Duel for the Samurai Sword

Duel for the Samurai Sword

Front Cover of UK edition
Author J. J. Fortune
Illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz (Map by Giorgetta Bell McRee)
Country United States
Language English
Series Race Against Time series
Genre Juvenile
Publisher Dell Publishing (US), Armada (UK)
Publication date
1984
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 142 pp (paperback)
ISBN 0-440-92172-4
OCLC 10535988
LC Class CPB Box no. 2852 vol. 6
Preceded by Search for Mad Jack's Crown
Followed by Pursuit of the Deadly Diamonds

The Duel for the Samurai Sword is book 5 of the Race Against Time series written by J. J. Fortune.

Plot summary

Richard Duffy received urgent summons to Japan where his mentor, Ohara Noburu, was dying. Ohara was the last steward of a sword crafted by the famous swordsmith Masamune.

During his adventuring days, Richard had been seriously injured when his ship was sunk. After ending up in a hospital in Tokyo, Richard managed to recover and got even better under the tutelage of Ohara. He also became one of Ohara's best disciples and incurred the enmity of a fellow student named Sakuma Mori by besting the latter in a sparring match.

As Ohara was on his deathbed, Sakuma, who had become a yakuza gang leader, wanted to get hold of the famous sword in order to win respect of other yakuza chiefs and become their leader. Most of Ohara's other students were injured by Sakuma, and Ohara summoned Richard to entrust the sword to the American to prevent it from falling into criminal hands.

After the funeral the following morning, Richard and Stephen had to keep the sword safe until they make it to their flight back home in the evening the same day. But a lot could happen in a day, a lot of dangerous things especially when one was a Westerner in faraway Tokyo.

Mentioned in the novel were historical characters Sengo Muramasa (千子村正)) and Masamune Okazaki (岡崎 正宗) who were famous swordsmiths. Their products clashed in the final battle to determine whether Richard would survive.

Non-recurring Characters

Chapter headings

  1. Kamikaze Driving, Wednesday, 10:41 P.M., Japan
  2. A Little Bit of Drama, Tuesday, 6:53 P.M., New York City
  3. Tokyo at Night, Wednesday, 10:54 P.M., Japan
  4. Farewell to the Master, Wednesday, 11:27 P.M., Japan
  5. The Housebreakers, Thursday, 10:56 A.M., Japan
  6. All Around the Town, Thursday, 12:39 P.M., Japan
  7. Me and My Shadow, Thursday, 1:50 P.M., Japan
  8. Three Bridges to Safety, 2:41 P.M., Japan
  9. Making Tracks, Thursday, 4:00 P.M., Japan
  10. Fun and Games, Thursday, 4:13 P.M., Japan
  11. Backs to the Backstage Wall, Thursday, 5:49 P.M., Japan
  12. The Crazy Gaijin Strikes Again, Thursday, 6:17 P.M., Japan
  13. Rub-A-Dub-Out, Thursday, 7:28 P.M., Japan
  14. Custom Alteration, Thursday, 8:10 P.M., Japan
  15. The Wildest Ride, Thursday, 8:31 P.M., Japan
  16. Battle and Disaster, Thursday, 8:48 P.M., Japan
  17. The Sword of the Master, Thursday, 9:08 P.M., Japan
  18. Jet-Lag Blues, Thursday, 8:20 P.M., New York


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