Satsuma Gishiden Volume 3 (v. 3)
The third volume of Hirata's eighteenth-century samurai saga continues with new challenges to the roving Satsuma warriors' dignity. Before they can lend their assistance to a vital flood-control project in another province, they must endure the discrimination and suspicions of their foreign hosts. Even worse, their established codes of honor are threatened when a cluster of disgruntled, lower-class samurai in their midst stages a gory rebellion. Although English-speaking audiences may find the arcane Japanese history somewhat baffling, Hirata's superlatively accomplished pen-and-ink art includes enough swordplay and bloodshed to keep every dedicated samurai fan happy. Hays, Carl