Book Review: Sistah Samurai by Tatiana Obey
Review copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Cover art illustrated by Felix Ortiz
Sistah Samurai: A Champloo Novella by Tatiana Obey
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Series: Champloo (Book #1)
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 140 pages (Paperback edition)
Word Count: 30,000 words
Publish date: 1st November 2023 by Tatiana Obey
Sistah Samurai is legit one of the most entertaining action-fantasy novellas I’ve ever read.
“We were women, and mothers, and sisters, and cousins. We were teachers, and healers, and innovators, and warriors. And we went down fighting.”
I’m writing this review while listening to music composed by Nujabes. You see… you might think this doesn’t make any sense. Why mention Nujabes in this review? But here is the thing. Sistah Samurai is a novella heavily inspired by Afro Samurai and Samurai Champloo. Both are great anime I loved. When Tatiana Obey said to me this is a novella inspired by the two anime titles, I instantly accepted the review request, and it exceeded my expectations, especially for a novella format that statistically does not click with me often due to the shorter length. Sistah Samurai was damn fun, vivid, and it is narrated with a superbly distinct first-person narration.
“I didn’t have time to avenge them, but the least I could do was carry them. To everyone else, they were just fallen cherry blossoms crushed underfoot. But to me, they were my garden.”
Due to the shorter length of the novella, I will try to be brief with this review. The entire story of the novella takes place in a single day of the life of the main character, the Sistah Samurai. It is a day when she decides to stray away from the mundane. To make time. A day where her patience wears thin. It is the day she must overcome her regrets and past. Sistah Samurai is not only about engaging narrative, but it is also a meaningful tale. Despite the upbeat voice and tone of the narration, the main character is burdened with regret she needs to cut away. More importantly, there were plenty of other relatable themes, such as adulthood and exchanging your days of fighting for safety and something that matters even more.
“The scroll is nothing more than hopes and dreams. You have something more important to protect: a home.”
The world in Sistah Samurai is incredibly feudal-Japan inspired, just like Samurai Champloo. As someone who consumes manga and anime daily, there was no doubt Sistah Samurai would be a hit with me. The way Obey implemented Tamashii (Soul) ink as part of the magic was simple and effective. I wanted to witness the magic used more. To see how the inksmith operates. By inking a kanji into a talisman, and the kanjis are for elemental magics most of the time, the object imbued with the talisman could channel the element or effect. If you plaster a fire talisman into a katana, as proven in the book, the katana will blaze into a flaming katana. If you’re a fan of Samurai Champloo, this is a must-read, in my opinion. There’s even a reference to the Pokemon Blastoise that made me laugh!
“You don’t know where I come from. You don’t know what I’ve been through. You’ve seen one moment in time, and not my growth. You’ve read a few chapters and think you know the end. You think I am a character in a play for your amusement. You think you know my history. You think you know my fate. You think that I am blind and that I don’t see your hate. You don’t know me. Nor are you entitled to. In the end, my honor was defined by me. And not by you.”
Enough said. Read Sistah Samurai if you need a great and fun action-fantasy novella you can read in a day. Read it all the way to the acknowledgment. Do not skip them. I read Sistah Samurai in a single sitting, and if there’s one thing I wanted more from this story, it is to have more installments or continuation to the title. There’s so much potential to this world, magic, and story. This marked the first time I read a book by Tatiana Obey, and it certainly won’t be the last. Sistah Samurai is truly a magnificent homage to Afro Samurai and Samurai Champloo.. Hands down one of the finest novellas I’ve ever read.
“It was funny the arc of a life: knowing fear as a child, to conquering them as a young adult, to going back around to fear in your older years and knowing that your initial assessment had always been right. Life was an endless churn of helplessness and fear that we had no control over. The only difference was that now, I have learned to swim my way through it.”
Picture: Sistah Samurai by Felix Ortiz
You can order this book from: Amazon | Blackwells (Free International shipping)
I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Aliysa, Ambrosius, Andrew, Andrew S, Annabeth, Anne, Arliss, Barbara, Bev, Cade, Chris, Christopher, Cullen, Dan, Donuts, Dylan, Edward, Elaine, Elias, Erich, Feanor, Francesca, Frank, Gary, Gregory, Hamad, Helen, James, Jenn, Jesse, Joie, Jonathan, Katrina, Kim, Kristina, Lara, Lourdes, Luis, Melinda, Michael, Michael, Mike, Miracle, Mordie, Nicholas, Radiah, RCT, Redmischief, Rue, Samuel, Sarah, Scott, Sean, Sean, Shawn, Stephanie, Trish, TS, Wick, Woodman, Xero, Yuri, Zoe.