This book may not be for everyone. To enjoy it I think you will have to have some interest in Japan and it’s culture. Maybe have a little knowledge about way the country used to be run by warlords and their armies of Samurai warriors.

For me this is book was a very enjoyable read, I have read many a non fiction book on Japan, it’s Warlords, Samurai warriors, Geisha’s and Concubines. So this is the sort of book I enjoy reading. I did notice that this book is classed as historical fiction, which I would expect but it’s also classed as Sci fi and Fantasy. In my opinion there wasn’t really anything Sci Fi and Fantasy in the book, but this is only book one in the trilogy. So maybe the Sci Fi and Fantasy come more into play in the next two books.

I’m really looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy and I hope that they are out sooner rather than later, as I’m impatient to find out how the story continues.


This story is set in 1626, when Japan was under the rule of the Shogun Iemitsu who was a tyrant to his people. The story is based around the life of Father Joaquim Martinez, who left his own country of Portugal to spread the word of God. For many years he has made his home in the Japanese Province of Hizen. Where he teaches the word of God and helps the people in the village with his guidance. The only problem is that the Shogun in charge of Japan has outlawed Christianity, as he is suspicious of them and what they are teaching his people.

The village were Father Joaquim Martinez lives is very poor, the villagers spend long days outside tending the paddy fields. They even need to have their children out working in the fields, as the local warlord keeps turning up demanding more and more taxes off the villagers. If the village can’t pay in gold then they have to pay with bags or rice. If the village doesn’t supply what he demands he then brutally punishes them, if any of the villagers speak out he has them killed.

One afternoon the warlord turns up unexpectedly. While Father Joaquim Martinez is out in the fields helping to gather in the rice, as the villagers are falling further and further behind with what the warlord is expecting from them. The warlord notices that some of the villagers are running back to the village instead of coming to see him. So he sends his Samurai to bring all of the villagers to him.

This is when he finds out that the villagers have a priest living amongst them. With this finding he told his Samurai to tear down every dwelling and bring everyone to him. They found that some of the parents had hidden their children, but they also find the other two Christians. So he orders the village to be burnt down and he, ties up the villagers in a sort of chain gang and walks them to the capital.

The treatment of the villagers becomes worse and worse on the long journey. If anyone fell or complained they would be beaten, it didn’t matter how old or how young you were. Some of the elderly and some of the very young struggled, but their parents and families couldn’t do anything to help them. The only comfort the villagers could get were the words spoken by Father Joaquim Martinez.

Father Joaquim Martinez did all he could to stand up for the people of the village, but it all fell on deaf ears or they were punished even more. Once they got to their destination and the warlord spoke with the powers that be he decided that he would split the women and children from the men and that he himself would escort the men to the Norther Island of Japan and gift the Priest, the other Christians and the men folk to the Shogun Iemitsu. As he knew that Shogun Iemitsu would especially enjoy torturing the Priest.

So the women and children were left behind to be tortured as they wanted them to renounce their Christianity. While the warlord and his Samurai marched the men to the north. The journey was long and arduous and very dangerous for the prisoners.

They eventually meet Shogun Iemitsu and Father Joaquim Martinez does everything he can to protect the villagers and himself. He manages to strike a deal with Shogun Iemitsu if he and his two other fellow Christians manage to fight his most esteemed Samurai worriers. Who will win? What will become of the villagers? That is for you to find out.

As I’ve already said this is a very good book and I’m looking forward to the next two. Shaun Curry the author knows his stuff when it comes to the history and culture of Japan. The way he has written this book he has brought Japaneses history to life.

A fantasy tale based on historical 17th century Japan that works in patches but stretches credulity in others. A Jesuit hero too good to be true, a village captured and removed to Nagasaki where all survive despite horrendous graphically described torture all culminating in a biblical conclusion! Ok but sadly not for me.

Interesting fantasy work. I’m not a Hugh fantasy reader as the work’s are so often formulaic but I found this interesting and engaging to read. Different to the norm, especially with the Japanese setting

Having read the background of Shaun Curry after reading Swords of Silence, I was taken back about the amount of research he has undertaken on that part of Japan’s history. Swords of Silence mixes Christian miracles with Shogun oppression to the point where I believe neither. Fantasy best describes the story.

Not for me I'm afraid.

The prologue was really strong and made me want to read on. I thought it was vivid and unsettling but the main story didn't keep that intensity.

The main story, to me, felt very preachy and read like a non fiction book written with a definite agenda. I didn't like the way the characters were written or where the story was trying to take me.

I think this book will have an audience with the Christianity good, everything else bad brigade but outside of that group I think a lot of people will be as uncomfortable with it as I am.

This sounded absolutely amazing so I couldn’t resist an opportunity to get stuck in early, i just don’t have enough patience to wait!

I adore Lian Hearn and Julie Kagawas series, and have always been intrigued by both Japan and China so this seemed perfect for me to get engrossed in, and I wasn’t wrong.

The descriptions and situations are perfect, the writing style thoroughly engrossing and I loved or loathed characters by turns.

This was certainly worth the read, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from the author! the names did take some getting used to, but once you do get used to it you will absolutely ADORE the story!!

Struggled with this one, I don’t like to leave negative reviews, but it was just too violent for me, sorry

This was a fascinating story but very brutal in parts. This put me off a bit but the story was so compelling that I kept going and it was worth it. Mans inhumanity to man defies logic.

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres but historical fiction based on real events in Japan isn't anything I've ever read before, and Japan's history is regrettably something I know little about. This book tells the harrowing story of the persecution of Christians by the Japanese in the early 17th Century, and starts with the execution of a number of Christians in June 1626. This first part of the book really sets the tone, as it outlines the torture of the Christians prior to their execution and the horrific way their deaths had been organised to cause the maximum pain and suffering. The book then goes back a month and centres on the story of Father Joaquim, a Portugese Priest living in a small village who, inspired by his faith, decides to save his own flock. It's a difficult book to read at times and I'm aware it's the first in a trilogy, so some of the questions left unanswered in this book will presumably be answered in the next books in the series.

A quite good and gripping historical fiction that I found engrossing and entertaining.
I read Silence by Shūsaku Endō so I knew the historical background and what to expect.
The plot is gripping even if a bit too violent but it's entertaining and well researched.
The characters are well thought and I liked the character development.
An interesting read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Historical fiction is my favourite way to learn about history and this book covers a previously unfamiliar period. So from this point of view reading this book was interesting. But the content was quite brutal and the writing did not grab me. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley via Harper Collins Publishers. To be honest this book just wasn't one I enjoyed reading. There was just too much in the way of horror, killing, the buss of power etc. I am sure this has basis in historical fact but i was disturbed by its brutality.

It is a pacy and relatively easy to read narrative and I am sure it will find its own group of readers who enjoy it but it wasn't for me and I certainly won't be reading the rest in the series

Sadly this book simply wasn't for me and so I had to mark it as a DNF. I don't like to not finish books but I found it difficult to get through and so will mark it as a 1 star.

This is a piece of fiction based on real events that happened in seventeenth century Japan. Essentially the author covers a three month period that saw a Shogan determined to eradicate the blasphemous Jesuit Christians that he felt were a threat to both him and the way he ruled over his people. This was a brutal story and terrible things happen but it's told clearly and is very easy to read. I'm not someone who knows very much about Japanese history so did find this snapshot to be interesting. Alas I just didn't really connect with the characters as much as I would have liked which sadly is reflected by my rating but I will reiterate that this book had great merit and opened me up to now wanting to find out a lot more about the history and people of Japan.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from NetGalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

A harrowing story of a Jesuit priest and his Christian parishioners in 17th century Japan

The year is 1626. For nearly 25 years, Father Joaquim has been a Jesuit missionary in Japan, where he and his catechists, Tonia and Miguel, live in secret, sheltered by the devout Christians of their small village. During that time, Father Joaquim has ministered to his parish and studied the culture in which he lives, mastering the Japanese Way of the Sword. However, the situation for Christians in Japan is rapidly becoming more dangerous. The ruler of Japan, the Shogun, believes the proselytisation of Christianity is a threat to his regime and the vanguard of a possible invasion by the Spanish and Portuguese. Hundreds of Christians, priests and peasants alike, are being brutally persecuted, tortured and murdered by the Shogun’s samurai soldiers.

When Father Joaquim journeys to Nagasaki to borrow money for taxes imposed on his village by their daimyo (overlord), tragedy strikes. Upon his return, the Jesuit priest, his catechists, and the villagers must all summon the greatest of courage and most steadfast of faith to face the terrible ordeals that await them …

“Who am I to soften the edges of history to create a gentler story?” the author asks in a note at the end of the novel. Set a few years before the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637-1638, The Swords of Silence is a meticulously researched depiction of 17th century Japan that does not flinch from extensive and graphic descriptions of some of the most horrifyingly imaginable (and at times unimaginable) instances of cruelty and degradation. While historical accuracy is to be commended, in this case, as a literary work, it makes the novel something of a chore to read. Although their evident aim is to elicit our empathy, compassion, and horror at man’s inhumanity to man and woman, the constant, lengthy, relentless accounts of staggeringly brutal violence and torture, lingering as they do on every gory detail, are too many and too much to absorb, thereby lessening the impact and leaving the reader numb.

With the violence as its primary focus, the novel’s portrayal of its characters suffers somewhat. Unlike the Jesuit priest of Shūsaku Endō’s Silence, which is the obvious point of comparison, Father Joaquim does not struggle or waiver in his faith, though at times he doubts his ability to get things done. There is very little insight into any of the other characters, which is where The Swords of Silence could have perhaps jettisoned yet another long description of terrible torture, and focused instead on developing its characters, their inner lives, and their relationships with each other. Towards the end, there is an interesting, uneasy alliance between the Christians and the Buddhists, the latter of whom have been serving the Shogun in persecuting the former. At first this alliance appears to occur rather abruptly; however, we discover it is linked to a seemingly random yet, as it turns out, deeply personal incident that happened earlier in the story and thus the groundwork was laid for the alliance to be born. More of this and less of the endless descriptions of torture and brutality would have balanced the novel out well. Here’s hoping for Book Two.

Arwen Evenstar

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

Historical fantasy isn’t usually a genre that I would choose to buy myself and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book or not. Thankfully I did.
It’s an incredibly well researched piece of work and the author notes that it was inspired by real history and real characters.
Set over three months in 1626 Japan it follows the story of Japans military dictator - The Shogun and Father Joaquim Martinez originally from Portugal but now settled in Japan.
I would say that this book isn’t for the faint hearted - there are themes of oppression/ trade / immigration/ religion/ politics/ torture.
There are elderly farmers bound in straw coats and set alight and numerous beheadings.
I can see how this book wouldn’t appeal to everybody but don’t dismiss it just because it sounds a bit religious or political there is so much more to the story. It’s the first book of The Swords of Fire trilogy.

Keeping this short and sweet, absolutely brilliant!

I loved this book, and I think the author did an amazing job telling the story and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Well done!

Set in 1600's Japan when Christianity was banned under the threat of execution. It was very interesting to learn about a period of history I knew nothing about.

The writing was easy to read, with short chapters which made a good pace. Apart from one chapter near the end (I think the Ebook may have jumped over a section of Text ) the storyline was easy to follow

However whilst i'm sure it is historically accurate there was a lot of brutal and graphic torture and an overwhelming feeling of terror throughout the book with little light relief, which made me not want to pick the book up to read on further. I'm not sure we needed to know all 101 ways they could and did torture and execute people.

Characters were one dimensional. The main character Father Joaquim was a very devout christian and a very 'good' man but i cant really tell you anything else about him. I didn't connect with him, perhaps because almost all of what he said was preaching.
Miguel was probably the only character with a real personality, but unfortunately that was a very annoying and whiny one.

There were many 'bad' characters although they blurred into once because apart from the Shogun who was 'very bad' I struggled to tell them apart. All I know is, they all hate and want to kill Christians alot.

I guess the reason it has ended up in the Historical 'fantasy' section is due to some of the 'Miracles' that happen, so often in fact you start guessing whats going to come and it lost any wow factor.

Overall I struggled with the motivation to read this, its not a fun read by any stretch of the imagination and the overtly religious messages in this book put me off. This book is currently being advertised as an Epic historical fantasy but perhaps calling it a christian historical novel would get it to its target audience, who would likely enjoy it far more than I did.

I was born and raised in a country where religion is sacred. I was surrounded with Christianity all my life. However, while I have learned lessons of love, respect and hope, I am not a believer. I do believe that we need to be kind to each other, respect each other and hope for a better tomorrow, but I don’t believe there is a God out there who decides our faith. My review is based on how I felt while reading and I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion and should be respected for that.

The Swords of Silence features father Joaquim, who moves to Japan in the 1620’s, to share the religion of Christ. However, the brutal regime in Japan forbids any other religion than Buddhism. The Shogun is determined there is no more Christianity in his country. Throughout the book, we follow Joaquim’s journey, where he manages to get captured and escapes several times, with the help of God.

This book perfectly captures the regime in Japan during this time.
The true terror and the brutal punishments if you ever dare make a mistake. The world of no mercy. But this book is also a product of divine inspiration and has great elements some of us consider fantasy.

Many of the scenes in The Swords of Silence that featured escaping were unrealistic and resembled the Bible stories. We had walking on water, moving of mountains and a big storm in the sea that only affects the enemy ship, even though they are only metres away from father Joaquim’s ship.

There is one scene though, that I was absolutely in awe with, and that was the scene with the duels. As a person who trained karate all my life and is very familiar with the rules of a duel, honour, respect and combat in martial arts – this scene was perfectly set and accurate. It brought all the emotions and it was brutally realistic. And it is because of this scene that I will give this book three stars.

The Swords of Silence is a great book, and I love the fact that the author captured moments in history that were true and brutal, and not many people in the world know about. A story that will make people aware of what was happening in the past. Even though I am not a believer in God, I stand by that people shouldn’t be mistreated, bullied, or in this case – brutally murdered for what they believe in. Everyone has the right to believe in anything they believe in.

If this book was more realistic with the events and scenes, I would have given it five stars for the message it shares with the world.

True fact: Around 1% of the population in Japan claims Christian belief or affiliation. Most large Christian denominations are repressed in Japan today.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When approaching any historical period, and especially such a traumatic one as the Christian persecution in Japan, an author needs to have a deft, nuanced touch to portray events and characters sensitively. Unfortunately for The Swords of Silence, this is something Shaun Curry lacks. This is the type of book I would have put down about fifty pages in if I had been reading it for personal enjoyment, and I think the fact that one of my notes while reading says "I feel like I want to cry just looking at how much I have left to go" says all you need to know about this book. But I'll try to elaborate a little on just why I hated reading this so, so much.


1. The Language
The Swords of Silence is not unreadable, but the writing isn't really enjoyable, either. It's just sort of...there. It has some moments of eloquence, though at other moments it sounds like it was written by a teenager (especially in the at times painfully simplistic and clunky, unnatural-sounding dialogue). The latter moments seem to increase as the book reaches its climax, as if Curry or his editor got bored halfway through and stopped trying - but most of the time the language is fine. Lukewarm. Nothing to write home about.

Which would be acceptable, if the plot or the characters made up for it.

(Spoiler: they don't).

Also, if you're going to write a historical novel, for god's sake don't use the word 'okay' in the dialogue. Or anywhere, really. Just don't.


2. The Characters
What character traits could I ascribe to our protagonist, Father Joaquim? He believes in God. He's compassionate and generous. He really believes in God. He's troubled by his Dark Past. He really really believes in God. He's able to take on multiple enemies at once and defeat them with improbable ease. Did I mention he believes in God?

Yeah.

When this character is the most fleshed out and realistic in the novel, you know you have a problem. Joaquim has a little bit of depth to him, and though it's only about as deep as a paddling pool, it's better than the cardboard cutouts and caricatures that populate the rest of the novel. To his credit I think Curry was trying to give him a character arc, but when your protagonist is already a fanatical believer in God, having his arc be "learning to believe in God EVEN MORE", is...not much of an arc.

Meanwhile, the other characters pretty much have one trait apiece. We have Token Woman Tonia, Doubting Thomas Miguel, three examples of the Wise Old Asian Master trope who are distinguishable pretty much only because one's a Christian, one's a Buddhist and one's something else entirely, and three megalomaniacal, scenery-chewing, thoroughly evil villains who are also pretty much indistinguishable from one another (though apparently one of them's the Shogun). These are the characters whose names I can actually remember, and though there are other named characters floating around in the background, they may as well have remained nameless for all the individual character or plot relevance they had.

So the characters fall far short of the mark - but is it worth staying for the plot?


3. Deus Ex Machina GALORE (or: The Plot)
I suppose you could argue that in a book that's central theme is devotion to and belief in the Christian God, where the protagonist is such a fanatical believer, it might be appropriate for Joaquim's belief to finally be answered by a miraculous event that rescues him and his followers from danger.

Except that in The Swords of Silence, that miraculous, Deus Ex Machina event doesn't just happen once at the climax. It happens several times. Several times in big ways, but also in smaller ways, like characters 'sensing' things, or just knowing things that they have no real reason to know. When it's that frequent it smacks of bad plotting, and Curry uses this sort of Deus Ex Machina as crutch to get his characters out of impossible situations several times, to the point where it strains credulity. The final part of the plot also really relies on the two main villains holding the idiot ball for it to work, and ends up feeling incredibly contrived and unbelievable.

So that's a no on writing, characters, and plot. Is there anything good about this novel?


4. The Good Parts (aside from the fact that it ended and I got to stop reading it)
It did manage to interest me enough to wonder what was going to happen to the characters and where the plot was going...eventually. As I said above, I probably would have put this down at around page fifty if I hadn't been reading an advance copy. I probably became interested in seeing where the rest of the story was going to go at around page one hundred and fifty, which is really waaaay too far into your book for your reader to only just then start to care. But there's clearly some research been sunk into this book, and a certain level of care taken with the historical accuracy (use of 'okay' in dialogue aside). There's the feeling that Curry does care about this book, even if the end result isn't pleasing. And he does manage to give us a pretty good cliffhanger right at the end there.

But unfortunately, we still have one big problem to tackle.


5. The Racism
I'll say upfront that I don't think Curry actually has any intention of being racist. However, this book definitely falls into racist tropes and doesn't seem to think too hard about their implications. As I mentioned above, there are three - count them, three - examples of the Wise Old Asian Master trope in this book, in the characters of Yamaguchi, Watanbe and Kansuke. An actual line of Watanbe's dialogue is "there is no trying, you must do", which really just says it all. The other Japanese characters in this book fall into three categories: the scenery-chewing, at times cartoonishly evil villains, none of whom is shown to have a scrap of nuance throughout the book; random extras who appear for single scenes and who have no impact on the plot; or the characterless extras from the Christian village who mostly seem to exist so that they can react with awe and worship whenever Joaquim farts - or alternately, so that they can be brutally and horrifically tortured. The character with the most agency, depth, and plot relevance, the character who saves everyone repeatedly and is revered, the character who's learnt traditional Japanese warfare skills and Does It Better - is a white man. What I'm driving at is that Joaquim is the White Saviour trope in action and it only becomes more and more obvious the further through the novel you get. I think this wraps back around to what I said about needing a deft, nuanced touch to portray things sensitively - and because Curry lacks that and ends up relying on tropes, he ends up perpetuating racist tropes.


6. The Other Stuff
There's a lot of torture in this book. Seriously. And it's brutal. In his author's note, Curry says, "Who am I to soften the edges of history to create a more gentle story?", which is a point. I also think that this is a novel, and a certain amount of restraint has to be exercised before you make your story what some would label 'torture porn'. I don't think it slipped over into that for me, but I feel like others could definitely see it that way.

The other thing that might bother potential readers is the vast amount of preachy Christian content in this book. I lost track of the number of times the dialogue turned to exulting God and Joaquim insisting God would save them. It made sense for Joaquim's character, but if you're turned off by Christianity, you probably won't enjoy this book, because you really REALLY can't ignore the Christian preaching here.


In conclusion, I'm left with a feeling of relief - that I won't to read any more of The Swords of Silence. Apparently this is the first in a series, and I can see the plot hook that's been left in the final chapter, and let me tell you; I'm not interested. At all.