lots of action and battle, chases, escapes etc. A fun ride, though after maybe a slower start.
CONS (beware personal biases)
2 major things knocked this down a peg for me. For one, the book is written mostly in a 3rd person, past tense + omniscient. This can be a viable viewpoint but almost all commercial fiction I read is 3rd person+limited. It keeps the story tied to a specific character in each chapter. This really threw me in the early going, as I couldn't tell who the book was about, or if it was about everyone. In that way, there isn't a single focus. A few early scenes lacked any character anchor and if felt a bit like reading historical text. (Especially with the learning curve of in-period jargon found in the beginning.)
Secondly, as a matter of taste, the middle of the book was too gory for me. I skipped a few scenes to move on. While the ending battle was violent, it was not so graphic which was an improvement. Plenty of people like that sort of thing, so if that's your jam, add another .5 stars.
If you like feudal Japan, myths and legends with fantastic elements, I think you'll like this book.
I can usually only give a 5 star rating to a book that, in spite of some flaws, overcomes those flaws in an overpowering way. This was a really solid book all around, but a few things knocked it down from 5. First the pros:
I've read some historical fantasy where the author clearly did zero research on the period. This is 100% NOT the case here. Place names, historical terms, even travel times between locations were all spot on. (Or close enough that you won't notice.) This consistency throughout led to a well-detailed world of Japan in the 1500s. Even noting which characters spoke what languages, or required a translator, was handled realistically. A+ The meat of the story is kind of a... Indiana Jones & friends vibe (emphasis: Temple of Doom), even though no one is actually the clear protagonist/Indy. There's ancient history, lots of action and battle, chases, escapes etc. A fun ride, though after maybe a slower start.
CONS (beware personal biases)
2 major things knocked this down a peg for me. For one, the book is written mostly in a 3rd person, past tense + omniscient. This can be a viable viewpoint but almost all commercial fiction I read is 3rd person+limited. It keeps the story tied to a specific character in each chapter. This really threw me in the early going, as I couldn't tell who the book was about, or if it was about everyone. In that way, there isn't a single focus. A few early scenes lacked any character anchor and if felt a bit like reading historical text. (Especially with the learning curve of in-period jargon found in the beginning.)
Secondly, as a matter of taste, the middle of the book was too gory for me. I skipped a few scenes to move on. While the ending battle was violent, it was not so graphic which was an improvement. Plenty of people like that sort of thing, so if that's your jam, add another .5 stars.
If you like feudal Japan, myths and legends with fantastic elements, I think you'll like this book.
February 17, 2020
Exquisite pacing and detail earn this East meets West martial spectacular a full 5 stars. Only a handful of writers can pen an Enter the Dragon, Kung Fu, Heroes of the East, or The Challenge but this new kid on the block does it effortlessly, with no less than four thick novels in the series. He also manages to ease in an extra layer of the supernatural that reminds me of the better 80's East/West hybrid films like Conan the Barbarian, and Indiana Jones. But The Empire Strikes Back especially is what the opening battle reminds me of, with huge spaces filled with scintillating action. Bravo!
July 24, 2020
This is the first on a series and we get dropped into the middle of a feudal war in ancient Japan. Against this backdrop, we are introduced to a young musketeer, Agedoru who recently converted to Catholicism, and is assigned the role of guide and protector to a group of Jesuit monks who seek to travel into the deep back country of Japan. Their true purpose is not at first known, but eventually Agedoru discerns that the Monks are in pursuit of a rare and fabled artefact. Another is after the artefact, one who will stop at nothing, no deed to evil in order to possess it.
There was plenty of mention of gore scenes throughout the book by other reviewers and I did find this to be true. However, we need to keep in mind that this Feudal time in Japan’s history was a violent time. As such, I would not recommend this to young teenagers, but maybe someone around 18+? The dialogue was a bit stilted in places, but over all the book was a good story and I do not regret reading it.
There was plenty of mention of gore scenes throughout the book by other reviewers and I did find this to be true. However, we need to keep in mind that this Feudal time in Japan’s history was a violent time. As such, I would not recommend this to young teenagers, but maybe someone around 18+? The dialogue was a bit stilted in places, but over all the book was a good story and I do not regret reading it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews