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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
A really great read - thoroughly engaging and quite different for a historical YA fantasy. I loved the Japanese influence, and the two central characters are both very strong. I look forward to the rest in the series.
A gripping tale of honour, code of conduct and duty. While it starts off with an slap of utter confusion, few instances here and there still unclear, Author Loan Hearn arrives at an epic saga of a boy from a small village thrown into a gripping tale of Destiny and Duty, of clans and politics. It had been an unputdownable read.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Descriptors are beautiful and the different character perspectives are starting to branch out not unlike a chess games that deals in politics and secrets.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is very poorly structured and the characters are shallow and unbelievable. I don't just mean that the Magical Realist elements were unrealistic - I'm prepared to suspend my disbelief - but the characters just didn't feel human or fully-formed and their personalities shifted to suit the purposes of the plot (which was inconsistent and unbalanced and unsatisfying).
The prose reads like a bad translation, like the author thinks that by being stilted it will give an impression of being "authentically oriental". It doesn't. It just alienated and annoyed me.
Over half of the story is told in the first person, but for several chapters we find that Takeo (the hero) is talking in close POV third person about the life and emotions of Kaede (the love interest) who he has yet to meet and at no point in this novel does she relate any of these events to him. There is no reason why Takeo's story could not have been told in close POV third person, too, and then this inconsistency would not have arisen.
The story is told in such a way that I thought at first that this was meant to be a YA novel. Then there were brothels mentioned and sexual adventures between boys. At the end *SPOILER WARNING* having finally had his one moment of passion with the love of his life, Takeo has a hurt/comfort erotic moment with a monk who - all of a sudden with no previous indication of it - has fallen in love with him. *END OF SPOILER* It's all a bit emotionally untrue like that.
The Nightingale Floor doesn't feature much either.
This is the first book of a trilogy. I shan't be bothering with the other two.
The prose reads like a bad translation, like the author thinks that by being stilted it will give an impression of being "authentically oriental". It doesn't. It just alienated and annoyed me.
Over half of the story is told in the first person, but for several chapters we find that Takeo (the hero) is talking in close POV third person about the life and emotions of Kaede (the love interest) who he has yet to meet and at no point in this novel does she relate any of these events to him. There is no reason why Takeo's story could not have been told in close POV third person, too, and then this inconsistency would not have arisen.
The story is told in such a way that I thought at first that this was meant to be a YA novel. Then there were brothels mentioned and sexual adventures between boys. At the end *SPOILER WARNING* having finally had his one moment of passion with the love of his life, Takeo has a hurt/comfort erotic moment with a monk who - all of a sudden with no previous indication of it - has fallen in love with him. *END OF SPOILER* It's all a bit emotionally untrue like that.
The Nightingale Floor doesn't feature much either.
This is the first book of a trilogy. I shan't be bothering with the other two.
Une vrai claque ! J'ai adoré ce roman d'aventure se déroulant dans un pays imaginaire proche du Japon médiéval. Une intrigue palpitante et des personnages fascinants, en bref, un vrai coup de coeur !