"The sky is blue, water is wet, and samurai serve."

As a child, Bennosuke finds himself caught between his uncle who raised him and his father who left him at a young age. One, a monk, urges Bennosuke to give up the violence and bloodshed of his birthright as a samurai, the other, a great warrior, who returns to Bennosuke's life and is disappointed by what he finds. Bennosuke chooses the path of the warrior, and dedicates his life to becoming a great samurai in order to right the injustice brought to his father. His journey teaches him a lot about what it means to be samurai, and what it takes to really earn the name he gives himself -- Musashi Miyamoto.

This series was recommended to me by Goodreads hot on the heels of finishing Conn Iggulden's historical fiction series covering Genghis Khan. I thought there was some really good thoughtful discourse on what it means to be samurai and to serve a lord, and whether at the end of the day revenge and vengeance is worth it. Bennosuke's character somewhat annoyed me in the middle of the book as he's finding himself, but I thought who he grew into made up for it. Was this the most accurate portrayal of Musashi Miyamoto? Probably not, but I gather not a whole lot is conclusively known about the finer details anyway, and I thought the author did a good job of painting a compelling story between the lines of what we know. The audiobook narrator (Mark Bramhall) was also really good, for what that's worth to anyone reading this review.

In short, a fun read, maybe light on the historical and heavy on the fiction, but I still enjoyed reading it.

I like the premise of this book, and for the most part it was okay. I thought the message was a bit bluntly put, mostly because of all the philosophic rambling that goes on in the midst of action scenes. It's fine to take a pause for dramatic impact, but I do not need paragraphs of unsubtle thought-exposition. Trust the reader to make those connections themselves...

was able to get my hands on an advanced copy of Child of Vengeance by David Kirk, and just in time before the publication of the book (due out in March), I am able to add this to my bookshelves.

Child of Vengeance has a really strong start and fascinating story, but the end is a little lacking.

The story of a boy named Bennosuke, the supposed son of a samurai warrior in an age where modern society is beginning it’s slow and inevitable encroachment on the ancient and traditional laws of feudal Japanese society. We are introduced to Bennosuke as an abandoned and unwanted child in the village of Miyamoto, before his father returns to reclaim his son and teach him the ways of a samurai.

After the death of his father, we watch Bennosuke grow into a young man of sixteen, and follow him as he travels Japan trying to reconcile the two halves of his soul: the samurai warrior who’s only duty is to fight and die, as well as the peaceful scholar who wants nothing more than to live another day. And in the end, he comes to a stunning realization that I believe sums up the entirety of the reason for the existence of samurai quite nicely.

In time, the events of Bennosuke’s life will be recorded in history under the name he takes to hide from his enemies: Musashi Miyamoto.

I really enjoyed Child of Vengeance. The characters are interesting and you feel connected to them. However the ending leaves something to be desired. For three years Bennosuke has dedicated his life to one goal, and at the completion of it, he walks off into the sunset with no rhyme or reason as to what he will do now or where he will go. And while you rejoice for him in some ways, in others it just feels like a really incomplete ending. Maybe if the author had introduced something for Bennosuke to live for or go to once his mission was complete, it would have been better. But now it just leaves you hanging.

4 stars

Though I wouldn't have wanted to live there, feudal Japan is a personal fascination of mine. I enjoyed the action, attention to detail, and all of the drama, drama, drama in Child of Vengeance. Ignoring that the only woman was the wronged, vengeful Yoshiko, David Kirk's samurai formed a colorful tapestry of men, some misguided, some driven by blind duty, and other by blind greed. Lots of politics, and graphic descriptions of war and battle made this one fly by. Poor Bennosuke, though high born, is ignored by his father and disliked by the villagers of Miyomoto because of his father's blind, murderous rage. Raised by his uncles, a monk and a samurai, no wonder he is having such a hard time finding himself. I think the only thing he found is the satisfaction of revenge. Maybe he'll come more in touch with his gentler side in the next book? Don't know but I can hardly wait to read it.

ARE YOU SAMURAI? A lot of this book made me say WOW. Lots of other parts made me ask HUH?

This is a book on the fictionalized author of "The Book of Five Rings" (which is a five star book). Not a lot is known about Miyamoto Musashi and the facts can be more stories than fact. There's lots of conflicting information. Also there is more than enough riches to sculpt a story of a legendary samurai.

Some of the book was brilliant giving a window into the world of the samurai, a world of uncompromising honor and death. Deaths were painful to read (in a good storytelling way). Some of the book was compromising. I was willing to overlook the fact the characters cursed in modern prose. The bigger problem I feel like scenes/chapters were omitted.

For a while this book toyed with a 5 star rating. In the end, the ending was too dull or maybe over my head. Overall the pluses outweighed the minuses.

What would you do if you had to choose between life and death? Life means following the path of Amaterasu as a priest, death means becoming a samurai to spite the father who abandoned you. Life means helping others - death means killing them. It's a hard choice to make, made harder by the parallel decision to listen to the uncle who has raised you, or the father who requires vengeance.

This is the decision facing Musashi Miyamoto in Child of Vengeance. Based on the sketchy past of the real Musashi Miyamoto, and on well-researched history of the time, Child of Vengeance takes the legendary samurai and creates a childhood for him. The book is fascinating with its period details, and the story itself is quite well done. I never felt lost, or bored - the momentum of the story carried well throughout. And the ending...I quite loved it. I don't do spoilers, so that is all I will say, other than this - some choices don't necessarily have to be choices at all.

I really enjoyed this book, and I definitely recommend it. Even without the myth of the main character, it's just a really good story. And in the end, that's all I can every really ask from a book.

Si distacca un po' dalla versione più conosciuta della vita di Musashi, e questo lo fa stonate un po'. Ma escludendo questo aspetto, il libro è avvincente e molto piacevole.