Blood Ninja [Paperback]

I got this book through the Amazon Vine program. I like vampires and ninjas so I thought it would be an interesting read. I was a little worried (based on the title and the cover) that this book would be too corny for me or a bit over the top. It was neither of those. It was very well-done and, if anything, a bit too devoid of any humor. It is also not a stand-alone book, which I didn't know.

Taro is a fisherman's son. At least that is what he is raised to believe. He is in for a rude surprise when a group of ninjas descend on his house and murder his father. One of the ninjas, Shusaku, is different though and tries to save Taro. Shusaku fails as Taro is run-through with a sword. Suddenly Taro must make a choice as his life ebbs from the wound in his stomach. Will he let Shusaku turn him into a vampire and "live" or will he die? He chooses to "live" and suddenly Taro, his best friend Hiro, and Shusaku are off on a journey that will make Taro question everything he knows about the world and himself.

There was a lot I liked about this book. The amount of Japanese history dwelling within the pages of this story is amazing. Lake really did his research and gives great detail on various aspects of Japanese history. It was fascinating to read about ninjas in the context of actual Japanese history. I am not sure how accurate all the historical details are (it would have been nice for the author to include an afterward addressing this) but they are well thought-out and seem to be well researched. The other thing I really liked about this book was the moral struggles Taro was forced to face and question. Taro comes from a world where Lord Oda is god and samurai are the noblest men he knows, ninjas are to be despised as sneaks. As he journeys with Shusaku he sees Oda's true personality and, as he meets other ninjas and other samurai, he comes to realize that the world is not as black and white as he thought. Taro's struggle with his perceptions and own morality were really well done in this book.

Another thing I liked about the book was how ninjas and vampires were melded into one race. Lake did an excellent job of making this believable and not preposterous or over-the-top at all. It is all well done and very tasteful. I also enjoyed all the cool ninja tricks and action scenes. This is definitely a book for the older young adult. As is often the case with ninjas, the violence in this book is pretty extreme.

There were a couple things I didn't like about this book. The plot is very predictable. After the first couple chapters I was able to predict how the storyline would go. The characters themselves were also very predictable. Lake's strong point is not characterization, the character's are a bit 2D and pretty dry. In fact there is no humor in this book whatsoever and that is another thing I didn't like about this book. Taro and his friends never have any fun. The book in general takes itself a bit too seriously. So if you are looking for something witty or humorous this is not the book for you.

Lastly this is not a stand-alone book. It pretty much stops right in the middle of the story with a number of things unresolved. Those who have read my reviews before know that this always irritates me; I think writers should be able to have some sort of ending in between books. The other thing that irked me is that this is not advertised as a series, yet it is clearly the start of one. If I had known it was the start of another series I probably wouldn't have read it. I spent a bit of time looking online and could not find any information about the rest of this series (how many books, next release date, etc.).

In summary I liked this book. The story is steeped in Japanese history that is interesting. The ninja vampires are well-done and believable. I thought the characterization was a bit weak and the story predictable. I was also disappointed it was so devoid of any humor. Readers looking for humor and romance should look elsewhere. Readers interested in Japanese history, ninjas, and politics will find a lot here to like. Will I read the next book in the series? I am undecided right now, I really didn't want to get involved in reading yet another series. We will see.

I got this book for my 9th grade son, who enjoys YA Fantasy. He loved it! He read it in 2 days and asked for a sequel. He especially enjoyed the Japanese heritage stuff: Feudal Japan, ninjas, samurai, martial arts, etc. He was so interested in it that I gave him my copy of Shogun - which he is reading now. He likes (most) vampire stories and mythology, but he isn't obsessed with it and the conceit that all ninjas are vampires was interesting to him (and added to the gore - always a plus for teenage boys), but it wasn't the main draw. The ninja warrior stuff as well as the classic YA Adventure framework of 'regular' boy with a secret identity becoming 'special' are what captured and held my son's interest. He rates it 5 stars.

Since I got this book from Vine, I felt I needed to read it myself, to be able to give a fair review. So I read it after my son. It is a classic YA tale: Humble fisherboy stumbles into a previously unknown world and his own secret past, and becomes a ninja warrior. Even within that (to me) trite context though, I enjoyed the story. It's well paced and well written, and (as a lover of Shogun and similar) I really loved the feudal Japan references and details. It was pretty bloody, and a little predictable, so if it were an adult book I would give it probably 4 stars from my own perspective. But it's not marketed to me, so I give it what the target audience felt it merited - 5 stars.

BOTTOM LINE: Very appealing to teenaged boys, lots of interesting Japanese historical details, and not a bad read even for a middle-aged mom like me.

Blood Ninja brings the Japanese myths to life by combining them with Vampire lore. The book follows the story of young Taro, a poor boy from a fishing village, who doesn't quite seem to fit in...until the worst happens and he becomes a vampire ninja samurai. The author has fun by questioning the goals and ideals of the samurai culture and the Shogun period of history. For me as an adult, the focus of the book was not as appealing as a more historical and non-vampire examination of the period would have been. From the perspective of the young adults who this book is intended for...it's hard to say. Some will no doubt be pleased by the abilities and limitations that being a vampire brings to our young hero, others will perhaps be disgusted by the need for the hero ninja to drink blood on a regular basis. I do think that young adults will be interested in the examination of morality the author provides, ie. where should a ninja's loyalties really lie...and how do you go about examining the motives and methods of your boss? I think for the book to be truly effective with young adults it should have a bit more humor and describe the violence in a slightly more comic book style. I give it four stars for it's plot, and its examination of complicated political realities. I cannot give it five because I feel it slightly misses it's best audience due to a lack of humor.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 37 reviews  3.8 out of 5 stars