March 15, 2007
Ieyasu, founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, has just won his first battle when his foster father is killed, which is sad but simplifies Ieyasu's next choice of an ally. Meanwhile, the fathers of Ieyasu's ninja Hanzo and his fiancee, Tsukumo, oppose the marriage because two families' lords are potential rivals. Later, Hanzo rescues Ieyasu's wife and children from a sadistic warlord, precipitating an attempt on Hanzo's life and, oddly, estrangement between him and Ieyasu. The greatest excitement in this volume of Koike and Kojima's historical epic occurs in close quarters, where Kojima shows himself as accomplished at subtle facial expressions as slashing action.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)