Risuko

Samurai, assassins, warlords -- and a girl who likes to climb A historical coming-of-age tale of a young girl who is purchased away from her family to become an assassin. Can she come to terms with who she must be? Though Japan has been devastated by a century of civil war, Risuko just wants to climb trees. Growing up far from the battlefields and court intrigues, the fatherless girl finds herself pulled into a plot that may reunite Japan -- or may destroy it. She is torn from her home and what is left of her family, but finds new friends at a school that may not be what it seems. One of the students — or perhaps one of the teachers — is playing the kitsune. The mischievous fox spirit is searching for… something. What do they want? And what will they do to find it? Magical but historical, Risuko follows her along the first dangerous steps to discovering who she truly is. The first volume of the Seasons of the Sword series! Can one girl win a war? Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies, moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn't possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she? Historical adventure fiction appropriate for teen readers As featured in Kirkus, Foreword, and on the cover of Publishers Weekly! Tight, exciting, and thoughtful... The characters are nicely varied and all the pieces fit into place deftly. -- Kirkus Reviews Risuko is an artfully crafted novel that evokes a heavy sense of place and enchantment.... Risuko's development and evolution are fascinating to watch in this powerful and relentless coming-of-age adventure. -- Foreword Reviews (spotlight review) Vividly portrayed, flush with cultural detail, and smoothly written. -- BookLife

Can One Girl Save A School? Contains Risuko and Bright Eyes, as well as six prequel stories! Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn’t possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she? "Kano Murasaki, you may not realize it, but I have done you a great favor. I have it in my power to give you a gift that you don’t even realize you desire. Make yourself worth my trouble, and you will be glad of it. Disappoint me, and you will be very, very sorry." At the Full Moon, an isolated mountain school for training young women to become shrine maidens (and much more), Risuko finds friends, challenges, and danger. Intrigue, poison, invasion, murder — she must survive from winter into spring if she is going to figure out who she is truly going to be. This thrilling collection contains the first two novels in the award-winning teen historical fiction series Seasons of the Sword. In addition, Winter into Spring includes a half-dozen short stories set before the novels, exploring the characters and world: a sixteenth-century Japan torn by over a century of civil war. PRAISE FOR RISUKO: ”Tight, exciting, and thoughtful!” — Kirkus “Risuko is an artfully crafted novel that evokes a heavy sense of place and enchantment…. Risuko’s development and evolution are fascinating to watch in this powerful and relentless coming-of-age adventure.” — Foreword Reviews (spotlight review) “Vividly portrayed, flush with cultural detail, and smoothly written.” — BookLife PRAISE FOR BRIGHT EYES: “Bright Eyes is imaginative, original, exceptionally well written, and highly recommended” — Midwest Book Review “An enthralling. unputdownable tale! […] The well-crafted mystery, well-honed history and world-building, and Risuko’s adventurousness leave the reader wanting more.” — Shailyn Rogers, Ind’Tale Magazine “The author crafts a highly unique and captivating world in the pages of Bright Eyes.” — BookLife

Not all assassins wear black Some come wearing silk A young Takeda warrior meets a servant who is much more than she seems. And teaches him what a warrior truly can be. (Historical adventure short story. Teen assassin, love in a time of war, medieval Japan) This is the second of the Kunoichi Companion Tales, prequel stories to David Kudler’s historical novel Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale: 1. White Robes — Mired in her own grief, Lady Mochizuki Chiyome encounters two young women who give her a whole new, much more interesting opportunity (now available!) 2. Silk & Service — A young Takeda warrior meets a servant who is much more than she seems (now available!) 3. Waiting for Kuniko — Mieko is waiting at a rendezvous behind enemy lines. In the rain. Without a hat. The person who comes up the road is the last person she expected to encounter. 4. Wild Mushrooms — A Hōjō commander is delighted when two pretty young shrine maidens enter his camp on the evening before a battle. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been. 5. Ghost — At a banquet to celebrate a new alliance, Chiyome contemplates murder, and discovers a new servant (now available!) 6. Schools for Talented Youngsters: Monthly Headmistresses’ Dinner — Three unique ladies get together once a month to share the joys and challenges involved teaching young ladies with very particular... talents. (Historical fantasy/crossover — now available!) Coming soon: Shining Boy — Plucked off of the streets of the capital, an orphan girl tries to figure out what story she’s wandered into Coming soon: Blade — Toumi doesn’t want anyone messing with her business Coming soon: Little Brother — Returning to the monastery turns out to be as hard as leaving it was Preview: “Get my purse, boy!” growled Captain Oniyama, “And more sake!” Masugu watches the girl appear as if from out of the floor to pour the rice wine into the captain's cup: smooth gait, smooth hair, smooth— “Boy! My purse!” Masugu shakes himself, blushing, and leaps to his feet. “Yes, Oniyama-sama!” The captain is usually patient and polite, but at these regular mahjong games with the other Imagawa commanders, he drinks. And Masugu doesn't like being around him when he's drunk. Doesn't like watching him lose at games. Also, the girl...

When eternity comes to visit A Hojo commander is delighted when two pretty young shrine maidens enter his camp on the evening before a battle. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been. A Risuko prequel story showing Mieko and Kuniko on a mission — at their sweetest and at their most deadly. Preview: Sugi wasn’t given to fancies. He was a good Buddhist; the old gods and spirits had never interested him much. But [...] these two girls, in their miko garb, standing on the edge of what would be a battlefield the next day, popping up like wild mushrooms — they gave him exactly the same feeling. The feeling that he was face to face with the eternal. It was not an easy feeling. He smiled to cover his discomfort. “Young ladies, how may I help you? This is not a place for such lovely girls.” Biting her lip, the delicate one glanced over to the tall one, who gave an impassive nod. Apparently reassured, the smaller girl turned back to Sugi, her eyes decorously downcast. “My lord general, sir. We didn’t mean to be here. We’re on our way from Estuary to the shrine at Picnic Lake. We were told by the priest to follow the road up that valley, there.” She tipped her head past the Takeda garrison. “Those soldiers over there, they were... not very nice.” The tall, square-faced girl gave a grunt and scowled. “Took our food.” “I’m sorry to hear that,” said Sugi, solemnly. He lifted his chin. “Would you lovely ladies care to join me and my soldiers for our evening meal?” The smaller, prettier girl held a hand in front of her mouth. “Oh. My lord. We could not —” “I insist. And you shall sleep in my tent. I will... guard the door.” He gave a slight bow. Since, after all, they were spirits. The pretty girl started to object, but the bigger one put her hand on the other’s shoulder. “We’re hungry.” “Of course, my dears. I am sure my soldiers would be delighted to have you join them this evening.” In his mind, Sugi could see it: these two young beauties (well, one beauty, the other... handsome), laughing and singing with his soldiers on this, the night before their legendary victory. It would become part of his fame. And perhaps... He smiled at his own runaway imagination. “Come. It smells as if the supper will soon be ready.” (Historical adventure short — Japanese Civil War era, battlefield romance, women assassins, Shintō spirits)

A chance encounter behind enemy lines A Risuko prequel short story Mieko is waiting at a rendezvous behind enemy lines. In the rain. Without a hat. The person who comes up the road is the last person she expected to encounter. Preview: Mieko wanted to leave. She was waiting on a worn stone shrine beneath a dripping red pine. Rain was falling, and she had been waiting here, slowly getting wet, since the clouds had sloshed in around midday. She and Kuniko had split, Mieko searching the area on the south side of the valley while Kuniko searched in the village on the north side. They were looking for young Sachi and Hoshi, the two newest kunoichi, who were supposed to have checked in from their mission at dawn. Mieko wasn’t worried — not really. Kuniko was more than capable of taking care of herself, and Sachi and Hoshi weren’t stupid. Their mission was a fairly simple one: wander up to Tiptown, where the Uesugi commander kept the headquarters for this part of the province, and see if any of the soldiers might let something slip to a couple of pretty girls. It was a mission that Mieko and Kuniko could have done in their sleep — had done more than once — but it seemed like a good, straightforward test for the two younger girls. The two newly initiated kunoichi. But they were behind enemy lines, and they hadn’t arrived at the rendezvous at the roadside shrine this morning. And while Mieko had wanted to charge up to Tiptown to make sure the girls were safe, Kuniko had sensibly pointed out that they had probably just lost track of time or gotten turned around. And so she had suggested that they split up and search this part of the valley before heading into the enemy’s stronghold. They’d agreed to meet up on the main road at this battered old shrine to some nameless forest god. They’d agreed to meet at the hour of the horse — noon, which would give them plenty of daylight to make their way to Tiptown, if they had to. And Mieko had quickly confirmed that no, Sachi and Hoshi weren’t at either of the forest shrines further off the road, nor at any of the farms that dotted the southern side of the valley. And then she’d returned to their meeting point and, as the rain began to fall, she waited. And waited. She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t. She was waiting for Kuniko. And Sachi and Hoshi. Mieko sighed, wiping the drizzle from her eyelashes. She should have worn a hat. A movement to her left startled her —

Can one girl stop a killer? The future of Japan hangs in the balance, and it's up to a girl who likes to climb to save the day Two armies have descended on the Full Moon, and the war that has torn Japan apart for over a century threatens to destroy Lady Chiyome's school for young shrine maidens (and assassins). In this thrilling sequel to Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale, Risuko must face warlords, samurai, angry cooks, a monster in the hills, the truth about her father, a spy among the kunoichi... And a murderer. Someone kills a Takeda lieutenant, staging it to look like suicide. Can Risuko figure out who would do such thing? And can she keep it from happening again? Reviews: "Once again David Kudler has fully succeeded as a novelist with a genuine flair for historical fiction populated by memorably crafted characters and decidedly entertaining plot twists and turns. Like the first novel in the author's 'Seasons of the Sword' series, Bright Eyes is imaginative, original, exceptionally well written, and highly recommended" - Midwest Book Review

Meet Lady Chiyome’s Army of “Deadly Blossoms” — Before Risuko Does! After a century of brutal civil war has torn Japan apart, Lady Mochizuki Chiyome gathers together the most unlikely army imaginable to unite the empire and bring an end to the bloodshed: an army of girls clad in the red and white garb of miko, shrine maidens. An army of kunoichi. Together, these girls work as spies, as bodyguards, as assassins — going where no soldier could go, doing what no soldier could do. Here are six stories of the kunoichi, set before the award-winning Seasons of the Sword novels (Risuko and Bright Eyes): 1 - White Robes — Mired in her own grief, Lady Mochizuki Chiyome encounters two young women who give her a whole new, much more interesting opportunity 2 - Silk & Service — A young Takeda warrior meets a servant who is much more than she seems 3 - Waiting for Kuniko — Mieko is waiting at a rendezvous behind enemy lines. In the rain. Without a hat. The person who comes up the road is the last person she expected to encounter. 4 - Wild Mushrooms — A Hōjō commander is delighted when two pretty young shrine maidens enter his camp on the evening before a battle. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been. 5 - Ghost — At a banquet to celebrate a new alliance, Chiyome contemplates murder, and discovers a new servant 6 - Schools for Talented Youngsters: Monthly Headmistresses’ Dinner — Three unique ladies get together once a month to share the joys and challenges involved teaching young ladies with very particular... talents. (Historical fantasy/crossover) Preview (from “White Robes”) Chiyome considers the two girls, still dressed in their oh-so-innocent miko garb. They are standing now, no pretense of humility. Kuniko’s face is dark, her nostrils flaring. Mieko looks as if she’s been enjoying a lovely nighttime stroll, except for the dark circles in the middle of her cheeks and the splash of dark red across her white sleeve. “Well, well, well,” Chiyome laughs. “Aren’t you two entertaining.” “Yes, my lady,” Kuniko grunts through clenched teeth. Mieko says nothing. [...] An image: a beautiful screen Chiyome saw at the imperial palace, when her father brought her there to observe some ceremony or other. The screen seemed to her child’s imagination to have shown the whole of Japan, peopled by thousands of figures: armed samurai, elegant nobles, monks, merchants, and, scattered throughout, young girls in red and white. An army. An anonymous army. Invisible. Able to go everywhere. Able to gather information. Able to strike. With her toe Chiyome writes on the dusty floorboards: ku (く), then no (ノ), and then finally ichi (一). “Can you two read?” Kuniko scowls down at the marks. “Nine... in... one?” Mieko’s peers at Chiyome. She murmurs, “Kunoichi.” Kuniko blinks at her companion. “Kuno... What’s a kunoichi?” Mieko’s eyes remain on Chiyome. She knows. “Ah,” says Chiyome, grinning to herself, “it is... a very special kind of woman. Tell me, ladies. Would you like to end this ridiculous war? Would you like to be kunoichi?” “Yes, my lady,” the girls answer. Kuniko’s eyes are dark, but Mieko’s glisten.

You only THINK you know what happened at Waterloo The real story involved more monsters. And a lot more time travel If Jane Austen and Mary Shelley had locked H. G. Wells in a dungeon and revised his wildest work, the result would have been something like this rollicking steampunk time-travel adventure that still manages to be a comedy of manners. Albano’s delightful characters confront not only monsters and killer robots, but their own divided loyalties between personal happiness and the fate of their country. – Ken Schneyer It’s 1815, and Wellington’s badly-outnumbered army stares across the field of Waterloo at Napoleon’s forces. Desperate to hold until reinforcements arrive, Wellington calls upon a race of monsters created by a mad Genevese scientist 25 years before. It’s 1815, and a discontented young lady sitting in a rose garden receives a mysterious gift: a pocket watch that, when opened, displays scenes from all eras of history. Past…and future. It’s 1885, and a small band of resistance fighters are resorting to increasingly extreme methods in their efforts to overthrow a steampunk Empire whose clockwork gears are slick with its subjects’ blood. Are these events connected? Oh, come now. That would be telling. “Waterloo and time travel are made for each other and Heather Albano has done a wonderful job of giving us a delightful cast of characters, tasked with stitching together the proper nineteenth century while fending off several monstrous alternatives. Propulsive adventure with historical insight.” – Kim Stanley Robinson