Published by Warner Books, 1992, paperback
Part 1: ISBN 0-446-36180-1 1992 $4.99 377 pages
Part 2: ISBN 0-446-36265-4 1992 $4.99 297 pages

I hadn't read Yamato I: A Rage in Heaven, which might explain why it took me half of the Part 1 book to start warming up to the characters and follow the plot. Indeed, I was tempted multiple times to abandon the book as a poor-sequel produced under deadline pressure. Still, I kept reading, and if I came out at the end not entirely thrilled, I also could not complain about wasting time.

Part of this lassitude comes from unfamiliarity with the setting of a three-way space race between Amerika, Xanadu, and Yamato. Frankly, the short recap in front seemed like a retelling of WWII in the Pacific, with Amerika triumphant over the Samurai of Yamato (Japan), and a growing Xanadu (China) flexing its muscles.

Anyway, the Way of the Warrior starts out within a ship heading for delivery of a Samurai bride to Yamato, and in quick succession brings in a Xanadu battle fleet, Amerikan reaction, and the clash of Western culture vs. Samurai tradition. Somewhere in this mess is a story and only in the second half of the book do events begin to make sense- not a lot, but enough to keep you reading.

Part 2 continues the saga to a greater effect, as you're much more comfortable with the characters and situation. It makes for a faster read as the complex interactions of ambitions, jealousy, and greed conspire to propel events to a somewhat truncated ending.

The Way of the Warrior is less military campaigns in space and more like reading the Book of Five Rings or Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It's not bad. It's not great. It sits somewhere in the limbo between the two.