Sword of Kuromori

Rohan, Jason. The Sword of Kuromori. Book 1 of The Sword of Kuromori series. 2016. 336p. ISBN 978-1610673556. Available at FIC ROH on the library shelves.

Fifteen years old Kenny Blackwood is on his way to Japan to meet his father when he receives a strange letter aboard the plane taking him there. His grandfather, who currently lives in England, provides him a few words of advice about the magical place he’s heading to. With the letter comes a wooden whistle. What is this all about?

He quickly finds out when he gets off the plane. Arrested by Japan’s Homeland Security, he realizes that one of the officers is in fact an Oni, an ogre disguised as a man. Escorted away, he blow the whistle and is then freed by a strange creature and by Kiyomi, a girl on a motorcycle with plenty of combat skills. As Kuromori, Kenny is the only one who can summon and control the legendary sword Kusanagi, the only weapon that can defeat the gigantic dragon Namazu before he creates an earthquake of epic proportions that will destroy the West Coast of the United States. But the prophecy states that the cost will be one Kenny loves. Is the price too high to save millions of people?

The first in a series, the story stands by itself and provides a satisfying conclusion while hinting at future events. Fans of James Dashner’s Mortality Doctrine and of James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series will devour this book.
The story continues in The Shield of Kuromori.