The 47th Samurai: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels)
by Stephen Hunter
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Book Reviews of The 47th Samurai: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels)
Book Review: An entertaining book by Stephen Hunter
Summary: 4 Stars
February 1945. Iwo Jima island, Japan. Captain Hideki Yano was a captain of the 145th Regiment, Kuribayashi's 109th division, Japanese Imperial Army, defending a bunker on Suribachi's northwest slope. He was ready to die for the Emperor and for his country. Earl Swagger was a first sergeant, attached to Able Company, 28th Regiment, United States Marine Corps. It was the company's turn to lead an assault on Yano's well-designed and well-defended position. Able company was lead by captain Culpepper, a college boy, who didn't know what to do. He'd used family connections to get himself a combat command. So sergeant Swagger was sent from headquarter to support him. Swagger was a strange man. He was from nowhere. He had nothing to share with his comrades, no stories, no hometown, no families, nothing at all. But he was a great Marine. He led a group of Marines to get close to the blockhouse. They tried to flank and surprisingly attack it. However, they were ambushed by Yano and everybody but Swagger were killed. Swagger somehow survived and got a gun and continued his mission. He didn't hesitate for a second. He got into the blockhouse and killed everybody inside. Captain Yano could have killed him but for some unknown reasons he did not and accepted his death. Captain's Yano sword was given to captain Culpepper as a war trophy. After the war, Culppeper returned the sword to one of Earl's sisters.
Today. Crazy House, Idaho, United States. Earl's son, Bob Lee Swagger, nearing sixty, was a United States Marine Corps sniper. He was a loner and very tough guy, who'd served in Vietnam 3 times. He was retired and living in the American West with his wife and their daughter. But he usually spent his time alone. One day, a Japanese colonel named Philip Yano came to see him. Yano was a very good man. He was a retired paratrooper serving in the Japanese Self-Defense Force. He asked for the sword, which would have great meaning to him and his family. Bob also knew the sword should have been returned to its place of honour with the family of the man who had carried it and died with it. So he made a promise that he would do his best to find the sword.
Having found the sword from his aunt, Bob flew to Tokyo. He was warmly welcomed in Yano's family. Together they discovered that this sword had a great value. It was one of the greatest Japanese relics. It was actually the blade used by the great Oishi in the attack of Forty-Seven Ronin against Lord Kira.
Today. Tokyo, Japan. Miwa was the president of the AJVS, the All Japan Video Society, the biggest industrial group for dirty movies. He was in that position for sixteen consecutive years. However, his position was threaten and he needed something great to make him a hero. If he got that legendary sword, he would become the Great man of the People, who could not be replaced. So he demanded his greatest swordman, Kondo. And in just one day, the whole Yano family were wiped out.
So Bob returned to Tokyo again to seek revenge and justice...
The story is very interesting but unbelievable. How could a 60 year old guy with no prior experience master the art of sword fighting in a week? How could that guy defeat and kill many experienced Japanese swordmen, including the great Kondo, who'd won the All Japan Kendo championship (well Bob also fought 6 swordmen in the same time)? Why didn't Bob, a great sniper, use a rifle? The ending is surprising, albeit a bit weak. However, as I said, this book is very entertaining. And I believe that the author has done a good research in swords and Japanese culture. The sword fightings are vividly described. A good book.
Book Review: Put this one on your "must-read" list
Summary: 5 Stars
The first Stephen Hunter novel I read was DIRTY WHITE BOYS, a tale written with such stark realism that to this day, as the result of a long descriptive passage in that book, I cannot eat in a restaurant unless I am facing the door. All of Hunter's work --- from HAVANA to HOT SPRINGS to POINT OF IMPACT to BLACK LIGHT --- is infused with an immediacy that is the stuff of waking nightmare, where death is a constant visitor whose knock on the door is but a moment away. This is especially true of THE 47th SAMURAI, Hunter's latest novel and arguably his best.
Hunter has been busily constructing the mythos of the Swaggers, a father and son who neither seek nor practice violence for its own sake but invoke its use in the name of nobility. The events of THE 47th SAMURAI have their origin in great part as the result of an encounter on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima on February 21, 1945. On that day Hideki Yano, a captain in the Japanese Imperial Army, met U.S. Marine Gunnery Sergeant Earl Swagger in pitched battle at close quarters. Only Earl Swagger survived at the conclusion. Some 60 years later, their sons, Philip Yano and Bob Lee Swagger, meet in an Idaho field. Yano has journeyed to the United States to honor his father's heroism by recovering his sword, which was lost on that long-ago field of battle. Swagger, restlessly dealing day by day in uneasy retirement, makes Yano's quest his own. Though Swagger does not have the sword in his possession, he goes to extraordinary lengths to recover it and then to personally deliver it to Yano in Japan.
Let us digress here for a moment. Hunter's description of Swagger's efforts, told with an economy of words and a matter-of-fact narration, imbibe his character with a nobility and morality rarely encountered in fiction of any genre these days. Swagger does not consider his actions out of the ordinary or even exemplary; he is simply doing what a soldier does to honor the memory of another. What neither Swagger nor Yano understands, however, is that the sword in question is not possessed of an ordinary blade but is rather a legendary artifact whose existence goes to the heart of Japanese history and culture.
Swagger, honoring the legacies of Yano's father and his own, finds himself suddenly at the epicenter of a series of horrific crimes instigated by the yakuza underworld, for whom no crime is too dark or unthinkable if it will result in possession of the blade. A plain-spoken man with the soul of a warrior, Swagger finds himself tossed into the heart of an alien culture and language of which he knows little but with which he shares a great deal in spirit. As he gives himself over to the warrior spirit of the Samurai, Swagger heads into a cataclysmic encounter from which he cannot emerge unscathed but must not avoid if his honor is to survive intact.
Hunter's preparation for the writing of THE 47th SAMURAI involved far more than research into Japanese culture. The realism, the history and the understanding that informs the tale from first page to last required nothing short of immersion. The author's greatest research, however, is on display in the discussion of the sword, the penultimate Samurai weapon that has affected the history and culture of Japan to an extent and degree that the Western mind is barely capable of understanding. His breadth of knowledge is so mesmerizing that one almost loses sight of the fact that the story possesses a symmetry that combines the best qualities of Eastern and Western culture as well. Put this one on your "must-read" list.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
Book Review: The Samurai Sword
Summary: 4 Stars
Imagine the bloody battle at Iwo Jima which a tough US Marine fought with a Japanese officer. The American survived and was highly decorated. He also took the Samurai sword of the Japanese officer. Fast forward 50 years. The son of the Japanese officer turned up in the States to look up the son of the US Marine named Bob Lee Swagger who was also an ex-US Marine, looking for the sword. Out of a sense of honor, Bob Lee Swagger found the sword and brought it to Japan. The sword turned out to be a legendary sword in Japanese history. With such a promising start, Stephen Hunter has delivered an exciting novel about Japanese culture, Samurai, Japanese sword, the Yakuza and of course, the CIA in Japan. The plot is fast moving. Hunter interspersed the novel with juicy tidbits about Japanese culture. It is like watching a movie and suspending belief. Like in many Hong Kong Kung Fu movies, Bob Lee Swagger learnt Japanese sword fighting in one week and was able to kill the Yakuza topmost assassin who was also their master swordsman.
The story of the 47 Ronin is one of the most celebrated in the history of the samurai. Ronin is a samurai without a master. This story is about Asano Takumi no kami Naganori (1667-1701). Lord Asano was chosen by the shogun, Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, to be one of a number of daimyo tasked with entertaining envoys from the Imperial family. Unfortunately Asano did not get along with the ranking master of protocol, Kira Kozukenosuke Yoshinaka (1641-1702). This interpersonal conflict came to a head in April, 1701 when Asano threw his sword at Kira. Kira was not wounded seriously. However, this was a serious matter and the Shogan ordered Asano to commit hara-kiri and all his lands in Akô in Harima confiscated. They were all buried in Sengakuji.
Asano's samurai were disbanded and became ronin. However they plotted together and on the snowy night of 14 December 1702, 47 of them marched to Kira's mansion. Kira was beheaded by the same sword that Asano used to kill himself. It is this sword that is the centre of Hunter's novel. They then carried Kira's head to Sengakuji, where Asano was buried. Then they turned themselves in. The ronins were ordered to commit suicide. The Legend of the 47 Samurai is very popular in Japan and many plays, novels, mangas and movies were based on it. The still a popular spot in Tokyo and a place who many feel were the finest examples of samurai loyalty to emerge from the Edo Period.
A good thriller with fast moving action packed scenes of Japanese sword fighting (first time I read about Japanese sword fighting action in English). I give it a four stars.
Book Review: Correcting idiootic mis-impressions
Summary: 5 Stars
This is very much near the top of Hunter's work--tightly plotted, vividly violent, incredibly satisfying. But it seems a lot of people are reading it hastily and, for whatever reason, reinterating a theme from their fantasies as opposed to what's actually in the book. This involves Bob Lee Swagger's "one-on-six" sword fight, in which, so many wonder, how can a man with one week's training prevail over six trained swordsmen? I re-read it last night. Let's examine what happens. First, Bob never fights six swordsmen. He goes to the guarded place under cover of deception, pretending to be a drunken American. By picking the lock, he stuns the six men with his appearance, after they feel they've driven him away. But still they consider him a drunken fool. At that point, he draws and kills two with a single slice across the belly, before they can even draw their weapons. End of "1 on 6" fantasy, now, suddenly, it's down to a 1-on-4 fantasy. The third yakuza panics and runs at him, sword raised, screaming. He's big but not fast, and Bob slips his clumsy blow and cuts him down. Hmmm, two cuts, three guys out. So now we're down to 1-on-3. The fourth guy he fights is very dangerous, but also over-confident that he can beat Bob. On any normal day, possibly he could. But A.) it's clear he makes a mistake and B.) it's clear Bob is lucky, with an improvised cut that takes him in the throat. Thus it's down to 1-on-2. The two move at him reluctantly and he fights poorly. He's never faced two (just as they've never faced anyone so determined.) One loses syncopation with the other, tries for a quick kill, and Bob goes under his swing and cuts him through the leg. Brilliant? Not actually, stupid. In cutting the leg, he ties up his blade, leaving himself open for the sixth man, who rushes forward, but slips in the bloodslick on the floor. Bob has made a crucial mistake, but is able to recover when this guy makes a crucial mistake, and conks him in the face.
Nowhere does he fight "six men at once." There's no evidence that any except No. 3 were swordsmen of any exceptional skill. Quite the contrary, we've even seen that "unit" defeated by a college kendo champ earlier in the book! (Read the details, please!)After the fight, an experienced witness berates Bob for his bad fighting skills, his poor execution, and informs him that he only survived on luck. (I would say surprise and aggression were helpful too.) The one survivor comments that the gaigin was more notable for spirit than for technique.
I hope these critics learn to read more carefully!
Book Review: Stephen Hunter is simply a very good writer
Summary: 5 Stars
The 47th Samurai is an amazing book for several reasons. It is an interesting story, informative on Japanese history and philosophy, a dramatic plot departure for the author, but most of all it demonstrates just how good author Stephen Hunter is. Some may see this plot departure as a failure of sorts, I see it as a growth mechanism enabling Mr. Hunter to explore new inviting writing ground. My only word of caution to Mr. Hunter is to remember your reader base.
The 47th Samurai is a mix of James Clavell's Shogun, Barry Eisler's assassin series, and Michael Crichton's Rising Sun. Mr. Hunter is able to take Bob Lee Swagger to new levels and new experiences. He humanizes the aging Swagger while at the same time showing his soldierly grit. In this installment of the Swagger saga, Bob is called upon to uphold his father's honor by returning a sword to the son of the man Dad Swagger killed on Iwo Jima earning him the nation's highest award for valor; The Medal of Honor. In the process Bob Lee Swagger learns about Japanese culture, history, philosophy, and the art of the Samurai. He is forced to develop his combat skills in a new endeavor; Japanese Sword fighting. In the process we learn much about Bob Lee the man and his father Earl Swagger the hero. Mr. Hunter is masterful at intertwining the two in a wonderful story.
I must admit that Swagger's learning the art of Samurai sword play in such a short time does stretch credulity but one must remember this is a story and as such allows Mr. Hunter poetic license. That being said, it was a weakness in the storyline. Other than that I thought Mr. Hunter did a wonderful of plot and story development. I must hand it to Bob Lee's wife, Julie, she is a saint for putting up with his continual adventures. Talk about a strong marriage. I think at age 60 it is time for Bob "The Nailer" to relax and enjoy his family- he is getting a little long in the tooth. And now with a new 5 year old Japanese it will be most interesting to see IF and WHERE Mr. Hunter takes Bob Lee Swagger next?
Much sword violence and blood but germane to the story. No gratuitous sex some strong language.
This is a book that Hunter purist will either like or hate; so reviews will be skewed accordingly. It can be read on its own but would help if one has read prior Bob Lee Swagger novels. That all said, I recommend this book as a good solid read. Enjoy.