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bosstweed's review against another edition
4.0
This is such an interesting book, it fuses traditional Japanese mythology and traditional western fantasy tropes and sometimes will lean too far in to the western tradition. The book is not overtly Japanese, in fact it is pretty broadly pan-Asian in its influences and references and creates this wonderfully imagined world. The story is not just compelling but is not predictable, it has so many moments in it that I hadn’t expected and so many that came as a wonderful surprise. That being said, some of the book was a little cheesy, I found myself rolling my eyes or questions why a passage was put in but those moments are few and far between. This has one of the sweetest endings of a fantasy book and while I believe this is a young adult book, I would love to see a darker and much grittier twist to it.
pbingle's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
octavia_cade's review against another edition
4.0
Well-written and really enjoyable fantasy, based very loosely on the Japanese myth of Izanagi, Izanami, and family. My knowledge of Japanese mythology is minimal at best, so a lot of this was new to me, but it was sad and hopeful and lovely all at once. It's nice to have fantasy protagonists who are distinctly averse to battle, and the war parts of this story (thankfully minimal) didn't quite match up to the rest of it - in many ways Dragon Sword is a very quiet story, one that values reconciliation and forgiveness above everything else, and which doesn't flinch from the idea of costs in conflict, how high they are and how terrible it is to have to pay them.
xeni's review against another edition
1.0
Honestly I really disliked this book. Because of two main reasons: 1. The way young women (but mostly those deemed 'lesser') are treated and 2. the inconsistency in the writing.
Supposedly Saya is the heroine of this story. You'd never know it, though, as to how the plot drags her from place to place, how men demand her attention, time, affection, undying gratitude for existing, etc. and how terribly she has been raised. Perhaps this is all very realistic for Japan, or China, or other East Asian cultures, but to me it mostly smacks of outdated misogynistic beliefs that make me uncomfortable and ruin any positives I could have found in the narrative. Saya is a notoriously passive protagonist, who finds it hard to do anything on her own (even hold a sword).
The few moments she is more daring and capable were my favorite, but they were so few and often ruined by a man shortly thereafter. She opens her mouth to rebuke one of her Lords for blaming Chihaya for something he was born with; out of his control. He turns it around and blames her for putting anyone before her own people. And she, "at a loss for words, was sorry that she had opened her mouth." Is this your princess or not? Is she a young girl to be raised or not? Is she the woman you're courting to marry you or not? All this back and forth all the time with the women endlessly losing.
There is so much illogical stuff happening, that it is totally distracting me from the story. The small inconsistencies pile up (e.g. when Saya leaves her village far in the rural areas, she mentions a few days journey on horseback, during which she 1. became a proficient horsewoman, and 2. they crossed countless numbers of rivers and mountains. In a few days. Either magic helped them which was never mentioned in the entire story, or she's a liar). But there are larger issues as well: Torihiko says, "don't go to the capital, Mahoroba! You'll die." and Saya goes anyway. Once there, however, she is clearly needed in the plot to claim back the Dragon Sword, as she is the only one who can touch it. So what is, Torihiko? Manipulation and reverse psychology on a poor innocent naive young child?
And what is up with this ancient prince (at least a few centuries old) being so in love with a child that he especially brings her to his palace. No parental guidance. Basically no guidance at all. What a backwards, misogynistic, hypocritical, hierarchical culture. Also, loving someone just because they are the most beautiful creature on earth is not love. If anything it's lust or desire to possess. You don't immediately love someone just because they're pretty and nice to you. This book is definitely not teaching young readers the right thing.
Time and space make no sense in this book at all. They travel for a day and a bit and all of a sudden are far off in the other country, the place the war is being held. Also the place the magic fairy god prince managed to travel from in an hour or so. It makes no sense, and yet the travel parts of this story are the only parts I like.
The tone of the story is heavily influenced by the translation. There are moments it feels like an old mythological fairy tale, and then a character opens their mouth and says something incredibly modern and incongruous. Often we are told how a character feels or emotes after the fact, and thus their actions are left disembodied from their feelings.
There is also a lot of irony in this struggle between Light and Dark. The Light are immortal, and need nothing from earth, and yet spread death and destruction everywhere they go with the one hand, while claiming death is only for the Dark in the other. The Light kill people to purify their city, their bodies, their existence. They imprison, kill without discretion and basically have no compassion at all for any living creature, yet they are the good ones. The side of Dark has rebirth, healing, reverence for life on its side, yet it is the evil one. This irony is never acknowledged by any of the characters in the book, however, on neither side of this struggle. Almost as though the author never realized it themselves.
This is the kind of book where I would have preferred to read a prophecy early on (as cliche as it is), so when different 'fated elements' are brought into play it feels less deus ex machina.
I can imagine in the original Japanese the author builds up a beautiful feeling of this struggle between light and dark with magical creature-gods and ethereal beings. I only caught a glimpse of that in this translation and it wasn't enough to support the other issues I had in the read.
As to the end:
Supposedly Saya is the heroine of this story. You'd never know it, though, as to how the plot drags her from place to place, how men demand her attention, time, affection, undying gratitude for existing, etc. and how terribly she has been raised. Perhaps this is all very realistic for Japan, or China, or other East Asian cultures, but to me it mostly smacks of outdated misogynistic beliefs that make me uncomfortable and ruin any positives I could have found in the narrative. Saya is a notoriously passive protagonist, who finds it hard to do anything on her own (even hold a sword).
The few moments she is more daring and capable were my favorite, but they were so few and often ruined by a man shortly thereafter. She opens her mouth to rebuke one of her Lords for blaming Chihaya for something he was born with; out of his control. He turns it around and blames her for putting anyone before her own people. And she, "at a loss for words, was sorry that she had opened her mouth." Is this your princess or not? Is she a young girl to be raised or not? Is she the woman you're courting to marry you or not? All this back and forth all the time with the women endlessly losing.
There is so much illogical stuff happening, that it is totally distracting me from the story. The small inconsistencies pile up (e.g. when Saya leaves her village far in the rural areas, she mentions a few days journey on horseback, during which she 1. became a proficient horsewoman, and 2. they crossed countless numbers of rivers and mountains. In a few days. Either magic helped them which was never mentioned in the entire story, or she's a liar). But there are larger issues as well: Torihiko says, "don't go to the capital, Mahoroba! You'll die." and Saya goes anyway. Once there, however, she is clearly needed in the plot to claim back the Dragon Sword, as she is the only one who can touch it. So what is, Torihiko? Manipulation and reverse psychology on a poor innocent naive young child?
And what is up with this ancient prince (at least a few centuries old) being so in love with a child that he especially brings her to his palace. No parental guidance. Basically no guidance at all. What a backwards, misogynistic, hypocritical, hierarchical culture. Also, loving someone just because they are the most beautiful creature on earth is not love. If anything it's lust or desire to possess. You don't immediately love someone just because they're pretty and nice to you. This book is definitely not teaching young readers the right thing.
Time and space make no sense in this book at all. They travel for a day and a bit and all of a sudden are far off in the other country, the place the war is being held. Also the place the magic fairy god prince managed to travel from in an hour or so. It makes no sense, and yet the travel parts of this story are the only parts I like.
The tone of the story is heavily influenced by the translation. There are moments it feels like an old mythological fairy tale, and then a character opens their mouth and says something incredibly modern and incongruous. Often we are told how a character feels or emotes after the fact, and thus their actions are left disembodied from their feelings.
There is also a lot of irony in this struggle between Light and Dark. The Light are immortal, and need nothing from earth, and yet spread death and destruction everywhere they go with the one hand, while claiming death is only for the Dark in the other. The Light kill people to purify their city, their bodies, their existence. They imprison, kill without discretion and basically have no compassion at all for any living creature, yet they are the good ones. The side of Dark has rebirth, healing, reverence for life on its side, yet it is the evil one. This irony is never acknowledged by any of the characters in the book, however, on neither side of this struggle. Almost as though the author never realized it themselves.
This is the kind of book where I would have preferred to read a prophecy early on (as cliche as it is), so when different 'fated elements' are brought into play it feels less deus ex machina.
I can imagine in the original Japanese the author builds up a beautiful feeling of this struggle between light and dark with magical creature-gods and ethereal beings. I only caught a glimpse of that in this translation and it wasn't enough to support the other issues I had in the read.
As to the end:
Spoiler
I really enjoyed the blooming friendship, understanding and love that grew between Chihaya and Saya. I am so happy she did not end up with any of the men who demanded her (and it was so many I won't even list them all). Chihaya is the one who took her to see a field of blooming flowers instead of plucking them. He has more value for the earth than the people who supposedly revere it. I hope he can teach Saya more, because he is certainly the more compassionate and understanding one between the two of them.coolcurrybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Dragon Sword and Wind Child is a translation of a Japanese fantasy novel that draws on Japanese mythology and Western fantasy tradition.
The forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have been at war for generations. For Saya, an orphaned teenage girl living among the people of Light, the war exists somewhere in the background… until she finds out that she is the Water Maiden, a reincarnation of the priestess of the Goddess of Dark. As the Water Maiden, Saya is the only one who can tame the Dragon Sword, a legendary weapon fated to end the war between the deities.
What I liked most about Dragon Sword and Wind Child was how the light and dark was not equivalent to good and evil. The children of the God of Light are immortal and eternal, unchanging. The children of the Goddess of Darkness die and are reborn in a cyclical pattern. Neither is good or evil, but by starting the war the God of Light has been upsetting the balance between them.
I generally liked the characters, although there were a couple of minor ones I had trouble keeping track of. Chihaya was by far my favorite for how he didn’t know or care for societal customs. It gave him a humorous side that not a lot of the other characters had. As a heroine, I thought Saya seemed rather passive. Don’t be mistaken by the blurb – Saya is not destined to wield or fight with the Dragon Sword.
I was utterly immersed in the world Ogiwara created, which came to vivid life through the quality writing. The prose was simply beautiful, and I have no complaints regarding the translation.
I’m glad I read Dragon Sword and Wind Child, and I’m already planning on tracking down more by this author. If you’re looking for fantasy novel drawing from a non-Western background, this would be one of the first I’d recommend.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
The forces of the God of Light and the Goddess of Darkness have been at war for generations. For Saya, an orphaned teenage girl living among the people of Light, the war exists somewhere in the background… until she finds out that she is the Water Maiden, a reincarnation of the priestess of the Goddess of Dark. As the Water Maiden, Saya is the only one who can tame the Dragon Sword, a legendary weapon fated to end the war between the deities.
What I liked most about Dragon Sword and Wind Child was how the light and dark was not equivalent to good and evil. The children of the God of Light are immortal and eternal, unchanging. The children of the Goddess of Darkness die and are reborn in a cyclical pattern. Neither is good or evil, but by starting the war the God of Light has been upsetting the balance between them.
“For the first time Saya understood how people can grow accustomed to war. Intensified by the stark contrast between life and death, fleeting moments of joy such as these could make one almost mad with happiness.”
I generally liked the characters, although there were a couple of minor ones I had trouble keeping track of. Chihaya was by far my favorite for how he didn’t know or care for societal customs. It gave him a humorous side that not a lot of the other characters had. As a heroine, I thought Saya seemed rather passive. Don’t be mistaken by the blurb – Saya is not destined to wield or fight with the Dragon Sword.
I was utterly immersed in the world Ogiwara created, which came to vivid life through the quality writing. The prose was simply beautiful, and I have no complaints regarding the translation.
I’m glad I read Dragon Sword and Wind Child, and I’m already planning on tracking down more by this author. If you’re looking for fantasy novel drawing from a non-Western background, this would be one of the first I’d recommend.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
amytalksbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I felt that it was very reminiscent of classic Western fantasy, but with unique cultural differences. I loved the characters of Saya and Chihaya, as well as a few side characters.
I feel this book was a tiny bit slow at the beginning, but it was so atmospheric and beautifully written (and translated) that I fell in love with it. It had the elements of adventure, political intrigue, discussion of deities and immortality, myth and a unique fantasy element central to the plot (the dragon sword, the water maiden etc.). Brilliant.
I feel this book was a tiny bit slow at the beginning, but it was so atmospheric and beautifully written (and translated) that I fell in love with it. It had the elements of adventure, political intrigue, discussion of deities and immortality, myth and a unique fantasy element central to the plot (the dragon sword, the water maiden etc.). Brilliant.
gay_wizard's review against another edition
5.0
This book is purely fantastic! The fantasy and mythology within the story was very interesting and not over-the-top as some fantasy novels can be. The only complaint I could have about this book was the length (I wish it were longer!).
dreklogar's review against another edition
3.0
Dragon Sword and Wind Child was definitely something else, though it ended up not really being my thing. Things were progressing at a rapid pace, with fairly quick changes both in setting and in the way the characters were, with very little time for reflection. None of it felt forced or unbelievable, it was just too fast for me to properly get into it and enjoy it - at times, the book felt more like it was going through story beats without actually developing them.
I still think that this book will probably be an incredible read for people who just don't want to get mired in details and instead prefer a more to the point story that still feels very much like a fairy tale.
I still think that this book will probably be an incredible read for people who just don't want to get mired in details and instead prefer a more to the point story that still feels very much like a fairy tale.
dashie's review against another edition
5.0
A bit slow, but beautiful, lush descriptions and rich in Japanese inspired mythology and colour. #ownvoices must read!