MY ⭐️ RATING: 4.75/5
Format: Kindle eBook
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Afro Samurai meets The Sword of Kaigen in this anime-inspired novella
This is no revenge story. I ain’t got time for that. I’ve got errands to run and things to do and barely enough time to make it home before sundown. I don’t care why folks are going around stealing ink. I don’t care why the monks are acting kinda strange. I don’t care that everybody is expecting me to save them. I might be a Sistah Samurai but those days playing hero were back when my knees didn’t ache, and I wasn’t the only one left. So leave me alone.
All I want to do is get home, drink some green tea lemonade, and enjoy my peace. I’m not asking for much, so why are all these demons daring to get in my way?
I am not the one. Not today.
Sistah Samurai is an Action Fantasy novella that is an homage to the anime, Afro Samurai. Both works feature a feudal Japan-inspired setting that is rife with anachronisms. In the words of Samuel L. Jackson, “Is that a motherf—ing RPG?”
MY REVIEW
When I first saw this amazing cover by Felix Ortiz, I just knew I had to read it. I don’t watch much anime, so I’m not exactly familiar with the champloo style of Afro Samurai or Sistah Samuari, so I got to go into this with an open mind, and I absolutely loved it! I had so much fun reading this because it’s uncompromisingly bold and in your face. You could feel the attitude and personality of the main character oozing off the page. I love that from the first sentence, Obey was letting you know you were in for something fierce and intoxicating, but what I love most about this though, is the last few chapters as Obey REALLY let’s us get to know Sistah Samurai on an even bigger level to make her even more of an incredible character.
“To everyone else, they were just fallen cherry blossoms crushed underfoot. But to me, they were my garden. A garden now empty, and withered, and devoid of color. And no matter how much pain I tilled raw, or how much guilt I planted into the soil, or how much I watered their names again and again and again -I feared we’d never be free.”
The best way I can describe this, is that it is an adrenaline-fueled joyride that really never lets up. I already knew of Obey from when I bought Bones to the Wind, even though I haven’t got to that yet, but after how much fun I had with Sistah Samurai, I may just go ahead and jump into that one pretty soon! However I definitely have to say, I would absolutely love to read more into this world because it does feel like she ended this in a way that could lead to more novellas or even a future series.
If you’re looking for a novella that’s going to suck you in and never let you up for a breath until it’s done, while making you laugh out loud, tossing out all kinds of pop culture references, and delivering a powerful message, then Sistah Samurai is exactly what you’re looking for. Obey has also included a Spotify playlist link at the beginning to jam out to, which the chapters are seemingly influenced by. This has a good shot at being in my final favorites of the year lists, so I highly recommend it to all!
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