CHILD OF VENGEANCE

In late-sixteenth-century Japan, Bennosuke, the teenaged son of the samurai lord Munisai, makes the choice to follow in his father's footsteps and takes on the name Musashi Miyamoto. Narrating in formal tones that reflect samurai code of honor, Mark Bramhall takes the listener into a violent world of long ago when warlords cultivated vengeance and battled for scraps of land. Bramhall captures the tone and texture of this verbose tale, filled with effusive detail. He effortlessly switches from the formal language of the warriors to the introspective words of monks and the comments of respected craftsmen. Emotions are subtly rendered, as suits the characters. This story is not for the faint of heart or weak stomached as the depictions of graphic violence are bloodcurdling. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2013]