The African Samurai
by Craig Shreve
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Pub Date Aug 24 2023 | Archive Date Aug 14 2023
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Description
The incredible story of the slave who became a Japanese samurai.
In 1579, a Portuguese trade ship sails into port at Kinchotsu, Japan, loaded with European wares and weapons. Also aboard is an East African slave. Taken from his village as a boy, sold to mercenaries and forced to fight in Indian wars that meant nothing to him, he is a young but experienced soldier.
Serving as the protector for a high-ranking Italian priest, the young man joins an expedition pushing inland towards the capital city of Kyoto.
There they meet Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful warlord in Japan, who is preparing a campaign to unify the country after more than a hundred years of civil war. Under the tutelage of Nobunaga, the young African soldier becomes the great warrior Yasuke, Japan’s first foreign samurai, and the only one ever of African descent. His preoccupation is not a question of power, as it is for Nobunaga, but one of freedom.
A timeless, epic story, a magnificent reconstruction and moving study of a lost historical figure, and a truly enthralling narrative, thrilling in its dramatization of the making of modern Japan, from which rises the most unlikely of heroes.
Advance Praise
'Gripping. Fans of Shogun will love it' Conn Iggulden
'Shreve tells an extraordinary story with dramatic intensity, sensitivity, and consummate imagination. Like all the best historical novels, it feels relevant and even essential to our present moment. Of the many admirable things about this novel, perhaps the greatest is Shreve’s feat of breathing life into Yasuke, its central character, and rescuing this remarkable man from obscurity' DAVID BEZMOZGIS, award-winning author of Immigrant City and The Betrayers
'A complex and deeply moving story . . . that powerfully resonates with our current times. The deftly drawn characters of European, Asian and African origin inhabit a sometimes frightening but ultimately hopeful story due to Shreve’s immense skills at illuminating the power of the human spirit' JEFFREY COLVIN, award-winning author of Africville
'A sweeping historical epic anchored by one man's fight for survival and the search for a home and identity ripped away. Fearlessly told and painstakingly crafted, The African Samurai explores rare literary territory and tells a singular, visceral tale of discovery and endurance' — KEVIN HARDCASTLE, award-winning author of In the Cage and Debris
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781804366264 |
| PRICE | £3.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 304 |
Available on NetGalley
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