Thursday 8 April 2010
Review: Blood Ninja by Nick Lake
A fisherman's son is snatched from home to fulfil his true destiny in this thrilling novel of ancient curses, warring emperors, forbidden love...and blood-sucking ninjas. Taro is a boy from a coastal village in rural Japan, fated to become a fisherman like his father. But in just one night, Taro's world is turned upside down - and his destiny is changed forever. Skilled in the art of silent and deadly combat, ninjas are the agents of powerful nobles who rule sixteenth-century Japan. So why did a group of these highly trained assassins creep into a peasant's hut and kill Taro's father? And why did one ninja rescue Taro from their clutches, saving his life at enormous cost? Now on the run with this mysterious saviour and his best friend Hiro, Taro is determined to learn the way of the ninja to avenge his father's death. But if they are to complete their perilous journey, Taro must first evade the wrath of the warring Lords, decipher an ancient curse, resist forbidden love - and come to terms with the blood-soaked secrets of a life lived in moonlight.
If there was ever a case for judging a book by its cover, then Blood Ninja would be the primary evidence. I first saw this in the Corvus Books online catalogue and it caught my eye immediately, then when a copy arrived from the nice people at Corvus it literally took my breath away. This is by far my favourite cover of 2010 so far (elbowing Mortlock into second place). The intricate red Japanese samurai design on the front is embossed and spot varnished, and contrasts wonderfully with the matt black background, and the whole packaged is finished off with black-edged pages. Stunning! And if you do tend to pre-judge a book by its cover then you will not be disappointed once you read the story within.
Vampires are cool. We are surrounded by them in books, TV and movies (and who knows, maybe in real life?). In my mind, ninjas are even more cool. But did you ever wonder how these normal men can perform such amazing feats of martial arts, infiltration, stealth and agility? Nick Lakes anwer to this is so obvious I am amazed it hasn't already been done to death in the various forms of media - all true ninjas are in fact vampires. So combine the two and surely you get super-cool? Hell yes!
Now that I have set this up to be such a great book, I think I had first better explain that this won't appeal to all boys. This book is set during Sixteenth Century feudal Japan and Nick Lake's prose is rich in detail - he has not simply paid lip service to this historical element. Thus, he describes passages of time in incense stick lengths (i.e. the time it would take an incense stick to burn), and other measurements such as distances are treated similarly. Nick Lake also use many Japanese words (italicised) for items throughout the story. Confident readers will have no problem with any of this, but boys who struggle may give up very quickly.
This is Horror Month at The Book Zone and when I first picked up this book I thought it would make a great addition to the genre theme. However, this is more martial arts adventure than horror. The vampire element takes something of a back seat for long passages in the story, emerging only when really necessary. I think the book is even better for this - Nick Lake could 'easily' have written an over-the-top vampire ninja horror story with blood dripping from every page but instead he shows restraint (until the final scenes that is, when it becomes something akin to a Quentin Tarantino Kill Bill bloodbath, not that there is anything wrong with this).
I say Nick Lake shows restraint, but that isn't to say that this book is not brutal in places. This is, after all, feudal Japan, when Samurai warlords were not shy in dispensing vicious punishments on their enemies (and sometimes their allies) and the ruling classes looked down on the peasant workers, and occasionally toyed with their lives if the mood suited. As a result of this there are many violent deaths in this story, and not all of them are secondary characters. I won't spoil things for you but the author is not afraid to kill off a seemingly main character in order to help the story progress or to provoke emotional reactions amongst his characters (and his readers).
Blood Ninja published by Corvus Books and is available to buy right now It is the first book in a trilogy, with book two due out at the same time next year, and I can't wait. Next week i will be publishing an interview that Nick Lake kindly did for The Book Zone, and hopefully giving away a couple of copies of Blood Ninja.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is definitely going on my wishlist. Ninja vampires sound SO COOL! Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteThe Book Zone: Review: Blood Ninja By Nick Lake >>>>> Download Now
Delete>>>>> Download Full
The Book Zone: Review: Blood Ninja By Nick Lake >>>>> Download LINK
>>>>> Download Now
The Book Zone: Review: Blood Ninja By Nick Lake >>>>> Download Full
>>>>> Download LINK QQ
The book sounds a winner to me in every sense.
ReplyDeleteThe overall book production sounds great.Looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.
Thanks for the great review and all the good work you put in.
Awesome review! I so need to read this book! Although I'm not much of a fan of martial arts, the plot itself sounds amazing, and I am just so intrigued by ninja vampires! Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteVampire Ninjas! Hmmm, guess we'll need Werewolf Pirates! LOL
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the plot for me is original. The author is smart enough to incorporate the myth surrounding the super human skills of Ninjas to the vampire legends.
What interest me is the origin of these shuriken throwing vampires. Thank you for the review.
I'm probably not going to get this then. Even though I'm a confident reader I can't stand too much discription. I might give it a go but I would probably just plough through it rather than enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteThe review discribes the book perfectly as i have only just finish it. I must say is a very good book and i would like to know where i can get the second book as i can't find it in any england book shops.
ReplyDeleteWow! The package! Took our breath away - so impressive! Plus it brings together action (with a swish historical setting) and the un-dead and HUMOUR! We are in such need of books that have a laugh, this one is a winner.
ReplyDeleteYay! Thank you for the recommendation. I wish I could do all my present shopping through twitter and blogging. You're a star!
ReplyDeleteThis book rocked! Highly recommend it to everyone, I read it a few months ago and just finished the Sequel. Enjoy you guys because Nick Lake gives you quite a ride.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteMake the correct choice with Online Assignment Experts and relax while our professional hands do it at affordable rates! Working round the clock with total dedication and commitment, we strive to deliver 100% satisfaction rate to our clients by providing services like Nursing assignment help essay, report writing, Assignment help and many more in a vast pool of subjects.While I was going through this blog, I understood how students make mistakes in Assignment. However, the experts of Online Assignment Expert provide unique Online assignment help.
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank you for such a piece of work. It is very informative. However, this is to inform the visitors about My Ass ignment Services. It is an assignment help service provider assisting students worldwide. They are associated with more than 4000 academic writers who have sound knowledge and experience in designing assignments. I am the one among those writers providing nursing leadership essay help from the la st five years. We stand 24 hours all over the week for the students who are in need of nursing essay writing help. Additionally, we offer help against health economics under our service "health economics assignment help". Also, we provide samples for nursing assignment where students can understand the approach followed to write assignments. It will help in scoring A+ grades in your assignment. Th ese samples have been written by our subject matter professionals.
ReplyDeleteNeed assignment writer singapore? Hire Phd Qualified Writers in Singapore at Affordable Prices.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI am felt good to read your post and make the humble request to carry on this post in the upcoming time. With our online assignment help, you can be sure to receive the best results. You will receive the most appropriate copies of your answers after we fully understand your request. This service is affordable for all students. Get in touch with us to discuss your concern.
ReplyDeleteHey great post i have posted a blog literary devices so take a look on assignmenthelppro website .There I shared types of literary devices and final destination i mean conclusion of literary devices and the best thing is that you know some common literacy devices in English and it's use in academic writing go fast check out my post .
Assignment Help UK at Assignment Firm. Our experts provide 100% plagiarism free content for students.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCriminal justice research papers topics are so important for law students because teachers give assignments on them. Here I am proving you're a list of criminal research topics read followings, drugs abuse & children, basic criminal procedure, reducing white juror bias, and basic criminal procedure. etc.
The Book Zone: Review: Blood Ninja By Nick Lake >>>>> Download Now
ReplyDelete>>>>> Download Full
The Book Zone: Review: Blood Ninja By Nick Lake >>>>> Download LINK
>>>>> Download Now
The Book Zone: Review: Blood Ninja By Nick Lake >>>>> Download Full
>>>>> Download LINK lK
In order to my assignment help and get help with the different issues I was having, I recently resorted to Global project Help. Their services included a wide range of subjects and assignment formats, which impressed me. The procedure was easy to follow: after I sent them the specifics of my task, they quickly assigned a subject-matter expert who helped me at every stage. All things considered, my involvement with Global Assignment Help has been genuinely life-changing.
ReplyDelete