Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter

Demon Hunter mini stories

This is a series of short stories presented in order. There isn't a lot of spells and sword play being done. Instead our hero is a down his luck noble who is hired or finds demon related jobs. This novel gives an insight into demons and the like from a different culture. The setting is in an ancient time. I enjoyed it a lot. I especially enjoyed narration by Brian Nishii. It is obvious that he has some degree of being bilingual. But his voice is English speaking with the foreign words being spoken correctly. This adds an enjoyable flare to the stories. I recommend this for those looking for something different.

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

A new kind of fantasy world

Japanese mythology is richly woven into this collection of adventuring tales. Two unlikely companions meet oni, ghosts, fox demons and worse - mortal treachery in this well performed audio book. Great fun for lovers of samurai fables.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Boring

I had great hopes for this book but i was sorely disappointed. The main character is supposed to be a Demon Hunter as the title suggest but he is more like a Demon Soother He brings comfort and well tiding to monsters everywhere. I can literally count the number of times he use his sword on one hand. Now don't get me wrong I love a good story where the hero uses his mind instead of brown. But in every situation the problems were so simply solved that the people with the problems should have solved them long before he ever arrived.
Plus all of the spell work and important life saving stuff was all done by his side kick a disreputable monk. who is like Watson to his Holmes.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Enjoyable

It was like short murder mysteries written in time of the samurai. I wish there were more.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The stories are great

I have read a few Yamada stories in their original publications and listened to a few as well in podcast form. I think the narrator for this version is much better at capturing the tone and voice of Yamada and Kenji, but at times goes a bit over the top when it comes to the voices of the supernatural beings.

Ghosts, Goblins, and Fox Spirits

Uses the tropes of traditional Japanese supernatural to tell thrilling stories involving characters we care about.

Hard to Follow

What disappointed you about Yamada Monogatari: Demon Hunter?

I thought this book was hard to follow. The story is interesting but still lacking in some manner. I normally finish all my books but this one I turned off early into the story. I'll just have to move onto the next book in my library.

Good Fun with nice atmosphere

I enjoyed this series of semiconnected stories. They have a touch of the Dresden Files short stories in their structure.

A very nice book

Short and interesting and well narrated. I would recommend it to those who love "detective" type stories.

Different than I expected bu in a good way

Any additional comments?

I was expecting a typical hack and slash heavily western influenced style ninja novel. It was more of a detective novel than an adventure novel however I like books with characters that use their brains as much as their skills so I liked this. I also liked that the author got the right feel for the Japanese. Having lived in Japan and worked with the Japanese for over 10 years I was expecting lots of cringe worthy Western stereotypes. I didn't get them which was a pleasant surprise.