The Disfavored Hero

By: Jessica Amanda Salmonson

Narrated by: Allison Hiroto

Forced to betray her lord, a disgraced samurai fights to regain her honor

In the fabled land of Naipon, there is no warrior more feared, no samurai more respected than the legendary Tomoe Gozen. Her twin blades can change the course of any battle. After years of service to Lord Shigeno, she is about to renew her oath of loyalty when the sky darkens and a cry of rebellion comes from the hills. Possessed by an evil wizard, the peasants are marching against their master. Tomoe holds off the wave of pitchfork-wielding farmers for as long as she can. Finally the battle overwhelms her, and the greatest samurai in Naipon falls dead.

She awakes in hell, on a slope lined with bloody corpses. After an eternity of fighting, she reaches the summit and finds herself in the chamber of a wizard who restores her to life. She is alive - but now she must do his bidding. Her honor has been shattered, but Tomoe Gozen will do whatever it takes to win it back.

©1981, 1997 Jessica Amanda Salmonson, This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Great Stories!

I have enjoyed these stories on Audible as much as when I read them in books. If you enjoy heroic tales, mysticism, oriental "history", you will enjoy the Tomoe Gozen works.

Good Samurai Story

It's really cool that the protagonist is a female and her love interest is another female! The story is full of a variety of creatures, magical beings, and human beings. However, it can become a little difficult to keep track of all those characters. I listened to this on my commute, so maybe that's why I couldn't keep up with all the characters and their names, but I still powered through it because just listening to what was going on was pretty cool. However, I would tune in and out because again of all the characters.