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Sword of the Taka Samurai #2
Cold Rain: Yamabuki and the Warlord Prince
Ancient Japan: a medieval land of stunning beauty and unspeakable brutality...
In a grand bid to preserve the royal bloodline, the warlord, General Moroto has personally trained his daughter and last surviving child, Yamabuki, in the art of war and rulership.
Not-yet seventeen years old, Yamabuki travels in the guise of an ordinary samurai, heading for the capital carrying secret dispatches in her first real-world test. However, rival factions send ninja to make sure she never gets there alive.
In a lawless town Yamabuki encounters the young warlord Yoshinaka. Handsome and charismatic he vows to regain what was taken from him by a treacherous uncle. Drawn to one another as kindred souls, Yoshinaka reveals his plans to regain far more than his birthright. He invites Yamabuki to join him in an ambitious power grab to conquer and rule over the entire empire.
In a grand bid to preserve the royal bloodline, the warlord, General Moroto has personally trained his daughter and last surviving child, Yamabuki, in the art of war and rulership.
Not-yet seventeen years old, Yamabuki travels in the guise of an ordinary samurai, heading for the capital carrying secret dispatches in her first real-world test. However, rival factions send ninja to make sure she never gets there alive.
In a lawless town Yamabuki encounters the young warlord Yoshinaka. Handsome and charismatic he vows to regain what was taken from him by a treacherous uncle. Drawn to one another as kindred souls, Yoshinaka reveals his plans to regain far more than his birthright. He invites Yamabuki to join him in an ambitious power grab to conquer and rule over the entire empire.
238 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 23, 2015
24 people are currently reading
291 people want to read
About the author
Katherine M. Lawrence
6 books20 followersAccording to the Wall Street Journal, April 3, 2015, Katherine M. Lawrence may very well have originated the widely used term, "glass ceiling."
Currently her Yamabuki series is about a woman samurai who breaks through a ceiling in ancient Japan to become an accomplished warrior, but without losing her humanity.
The author first became interested in Japan while growing up in Seattle, Washington, and at a young age having several playmates who were Japanese-Americans, Japan seemed natural and accessible. Fascinated by the beauty and elegance of Japanese art, architecture, and style, she grew up with a growing appreciation for Japanese aesthetics.
For several years, Katherine M. Lawrence has been researching and writing the adventures of Yamabuki, an actual historic female samurai who lived in the Heian Era of Japan. Inspired by several decades in the martial arts halls led by women: as a martial arts student in residence for four years at the Ja Shin Do Academy both in Boston, Massachusetts, and Santa Fe, New Mexico; the San Jose State University Kendo Club; and Pai Lum White Lotus Fist-Crane in Albany, New York, style Katherine set out to write about the experiences of women who train in warriors skills...and Yamabuki in particular.
Katherine graduated from the University of Washington with a BA degree in both History and Chemistry, and continued with work on a Masters in History at the Far Eastern and Slavic Institute. She also graduated with an MBA from Harvard. For several years she provided consulting services for the Japanese firm, Kaneka, helping them with their marketing efforts in the United States.
In her undergraduate and masters degree work she developed an appreciation for the different mentalities and mind-sets of people in other eras and other cultures--for the assumptions of 21st century Americans are very different from late 19th century Europeans, let along people of other cultures in by-gone eras.
When she is not writing, she is the CEO of Pingv, a leading Drupal development shop.
When she finds any additional free time, she pursues motor sports, cooking authentic cajun food, studying advanced mathematics, trying to beat the computer at chess, and eating all the sushi she can find.
Currently her Yamabuki series is about a woman samurai who breaks through a ceiling in ancient Japan to become an accomplished warrior, but without losing her humanity.
The author first became interested in Japan while growing up in Seattle, Washington, and at a young age having several playmates who were Japanese-Americans, Japan seemed natural and accessible. Fascinated by the beauty and elegance of Japanese art, architecture, and style, she grew up with a growing appreciation for Japanese aesthetics.
For several years, Katherine M. Lawrence has been researching and writing the adventures of Yamabuki, an actual historic female samurai who lived in the Heian Era of Japan. Inspired by several decades in the martial arts halls led by women: as a martial arts student in residence for four years at the Ja Shin Do Academy both in Boston, Massachusetts, and Santa Fe, New Mexico; the San Jose State University Kendo Club; and Pai Lum White Lotus Fist-Crane in Albany, New York, style Katherine set out to write about the experiences of women who train in warriors skills...and Yamabuki in particular.
Katherine graduated from the University of Washington with a BA degree in both History and Chemistry, and continued with work on a Masters in History at the Far Eastern and Slavic Institute. She also graduated with an MBA from Harvard. For several years she provided consulting services for the Japanese firm, Kaneka, helping them with their marketing efforts in the United States.
In her undergraduate and masters degree work she developed an appreciation for the different mentalities and mind-sets of people in other eras and other cultures--for the assumptions of 21st century Americans are very different from late 19th century Europeans, let along people of other cultures in by-gone eras.
When she is not writing, she is the CEO of Pingv, a leading Drupal development shop.
When she finds any additional free time, she pursues motor sports, cooking authentic cajun food, studying advanced mathematics, trying to beat the computer at chess, and eating all the sushi she can find.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 25, 2016
I'm really, really enjoying these books:
- The details the author is providing are just fascinating. Info about traditions, clothes, weapons, lifestyles, and more all transport me to 12th century Japan perfectly.
- The story is turning out to be really excellent. My only problem with it: She's dosing the story out book by book, and I'm now wanting to get through the full arc of the story - yet I have to wait for the next book! (Good problem to have....)
Kudos, Katherine, for an excellent bit of work. I can't wait to get the next installment.
- The details the author is providing are just fascinating. Info about traditions, clothes, weapons, lifestyles, and more all transport me to 12th century Japan perfectly.
- The story is turning out to be really excellent. My only problem with it: She's dosing the story out book by book, and I'm now wanting to get through the full arc of the story - yet I have to wait for the next book! (Good problem to have....)
Kudos, Katherine, for an excellent bit of work. I can't wait to get the next installment.
April 26, 2016
Katherine Lawrence is an excellent story teller, and Yamabuki is a heroine worthy of all time. I am thoroughly enjoying this series of novellas. Even though I generally prefer a big, thick, juicy book with hundreds of pages, I find that the depth of knowledge Lawrence exhibits plays well to the shorter style. In other words, there is so much in each book, brief as they are, that the brevity makes it easier to digest, savor, and enjoy.
I love me some Yamabuki. She's a strong young female Samurai in a man's world, and she takes a back seat to no one. We were introduced to her in Cold Sake, and this story, first in a new series, does not disappoint. The lushness of the Japanese landscape, the intrigue of politics, the history of Medieval Japan, the emotional development of this one young woman -- Lawrence delves into all these elements and more as she gives us a bit more of Yamabuki's personal history while setting her on the road to more adventures. It's not exactly an "adventure" to kill a man, but we must be with Yamabuki when she experiences this. Every experience she has in this book is one that is necessary if she is to continue on her missions.
Some of the things I enjoy most are Yamabuki's pithy humor, the dialogue that takes me right back to the era, and the insights into political intrigue in a time Other Than 2016 America. And I absolutely love her horse, Mochizuki, who is becoming almost an extension of her own personality as she shares her deepest thoughts and best jokes with him.
One of those tasked with destroying her describes Yamabuki as "trained but untested." By the end of Cold Rain, she's been tested, and I for one believe she's been found worthy of the trust given her. Can't wait for further stories!
I love me some Yamabuki. She's a strong young female Samurai in a man's world, and she takes a back seat to no one. We were introduced to her in Cold Sake, and this story, first in a new series, does not disappoint. The lushness of the Japanese landscape, the intrigue of politics, the history of Medieval Japan, the emotional development of this one young woman -- Lawrence delves into all these elements and more as she gives us a bit more of Yamabuki's personal history while setting her on the road to more adventures. It's not exactly an "adventure" to kill a man, but we must be with Yamabuki when she experiences this. Every experience she has in this book is one that is necessary if she is to continue on her missions.
Some of the things I enjoy most are Yamabuki's pithy humor, the dialogue that takes me right back to the era, and the insights into political intrigue in a time Other Than 2016 America. And I absolutely love her horse, Mochizuki, who is becoming almost an extension of her own personality as she shares her deepest thoughts and best jokes with him.
One of those tasked with destroying her describes Yamabuki as "trained but untested." By the end of Cold Rain, she's been tested, and I for one believe she's been found worthy of the trust given her. Can't wait for further stories!
July 2, 2016
Lawrence's Yamabuki stories are never long enough, for my taste--I suppose Dickens's readers felt the same way. This volume provides an interesting alternate look at certain events of the previous book, fleshing out perspectives and details, along with new developments in Yamabuki's journey. Lawrence's pacing is spot-on, with just the right amount of teasing and suspense. I'm not ordinarily a big fan of hist fic or ancient Japan, but this book series has converted me with its lush details, impeccable research, and believable characters.
July 20, 2020
An excellent study of a female warrior from Japan, twelfth century. Customs, are quite accurate for the time period in which it was written. This is the third book I have read in this series, second of the Sword of the Taka Samurai series. Each book gets better. And also a bit longer which I am also very happy with. I can hardly wait until the next book reaches me.
May 30, 2021
Good but not a book
This is well written and an interesting story. However, readers should be aware that what they are buying is a chapter in the story, not the whole tale.
This is well written and an interesting story. However, readers should be aware that what they are buying is a chapter in the story, not the whole tale.
January 6, 2019
Enjoyable story of the travels of a woman Samurai in mid-evil Japan
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews