• Sword of the Ronin

  • The Ronin Trilogy, Book 2
  • By: Travis Heermann
  • Narrated by: David Radtke
  • Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (85 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Sword of the Ronin  By  cover art

Sword of the Ronin

By: Travis Heermann
Narrated by: David Radtke
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

In 13th century Japan, a land of ancient spirits, shapeshifting animals, and demons, Ken'ishi is a warrior without a master. Orphaned in infancy, he has only one link to his past - Silver Crane, his father's sword.

When Silver Crane is stolen, Ken'ishi must go on a quest to recover his very identity. The crime lord known as Green Tiger holds the key to Ken'ishi's past. With intrigues stretching to China, where the Mongol emperor Khubiliai Khan builds an invasion fleet, Green Tiger knows of Silver Crane and dreams of the day when he can destroy the shogunate and restore his shattered clan.

With a wooden sword as his only weapon, Ken'ishi descends into the shadowy world of flesh houses, Chinese smugglers, and Mongol spies.

To succeed and unleash Silver Crane's power, he must face the darkness in his own soul.

©2013 Travis Heermann (P)2014 Travis Heermann

Critic reviews

"A rich, engaging, morally complex historical fantasy, deeply embedded in Japanese culture." (E.C. Ambrose, author of Elisha Barber, The Dark Apostle series)
"Travis Heermann takes everything I loved about Heart of the Ronin (adventure, intrigue, sympathetic characters), puts it in a pressure cooker, and serves it with a side of Awesome. Sword of the Ronin is his best novel yet and won't disappoint." (Shaun Farrell, Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing)
"From the first sentence, Travis Heermann weaves a tale that sucked this reader into a rich Japanese tapestry full of ronin, samurai, and magic. It was hard to put this book down to sleep." (Patrick Hester, Hugo-Award-winning SFSignal.com and the Functional Nerds Podcast)

What listeners say about Sword of the Ronin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    39
  • 4 Stars
    12
  • 3 Stars
    11
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    54
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Better than the first one!

What did you love best about Sword of the Ronin?

I loved that David Radtke took the time to pronounce the Japanese words correctly. The time taken to make sure that the listener falls into the story is apparent. I hope he reads the final book when it comes out.

What did you like best about this story?

This was more information and action packed from the first one. Kenishi in the face of debauchery stands firm on his honor. Lesser men would have crumbled under such pain and despair. This book makes me believe that he is in fact Noble!

Which scene was your favorite?

I loved the moment when Kenishi battled the Mongols. Silver Crane is legit and in the right hands not even the mammoth barbarians can stand up to it. He cleaved that chump in two.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The hardest part to listen to was when Kenishi was informed by his horse companion that little frog was in fact his son. As a father it struck home that he never truly got to hold his son as a son. This was such a sad terrible moment but as a device to spur our hero forward, effective.

Any additional comments?

Lets do this I am dying to hear book 3 Spirit of the Ronin.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

I cant wait for spirit of the ronin!!
This was a satisfying sequel to heart of
The ronin! Heerman weaves a wonderful tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book for people who like Japanese swordsman

I loved it and it tells of yokai in the right way But the only thing I hate is book one of this is not on here and it leaves it up in the air after the Last book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent series

I listen to this trilogy at least a few times a year. Introduced to the Ronin on Librivox. I couldn't help but buy the rest of the series immediately

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite of the trilogy

I have waited to review till I finshed the series and this part of the story with this narrator is the most engaging of the three. The other two are good too check um out! Book 1 Heart of the Ronin is a free podcast with a different narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars

Feeling duped after the podcast of the first book

The production is so much worse in this version. give it a listen before buying here and form your own opinion.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Wow

I’ve listened to the first books many times. The new narrator is unbearable. Unfortunately for me I got the second and third books at the same time. Probably won’t listen to the third book. Some one should have listened to this before it was released.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Bad Narrator

I loved the story. The narration made me feel like I was listening to a poorly dubbed anime film.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

Narrator sounds like he’s falling asleep

The narrator should be the first thing to go; between odd inflections, weird character voice choices, and sounding like he’s yawning it is horribly difficult to pay attention to the story.

Parents: there is no mention of this in the description but the sexual content is pretty intense. This is meant as an adult series ONLY.

The story felt confusing and choppy, maybe the next book will be better and have a narration that suits it better.

—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
Listener received this title free

A great story

If you love samurai then this story is for you. A story full of greed, loyalty, love & friendship. The saying that says " You don't know what you've got until it's gone." rings true for this story. The author did a great job with the characters. The story sucked me right in from the start. A must read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!