Bøger af Marc Charles

Pontius Pilate has been replaced by Prefect Marcellus who is ill suited for handling the intrigues and outright perils in the Jewish fortress city of Jerusalem. His wife appeals to her brother-in-law, Emperor Tiberius, for assistance. Marcus Magnus, a Praetorian Guard Centurion and once First Spear to two legions, now elevated to the position of "Fixer" to the throne, is dispatched. Marcus is a twenty-year veteran of the legions and is aided in his assignments throughout the empire by a Nubian warrior princess and a deadly Greek bowman. Working for the Prefect becomes dangerous when beset by 60 bandits holding the strategic city of Petra hostage. More life threatening are the powerful priests of the Jewish Sanhedrin who believe Marcus a threat to their religion. Their soldiers outnumber the Roman Legionnaires in the country. They also have Bedu assassins to call upon. His biggest surprise comes from finding he cannot trust the Roman legionnaires assigned to the Prefect. Add a traitorous military attache and his wanton conniving high born wife who wishes to overthrow the government, and Marcus realizes he may be in over his head. What starts out as a peaceful last assignment before retirement now morphs into a struggle to stay alive.

In 1634 Japan, Hideki arrives in Edo after a tumultuous year spent sharpening his martial skills in Nagasaki. The old shogun is dead and the country is divided between two brothers for succession. The rightful heir is Iemitsu, but he is a stutterer with a birthmark on his face and a predilection for bedding boys. Tadanaga, the younger brother, embodies all the traits of an upstanding samurai except he has no conscience and he enjoys killing innocents. Iemitsu is supported by his wet nurse O'Fuku, a treacherous strategist with a huge hatred for Hideki. Tadanaga is endorsed by his mother, the lady Oeyo. Everyone with a sword is picking sides in the coming civil war. A cousin to both, Hideki must guide the Yoshinobu clan through perilous waters to decide loyalties as the competing brothers vie for his clan's support. When Hideki's year-old nephew and the Yoshinobu heir is kidnapped in an attempt to sway their allegiance, the clan is thrown into despair and indecision. Hideki must rise above his elder brother and beloved grandfather to lead the Yoshinobu clan and chart a future for his country. He is assisted by Yagyu Jubei, sword instructor to shoguns; Yoshi, a master of the old ways of the shinobi no mono; and Myo, the head of the Five Families.

Japan, 1632. Hideki is one of the young descendants from the line of Tokugawa Ieyasu. He and his older brother are summoned to Edo at the announcement that the current shogun is retiring. Hideki is a likeable seventeen year old and a little of a rapscallion, prone to ducking his samurai responsibilities for more time in the dojo. The sword is his life and Bushido is his mantra, but as a swordsman he has trouble even beating his older brother. On their trek to Edo for an audience and evaluation, Hideki grows from a day dreaming teenager to a responsible man, dealing with his first crush on a female, assassins out to extinguish his life, and deceptive and corrupt police and government officials. He is aided in his journey by a young ninja steeped in the old ways of the shinobi, the master swordsman Musashi, and a princess of a large ninja clan who unknowingly falls in love with her target. Hideki attracts a loyal following because of his childlike belief in Bushido as cure-all for everything, but he becomes internally conflicted when he learns his code may not provide all the answers.

Japan 1633. Hideki is on his first musha shugyo to sharpen his sword skills. He is now a left-handed swordsman, an oddity in Japan and therefore a target of ridicule. With his new mentor Yagyu Jubei, Hideki travels to the southern most Japanese island of Kyushu seeking to learn the techniques of Shinkage-ryu from the former instructor to the shogun. If he can win respect as an elite swordsman again, he may regain his confidence as a martial artist and a man. Once on Kyushu Island, Hideki and Jubei make some disturbing discoveries. Something is killing Kirishitans (Christians) on Mt. Taro at night. Whole Japanese farming villages are disappearing and Chinese Buddhist Temples are being turned into slaughter houses. No one has a clue who is perpetrating these crimes. On top of this Hideki finds Nagasaki riddled with corruption from top to bottom. Profit is king. Honor and bushido mean nothing. It is a world gone mad. Before Hideki and his friends are through, his faith in bushido will be severely tested as they are attacked by a tengu, tangle with a yellow-eyed demon, fight with pirates, help defend a village of Ryukyuan sailors, and are hired out to protect the hardboiled female owner of a brothel.