"Samurai/Ronin pulp books?" Topic

I'm a fan of Robert E. Howard's style and characters (El Borak, Conan, Steve Costigan among others.)

Are there any books, novellas, serials (in English) out there with samurai or ronin characters?

And preferably no manga (I'm not against it, I just sometimes prefer to use my imagination to paint the image as I read.)

Futurani, in the vein of Kurosawa, murder mysteries, best around in Samurai fiction I have found. Tends to be pretty thin on the ground, which is a shame. I ahve been searching for many a moon. Three books in the series, shame no more written

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47 Ronin is good but written as a myth, think Robin hood types seeking revenge for death of their master

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look up translations of Japanese light novels. They are the closest think to US pulp I can think off. And no they are not the same thing.

A pity about manga because Samurai Executioner, Lone Wolf and Cub, and Blade of the Immortal would be right up your alley.

The Zenta and Matsuzo series by Lensey Namioka
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Jessica Amanda Salmonson's fantasy series about Tomoe Gozen
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C J Cherryh's oriental fantasy The Paladin
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Milligan and the Samurai Rebels link
Tim Lukeman's Rajan & Koren
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Eric Lustbader's Sci-fi Ronin "The Sunset Warrior" saga
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Bamboo Sword & Other Samurai Tales
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However you could try the epic novel "Musashi" link

I would also recommend the Chinese Judge Dee books by van Gulik. Although these are a 7th century Chinese detective series, there are plenty of swordfights, etc, and best of all they are a cracking read.
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My favorite Japanese historical novel is "The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan" by Yasushi Inoue. I recommend any of his historical novels, they are meticulously researched.

It is worth mentioning that manga is the Japanese equivalent to pulp. Because of the difficulty of learning kanji, the Japanese went to the comic form really early on, where the reader would only need day-to-day kanji to get the gist of a story.

I'm not trying to argue into changing your tastes, just explaining why you're going to have a hard time finding Japanese pulp fiction about samurai otherwise.

Also, there aren't a lot of translated light novels (describes physical size more than anything). I have a pile of one series from when I was in Japan, never did get around to grabbing Guin Saga (all 130+ volumes!) like I had wanted to. Light novels are kinda the next step in reading from manga, they're comparable to Teen Lit in the US. They use lots of furigana, and sometimes use unusual readings of kanji to make a pun.

The Suguwara Akitada mysteries by I. J. Parker are pretty fun, on the same style as Judge Dee. They're technically pre-Samurai, set a bit before the Genpei War, but there's all sorts of intrigue, politics, religion, and general butt-kicking.

I would also recommend the Chinese Judge Dee books by van Gulik. Although these are a 7th century Chinese detective series, there are plenty of swordfights, etc, and best of all they are a cracking read.

Seconded. A great series, very enjoyable to read, albeit definitely not Conan-esque sword & sorcery.

If manga wasn't off the list, I'd actually suggest Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo graphic novels. Yes, the main character is an anthropomorphic rabbit, but the storytelling is phenomenal, and it very definitely has an oriental pulp fantasy feel to it, especially in the arcs with overt supernatural elements in them (which have become more common over the years).

Not quite in the vein that you're looking for, but I'm 99% sure you'll enjoy it anyway: _Bridge of Birds_ by Barry Hughart. A novel of an ancient China that never was. Pulpish, funny as heck, and a great adventure. Master Li and Number Ten Ox are very high on my list of favorite characters.

Thanks, all, for the huge list for me to peruse!

And I'm not against manga at all (I'm thinking about picking up Samurai Executioner as well), I just wanted something that I could read that was a little more in depth(?); I'm an art guy, but I'm also a word guy (if that makes any sense.)

_Bridge of Birds_ by Barry Hughart. A novel of an ancient China that never was. Pulpish, funny as heck, and a great adventure. Master Li and Number Ten Ox are very high on my list of favorite characters.

There are two sequels too, y'know – Story of the Stone and Eight Skilled Gentlemen:

barryhughart.org/books.htm

All are must-reads for fans of Chinese fantasy with a touch of comedy and mystery.

Bridge of Birds is the first, best one. The other two suffer from the sophomore slump -- if you really like the first one, you'll enjoy the next two, but if you've only got time to read one, get Bridge of Birds.

I would second the recommendations of both "Musashi," and "Samurai Banners." "Taiko," by the same author as Musashi, is also a great read and very informative.

If you enjoy historical mystery novels, Laura Joh Rowlands stories about Edo era Japan are a lot of fun, though sometimes a little redundant.

Huscarle and Wulfgar- I actually read some of the preview content of Musashi on Amazon- despite the page count, I think that's what I'm looking for!

The preview ended with Takezo and Matahachi hiding out in the shed, sick but recovering from battle wounds, while Tokugawa patrols searched the countryside. Now, I need to get the book to see how they get out- I'm sure it'll have been an anti-climactic cliffhanger where I stopped, but the first ten pages of the book still have me hooked.

Pity the Eiji Yoshikawa books arent on the kindle :(

Musashi would stand as a wonderful work in any setting, it's mythic and has every personality type covered. Takuan the Monk is my favourite. So sensible.

Can't beat Musashi & Taiko.

Just an update: I've been reading Musashi. I'm about a third of the way through- it was the perfect choice- exactly what I was looking for. Just the right amount of action and simple drama.

Thanks again for everyone's suggestions!

I've finished reading Musashi- Wow!
That was the perfect choice, with a great balance between action and drama, providing plenty of scenario and campaign ideas for samurai skirmish games.

I'm almost depressed now because I don't know what to read next. Taiko would seem the logical choice, but samurai grand battles don't interest me as much. Musashi is going to be difficult to follow up. I may just have to read it again.

Thank you again to everyone for your recommendations; maybe I'll just look through this thread to see what to read next.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed "Musashi", EC. Thanks for letting us know.

If you'd like to read something else in the genre that doesn't involve such a huge commitment of time, I can strongly recommend a collection of short stories by Shuhei Fujisawa called "The Bamboo Sword." There are eight stories in all, beautifully written, about life as a samurai during the Edo era. The title story is the basis for the film, "Twilight Samurai."

Another Edo era novel, much shorter than "Musashi," is called "Shipwrecks," by Akira Yoshimura. Its a classic about a small village on the coast of Japan which survives by luring merchant ships onto the rocks. Not really a samurai story, but enthralling, nevertheless.

I love Twilight Samurai; Bamboo Sword has been ordered!
(And Shipwrecks has been saved to my wish list for later.)
Thanks again for the recommendations.

I know you said no Manga but you owe it to yourself to read Lone Wolf and Cub. 8K pages of pure Samurai goodness. One of the best stories I have ever read.

I love Lone Wolf and Cub; I'm a step ahead of you here -- I read it in the late 80s/early 90s when you could still get it as a full size comic :)

I haven't read all 8k pages though- I don't think there'd be any harm in supplementing my "novel" reading with some good manga.

I'm also thinking about reading Vagabond, to see its take on Musashi's story.

Evilcartoonist, have you read the end? The last line in the book is a heart breaker.

Haven't got to the end (of Lone Wolf and Cub?)
The end of Musashi was nice and poetic.