The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan (Yasushi Inoue, translation by Yoko Riley)
I hate to be posting so many negative reviews lately, but I'm seemingly in a streak of bad luck. That unfortunately continues with this book, which I got a hair over a quarter through (page 50 out of slightly under 200 in the main text) before bailing. I'm not sure if the blame lies with the original author or the translator, but I suspect both. The issue I'd lay at the feet of the author is the way that the book's main character is a brilliant swordfighter and strategist, but for seemingly no particular reason; He'll "just feel" the right strategy, or he'll just think he's leaping at a guy and swinging his sword when he's defeating seasoned master samurai. This, to put it mildly, does not generate a lot of tension or interest. As gravy, add on what seems like a very literal translation that makes the book read in "This happened, then this happened" style and I didn't feel like I was missing anything by putting this one down early.
Grade: D+
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