Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter

By: Richard Parks

Narrated by: Brian Nishii

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

In an ancient Japan where the incursions of gods, ghosts, and demons into the living world is an everyday event, an impoverished nobleman named Yamada no Goji makes his living as a demon hunter for hire. With the occasional assistance of the reprobate exorcist Kenji, whatever the difficulty - ogres, demons, fox-spirits - for a price Yamada will do what needs to be done, even and especially if the solution to the problem isn’t as simple as the edge of a sword. Yet, no matter how many monsters he has to face, or how powerful and terrible they may be, the demons Yamada fears the most are his own.

©2013 Richard Parks (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Demon Hunter mini stories

This is a series of short stories presented in order. There isn't a lot of spells and sword play being done. Instead our hero is a down his luck noble who is hired or finds demon related jobs. This novel gives an insight into demons and the like from a different culture. The setting is in an ancient time. I enjoyed it a lot. I especially enjoyed narration by Brian Nishii. It is obvious that he has some degree of being bilingual. But his voice is English speaking with the foreign words being spoken correctly. This adds an enjoyable flare to the stories. I recommend this for those looking for something different.

Boring

I had great hopes for this book but i was sorely disappointed. The main character is supposed to be a Demon Hunter as the title suggest but he is more like a Demon Soother He brings comfort and well tiding to monsters everywhere. I can literally count the number of times he use his sword on one hand. Now don't get me wrong I love a good story where the hero uses his mind instead of brown. But in every situation the problems were so simply solved that the people with the problems should have solved them long before he ever arrived.
Plus all of the spell work and important life saving stuff was all done by his side kick a disreputable monk. who is like Watson to his Holmes.

A new kind of fantasy world

Japanese mythology is richly woven into this collection of adventuring tales. Two unlikely companions meet oni, ghosts, fox demons and worse - mortal treachery in this well performed audio book. Great fun for lovers of samurai fables.

worst ive listened to in a long time....

did not finish. narrator was boring story had no purpose . no action no comedic points nothing to get u wrapped up in story. if you dont write down everybodies names, to refer back to, you will get lost. will not get next book. which is sad because i had really high hopes....

Decent

The book was good just not what I was suspecting it's more of a Chinese Sherlock Holmes less than killing a bunch of demons blood and gore that I really was suspecting from this book but it wasn't decent I think maybe if I don't have anything else to read I might do the 2nd book

What an entertaining group of fantasy mysteries!

The feudal Japanese setting mixed with Demons, ghosts, court politics, and mystery wasn’t the angle I expected when I picked this book up. I was so pleased, short consumable stories, with a pair of broken heroes to guide us through a little more of the world they inhabit in each story, so well done and satisfying. The narration was excellent, voices consistent across the stories for repeat characters, 5* performance. If you are looking for an enjoyable book that leaves you wishing there was more, pick up this little gem.

Living in Japanese Legends

A very enjoyable way to experience Japanese history and myths. this book is a mix of a Japanese myth and legend anthology and Sherlock Holmes detective stories.

Enjoyable

It was like short murder mysteries written in time of the samurai. I wish there were more.

Sherlock Holmes in Japan

This is a book that seems simple at first then you suddenly realize how in-depth it really is. I enjoy the characters and how I know nothing about Japanese religions the author is able to give quick descriptions to help to understand. Lord Yamada is such a compelling and realistic character, you can’t help but feel what he feels

I wasn't disappointed

the stories were good. some of them were a little slow, but I still enjoyed it. I will definitely pick up the other books in the series!

A mixture of Dresden Files and Japanese folk tales

Impoverished nobleman Yamada no Goji is a demon hunter in an ancient Japan, where the existence of ghosts and yōkai is a fact of life. His craft is difficult and requires intelligence and understanding as often as it requires his blade or tailsmans and his trade draws him into the schemes of humans seeking power, as well as those of the demons themselves.

This book has a lot going for it. The main story is broken up into a series of interlinked shorts, each involving a different task. All are plot heavy and there wasn't a point in the book that my interest wasn't held. The characters are good, the descriptions beautifully written and the mysteries intriguing.

Brian Nishii's performance was impressive, partly because he can clearly speak both Japanese and English fluently, helping evoke the setting of the story. He has a great voice to listen to and I really enjoyed the way he acted out the parts of the different characters.

There are two reasons this is a four star, rather than a five star listen for me. The first is that earlier on in the book both author and narrator fail to give a completely credible impression that the world we're visiting is ancient Japan. The language and the way the hero speaks are a bit too modern at times and the narrator also often lapses into a more Americanised accent for the hero. Also, it didn't give me what my audio-book group describes as a 'book hangover', that feeling where nothing else seems as good and you can't wait for the next one to come out.

Overall if you only have one credit a month and don't get through many books a year there are better fantasy books out there to spend it on. On the other hand if you read a lot like myself and enjoy paranormal fantasy books with plot as well as punch, I really recommend this.

Essentially a collection of short stories....

... Introducing you to the fantastic Yamada no Goji and the main background and main characters to his "life and times" of the title (Monogatari).
Each story can stand alone, but are also linked and push Lord Yamada's story onward as his friendships and connections flourish, flou der and even end in tragedy, as they must for a talented Demon Hunter
Richard Parks has researched the living history of Japan faithfully and shows his love and respect, whilst weaving an entertaining dark (and at times humorous) fantasy series. It is as much an education as it is entertainment and succour for those of us who are fans of whichever aspect draws us to this work.
Brian Nishi is one of my favourite vocal performers and my number one Go To for Japanese Lit. for his delightful enunciation of his ancestral tongue **shiver**

Constantine/Buffy/Sherlock Holmes

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story. Little clues here and there that later turn out to be huge clues because of the way the main character engineers things. It's very derivative.

What could Richard Parks have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

A story about demons and ghosts is going to be hard to make 'convincing' but this is just Sherlock Holmes with demons and ghosts and Kitsune!

Have you listened to any of Brian Nishii’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Not really. It's like teenage fictio.

Could you see Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

Brian Nishi is the only good thing about this book. Brilliant as ever.

Any additional comments?

If you want a very simple, drab sort of story to listen to, one that'll help youget to sleep, but this book!