Legend of the Five Rings Books

The secrets of the Unicorn clan are not really revealed in this book. There are no fascinating conspiracies unmasked, there are no shameful hidden agendas revealed. It is largely more information about the clan of the Unicorn with a few teasers. Even the chapter dedicated to the secrets is generally lacking in any significant secrets. Granted, there is an updated history of the clan and a few new schools (which merits the two stars), but overall, the main thing that this book provides is a bit of fiction about the families, one new family and a lot of useless information about vassal families and their holdings within the Unicorn lands. Do we really need to know landmarks and cities belonging to each family? Spare yourself the mediocre fiction and the boring content and skip this book. Instead buy the 2nd edition Way of the Unicorn, set in the d10 pre-Day of Thunder era. You can do your own conversion to d20 if you prefer that system. Trust me, Way of the Unicorn is far superior to Secrets.

A lot of people seem to have the misconception that the secrets books for each of the clans are supposed to offer every hidden agenda idea held by each of the clans. THis is not the case, and for most rolplayers should not pose much of a problem. The secrets books are continued supplements to the Way of series of 1st edition l5r. The book is presented in both d20, for marketability to d&d fans, and 2nd edition d10, for playability of l5r fans. The only improvement any of these books could offer would be an update of old techniques and skills from the way of books to the 2nd edition l5r system. Oh and all that "mediocre fiction and the boring content" as the previous poster so eloqunetly put it is a great way to familiourize yourself with the setting and goings on of rokugan. Great for players and gms who want more depth to their rpgs and a little less hack and slash treasure grabbing.

The book was a little bit disappointing. The author contradicts itself, especially in the last two chapter of the book... Maybe the reason for this was that the ending couldn't be written until the end of the last L5R's convention, where the new emperor was proclaimed.

The book was a little bit disappointing. The author contradicts itself, especially in the last two chapter of the book... Maybe the reason for this was that the ending couldn't be written until the end of the last L5R's convention, where the new emperor was proclaimed.

where is it???? someone dropped the ball on this book release.

I'm not going to address this other review, as I completely disagree with this other readers assessment of "Wind of War". I have read the other L5R books, and I think this author takes a great risk with his imaginitive style, and unique story telling ability. The book is great, entertaining, and I will buy any other books this author writes in the future. It is such a great read, and I highly recommend it! Great job Jess Lebow!

Although I was engaged throughout the book it seemed like I knew what was going to happen next. Then I realized it was because I had seen Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Read it beacause it's part of the series, but don't expect too much to happen to further the story line throughout the saga. Nothing of any importance happens to Kaneka. The story of Shahai and the 8 Oni is nowhere to be found. Nothing happens to the empire or the other winds. It almost seems like this was a side road not a real book in the series. Like I said, under impressed.

I've read all the L5R books, being a big fan of the setting, and the worst is by far the Crab book. This book, however, comes awfully close. The author shows little knowledge of the source material. The whole plot makes no sense for those who know quite a bit about the L5R world. (Why would Bayushi Yojiro openly authorize an entire army to kill Akoda Kaneka? Why would Naseru also be so open about it? Why would an Iuchi shugenja work for a scorpion daimyo? This Lion shugenja seems to be the most powerful magic-user alive, with no explanation or wonderment from the charectors.) Magic is also used a deus ex machina to solve all kinds of things. All the charectors and plot are shamelessly borrowed from Kurosawa movies. The book itself is quite boring, and the fight scenes(of which there are dozens)go on for WAY to long. On second thought, this IS the WORST L5R book, at least the Crab book didn't have inside jokes.

I think that the autor completely missed the complex background and tradition that guide the Rokugani world. Characters in this book go around dressed in leather like some ... bikers, touch dead without any hint of repulsion, take gift at the first giving without the customary two refusal. Lion samurai are bold ... and not the honorable and stalwart warrior who are depicted on the whole Rokugan fictions.Finally the title is all the way very fitting because there are hardly two chapter without a fighting, this would have been not so bad if the combat have had some mean but the main character go around ... breaking bones only to make a show of himself.
Not to mention the main opponent, a Bayushi lord worth of the lesser of the Crane jester, a plain unimaginative man who throw wave after wave of thugs hoping that someone casually [destroy]his enemy, personally i think very differently of a Scorpion samurai, even one not very cunning. Last but not least this book bring me a very strong sense of RPG flavour, in a scene some paesants bring Kaneka a pot with a mixture that can heal his wounds. "Please honored master take this Potion of cure serious wounds" that is what i have thinked when i read this passage...

Wind of War was a huge disappointment. The author seems to have a very weak grasp of Rokugani society and custom. In fact, take out all of the bowing and references to katana and yari and this story could have taken place anywhere. There is no sign of the complex system of etiquette that governs all social interactions in Rokugan. The Scorpion Clan provides the story's villains but the characters behave nothing like the Scorpions of previous novels. Their leader is a buffoon, easily intimidated, short of temper and extremely heavy-handed - the complete opposite of what one would expect from a Bayushi lord. It is absurd to think that a political mastermind like Hantei Naseru would have anything to do with such a man. The Scorpion clan mandate to protect the empire at all costs, even if it means the sacrifice of their honor is disregarded and these samurai are reduced to nothing more than a band of thugs and extortionists. The plot revolves around Akodo Kaneka but does nothing to advance the story of the conflict between the Four Winds. In fact, the late emperor's other children do not even appear in the novel and only Naseru is even mentioned by name. Kaneka spends the entire novel defending a village of poor farmers from their Scorpion oppressors. The book is full of combat scenes that go on for pages but do nothing to advance the plot (in one scene, seven pages are devoted to a fight between Kaneka and a gang of thugs). The author frequently repeats himself (Lord Zuto is constantly narrowing his eyes and Kaneka is always rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck). Perhaps the most upsetting thing about this book is that the author clearly did not do his homework. Besides failing to capture the feel of Rokugan's complex society, there are events in this book that contradict events that have already taken place in previous novels of the series. For example, in The Steel Throne the Water Dragon dumps Hatsuko at the feet of a cowering Akodo samurai and commands him to care for her. For some reason, the author feels compelled to retell this part of the story, but in his version, Hatsuko shows up at the Akodo stronghold with a hand-written note explaining her circumstances. Did the author not read the previous novels? And how did this get by the folks at Wizards of the Coast? Are they not concerned with the quality of these stories? The Four Winds are potentially interesting characters and their struggle for Toturi's throne could make for an excellent series of novels. This potential is wasted however, if each character is handled in a vacuum as in this novel. What a shame!