Sword of the Ronin

The Ronin Trilogy, Book 2

By: Travis Heermann

Narrated by: David Radtke

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

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)

amazing and captivating.

i stumble upon this series as i look for aomething to fill the void as i work. the excitement and depictions, the struggles and woes, and the love and lust crescendo into an amazing story. The familiar yet wnchanting world captivated me and i cannot wait to purchase the final book!

Fantastic story! Questionable narrator.

This story is wonderously creative and well thought out. Just enough magic and myth to keep a smile on your face without overpowering the skill and personality of the characters.
The only drawback on this particular story is the narrator. I was not impressed with David Radtke's voice and accent choices for the characters. Not every villian is supposed sound like a sniveling worm or a big dumb ogre.
My hats off to the author for the great continuation of Kenishi's story, both the ups and the downs. Looking forward to book 3!

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.

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.

Bad Narrator

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

Great story, not so great narrator.

I loved the story but just did not care for the narrator's voice. Still recommend 👌

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.

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

A divine story

A powerful story filled with adventure. A search for a stolen magical sword, a descent into near madness and an amazing reunion. A very enjoyable series there is something here for everyone.

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