Review: Undead Samurai by Baptiste Pinson Wu
Blurb:
Japan, 1625
A new Drum Master has risen, and soon the nation will fall to the curse of Izanagi. Answering the call of his kotsuzumi, dead warriors abandon their peace to once again roam the land of the living, swinging rusty blades and chattering rotten teeth at his behest.
Japan’s last hope lies in the hands of the nine warriors gathered by the young daimyō of Owari. To reach Onijima, where the source of the curse’s power awaits, the Nine will not only have to face swarms of undead samurai and waves of shinobi mercenaries but even more dangerous to their mission, their inner demons.
Against the undead, the Nine only have two choices, fighting as one or becoming them.
Review:
Undead Samurai starts strong by transporting readers back to one of the most significant battles of the Warring States period in Japanese history. As a student of history with a big interest in this period, I was immediately hooked. Wu adds a layer of the supernatural to the outcome that works so well and establishes both the tone and high stakes of the next three hundred pages, which I ended up devouring within a couple of days. Despite some criticisms, I really enjoyed my time in this zombie-infested, ninja-hunting historical fantasy.
Looking through the lens of fantasy, the premise of Undead Samurai can be boiled down to a party of nine heroes on a quest to find an artefact in order to stop a necromancer from trying to conquer the land. Wu puts his own unique twist on this popular and fun trope by setting it in medieval Japan and weaving it into the history and culture of the time. This is enhanced by Wu’s decision to refer to many things by their Japanese names, a glossary of which can be found at the beginning of the book. We also get to visit various locations from Japanese history including the battlegrounds of Sekigahara and the ruins of the once mighty Azuchi Castle. These are places that I would love to visit in real life, minus the hordes of undead.
However, the best thing about Undead Samurai is not its setting and story, rather its characters. From a demon-masked shinobi and a deaf musketeer to a blind warrior monk and a swordsman of legendary renown, Wu brings together a fantastic cast of characters. I have no doubt that readers will resonate with at least one of them. My favourite was the shinobi Kiba whose personal past seems the most intertwined with the story. Close behind him is the deaf musketeer Ame who I would love to read an entire book about, and the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, whose name already brings with it a certain gravitas coming into the story, but whom Wu once again adds his own unique twist on. I really enjoyed the relationships that gradually formed between the characters over the course of their journey. Wu taps into that sense of brotherhood that can only be forged in the crucible of combat and which increasingly influences the heroes’ actions towards the end of the book.
Speaking of combat, Wu’s action scenes are excellent. He does a fantastic job of making each encounter unique in its setting, and constantly upping the stakes every time, forcing our heroes to quickly adapt or die. Wu also gives each of our heroes a chance to shine and show off their unique fighting styles. Both Kiba and Ame are especially a joy to see in action.
Unfortunately, I do have some criticisms which prevented Undead Samurai from being the engrossing read it had the potential to be for me. There are a whopping nine POVs, each from one of our heroes, with some getting more page time and internal moments than others. I have no problem with that; in fact, I love that Wu gives each character some personal page time. However, considering the length of the book, it was inevitable that some characters’ backstories and motivations get glossed over and are reduced to a page or two, especially towards the end. This has a knock-on effect on the final events where these backstories and motivations seem shoved in just to add more tension to what is happening. I would have preferred if Wu had made the book longer and spent more time weaving these characters’ backstories and motivation much earlier into the story. My other criticism is the ending itself. The final act comes far too quickly. The ending was thrilling but I was just starting to really become invested in the characters and their relationships with each other when it arrives. Again, more time given to the journey itself would have made it more impactful and satisfying.
Putting aside the criticisms mentioned above, Undead Samurai is a great read with excellent characters, plenty of heart-pounding action and a wonderfully-realised setting. 2024 is really shaping up to be the year of the samurai when it comes to entertainment, from the TV adaptation of James Clavell’s Shōgun to the release of Ninja Theory’s Rise of the Rōnin. I recommend adding Undead Samurai to that list. In fact, thinking about it now, Undead Samurai would make for an excellent adaptation like that of Castlevania on Netflix or The Legend of Vox Machina on Amazon Prime. Who knows? Maybe some day. For now, though, if you are in anyway interested in both fantasy and Japanese history, I recommend you check this book out. This was my first experience of Wu’s writing and I intend to check out his other series, The Three Kingdoms Chronicles.
