Confession: I cannot wrap my head around Steampunk. I understand that it is blending of old and new. Generally with the Victorian Era. At least that is what I understood from the Wikipedia article I read. That is where my understanding of it ends. However, when I read the description of this book, a sci-fi/fantasy/steampunk novel, I had to read it. While not a Steampunk aficionado, I do like sci-fi/fantasy.

This book takes place in Japan in 1852-1853. The story opens with Toru, the main character, being dropped ashore in his homeland by the Americans that he had spent the last two to three years with. He returned to care for his mother and to warn his country about the impending attack from other countries. With him he brought ideas. Ideas that are dangerous and against the law to have without explicit instruction from the Shogun. He gets captured by Lord Aya’s men soon after being dropped off on the beach. They discover the things that he is carrying, a sewing machine, books, and detailed plans on how to build trains and planes. He is also wearing blue jeans and has his hair cut short in the typical “American” cut. It is decided that he is a traitor and is going to be taken to Evo to be brought to justice. (IE: beheaded). Toru requests to be taken to his mothers’ village so he can say goodbye. Lord Aya agrees. Lord Aya’s daughter takes a keen interest in Toru. She secretly takes some of his books to read. She becomes, even more, intrigued the more she reads. While on the way to Evo, Toru begins to tell them his story. From being shipwrecked to being picked up by the Americans and spending time in their country. His visit to West Point and other cities in the country. This gets Lord Aya interested. He starts to believe Toru’s story of an impending attack. Can Toru convince the powerful leaders that he isn’t a traitor and help them prepare for what lays ahead?

This book was not what I was expecting at all. I guess that I thought it would be more exciting. More adventurous. Instead, I was rewarded with some super slow reading. It didn’t get exciting until the last 38 minutes of the book. And I know the exact time because I looked at the time left on the bottom of my Kindle. It was almost overwhelming. There were a few twists I didn’t see coming and a few that I had suspected from the very beginning. The real saving grace was the “note from the author” at the end that stated that a few of the facts were true in the book and based off of historical events. With all this being said I will probably read the next books in the series just to find out how Toru’s story continues.