For the Samurai, death is not to be feared. It is to be embraced. Japan 1533 - A nation in turmoil. Rival warlords battle for supremacy while common folk struggle to survive in a land laid waste by endless war. Tengu, an orphaned girl, must navigate the lawless hinterlands if she is to survive and achieve her ambition to become a master swordswoman. Rejected by every school of martial skill, she joins samurai from northern Japan as they converge on a river shrine to take part in a savage tournament, a death-match from which only one can emerge victorious. Will she survive the gladiatorial combat? Or will she meet a bloody end on the arena floor? A taut and heart-pounding novel that takes us deep into the life of combat in Shogunate Japan, Raven's Sword is perfect for readers of David Kirk, James Heneage and James Clavell.