| Toru: Wayfarer Returns Contributor(s): Sorensen, Stephanie R. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0996932313 ISBN-13: 9780996932318 Publisher: Palantir Press LLC OUR PRICE: $16.10 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2016 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Alternative History - Fiction | Fantasy - Historical - Fiction | Science Fiction - Steampunk |
| Dewey: 813.6 |
| LCCN: 2015917682 |
| Series: Sakura Steam |
| Physical Information: 0.62" H x 6" W x 9" (0.89 lbs) 274 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Revolutionary young samurai with dirigibles take on Commodore Perry and his Black Ships in this alternate history steampunk technofantasy set in 1850s samurai-era Japan. In Japan of 1852, the peace imposed by the Tokugawa Shoguns has lasted 250 years. Peace has turned to stagnation, however, as the commoners grow impoverished and their lords restless. Swords rust. Martial values decay. Foreign barbarians circle the island nation's closed borders like vultures, growing ever more demanding. Tōru, a shipwrecked young fisherman rescued by American traders and taken to America, defies the Shogun's ban on returning to Japan, determined to save his homeland from foreign invasion. Can he rouse his countrymen in time? Or will the cruel Shogun carry out his vow to execute all who set foot in Japan after traveling abroad? Armed only with his will, a few books, dirigible plans and dangerous ideas, Tōru must transform the Emperor's realm before the Black Ships come. Tōru: Wayfarer Returns is the first book in the Sakura Steam Series, an alternate history of the tumultuous period from the opening of Japan in 1853 to the Meiji Restoration in 1868. This volume covers the year prior to the American Commodore Perry's arrival in Japan and follows the hero and his young allies as they lead Japan through a massively compressed industrial revolution, dramatically altering that pivotal moment in history. While Tōru and his dirigibles are fictional, the story unfolds against the backdrop of the "real" Japan of that period, with historical figures and their political environment woven into the tale, staying true to their motivations and agendas even as the alternate history warps their actions, history and a few laws of physics. Underpinning the adventure plot is a young man's yearning for his father's approval and an honorable place in his world. Readers who enjoy steampunk alternate histories more typically set in Victorian England or the American Wild West may enjoy this steampunk story made fresh by the Japanese samurai setting, as well as readers who enjoy historical fiction set in Japan. |
Contributor Bio(s): Sorensen, Stephanie R.: - Stephanie R. Sorensen is a writer based in the Victorian mining town of Leadville, Colorado, where she lives at 10,251 feet with her husband, five chickens, two bantam English game hens and one Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. After a former life in big cities-New York City, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Boston, Mexico City, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Santa Fe-she now enjoys the birdsong and quiet writing time she finds in Leadville. As a Leadville local, she likes her Victorian attire spiced with a little neo-Victorian futurism and the biggest bustle possible. Recognition for Stephanie's debut novel "Toru: Wayfarer Returns" -- Finalist, Fantasy category, 2016 Next Generation Indie Book Awards -- Bronze Medal Award, Multicultural Fiction category, 2016 eLit Book Awards -- Awesome Indies Approved -- IndieB.R.A.G Medallion Award -- Shortlisted (winners TBD), Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction, 2016 Cygnus TORU: WAYFARER RETURNS draws on her experience living and working in Japan; her next historical novel is set in Mexico where she also lived for several years. |
