Steve Bein

Investigating the theft of an old samurai sword forged by a legendary smith who supposedly infused the weapon with magical powers, Tokyo police officer Mariko Oshiro finds herself threatened by the power of the blade in unexpected ways. Original. 30,000 first printing.

A Novel of the Fated Blades

Daughter of the Sword

A follow-up to the critically acclaimed Daughter of the Sword finds Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro promoted to Japan's elite Narcotics unit and targeted by a crime underboss who demands she retrieve an ancient iron mask that she subsequently discovers is linked to a violent history and the famed Inazuma blade she wields. By the award-winning author of Iron Winter. Original. 30,000 first printing.

Year of the Demon

The author of Daughter of the Sword takes readers to feudal Japan, where men and empires rise and fall by the sword… The Tiger on the Mountain is a legendary blade, crafted by the master sword smith Inazuma, and reputed to possess magical powers. In 1442 Japan, the sword dwells inside the impregnable fortress of Hirata Nobushige, the enemy of the Iga clan. Venerable shinobi Jujiro has recruited the brave young ninja Tada to steal the sword and restore power to the Iga clan. If Tada is successful, he’ll go from being the clan’s orphaned ward to a legend for the ages—and he’ll be able to ask for Old Jujiro’s granddaughter’s hand in marriage. If he fails, the clan will be annihilated. Getting inside the castle is next to impossible—getting out is inconceivable. But as Tada prepares himself for one of the boldest thefts in history, the greatest obstacle he faces may just prove to be himself… Don’t miss Daughter of the Sword, the first Novel of the Fated Blades!

(An eSpecial from Roc)

Only A Shadow

LETHAL JUSTICE When Tokyo falls victim to a deadly terrorist attack, Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro knows who is responsible, even if she doesn't have proof. She urges her commanding officers to arrest the perpetrator?an insane zealot who was just released from police custody. When her pleas fall on deaf ears, she loses her temper and then her badge, as well as her best chance of fighting back. Left on her own, and armed with only her cunning and her famed Inazuma blade, Mariko must work outside the system to stop a terrorist mastermind. But going rogue draws the attention of an underground syndicate known as the Wind. For centuries, they have controlled Japanese politics from the shadows, using mystical relics to achieve their nefarious ends?relics like Mariko's own sword and the iron demon mask whose evil curse is bound to the blade. Now the Wind is set on acquiring Mariko. Mariko is left with a perilous choice: Join an illicit insurgency to thwart a deadly villain, or remain true to the law. Either way, she cannot escape her sword's curse. As sure as the blade will bring her to victory, it also promises to destroy her?.

Disciple of the Wind

Investigating the theft of an old samurai sword forged by a legendary smith who infused the weapon with magical powers, Tokyo police officer Mariko Oshiro finds herself threatened by the power of the blade in unexpected ways.

Oshiro Mariko è l’unica detective donna del Dipartimento della polizia metropolitana di Tokyo, ed è costretta a lottare per guadagnarsi ogni grammo di rispetto. Decisa a investigare sul narcotraffico della yakuza, si trova invece assegnata a un caso che sembra il meno promettente della sua carriera: il tentato furto di un’antica spada. Il proprietario della spada, il professor Yamada Yasuo, sostiene che sia stata forgiata dal leggendario maestro Inazuma: le sue lame, secondo alcuni, possiedono qualità magiche e hanno il potere di incidere sul destino di chi le impugna. La detective non ha nessuna intenzione di crederci, ma il suo scetticismo avrà vita breve. Le sue investigazioni la faranno precipitare nelle maglie di una maledizione che dura da secoli e che, ora più che mai, reclama sangue. Mariko sarà l’ultima di una lunga serie di guerrieri a scontrarsi con questo potere demoniaco, e perfino la spada che imparerà a maneggiare potrebbe rivoltarsi contro di lei... Fra antichi samurai e poliziotti corrotti, tra i luoghi di un passato magico e solenne e le contraddizioni di una metropoli pulsante, Steve Bein regala ai lettori un esordio di grande impatto che è insieme un thriller avvincente, un fantasy storico e uno scrupoloso, appassionato affresco della cultura giapponese. Steve Bein insegna storia e filosofia dell’Asia alla State University di New York. Lo studio della filosofia è stato parallelo a quello delle arti marziali: Steve Bein è infatti cintura nera quarto dan. Questo è il suo esordio, il primo volume delle Cronache delle spade di Inazuma, di cui è già pronto il seguito.

La figlia della spada - Le cronache delle spade di Inazuma

Compassion is a word we use frequently but rarely precisely. One reason we lack a philosophically precise understanding of compassion is that moral philosophers today give it virtually no attention. Indeed, in the predominant ethical traditions of the West (deontology, consequentialism, virtue ethics), compassion tends to be either passed over without remark or explicitly dismissed as irrelevant. And yet in the predominant ethical traditions of Asia, compassion is centrally important: All else revolves around it. This is clearly the case in Buddhist ethics, and compassion plays a similarly indispensable role in Confucian and Daoist ethics. In Compassion and Moral Guidance, Steve Bein seeks to explain why compassion plays such a substantial role in the moral philosophies of East Asia and an insignificant one in those of Europe and the West. The book opens with detailed surveys of compassion’s position in the philosophical works of both traditions. The surveys culminate in an analysis of the conceptions of self and why the differences between these conceptions serve either to celebrate or marginalize the importance of compassion. Bein moves on to develop a model for the ethics of compassion, including a chapter on applied ethics seen from the perspective of the ethics of compassion. The result is a new approach to ethics, one that addresses the Rawlsian and Kantian concern for fairness, the utilitarian concern for satisfactory consequences, and the concern in care ethics for the proper treatment of marginalized groups. Bein argues that compassion’s capacity to address all of these makes it a primary tool for ethical decision-making.

Steve Bein

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