The Samurai's Tale

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Summary: The Samurai's Tale
Review: The Samurai's Tale is the story of Taro, later known as Murakami Harutomo. His entire is family is killed except for him. He is taken in as a kitchen worker for Lord Akiyama Nobutomo. After witnessing the death of his master Togan, Lord Akiyama makes him a stable boy. From a stable boy he becomes a messenger for his lord. After that he becomes a warrior. He works his way up the ranks and becomes a samurai and one of the most trusted retainers of Lord Akiyama. However, he loses his master to Lord Oda Nobunaga. Now he is a ronin and knows he must take revenge for his master.
This book is one of the best books I have ever read. It has lots of action and feeling in it. I especially liked the part about the siege of Irwamura Castle. It shows Lord Akiyama's brilliance as a military strategist. I would recommend this book to anyone because it is a very interesting book with real facts about Medieval Japan.

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Summary: The Samurai's Tale
Review: THE SAMURAI'S TALE, by Erik Christian Haugaard, is a Japanese story about a boy named Taro and his long journey of friendship, love, and death to become a great samurai. It was an interesting book. There was a lot of suspense, like who would win a battle, or if Taro would marry his loved one. Something that made me like the book was that when you thought you could predict the outcome of a situation, something totally unexpected would happen instead. Because there are so many characters and it can get a bit confusing of who is who, the book conveniently has a list and description of each major character. The majority of the chapters were full of adventure. Taro would encounter an enemy who wished him dead. So, naturally, Taro had to defend himself. There were other scenes of over 10,000 samurai charging at a castle, battle strategies, and death. Another way this book was enjoyable was the main character, Taro, was a likable character. He was kind-hearted and didn't believe in tourture or cutting off an enemy's head to prove you defeated him. This was probably why most of the lords liked him.

If you're interested in a book full of Japanese adventure, suspense, and likable charaters, this is the book for you!

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Summary: highly entertaining
Review: The Samurai

This book offers excellent input into the lives and Culture of the upper classes of ancient Japan. The Samurai, begins with a young boy, the son of an honored military hero. News of his fathers death has just reached the household, along with the news that the victorious army is approaching their home. Unaware of the danger, the boy is shocked and disgusted when his mother forces him into the clothes of a servant and orders him and his nursemaid to hide in the cellars of their manor. For a day and a night they reside there, with no idea of outside goings ons. Then suddenly they hear voices from outside the room and are soon discovered. Pulled back into the light of day, they are led throughout the house that was once their own. Lying on the blood soaked floor he sees the butchered forms of his mother and her servants. He stares, unmoving in his shock until he is pulled away. Without explanation he is taken from the house and marched far away, to the house of a lord where he than serves, constantly attempting to recover the lost respect that his name once held. Slowly, and with a series of masters and events, he gets what he most desires, while discovering that it mattered not. A fine novel, it is highly recommended. This book offers an informative and entertaining view of life in ancient Japan.

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Summary: The Story of the Young Samurai
Review: The Story Of The Young Samurai The Samurai's Tale by Eric C. Haugaard is an interesting and well-written book and appeals to anyone who enjoys an adventure. After his family gets killed and the estate gets ruined, young and devastated Taro is captured and made into a servant under Lord Akiyama. He starts out as a young stable boy and grows into a very skilled warrior. When Taro is forced into war he must leave behind his close friends and the girl that he loves. The action-packed novel describes the long adventure of Taro and Lord Akiyama's army battling the stronger army of their rival, Oda Nobuaga. I would recommend this book because it is action-packed and teaches the reader about some of the life styles of servants in Japan. An example of some of the action in this book is when the young warrior Taro is on his horse in the mountains and checking for bandits, he suddenly sees a samurai who is his enemy. Taro then draws his sword and starts to fight and then stabs his enemy and kills the samurai. An example of when the reader sees the life styles of a servant is when Taro is a stable boy and you see the living conditions of a stable boy in Japan. The living conditions are pretty harsh because he doesn't get nearly enough food and he works for nothing. He also sleeps in the freezing cold on beds that aren't good to sleep on. There are many fascinating parts in the story that make the book interesting and enjoyable. Even though this book is action packed and informative at some points of the book the book is really slow moving. For example in the beginning of the book it takes a while for the action to start piling on. Also in many places in the book, for many pages, Taro is just thinking to himself. Except this is not a good enough reason to not read the book because there is still so much action that it doesn't really matter if there are a couple of slow moving parts because these slow moving parts are almost always informative. So if you like a good adventure and lots of action, then read the book The Samurai's Tale!

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Summary: It's an action-packed page-turner!
Review: This adventure will stay with you and won't let go. We are 5 sixth graders who were assigned "Samurai's Tale" by our language arts teacher. It kept us reading for nights and we ended up finishing weeks before the deadline. This story takes you through the feudal period in Japan with a young orphan named Taro; his dream is to become a samurai just like his dad. Read The Samurai's Tale to see if Taro's dream comes true.

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Summary: It's an action-packed page-turner!
Review: This adventure will stay with you and won't let go. We are 5 sixth graders who were assigned "Samurai's Tale" by our language arts teacher. It kept us reading for nights and we ended up finishing weeks before the deadline. This story takes you through the feudal period in Japan with a young orphan named Taro; his dream is to become a samurai just like his dad. Read The Samurai's Tale to see if Taro's dream comes true.

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Summary: Great read
Review: This book kept me up for hours at night. the story is interesting from page 1. this story is about the adventures of an orphaned boy named Taro , whose family was killed by the enemies of his father, who was a samurai. Taro is adopted by an army general, Lord Akiyama. the story is about his life as a servant and then his becoming a samurai and his adventures in battle and his friendships and losses.
this is a must read.

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Summary: Good book!
Review: This book was a truly amazing stor...NOT!!! I absolutely hated this book. It was boring and didn't really have much of a point to it. I am thirteen years old and I would never recommend this book for teenagers. If you are younger and enjoy learning about japan and war, then go ahead. Same for adults. But for 12-16 year olds, don't even pick this book up. In class, we had to write "cliff's notes" for it, and I skipped from chapter 12 to practically the ending because i didn't like it so much. I am sorry if I offend anybody who likes this book, but I despised it every moment. I hope my review helped you decide whether or not to read this book.

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Summary: The book is a fantastic account of feudal Japan.
Review: This book was an incredible account of what life could be like for a samuri's son. It showed what could happen back then. I liked the book because it showed that there were differences between the classes in feudal Japan. It showed how different sects of Buddism did not always get along or agree with each other. I also liked how it showed what a big part of life rice actually was.

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Summary: A review of The Samurai's Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard
Review: This great adventure through feudal Japan and the history of the Takeda family wraps you up from the start and never lets you go. It is a story of a young samurai's son and his fall from grace. He vows to return to the status which he knew as a little boy and be considered an equal of the highest ranking lords' sons. This story beautifully describes his many troubles and triumphs along the path to his redemption. It is a tale you won't forget. If you are a fan of 16th century Japan and it's tales or of great books in general this is one you won't want to miss.