Tomodachi: the edge of the world by Simon Higgins
I love Simon Higgins adventure stories. And although I am a full year behind on my reading list, I was in the mood for a light adventure with a delicious sense of humour. Unfortunately, this was not it.
Daniel Marlowe is a young English aristocrat who is traveling with his father on a diplomatic mission from Tudor England to the Japans. He is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan and found by a young samurai. Together these two set off to change the world, or at least parts of it.
Medieval Japan is a wonderful setting for an adventure story. Hearn did an amazing job with the Otori series. However Higgins is firmly attached to realistic historical settings rather than the slightly fantastic world of the Otori. Daniel is quickly involved in a feud between warlords, fighting off bandits and rescuing young maidens. Classic medieval adventure.
But I am afraid this book did not make the grade. There was no sense of completion at the end of the story. It is really only the opening chapter of a much longer tale, and frankly I didn’t care enough about Daniel to be bothered reading any more.
The blurb promotes this as a ‘ripping yarn which is sure to appeal to boys’. Sorry, but I found it shallow, and boring. The boys I know will want a lot more if they are going to follow Daniel through his further adventures.
