Chris Bradford
Author of The Way of the Warrior
About the Author
Image credit: via Goodreads
Series
Works by Chris Bradford
Ninja. A' chiad dùbhlan 11 copies
Heart and Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting, in association with the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters (2005) 4 copies
Jake and Jen and the Castle of Kings: Band 06/Orange (Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds) (2021) 2 copies
Bodyguard Series Chris Bradford 6 Books Collection Set (Hostage,Ransom,Ambush,Target,Assassin,Fugitive) (2019) 2 copies
Jake and Jen in the Balloon of Doom: Phase 5 Set 2 (Big Cat Phonics for Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised) (2021) 1 copy
Das Lösegeld: Bodyguard 2 1 copy
Jake and Jen and the Balloon of Doom: Band 05/Green (Collins Big Cat Phonics for Letters and Sounds) (2020) 1 copy
De jonge Samoerai 1 copy
YOUNG SAMURAI 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Bradford, Chris
- Birthdate
- 1974-06-23
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- author
musician
Martial artist - Short biography
- Chris Bradford is an author, professional musician and black belt martial artist, best known for his children's fictional series, Young Samurai.
The first Young Samurai book, The Way of the Warrior, was published by Puffin Books in 2008. Disney bought the rights in the same year and are due to publish early 2009.
Chris has also written a number of books on the music business, including the critically acclaimed Heart & Soul: Revealing the Craft of Songwriting (Sanctuary, 2005), Crash Course Songwriting (Omnibus, 2007) and the three-part illustrated series of music business books for teenagers, Record Deals OutLoud, Music Publishing OutLoud and Artist Management OutLoud (Music Sales, 2006).
Before becoming a full-time author, Chris was a professional songwriter, who worked with many successful musicians including Dave Calhoqoun (Ian Brown 'F.E.A.R.'); Ivor Novello winner Iain Archer (Snow Patrol); and the legendary Graham Gouldman (10cc). As an artist himself, Chris performed with James Blunt, at the Notting Hill Carnival and for HRH Queen Elizabeth II.
As a martial artist, Chris joined a Judo club at the age of 8 years and has over 20 years experience in martial arts in various styles including Shotokan Karate, Muay Thai, Aikido and Taijutsu in which he is a black belt. Chris now trains in Iaido and Wado Ryu Karate. - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
Young Samurai is unabashed YA adventure. The Young Samurai series is about the adventures of Jack Fletcher, an English boy who is shipwrecked off the coast of Japan in the 17th century, his father and ship crew slaughtered by ninja assassins. Rescued by the legendary swordmaster Masamoto Takeshi, Jack's only hope of survival in a foreign land is to become a samurai warrior.
It is written in quite short chapters with plenty of action. Many chapters end in some kind of cliffhanger so that it's show more difficult to stop reading. Its only ambition is entertaining, and in that it is successful. There's no attempt to be literary. The author takes many liberties with Japanese society (for example, female warriors are commonplace), but he is a black belt martial artist himself and has obvious respect for Japanese martial philosophy and gets it across quite well.
The action is relentless. Jack goes to a school for young samurais founded by Masamoto Takeshi, and he makes some good friends and terrible enemies. There is a lot of xenophobia in medieval Japan, and because of that he is the target of ruthless bullies. All the while he is pursued by the master ninja assassin who killed his father and is now after a valuable rutter book that Jack rescued from his ship.
Sometimes it reminded me of the Harry Potter series: boarding school with colorful teachers and subjects, the shock of foreign culture, very competent female friend, extremely powerful external enemy, a teacher that particularly dislikes him, a fierce enemy among his fellow students (although Kazuki feels like much more of a threat than Draco Malfoy ever did). However, it does not have the emphasis on character interaction and world-building that Harry Potter has, and instead the focus is on action.
I have finished book 4 (out of 8), and while it is very much YA (for an adult treatment of similar themes there's of course Shogun, by James Clavell), I was surprised to see how the death count (including important characters) was much higher than in Harry Potter, and how dark it sometimes is, in that there is no guarantee that "good" will triumph over "evil". show less
It is written in quite short chapters with plenty of action. Many chapters end in some kind of cliffhanger so that it's show more difficult to stop reading. Its only ambition is entertaining, and in that it is successful. There's no attempt to be literary. The author takes many liberties with Japanese society (for example, female warriors are commonplace), but he is a black belt martial artist himself and has obvious respect for Japanese martial philosophy and gets it across quite well.
The action is relentless. Jack goes to a school for young samurais founded by Masamoto Takeshi, and he makes some good friends and terrible enemies. There is a lot of xenophobia in medieval Japan, and because of that he is the target of ruthless bullies. All the while he is pursued by the master ninja assassin who killed his father and is now after a valuable rutter book that Jack rescued from his ship.
Sometimes it reminded me of the Harry Potter series: boarding school with colorful teachers and subjects, the shock of foreign culture, very competent female friend, extremely powerful external enemy, a teacher that particularly dislikes him, a fierce enemy among his fellow students (although Kazuki feels like much more of a threat than Draco Malfoy ever did). However, it does not have the emphasis on character interaction and world-building that Harry Potter has, and instead the focus is on action.
I have finished book 4 (out of 8), and while it is very much YA (for an adult treatment of similar themes there's of course Shogun, by James Clavell), I was surprised to see how the death count (including important characters) was much higher than in Harry Potter, and how dark it sometimes is, in that there is no guarantee that "good" will triumph over "evil". show less
The best way to describe the Young Samurai books is Harry Potter at Samurai School. I can just imagine teen boys (and girls!) salivating over these. Set in Japan in the early 17th century, THE WAY OF THE DRAGON had everything: Ninjas, poison darts, at least twenty different types of weapons, non-stop action, and surprising twists. However, Bradford also managed to throw in characters I really cared about, haiku, Japanese folktales, and all sorts of contemporary school issues, bullying, show more competitiveness, romance, all in a way that was believable and absorbing. I was a little thrown when the war started, as I had completely forgotten I was in historical times, but the book also has a serious edge about history, violence, and what it means to be a Samurai. show less
Dit is het verhaal van Jack Fletcher en zijn avonturen in Japan. Hij strand aan in Japan via een reis die hij met zijn vader maakt. Zijn vader word al vrij snel vermoord door de ninja Drakenoog die op zoek is naar de rutter van het schip die belangrijke informatie kan bevatten. Hier in Japan word hij onder de hoede genomen door een grote samoerai die luistert naar de naam Masamoto. Jack leert wat het betekend om een samoerai te zijn en maakt onderweg vriend- en vijanden.
Het boek is lekker show more vlot geschreven en ondanks dat het een YA boek is, is het zelfs voor een ouder persoon vermakelijk om te lezen. Er zijn een hoop delen in deze serie en ben benieuwd welke avonturen hij verder zal ervaren. show less
Het boek is lekker show more vlot geschreven en ondanks dat het een YA boek is, is het zelfs voor een ouder persoon vermakelijk om te lezen. Er zijn een hoop delen in deze serie en ben benieuwd welke avonturen hij verder zal ervaren. show less
This isn't the 4 stars I would give to a book up for the Newbery award - but it deserves 4 stars for it's type. This is a Hunger Games readalike for the reluctant reader with high interest level but low reading age or ability (it also reminded me a bit of the HIVE series from Mark Walden). There is some violence/killing/death so most suitable for 10 with reading age of 8 . I love the way this book looks exactly like a normal book with a fab lenticular cover that will appeal to kids and not show more look like a remedial reader. Boys with normal reading levels will enjoy this as a quick read - it is pretty exciting. I will be buying more from Barrington Stoke - bravo! show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 66
- Members
- 3,081
- Popularity
- #8,285
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 54
- ISBNs
- 273
- Languages
- 11
- Favorited
- 2