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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
When I was younger, my parents bought me a CD of various fairytales being acted out--everything from Ali Baba to East of the Sun West of the Moon to The Emperor's New Clothes. I listened to them al the time, to the point where I can still quote them, or remember various quirks in the voice acting. I borrowed Six Crimson Cranes in audiobook format, and this is the closest I've come to recreating that experience. This book is a fairytale in plot, but also just in vibes, from the curse-casting stepmother to the talking animal sidekick.
It's a pretty quick read, and it's quite delightful. Shiori is an interesting character, and I'm glad she is given such a well-crafted arc. The other characters aren't as fleshed out, particularly in their relationships with Shiori and one another, but I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Sure, a lot of important character beats, like her love for her brothers, are more tell than show, but it doesn't detract from the story because it's a fairytale. They're presented as a given, without the need for much realism. I do think the climax is a bit convoluted, and would've benefitted from a few more chapters, but I think the ending is still satisfying both as the conclusion of the story and as set-up for a sequel.
It's a pretty quick read, and it's quite delightful. Shiori is an interesting character, and I'm glad she is given such a well-crafted arc. The other characters aren't as fleshed out, particularly in their relationships with Shiori and one another, but I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Sure, a lot of important character beats, like her love for her brothers, are more tell than show, but it doesn't detract from the story because it's a fairytale. They're presented as a given, without the need for much realism. I do think the climax is a bit convoluted, and would've benefitted from a few more chapters, but I think the ending is still satisfying both as the conclusion of the story and as set-up for a sequel.
adventurous
hopeful
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
Wow, amazing! The writing is very beautiful and immersive. I was able to picture everything tha happend clearly. Everything that Shiori went through and her decisions made sense for the plot. I liked how there was a character development in her personality. And I genuinely thought I predicted the outcome, but the author really surprised me multiple times throughout this book. I also cried during the last few chapters. The author was very good in conveying emotions. I finished it in a few days and I will definitely check out the next book in this duology and I will also check out some of her other books.
This book literally left me speachless. I loved it so much it was so great. I loved the bits of old folklore in the story. The scenes were described so naturally it felt like I was there. The main character had a good character development and she was definitly written with good characteristics. Independence, determination, kindness and caring. Also the enemies to lovers was so good and heartbreaking. I did not expect the plot twists. The book never became boring and I read it in one sitting. Its easy english so I recommend it to anyone tbh.
"The wild swans" but make it better.
"What are words but silly sounds of the tongue" said Kiki, Shiori's magical paper bird, to cheer her up after all her attempts to communicate failed.
Six Crimson Cranes is a book written by Elizabeth Lim on June 6, 2021. It is the first book in a duology. As told by the title, it is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Wild Swans," but with a cool twist. The use of elements of Japanese and Chinese mythology and folk tales makes this story special. The genre of this book is fantastic fiction, specifically fantasy.
The main character Shiori, the only daughter of the king of Kiata, is somewhat special. She has forbidden magical powers running through her blood. On her wedding day, she suddenly loses control of her powers, and with this good fortune she escapes her marriage. Unfortunately, this bit of luck quickly came to an end when Shiori's stepmother discovered that Shiori has magical powers. Along with her six brothers, Shiori was exiled and enchanted. Her brothers were transformed into beautiful cranes and Shiori woke up in an unknown place so that no one could recognize her. Scared and alone, she tries to search for her brothers and unmask her stepmother. This would be easy, unfortunately there was still one big spell on her and her brothers. This spell ensures that Shiori cannot say a word about the spell. With every word she speaks, one of her brothers will die. Fortunately, she is not completely alone but still has her magical paper bird Kiki. Who throughout the story will provide comic relief.
The story is wonderfully written, Lim has worked out the situations phenomenally.
She writes in a fairly easy but beautiful language that makes it readable by anyone. Her writing style sucks the reader right into the story. The combination of magical elements, fairy tales and elements of Chinese and Japanese folk tales and myths is really worked out perfectly. The story is based on the fairy tale "The Wild Swans" by Hans Christian Andersen. So what also makes it so recognizable, because everyone has read that masterpiece at one time or another. Shiori is banished and enchanted just like in Andersen's story, but in this story she gets a bowl on her head that she cannot take off. This is a reference to a folk tale called Hachikazuk. There are different versions of this story but the bottom line is that there is a girl with a bowl on her head and she is also chased out of her home by her stepmother.
The book talks a lot about feelings such as hopelessness, sadness and longing, but also joy, courage and love. The failed arranged marriage will not be important only in the beginning. More will be told about the man Shiori should have married. This will generate a lot of emotions in both characters that will be well conveyed to the reader.
The book will leave the reader with a hole in their heart. The book discusses family love as well as platonic love and of course more. The road to finding her brothers again is certainly not an easy one and is full of painful feelings. Yet hope remains and joy and love can be found back in this situation.
Discovering the world of Kiata is truly wonderful. You are immediately greeted by the magical creatures, the dragons, which become very important later in the story. There are also magical powers hidden deep within the beautifully written characters. The magnificently written landscapes are certainly not to be forgotten either. The reader will feel right at home.
The book is definitely worth reading. Any one who enjoys reading should try this book, but especially those who love fantasy.
"The wild swans" but make it better.
"What are words but silly sounds of the tongue" said Kiki, Shiori's magical paper bird, to cheer her up after all her attempts to communicate failed.
Six Crimson Cranes is a book written by Elizabeth Lim on June 6, 2021. It is the first book in a duology. As told by the title, it is a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Wild Swans," but with a cool twist. The use of elements of Japanese and Chinese mythology and folk tales makes this story special. The genre of this book is fantastic fiction, specifically fantasy.
The main character Shiori, the only daughter of the king of Kiata, is somewhat special. She has forbidden magical powers running through her blood. On her wedding day, she suddenly loses control of her powers, and with this good fortune she escapes her marriage. Unfortunately, this bit of luck quickly came to an end when Shiori's stepmother discovered that Shiori has magical powers. Along with her six brothers, Shiori was exiled and enchanted. Her brothers were transformed into beautiful cranes and Shiori woke up in an unknown place so that no one could recognize her. Scared and alone, she tries to search for her brothers and unmask her stepmother. This would be easy, unfortunately there was still one big spell on her and her brothers. This spell ensures that Shiori cannot say a word about the spell. With every word she speaks, one of her brothers will die. Fortunately, she is not completely alone but still has her magical paper bird Kiki. Who throughout the story will provide comic relief.
The story is wonderfully written, Lim has worked out the situations phenomenally.
She writes in a fairly easy but beautiful language that makes it readable by anyone. Her writing style sucks the reader right into the story. The combination of magical elements, fairy tales and elements of Chinese and Japanese folk tales and myths is really worked out perfectly. The story is based on the fairy tale "The Wild Swans" by Hans Christian Andersen. So what also makes it so recognizable, because everyone has read that masterpiece at one time or another. Shiori is banished and enchanted just like in Andersen's story, but in this story she gets a bowl on her head that she cannot take off. This is a reference to a folk tale called Hachikazuk. There are different versions of this story but the bottom line is that there is a girl with a bowl on her head and she is also chased out of her home by her stepmother.
The book talks a lot about feelings such as hopelessness, sadness and longing, but also joy, courage and love. The failed arranged marriage will not be important only in the beginning. More will be told about the man Shiori should have married. This will generate a lot of emotions in both characters that will be well conveyed to the reader.
The book will leave the reader with a hole in their heart. The book discusses family love as well as platonic love and of course more. The road to finding her brothers again is certainly not an easy one and is full of painful feelings. Yet hope remains and joy and love can be found back in this situation.
Discovering the world of Kiata is truly wonderful. You are immediately greeted by the magical creatures, the dragons, which become very important later in the story. There are also magical powers hidden deep within the beautifully written characters. The magnificently written landscapes are certainly not to be forgotten either. The reader will feel right at home.
The book is definitely worth reading. Any one who enjoys reading should try this book, but especially those who love fantasy.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-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
medium-paced
perfectly fine, quick read, interesting world-building and characters, even if motivations for actions are shallow or strain credulity.
adventurous
medium-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
Quite different from things I have read recently and I really appreciate the nuanced world featured in this book; so so beautiful and fascinating to immerse myself in it. The plot itself not fully hitting me the way that I hoped I do just think is to do with the writing style that is a lot more juvenile than I am used to. The dialogue, the overuse of '!', and sooo much of the major plot and 'twists' in the second half was a lot more 'tell-not-show'-y than I prefer like Zairena revealing the meaning of Shiori's curse all at once in a string of dialogue that wasn't very realistic at all for her to be telling Shirori for any reason other than the fact it gives the reader context. I just feel like it could have been handled differently with Shiori discovering it herself. I liked a lot of the premise of Shiori's curse and how much it helped her develop as a character by discovering what it was like to live without her title and privilege, however discovering the origins of it fell so flat for me. Raikama not being evil and actually being the subject of all of Shiori's fond memories of her mother was just wild to me. The whole thing with Zairena and the Wolf being the actual evil did not at all hit the same as if Raikama was; they were such uncaptivating villains (and so obvious, in Zairena's case) that I find difficulty in seeing myself enjoying the next book where the Wolf will feature more prominently. Twists have to be done so precisely for them to work, and I feel like in Raikama's case it did not.
Shiori's relationships with the cast are initially fascinating, particularly with Seryu, her brothers, and Megari,however I feel like her relationship with the latter two were majorly overshadowed by Takkan. The fact that I am still barely able to distinguish between any of the brothers by the end just shows how much they were basically ignored in the story apart from being part of Shiori's curse. They meant enough to her for her to not wish them dead, however it is rather frustrating the amounts of times she puts herself and inadvertently them in harm's way by ignoring their and Kiki's advice that made her rather naive and reversed her character development at times. The brothers or Takkan (or Raikama at the end) always had to save Shiori at the end of the day, so it would have been nice if she had a tad bit better critical thinking and problem solving on her own, especially after her banishment when she was fending for herself for so long. And Seryu was in the book so little that it was clearly just a tease for the second book, but I'm really unsure if I can be bothered to read it.
Shiori's relationships with the cast are initially fascinating, particularly with Seryu, her brothers, and Megari,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent