The Legend of Tartuka Island and the Chosen Pearls
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Prologue From the journal of Oda Tadakatsu, legendary warrior and discoverer of Tartuka Island. Year 1877, at the end of the 700-year rule of the Samurai. Ten years before the last battle of the Satsuma Rebellion against the Imperial Army, I was cast out of my home, or at least what was left of it. Emperor Meiji had just removed Daimyo’s power over the land, shifting Japan into a single Empire, and leaving the Samurai with no one to serve. The nation was also under the new vigilance of a conscription army. In truth, there was no reason for the Samurai to exist anymore. After all, if every Japanese man could become a warrior, what made us special? While most Samurai resisted this rise of Western ideals, some of my father’s fellow warriors—friends I grew up with—chose to part with honor and performed the sacred act of Seppuku. I knew from a young age that death was an inevitable end in this battle to defend our legacy. After all, despite everything changing, this was still the land I’d sworn my loyalty to, and I was ready to give my life for it. I spent every day of my young years preparing for that moment, training alongside my father from dusk to dawn, knowing that each new morning could be the day we’d finally be called to fight for our nation once again. Unfortunately for everyone, this day never came. A new threat lurked in the shadows instead, and it grew faster than expected. My father, a Hatamoto warrior in the service of the shogunate's retinue, had heard from a source inside the Imperial Army that the Emperor was plotting to destroy the Samurai. It had not been enough to reduce our legacy to the point of abolition, he wanted no trace nor memory of our existence. My father didn’t wish for me to be part of this violent battle, even though he was very good at pretending otherwise, and so it came as a surprise when one night he grabbed me and took me away from our home. He knew as much as everyone that I wouldn’t survive a confrontation against the Imperial Army. I was still very young, not older than thirteen. I had been trained in the ways of Bushido since my birth, but I still had so much to learn. I should’ve been there when the Satsuma Rebellion fell. I should’ve died that day. Instead, I was forced to live like a coward, shoved into a strange ship in the middle of the night. All I carried with me was my father’s sword and this journal. The only memories I have left of my childhood. Everything else has vanished with time. I can’t even tell what is truly a memory and what is just a dream I made up on those lonely nights sailing into dangerous seas. But the one thing I’ll never forget is the words my father told me that night before he left me, right after I asked him where he was sending me. He told me I was going far away, somewhere off the maps, so the imperial army could never learn of my existence. If they did, they would’ve hunted me down to kill me, the last living relative of our clan…
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About the Book
In 1939, Singapore, thirteen-year-old Margaret Chatsworth, daughter of a British Admiral, discovers an ancient journal that changes her life forever. Within its weathered pages lies the extraordinary tale of Oda Tadakatsu, a samurai cast away from Japan in 1867 as the 700-year rule of the samurai approaches its violent end. Sent to sea against his will by a father desperate to save him from the coming bloodshed, young Oda is forced aboard a Spanish vessel under the command of the enigmatic Captain Márquez. For years, Oda has served diligently while harboring dreams of returning to defend his homeland. When Márquez reveals his true mission—the search for hidden islands called the Chosen Pearls, which may harbor the mythical Fountain of Youth—Oda’s path becomes entangled with ancient legends that transcend time itself. Margaret’s curiosity about Oda’s story ends abruptly when colonial authorities accuse the bookseller who gave her the journal of subversive activities. He is deported from Singapore, and Margaret is sent back to England for her safety. The mysterious journal is taken from her, lost forever—or so she thought. Six years later, now an Oxford history student, Margaret’s world shatters again when her father vanishes from his naval post in Singapore without a trace. Despite an extensive search, the circumstances of his disappearance remain unknown, and the British Navy is not able to find him. It isn’t until the unexpected arrival of Oda’s journal to Maragert’s room that she finds an alarming connection between the ancient samurai’s quest and her father’s fate. With time running out and war looming on the horizon, Margaret undertakes a dangerous journey back to Singapore alongside Lieutenant James Thomas. As she follows Oda’s path through treacherous waters, two quests separated by decades converge: a samurai’s fight to reclaim his honor and a daughter’s desperate search for her father. Between these pages lie tales of pirates and betrayals, hidden islands and mystical forces, immortality and sacred duty. But the greatest mystery remains: Where is Oda? And will his path cross with Margaret’s as she races to uncover the secrets of the Chosen Pearls before those who took her father unleash their power on an already war-torn world?
About the Author
Logan Clarke has spent much of his life as an International Private Investigator. His company has many divisions, but Logans Task Force concentrates on locating and rescuing kidnapped women and children from Human Trafficking, Parental Kidnappings or Stranger Abduction. His career has taken him from Cochise County, Arizona to Khartoum, Sudan. He and his Team of investigators have returned hundreds of victims to their families in Manila, Philippines, South Africa, Dubai, Canada, South America and countless other countries and states. He was however, born into the world of showbusiness. In his early years he traveled the world with his mom, Dorothy Darnell, a well-known Jazz/pop singer in the 1950’s 60’s. Logans talent in writing started with poetry at 12 years of age and by 18, he was a newspaper columnist at a large newspaper in Hawaii. By the 1970’s he owned a string of Jazz Bars and nightclubs in SE Asia and wrote a bestselling ‘poetic novel’ for the Hallmark Publishing of Asia. Logan’s mom instilled in him the freedom and ability to Dream. “Shoot for the moon” she would say…”if you miss, you can always grab a few stars on the way down”….”Never lose sight of your dreams sweetheart…your only here once…there is no ‘take two’ “ After touring SE Asia with USO shows together, Logan remained in SE Asia and his mom traveled on. While sailing through the 7,641islands of the Philippines, Logan came up with the theory and the Legend of Tartuka Island. The novel itself took many years to become a reality. After creating the theory and writing the short story in the 1070’s, it sat for over two decades and wasn’t completed until Logan searched out the professor in charge of creative writing and mythology at UCLA. This began the meeting’s and collaborations between Miriam Arce and Cody Geib and in 2024 Logan and Miriam wrote out and finished The Legend of Tartuka Island and the Chosen Pearls. This is the first of a Trilogy of Novels. Logan says to this day, he fully believes that his theory of The Chosen Pearls actually did happen with the great explorers, adventurers and of world. Like Christopher Columbus, Ponce De Leon, and Captain Cook. TRUTH IS STRNGER THAN FICTION……