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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When I finished Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series (of which this is the first), I felt as though I'd been eating Hershey's chocolate when I expected Valrhona (or at least Lindt).
These much-heralded books are set in a fantasy version of medieval Japan, and on the face of it, the story is promising: Takeo is the lone survivor of the massacre of his village by an evil overlord. He is rescued by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru, who adopts Takeo and brings him into his plans to overthrow the lord who destroyed Takeo's village, and Takeo discovers that he has supernatural talents which tie him to a guild of assassins and spies.
The elements of the plot are fairly standard -- orphaned hero, mysterious rescuer, hidden talents, love at first sight (with the heroine, Shirakawa Kaede), an evil overlord to conquer, prophecies which must be fulfilled -- but Hearn weaves them together in a way that could well be interesting to read. The problem is that her storytelling is distant and flat, which gave me little emotional connection to the characters and thus less interest in the outcome of the story. Hearn seems to be striving for an elegant, spare style like that of a Japanese screen or garden, but what she misses are the details: colors, flavors, tactile sensations. Fight scenes are over in a few sentences; journeys are pared down to a couple of paragraphs.
The second and third books improved in this respect, but they remained curiously unengaging, perhaps partly because Hearn missed her opportunity to hook me in the first book. I thought the story was interesting, I liked many of the characters, I really wanted to like the books more, but I couldn't cross the distance created by the style to become really absorbed in them.
These much-heralded books are set in a fantasy version of medieval Japan, and on the face of it, the story is promising: Takeo is the lone survivor of the massacre of his village by an evil overlord. He is rescued by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru, who adopts Takeo and brings him into his plans to overthrow the lord who destroyed Takeo's village, and Takeo discovers that he has supernatural talents which tie him to a guild of assassins and spies.
The elements of the plot are fairly standard -- orphaned hero, mysterious rescuer, hidden talents, love at first sight (with the heroine, Shirakawa Kaede), an evil overlord to conquer, prophecies which must be fulfilled -- but Hearn weaves them together in a way that could well be interesting to read. The problem is that her storytelling is distant and flat, which gave me little emotional connection to the characters and thus less interest in the outcome of the story. Hearn seems to be striving for an elegant, spare style like that of a Japanese screen or garden, but what she misses are the details: colors, flavors, tactile sensations. Fight scenes are over in a few sentences; journeys are pared down to a couple of paragraphs.
The second and third books improved in this respect, but they remained curiously unengaging, perhaps partly because Hearn missed her opportunity to hook me in the first book. I thought the story was interesting, I liked many of the characters, I really wanted to like the books more, but I couldn't cross the distance created by the style to become really absorbed in them.
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Was more intriguing at the beginning, but then got tedious really quickly. I really enjoyed the setting though and the Kaede chapters, but some of the Takeo chapters just dragged on.
“I thought now, as I had often thought before, that people when they pray look and sound the same. The peace of this place pierced my soul. What was I doing here, a killer, my heart bent on revenge?“
Enjoyable and quite lovely. Will be continuing the series.
Enjoyable and quite lovely. Will be continuing the series.
This book was great, I would love to see it made into a movie. It was like reading the plot of a great Kung Fu movie, with a touch of "Memoirs of a Geisha" and some magic thrown in. I will eagerly read the next book.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Set in a sort of "ancient Asia" this book is about the young Takeo and his quest of revenge and forbidden loove. When his whole tribe is extinguished at a massacre he is the only one to survive - rescued by the myterious Lord Otori Shingeru.