Reviews

Brilliance of the Moon by Lian Hearn

marlzipan's review against another edition

4.0

An excellent conclusion to Takeo's younger years. I was gifted all 5 of the Otori books at the same time. I knew one was a prequel, but thought the other four were all part of the same story, so the pacing of this threw me a little. The end felt a little rushed, but deliciously satisfying. I love Hearn's pacing, characters and evocative environments. Extremely likable, but with the potential to be a little more philosophical. I feel like this series skirts around some big, deep questions but doesn't quite bite to the heart of them in the same way that (for example) Robin Hobb's writing does.

julissadantes's review against another edition

5.0

Love it
Reading this book was exquisite, a well-developed plot, together with real and ruthless characters, and their vivid scenes of battle and betrayal.

agathecd's review against another edition

5.0

5 stars +++!!!

hannahltgough's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mugglemom's review against another edition

4.0

The narrators for this series really nailed the nuances of this novel. The lyric rhythm/pace of the prose made this novel hum … like a nightingale floor. This entire Japanese infused magical/fantasy series has been fast-paced, spiced up with great action scenarios and well-developed characters with flaws that endear them to me as the reader.
Would recommend to many friends.

empheliath's review against another edition

3.0

A somewhat disappointing ending to an otherwise wonderful trilogy. If the last few chapters could just be changed to actually match the tone and feeling of the rest of the series, that would be much better.

miaowsen's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

trish204's review against another edition

5.0

This third installment picks up right after Takeo's and Kaede's wedding. The Otori uncles are sending threats and it's clear that to have any position amongst the warring clans, indeed any chance to stay alive, Takeo and Kaede must first gain men and power themselves so after defeating the Otori army, they travel to Kaede's domain to reclaim it (after the death of Lady Maruyama, some men took over despite the law being different in that region).
Meanwhile, Takeo is still hunted by the Tribe as well (and boy, weren't there some "nice" developments there?!) and he has therefore no other option than to use Shigeru's records and hunt them.
Following part of the prophecy, he also tries to gain an advantage by sea so he and Kaede split up, with terrible consequences when Kaede is reckless enough to go to her homeland.
And then there is still Lord Arai and he's still very furious - now with both Takeo and Kaede.
We get a lot of battles therefore, just like the prohecy foretold, and a lot of bloodshed.

Fujiwara is still alive, Arai is still alive, the Tribe is still plotting, ... thankfully, there are some good people in this, though, too. Like an old friend of Takeo's from book 1 for example.

Nevertheless, the death toll in this one was brutal.
I only realized how much I liked

Spoiler

Ichiro

, for example, when his head was presented to Takeo, making me cry. He was one of the hardest hitting losses here apart from

Spoiler

the outcast Jo-an whom Takeo had to kill despite owing his life to the man

.
As a complete opposite,

Spoiler

I didn't feel sorry for Yuki or Kenji one bit. Sure, some will make excuses for Yuki because she was a pawn and in love with Takeo and was forced to kill herself because of that love after she had given the Tribe what they had wanted - the child - but she was old enough and made those choices herself. She also knew the Tribe and still went along. Not to mention that her father had betrayed Shigeru and Takeo so wretchedly so I actually liked how he suffered after the forced suicide of his daughter

.

The most torturing part was

Spoiler

Kaede's obduction

. Sure, it's obvious that there will be some sort of rescue attempt but from the overall tone of the books, I wasn't sure whatever plan was set in motion would work and in time. Just think of the plot in book 1 and how that ended! Not to mention how disgusting and appalling

Spoiler

Fujiwara

was. The only consolation, for me (and, I'm sure, Kaede) was that

Spoiler

he wouldn't rape her as he was pretty much uninterested in anything sexual

. But that this despicable excuse for a human being actually caused the death of

Spoiler

loyal Kondo

made me furious beyond description.

As was to be expected, the amount of betrayal didn't let up in this third book either.

Spoiler

I had actually had hope that Arai would just die in battle or something but no, of course he had to turn on Takeo after defeating and killing the Otori uncles with his help

. *sighs*

This book also marks the first time, that we learn of this fictional feudal Japan getting in contact with the rest of the world - namely through the firearms invented after some run-ins with "white barbarians". Isn't it interesting how any given side always calls the other "barbaric" or "savage"?

The ending, at least, was very satisfying what with

Spoiler

the battles having been won, Takeo and Kaede both being disfigured - because that ensured they remained equals - and ruling the three countries

.

One detail I always love and which the author continued through all the books so far is how she incorporates the title of the next volume in the text of the current one. I only figured this out now (maybe because the German translation didn't have it, I'd have to go back and check) but find it a pretty feature.
And I have to once again state how much I like the narration of the audiobooks. Not only are the narrators very good with the pronunciation, it's also nice to have a male and female narrator since the chapters are from Takeo's and Kaede's point of view.

souljaleonn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

rebeccaerglad's review against another edition

3.0

It was a really nice book and when I thought I knew exactly what would happen, I was surprised. The only problem that I have with it is that, in the end, it states exactly what will happen in the last book, [b:The Harsh Cry of the Heron|1408083|The Harsh Cry of the Heron (Kisah Klan Otori, #4)|Lian Hearn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1213607586s/1408083.jpg|2496103].