Synopses & Reviews
For the past two years, twelve-year-old Jack Fletcher has been a rigging monkey on a British vessel. Jack's father, the ship's navigator, has been teaching him all that he knows, through his rutter, an invaluable book of maps and notes on the world's uncharted oceans. When a storm forces the ship into an unfriendly bay, it is attacked by ninja pirates who have been sent to steal the rutter. Helpless against the powerful ninja, the entire crew, including Jack's father, is slaughtered during the ensuing fight. Washed up on the shores of a mysterious land known to the British as the Japans, Jack is hurt and left for dead. He is soon rescued by Massamotosan, one of Japan's greatest samurai. At first Jack is terrified, he cannot communicate, nor does he know anything of Japanese custom. He becomes friends with Massamoto's niece, the graceful and powerful Akiko who teaches him the language and how to fit in. Soon, Jack is deemed ready to join Massamoto's household and sent to samurai school where he will learn the way of the warrior. Life at samurai school is fraught with difficulty, and Jack is bullied for being a 'barbarian'. He begins the grueling physical and psychological training required of all the students. While guarding the only thing he has from his father, the rutter, and hoping it will help him get home one day, Jack needs all the courage he can muster to prove to his to fellow students that he has what it takes to be a samurai.
Synopsis
Jack Fletcher is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan, his beloved father and the crew lie slaughtered by ninja pirates.
Rescued by a legendary master swordsman and brought under his wing, Jack begins the grueling physical and psychological training needed to become a samurai. Life at Samurai school is fraught with difficulty for Jack who is bullied and treated as an outcast.
With his friend the remarkable, beautiful Akiko at his side and all the courage he can muster, Jack has to prove himself. Will he be able to face deadly rivals and challenges that will test him to his very limits?
Synopsis
For the past two years, 12-year-old Jack Fletcher has been a rigging monkey on a British vessel, until the crew is attacked by ninja pirates. He is soon rescued by one of Japan's greatest samurai and begins the grueling physical and psychological training required of all the students.