87 New Historical Fiction Books Hitting Shelves This Year

Based on a true story, "The African Samurai" by Craig Shreve tells a globe-spanning tale of Yasuke, the first foreign-born samurai in Japan and the only samurai of African descent. In 1579, a Portuguese ship docks in Japan, bringing with it a young man kidnapped from his people as a boy, enslaved, and forced into a life as a soldier. Now, he accompanies a priest on an expedition, only to be traded once more — this time, to a Japanese warlord. With time, the two men form a bond of trust, and the man now known as Yasuke ascends to ranks of honor, even as new dangers present themselves.

Release date: Aug. 1