The Ring of Water (Young Samurai, #5) (2024)

In the fifth book of the Young Samurai series, Jack Fletcher is once again surrounded by enemies as he continues his quest to reach Nagasaki and hopefully find passage back to England. Jack wakes up to find himself in an inn, bruised and battered. He has no memory of how he got that way. Not only has he lost his memory of recent events he’s lost all his possessions as well. So begins his quest to find not only his missing memories but also his possessions. With the help of a masterless samurai, a ronin, and a young thief perhaps Jack will find all he’s lost.

Young Samurai is easily one of my favorite YA series. Like all the others in the series, I found it difficult to put down once I started. The action starts with the first chapter and never lets up. Anyone that has an interest in Eastern culture should enjoy The Ring of Water. I know I sure did.

Can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

To see my review of other the books in this series, please use the links below:

Book One - The Way of the Warrior
Book Two - The Way of the Sword
Book Three - The Way of the Dragon
Book Four - The Ring of Earth
Book Six - The Ring of Fire
Book Seven - The Ring of Wind
Book Eight - The Ring of Sky

Another great Young Samurai book. This book embodies everything about Martial arts. As a martial arts fan and martial artist myself love this book and this whole series. Even more impressive is that fact that my 9 year old loved these book almost as much as his iPad. The only time I can get him to come off the iPad is when he can read these books.

Chris Bradford must have grown up watching as many martial arts movies as I did. There are bits from the classic in almost everyone of his book. Great action and story. jack wakes up with no memory of the last couple of day with all his possessions missing. This is not a good thing when you are the most infamous person in Japan. He must rely on his instincts and skills he has learned as well as the help from Ronin (both his name and his status). However will Ronin's troubled past cause Jack more trouble then he already has to deal with. Jack must also take a side quest to reclaim his possessions but to this this is he willing to step back into the lion's (Scorpion's) den. Old faces and rivals return to torment him, as well as new allies to aid him.

Great story and great martial arts action. Short chapter for younger readers to digest, for me Id did not want to put the book down. I kept thinking the chapters are short I will just read one more and before I knew it the book was finished. this could be my only complaint about the book I would have loved another 100 pages. Can't wait for the next book.

Jack Fletcher is back in a brand new adventure. When he wakes up with no memory of what happens to him and his belongings stolen, Jack teams up with a thief and a drunken ronin Samurai to retrieve his belongings from evil bandits. Will he succeed and survive? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a great installment of the Young Samurai series. If you like fantasy stories set in Japan, be sure to check this series out at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.

Der Großteil das Buches war meiner Meinung nach nicht wirklich relevant für die Hauptstory (außer in Punkten Character Development), hat jedoch nichtsdestotrotz Spaß gemacht es zu lesen.
Man trifft auch 2 interessante neue Charaktere, die hoffentlich nochmal auftauchen.
Und die Kampfszenen waren wie gewohnt großartig, ganz großes Kopfkino!

Jack wanted to go home to his sister but he woke up without any memory of the previous night in a compassionate restaurant owner's house with everything haven been stolen from him so he got back to full health when he met a Ronin and a thief, then he together with his friends went on a quest to find his things. This story is about perseverance, compassion and sacrifice

Young Samurai Book 5
*The Ring of Water*
Well, what can I say? This 'Young Samurai' series has really got me hooked, it is indeed a beuatiful work by Chris Bardford who I owe a lot of things for writing these wonderful story book that never fail to pleas me. In the fifth book,the characters have grown a lot, especially Jack who continues to go through all the trouble adn the hardships but still, determined and without losing hope continues his journey towards Nagasaki, but the plot completely takes a wrong turn here as Jack lands at an unknown prefecture in Japan with no memory of the last two weeks! (Don't worry, he still remembers his name, his friends, the Niten Ichi Ryu and all the things that happened in the past including his training!) but he is in a very miserable condition with all his materials stolen including the ever valuable rutter, the 'inro' gifted by an honourable daimyo, his Black Pearls gifted to him by his loving friend Akiko and finally his master-blaster war swords all stolen and lost. Actually, the book can be easily grouped into the beginning, followed by the search for each of these three items (That divides into 3 sections), the Riddling Monk and Finally the end. As always, Bradford introuces a major of three new characters, but very influential and dependant on the story with a nice and well defined personality that actually feels very real and worldly That's one of the key points of Young Samurai series, it really showcases many human emotions and feelings, each unique in its own way. Here, Jack meets Ronin (which means a masterless samurai in Japanese), who is a Sake (alcohol) addict and regrets his failure at trying to save his father from his murderer. With Ronin, the book also introduces a rogue gang of bandits and the well-known technique of 'Drunken Style' very effectively which I did not predict would happen. Ronin's charcter is very defined, solid and inspiring. He is intelligent and wise, along with strength and geographical knowldege, an all rounder but is sunken low by his sake drinks. He plays an immensly important part as much equal as Masamoto/Yamato played in the first volume. He gives Jack tips and tricks and helps him a lot. Next up is Hano, a considerably younger girl, who is an orphan as well as a thief and branded a 'nobody' by the big bad world. So she is fueled to rob and loot whatever she gets her hands on, but she is benign and an amiable person, very amusing and funny. She also saves Jacks skin a couple of times in the book. As I said that the book can be divided into seperate sections of the search for Jacks items each search is very amsuing, adventourous and mysterious, making th reader inquisitive about what's going to happen next. Well, anyone can die in Japan in the times of war. I especially love the ghost haunting the merchant, the sword duel with Yau Ryu schoolmaster and the duel between a diamyo and Jack of the Game of Go (Like a Tactical Japanses Chess). After reclaiming all these items, the story gets even deeper as Jack recalls his past memories and blank spaces that filled his mind and single handedly manages to defeat the rogue gang who robbed him three weeks later, completely shutting down his progress for Nagasaki and making him go around in circles. I just love the part where Jack's memory fluctuates between the present and the past. Next up, we have our young hero and his friends facing aginst the Mad Riddling Monk whom I just love even if he plays the role of an anti-hero. The way the Riddling MOnk speaks and acts is nice.His prohecy seems wise. The riddles thrown by him as a challenge are challenging! It just adds a bit casualty to the story. This is nothing compared to the end where we see Kazuki, that arrongant little barbarian and Jack's arch enemy and nemesis return, now fully equipped with bodyguards of doshin and his expendables of the scorpian gang. The book has been aptly given the name 'The way of the water' as the end is completely dependant on it. I plan to continue reading. I really enjoyed this book. A hearty read a a solid recommendation to fantasy fiction YA readers. Nice Reading!

Well, it appears that, for storylines, Japan is the country that just keeps on giving and fortunately for me, Chris Bradford is the author that just keeps on receiving. I love the premise of this story: Jack wakes up to find everything gone, including his memory of what happened and he has to gradually put his life back together. Cue thrilling adventures and wonderful new characters.

In The Ring of Water, we meet a brand new kind of Japanese warrior – a ronin. I’ve only snatched glimpses so far in my life to tell me what ronin are, and in those glimpses I’ve seen them as mysterious, untrustworthy types and from what I’ve learnt about bushido and the value of loyalty, they don’t strike me as very good samurai. Despite my misgivings, the eternally drunk Ronin has actually turned out to be my favourite character so far in the series, and it’s precisely because of his mystery. His background is patchy and at best hinted to but for some reason he pledges his loyalty and help to Jack and continues to surprise the reader with his abilities. The little thief girl Hana is also a mystery character with a murky background but she again is a real and surprising testament to loyalty.

I think in this book I finally figured out why Jack continues to thrive in all his adventures. I was worried for him when he had to leave all his friends from the samurai school and strike out on his own. The ninja village should probably have given me a clue because even there, where samurai are hated, he managed to make friends but it just smacked me in the face in The Ring of Water. So quickly did Ronin and Hana – two roguish outcasts with questionable integrity – give their loyalty to Jack that it made me realise that this is Jack’s greatest weapon: it’s not his ability to fight, it’s his ability to find true friends amongst all the hatred and prejudice. And it’s his friendship that brings out the best in the other characters, they let go of the emotions that are causing them harm and rediscover how to be a good person who makes the right choices because that’s exactly what Jack does. I’m so glad that Chris Bradford has brought back Kazuki at this point as it just emphasises the point: Kazuki is the opposite of Jack, he chooses his friends because of their background and status but Jack gives his friendship to anyone worthy of it, even if their background is unknown. That’s why Jack makes friends whereas Kuzuki just makes bodyguards, it’s a false loyalty.

Where The Ring of Earth was a test of Jack’s physical abilities, The Ring of Water is a test of our hero’s mental agility and fortitude. He must find clues, solve riddles and cope with the distress of returning to Kyoto and seeing his beloved Niten Ichi Ryu samurai school in ruins. I honestly can’t get enough of Young Samurai as every book gives you so many more new things to explore, each chapter is like opening a present and Chris Bradford gives wonderful explanations for strange new aspects of Japanese culture and embellishes the scant knowledge you might already have – I now fully understand the rules of Go. I’m starting to worry that at some point the books are going to undergo the infamous “second album syndrome” but I just don’t think that’s possible somehow, the first five books have not disappointed me on any account, in fact they have done the opposite. I would quite happily keep reading them to the day I die!

Lyrical Reviews
@LyricalReviews

Not the best book in the series but I will admit the writing is fantastic and the bonds that Jack makes are undeniably strong. Jack wakes up with no memory and tries to find all of his belongings in a weird Samurai-Esq version of the Hangover. Yet as you can wonder any good series has a book along these lines. You can hardly write a good one without it. The fight scenes in this book are crazy good and keep you longing for more. I have read the 3rd to 6th book just starting Wednesday. Although I do see a reoccurring theme in these Ring of (Enter element here) books, Jack is running from somebody and eventually is saved by someone else. Then makes friends and helps them out so that they are BFFs. The only reason I can think that somebody would do this is to have them all reunite in the end to fight at jacks side in some major battle against the Shoguns army.

I really like this book. I love the whole series but this one is especially good. I like the genre, which is historical fiction and action, and I love the characters. I like Jack and Ronin because they are tough but honorable too. I really hate Kazuki, one of the antagonists and I wish Jack killed him in one of the many chances he gets in the book. I recommend this book to boys or anyone who likes action. I can't wait till the next book in the series comes out.

Young Samurai is the series i've loved since the first page of the first book! It is so well written. Once you start reading it, it's hard to put in down. This book has bought new thrilling scenes and sometimes it brings the chill down your spine. And the way it ends it just perfect. I can't wait for the next book!

This one was SO hard to get through. It starts out great with Jack waking up, beaten and missing most of his things and not remembering what happened! Unfortunately, it slows from there.. Maybe it's the constant repeating of the same facts that gets me hung up, I mean, its a series!!! Not in anyway a standalone... I know what the rutter is, STOP repeating everything about it!

Ronin and Hana were amazing characters to add in and I enjoyed Ronins fighting style immensely. Hana was the cutest little thief and I loved her and Ronins father/daughter style relationship.

I'm starting to feel the runaround with these books though and I'm having trouble getting excited to pick up the next book, but I've come to far to stop now!

All my complaining aside, I did enjoy this book barring the constant reminder of literally everything that happened in all the books that came before this one. I think I just need to start skipping over those parts because then the book would be much more interesting and shorter.

Ronin!

In Ring of Earth, we spent the story with the Ninja. In Ring of Water, we spend it with a ronin, a wandering and masterless samurai, and a number of old enemies who re-emerge to plague Jack’s life. Fortunately, the ronin, though flawed, fights for Jack, not against him. And the lively girl of this story fights for him too. Though her martial arts skills are practically non-existent, she has the heart of a tiger, just like Akiko and Miyuki (both of whom we all miss). A fascinating and complicated and action-packed tale that doesn’t disappoint. Be ready with your katana or straight-edged black Ninja blade.

Very exciting. I really liked Ronin's character development.
Here is how I see the story:
Jack-kun is on a journey filled with enemies but he weaves through them with the help of some unexpected friends, every time. This is also the soul of this book. Having lost all his belongings and the memories of a few days, Jack is found beaten almost to death. So he sets on a quest to recover them, with a drunk Ronin and a hinin.
There are some very interesting parts where they trick a daimyo in his own game, fighting using the drunken fist and much more.

I’ve really enjoyed these books and I’ve gotten quite attached to Jack. I thought it would be difficult to like these additional books after the initial trilogy (because I had gotten so fond of the first group of characters), but these new companions and adventures are just as engaging as the first ones. This one felt a little more light-hearted (maybe because of the silliness of the Riddling Monk), I could almost imagine it as an animated TV series. I really like that so far each of the sequels aren’t “more of the same”. Yes he’s still trying to get home, and he’s still protecting the rutter and he’s still learning new skills conveniently timed to be useful for the final climactic battle, but there’s also new relationships and new things to learn. This book has the element of a bit of a mystery to solve so that was a nice new addition to the storytelling. I wish there was a little detailed background on Ronin though, even though we did hear a little bit of his past by the end of the book. I got to really like Ronin and hope he comes back in future books. Usually I don’t like a new cast of characters after the original set (e.g. I couldn’t get into Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus with all those new guys after reading Percy Jackson’s first series), but both in this book and the previous book, I liked them enough that I hoped they would stay in the story.

3.8 stars | I really like the ring of the water, it’s probably my favourite book out of the whole series and I love the found-family trope of this series. I really enjoyed Jack’s journey and adventures with Ronin and Neko and I really hope that we see them further into the series or in the next book. I love this fantasy book so much and it’s so suspenseful and fun.

The ring of water was a good book because it contained jack trying to get his belongings back after he is mugged and left for dead, he must travel with his friends ronin( a master less samurai) and Hanna( a theif) to get his belongings back.

IT WAS SO GOOD. I loved it the plot was amazing and there was so much creativity. In the previous books the grammar and writing style were not very good but in this book I saw some MAJOR improvement!! I can’t wait to read the next books.

5 uit de 5
Weer een geweldige boek uit de jonge samoerai serie. Ik raad de serie echt aan. Weer coole vechtscenes en nieuwe kennis over de Japanse cultuur. Er waren coole, grappige, zielige, verassende en iconische hoofdstukken.
Doeidoei

The story is a good mixed between historical nonfiction source material and fiction creation the main character jack fletcher is a good take on the original sourced English man William Adams but for a young adult.

Jack fletchers guardian in the book shares a lot of characteristics of the source inspiration being that of Miyamoto Musashi.

The whole series from The way of the Warrior book to the Return of the Warrior book is excellent.

I especially liked the glossary in each book that helps teach you pronunciation of Japanese words and there English counterparts.

i liked it i would have rated it 4.8

i liked it

As great as the other books in this series. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.

good

After being trained as a ninja, a ronin helped Jack get his way safely to Nagasaki, so that he could get back home. The story became more interesting and more addicting.

3.5 stars

An epic addition to the young samurai series. Jack gets more and more friends whilst writing down more names on his enemy list.

ok

Really enjoyed reading the book.

ronin!! my friend ronin 💯

another book without yori :(