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MY ⭐️ RATING: 5/5
Format: Advanced Reader Copy
🚨 I received an advanced reader copy, provided by the author for an honest review. 🚨
This did not impact my rating in any way.
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Japan, 1625
A new Drum Master has risen, and soon the nation will fall to the curse of Izanagi. Answering the call of his kotsuzumi, dead warriors abandon their peace to once again roam the land of the living, swinging rusty blades and chattering rotten teeth at his behest.
Japan’s last hope lies in the hands of the nine warriors gathered by the young daimyō of Owari. To reach Onijima, where the source of the curse’s power awaits, the Nine will not only have to face swarms of undead samurai and waves of shinobi mercenaries but even more dangerous to their mission, their inner demons.
Against the undead, the Nine only have two choices, fighting as one or becoming them.
MY REVIEW
Am I glad I was able to get my hands on an advanced copy of this absolute killer of a novel. One thing I always repeat when I read something that is historical fiction/fantasy, is how much I love learning about other cultures, and you can tell that Baptiste is very knowledgeable on the subject because he does an excellent job of this throughout Undead Samurai, it’s a history lesson and a beautiful story rolled into one. The Japanese culture is very fascinating and so rich with history that it’s hard not to fall in love with a story like this. I was hooked from the absolute perfection that was the prologue, it was amazing and it set the tone for the rest of the story in such a hair-raising way. I’ve had prologues suck me, but if there was ever a perfect way to open a story, this was it, it was the glue that let me know I was in for something special.
There are nine main characters in this story, and I loved everyone of them in different ways, but the one I loved the most, was Kiba, there was always something about him from the moment he first came into the book that just hooked me and I couldn’t wait for whatever he did. But with there being so many characters to follow in this story, it would’ve been difficult to really get to know them all in such a short period of 341 pages, while also dealing with the fast-paced story. But Baptiste did an excellent job by starting off most of the chapters with minor flashbacks to help to learn a bit of history about them and what lead them to where they are now. It was the perfect way to give character depth and show how they’ve grown since then.
“A friend told me anger was stronger than fear. An angry man cannot be afraid. Well, I am furious.”
Undead Samurai is an epic tale of terrifying action, but at its core is a tragically beautiful tale of honour and redemption. I loved this story, but what is funny is that this reminded me of several different films, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, though the film wasn’t that great and is more about Chinese than Japanese, what reminded me of it was its raising dead Asian warriors. The other films such as DaVinci Code, National Treasure and Indiana Jones, with how they go on a quest to find a secret item that opens a secret place… but instead of Nazi’s, the Gov’t & the Knights Templar, it’s a necromantic curse of undead samurai that they are facing. The action is absolutely insane and left me wanting so much more, and the way it ends, there will absolutely be more!
Baptiste did a very smart and important thing at the beginning by including a glossary, but I would’ve also liked to have some minor pronunciation help as well. There were words/names I already knew of, so they weren’t that difficult, but there were times where I had to use google for a proper pronunciation of the word, because I can’t not say it the wrong way. That’s just a personal thing, and the fact I was able to easily figure it out, doesn’t hurt my opinion of the book. I will say this for my last word, I think that if this had an audiobook to go with it, it would be an even hotter novel in my opinion. The way I read it with Japanese voices in my head wouldn’t hold justice to an actually narration could for it.
Wolfmantula.com 
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