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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Brilliant book, I enjoyed every minute of it. I love Buruu (the Griffin). :)
Although, I'm glad I've watched enough Anime to know most of the Japanese words used because otherwise I would have gotten confused with the honorific's and such.
Can't wait for the second book!
Although, I'm glad I've watched enough Anime to know most of the Japanese words used because otherwise I would have gotten confused with the honorific's and such.
Can't wait for the second book!
Auf dieses Buch war ich doch sehr gespannt. Habe ich unterschiedliches gehört. Aber ich muss sagen, ich bin völlig fasziniert von der Geschichte und der Handlung gewesen und konnte nicht genug bekommen.
Das alte Japan in einer Art dystopischen, Steampunk Geschichte zu verpacken hat mich wirklich gepackt. Ich musste auch streckenweise an Animes und Mangas dabei denken, die manchmal auch diese Art der Komponenten haben.
Daher war ich doch recht schnell Feuer und Flamme für die Handlung gewesen. Das Setting im allgemeinen fan dich sehr gelungen. Wie die Mensch leben, die Veränderung der Umwelt usw.
An sich möchte ich nicht zu viel verraten. Und dann halt das mythische dabei, da unsere Helden der Geschichte mit anderen Jägern einen Donnertiger fangen sollen. Ein Tier, welches schon seit Jahren nicht mehr gesichtet wurde.
Freundschaft, Loyalität, Familie, Vertrauen, vieles spielt hier eine Rolle. Es gab Wendungen, die ich schön fand und andere die mich überrascht haben.
Bin auf jeden Fall auf den zweiten Band sehr gespannt.
Das alte Japan in einer Art dystopischen, Steampunk Geschichte zu verpacken hat mich wirklich gepackt. Ich musste auch streckenweise an Animes und Mangas dabei denken, die manchmal auch diese Art der Komponenten haben.
Daher war ich doch recht schnell Feuer und Flamme für die Handlung gewesen. Das Setting im allgemeinen fan dich sehr gelungen. Wie die Mensch leben, die Veränderung der Umwelt usw.
An sich möchte ich nicht zu viel verraten. Und dann halt das mythische dabei, da unsere Helden der Geschichte mit anderen Jägern einen Donnertiger fangen sollen. Ein Tier, welches schon seit Jahren nicht mehr gesichtet wurde.
Freundschaft, Loyalität, Familie, Vertrauen, vieles spielt hier eine Rolle. Es gab Wendungen, die ich schön fand und andere die mich überrascht haben.
Bin auf jeden Fall auf den zweiten Band sehr gespannt.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
"Stormdancer" ist der erste Band der "The Lotus Wars" Reihe von Autor Jay Kristoff.
Was mir gut gefällt:
Ganz klar der Arishatora! Ich finde ihn als Charakter wirklich außergewöhnlich und die Freundschaft zwischen der Protagonistin und ihm authentisch. Darüber zu lesen hat mir großen Spaß gemacht. Yukiko ist zudem eine starke weibliche Protagonistin, sie war mir direkt sympathisch.
Was mir nicht so gut gefällt:
Der Einstieg ins Buch fiel mir leider richtig schwer. Das japanische Setting ist toll, die vielen verschiedenen Namen kann man sich beim Lesen aber irgendwie schwer merken. Zuerst tauchen auch einmal viele verschiedene Charaktere auf der Bildfläche auf. Das kann mitunter schon verwirrend sein.
Ich habe ganz am Anfang ehrlich gesagt fast mit dem Gedanken gespielt, dieses Buch abzubrechen. Hab mir dann aber zusätzlich noch bei Audible das Hörbuch runtergeladen. Irgendwie lief es damit besser. Keine Ahnung, warum. Ich habe es dann noch einmal von vorne begonnen und mir die ersten 15 Prozent des Buches praktisch doppelt zu Gemüte geführt. Vermutlich kam ich dadurch dann auch besser in die Geschichte.
Fazit: Ich bin froh, dass ich am Ball geblieben bin. Den zweiten Band werde ich definitiv lesen. Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie die Geschichte weitergeht. Von mir gibt es 3,5 Sterne, die ich auf Portalen ohne Zwischennoten gerne auf 4 aufrunde.
Hier noch ein paar Infos zum Hörbuch:
14 Stunden und 33 Minuten / Ungekürzte Ausgabe
Sprecherin: Anne Düe
Ich würde der Sprecherin 4-4,5 Sterne geben.
Verlag: Audible Studios
Was mir gut gefällt:
Ganz klar der Arishatora! Ich finde ihn als Charakter wirklich außergewöhnlich und die Freundschaft zwischen der Protagonistin und ihm authentisch. Darüber zu lesen hat mir großen Spaß gemacht. Yukiko ist zudem eine starke weibliche Protagonistin, sie war mir direkt sympathisch.
Was mir nicht so gut gefällt:
Der Einstieg ins Buch fiel mir leider richtig schwer. Das japanische Setting ist toll, die vielen verschiedenen Namen kann man sich beim Lesen aber irgendwie schwer merken. Zuerst tauchen auch einmal viele verschiedene Charaktere auf der Bildfläche auf. Das kann mitunter schon verwirrend sein.
Ich habe ganz am Anfang ehrlich gesagt fast mit dem Gedanken gespielt, dieses Buch abzubrechen. Hab mir dann aber zusätzlich noch bei Audible das Hörbuch runtergeladen. Irgendwie lief es damit besser. Keine Ahnung, warum. Ich habe es dann noch einmal von vorne begonnen und mir die ersten 15 Prozent des Buches praktisch doppelt zu Gemüte geführt. Vermutlich kam ich dadurch dann auch besser in die Geschichte.
Fazit: Ich bin froh, dass ich am Ball geblieben bin. Den zweiten Band werde ich definitiv lesen. Ich bin sehr gespannt, wie die Geschichte weitergeht. Von mir gibt es 3,5 Sterne, die ich auf Portalen ohne Zwischennoten gerne auf 4 aufrunde.
Hier noch ein paar Infos zum Hörbuch:
14 Stunden und 33 Minuten / Ungekürzte Ausgabe
Sprecherin: Anne Düe
Ich würde der Sprecherin 4-4,5 Sterne geben.
Verlag: Audible Studios
I really liked this book. It wasen't however "amazing" as a book blogger stated which made me read it in the first place but it was really good!
I'm new to this "steampunk" phenomena I'm not sure if its my thing :/ because it feels very odd with all this machine things in "old" times.
The Griffin made me laugh out laud many times through the book :D I would love to meet him in real life! <3
There is some things I didn't like to much, things a think the author could have done better.
Maybe I take them an other time.
I'm new to this "steampunk" phenomena I'm not sure if its my thing :/ because it feels very odd with all this machine things in "old" times.
The Griffin made me laugh out laud many times through the book :D I would love to meet him in real life! <3
There is some things I didn't like to much, things a think the author could have done better.
Maybe I take them an other time.
DNF
I'm going to be honest, I didn't finish this. I got just over halfway through and got so unbelievably furious that I couldn't make myself read anymore.
I wanted to like this book. I did. The premise was super cool, and the idea really grabbed me as someone who loves Japanese culture, and steampunk. This was right up my alley. But it just didn't hit the mark for me, for many many reasons.
Here are some things that bothered me early on, but I could have excused.
The characterization of the only two female characters of note. Kasumi is distinctly problematic because of the fact that she's one of TWO big female characters, and her arc is essentially that she was sleeping with Yukiko's dad while he was still married to Yukiko's mom, and had two young children at home, and she knew. Which ok, I get it, it happens. But there are only two female characters and one of them is the "homewrecker" trope? The other is the MC, Yukiko, who falls into the level-headed badass trope, which I'm all here for. Except she has a one page conversation with some rando and promptly becomes obsessed with him for the rest of the book to the point where she's literally about to die and she thinks of this guy instead of the fact that the last words she said to her dad were "i hate you".
There was a lot of instances of repetition. One word in particular that stood out to me to the point where I was starting to get a tick about it was the use of "flesh" instead of skin or even people in some instances. It's not that I mind it being used that way, I get that the author was going for something more graphic in language, but it was over and over and over, and felt like probably 20+ times in the first 50 pages.
I also felt like there was a lot of info dumping, particularly in the first 100 pages or so. Like not just little lines here or there telling us things about the world, but whole sets of passages that were just consistent info dumping. I get it, it's hard to build a world without info dumping at least a little, but this was a lot. And again, at times it got repetitive.
All of these things on their own I could have ignored, but add them to the peeping tom scene where the boys who are spying on her while bathing don't see one lick of justice for being gross and I was just done. Like at the very least Yukiko should have been like "excuse me, were you spying on me while I was bathing?!" Because it's pretty clear that someone was, and it should be addressed. It's almost shrugged off by the author as a "boys will be boys" kind of thing. Which I guess you could say "well they had more important things to worry about than whether or not two of the village boys are spying on women while they bathe or in their private rooms". But if you're going to take that seemingly logical stance then I feel Yukiko had bigger things to worry about than some boy she met for two minutes who almost killed her. Also, there were other ways that the villagers finding out about Yukiko's tattoos could have happened.
Upon reading some of the reviews I see that this book was not intended for a YA audience, thankfully. Particularly as the aforementioned scene in a book that if for a YA audience would be mostly read by teenage girls would be unacceptable.
Now, maybe these things won't bother you, but they bothered me enough to put the book down. You can say I'm being oversensitive if you like, but particularly in the instance of that scene (which is really what turned me off), it just didn't make sense for Yukiko's characterization of a strong female lead who doesn't take people's crap. She stands up for herself against her father, her "aunt", hell even the Shogun. But she doesn't even blink when it's so blatantly obvious that someone has invaded her privacy?
As I said, I didn't finish this book, and unfortunately it's turned me off of this author at least for the time being.
I'm going to be honest, I didn't finish this. I got just over halfway through and got so unbelievably furious that I couldn't make myself read anymore.
I wanted to like this book. I did. The premise was super cool, and the idea really grabbed me as someone who loves Japanese culture, and steampunk. This was right up my alley. But it just didn't hit the mark for me, for many many reasons.
Here are some things that bothered me early on, but I could have excused.
The characterization of the only two female characters of note. Kasumi is distinctly problematic because of the fact that she's one of TWO big female characters, and her arc is essentially that she was sleeping with Yukiko's dad while he was still married to Yukiko's mom, and had two young children at home, and she knew. Which ok, I get it, it happens. But there are only two female characters and one of them is the "homewrecker" trope? The other is the MC, Yukiko, who falls into the level-headed badass trope, which I'm all here for. Except she has a one page conversation with some rando and promptly becomes obsessed with him for the rest of the book to the point where she's literally about to die and she thinks of this guy instead of the fact that the last words she said to her dad were "i hate you".
There was a lot of instances of repetition. One word in particular that stood out to me to the point where I was starting to get a tick about it was the use of "flesh" instead of skin or even people in some instances. It's not that I mind it being used that way, I get that the author was going for something more graphic in language, but it was over and over and over, and felt like probably 20+ times in the first 50 pages.
I also felt like there was a lot of info dumping, particularly in the first 100 pages or so. Like not just little lines here or there telling us things about the world, but whole sets of passages that were just consistent info dumping. I get it, it's hard to build a world without info dumping at least a little, but this was a lot. And again, at times it got repetitive.
All of these things on their own I could have ignored, but add them to the peeping tom scene where the boys who are spying on her while bathing don't see one lick of justice for being gross and I was just done. Like at the very least Yukiko should have been like "excuse me, were you spying on me while I was bathing?!" Because it's pretty clear that someone was, and it should be addressed. It's almost shrugged off by the author as a "boys will be boys" kind of thing. Which I guess you could say "well they had more important things to worry about than whether or not two of the village boys are spying on women while they bathe or in their private rooms". But if you're going to take that seemingly logical stance then I feel Yukiko had bigger things to worry about than some boy she met for two minutes who almost killed her. Also, there were other ways that the villagers finding out about Yukiko's tattoos could have happened.
Upon reading some of the reviews I see that this book was not intended for a YA audience, thankfully. Particularly as the aforementioned scene in a book that if for a YA audience would be mostly read by teenage girls would be unacceptable.
Now, maybe these things won't bother you, but they bothered me enough to put the book down. You can say I'm being oversensitive if you like, but particularly in the instance of that scene (which is really what turned me off), it just didn't make sense for Yukiko's characterization of a strong female lead who doesn't take people's crap. She stands up for herself against her father, her "aunt", hell even the Shogun. But she doesn't even blink when it's so blatantly obvious that someone has invaded her privacy?
As I said, I didn't finish this book, and unfortunately it's turned me off of this author at least for the time being.
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really enjoyed the steam punk/feudal Japan world that Kristoff created. There's a little mythology, a little industrial revolution (gone bad), steam punk armor and yes a thunder tiger. What more could you want out of a story? I really enjoyed the book and I look forward to the next in the series.
I would give this book 10 stars if I could! This is the book of my fantasies, one that perfectly combines Japanese culture and mythology with the fantasy and beauty of the YA novel. As a admirer of Japanese culture for many years, this novel is thoroughly researched and a mesmerizing piece of fiction about one of the most mythical and magical places in the world. I cannot wait to see what Jay Kristoff has in store for Yukiko, one of the best female characters I've seen in YA after Katniss Everdeen. I am absolutely in love.
Let's start by saying I don't know why I didn't read this book sooner. I was really excited for it when it came out, got it on day of release and then....well even I doStormdancern't know. But in a way I'm glad I didn't because if I had I wouldn't have had the opportunity to listen to it and I would really recommend the audiobook to everyone: the narrator does a beyond fantastic job of the different voices and each has a different lilt of a Japanese accent to it making it feel extremely authentic and all the more thrilling.
Let me also say, before I start, that I have heard a lot of bad about his book. I've seen people complain about how Kristoff's Japan is inauthentic and that his creatures are actually more Chinese or Indian and oh no, you can't have that sort of thing happen in Japan because no, historically it wasn't like that. At this point I want to tell people to stop and think for a second: do we tell Tolkein not to include Elves in his work which is suppose to give the UK a mythology because there are no Elves in England? Do we complain when fantasy writers with books set in Europe mix up cultures from all over? The answer is no. So why should Kristoff work by different rules just because he's writing about Japan? The answer is 'he shouldn't'.
Like any fantasy writer, Kristoff should get to do whatever the hell he bloody well wants, and if he decides that oni wear pink kimono with rainbow obi and are actually friendly (which he doesn't, btw), then we should all nod and accept it and not question the fact that he is breaking a mythology that he is being inspired by.
Hell, anyone who has read manga and anime will know that the Japanese are first in line to breaking their own history, let alone when they get to just be 'inspired' by all the myths and legends of their country. So please, to all the people out there bashing this book because it isn't true enough to Japan and you feel a need to show off that you obviously 'know more than the writer', stop and think for a second. Would you do that a writer writing European based fantasy? Because if the answer is no, I'm sure you can see the problem!
Anyway, having gotten that out of my system, onto the review proper!
Stormdancer follows the story Yukiko, daughter of the Black Fox, master hunter of the emperor. But there isn't much work in Shima left for her, her father and their companion: the lotus fields and the pollution from them have driven most animals away or to extinction, and some have even become creatures of legends, people no longer sure if they even existed. So when the emperor demands that a Thunder Tiger be brought back to him, Yukiko--who has had to drag her drunk father out of a gambling den again--is afraid that it is the end of them all.
Kristoff effortlessly brings his world to life, applying efficient brushstrokes of description in all the right places to describe the bustling, thriving, stinking streets of the city where the story starts. You can almost hear the din of all these people together, imagine the strange contraptions that form the streampunk side of the story (although oilpunk or chi-punk would actually be a far better description!). There is life in Kristoff's world and it is everywhere and unavoidable as Yukiko pushes through the crowd, navigating crowded streets expertly.
The story is well paced, and doesn't like to wait around. We find out early on that Yukiko is special and I love how the 'love interest' is introduced. Yukiko is a fierce young girl but that doesn't mean that a pair of pretty eyes isn't going to stick with her, sometimes at the most inappropriate of times. It doesn't take long for the arashitora to be captured but then everything goes to hell: the sky vessel Yukiko and the others are on catches fire and crashes: Yukiko is separated from the others and finds herself with the now crippled Thunder Tiger as only companion.
Here starts one of the most genuine and touching friendship I have read in a long time: Yukiko's gift allows her to communicate with animals telepathically and so she does with Buruu. At first he hates her and hers for what they have done to him, but he has to tolerate her presence because he cannot survive in the middle of the mountains alone when he cannot fly. And so the two are stuck together, Yukiko hunting for the both of them whilst Buruu keeps watch. Soon hatred turns to wariness, turns to a grudging respect that Yukiko can sense when her mind is connected to Buruu's. And together in the mountains, Yukiko and Buruu meet the people that will change both of their lives.
Kristoff does an excellent job of his heroine, who is both strong and soft, wilful and conflicted, but overall driven by a need to be reunited with her father and to stop the abominations that are happening all around her. Yukiko is not stupid, though she can be reckless (and what girl her age wouldn't be at times!), and she almost manages to outwit all those who she needs to. She is extremely likeable, and it's impossible not to get attached to her. Much as it hard to not get attached to Buruu or to feel for Kin who is trapped, literally, in a skin he doesn't want to be in.
But beyond that, Kristoff manages to make us care for the world, for all the people we never get to see, for all the creatures that have been exterminated throughout the years. The weight of it all is there but never is it overbearing and the beauty of the described landscapes plays a perfect counterpart to the events happening within the story.
I fell in love with Stormdancer within the first few pages and after that I was hooked. I wanted, needed to know what would come next. Even when events took a direction that I usually find infuriating in books (getting caught for some stupid reason, namely!), Kristoff managed to not drag anything out, and put the story back on track very quickly. I just honestly cannot see what people have against this book. It was a fantastic read, full of life and adventure, and I am definitely looking forward to listening to the sequel!
Let me also say, before I start, that I have heard a lot of bad about his book. I've seen people complain about how Kristoff's Japan is inauthentic and that his creatures are actually more Chinese or Indian and oh no, you can't have that sort of thing happen in Japan because no, historically it wasn't like that. At this point I want to tell people to stop and think for a second: do we tell Tolkein not to include Elves in his work which is suppose to give the UK a mythology because there are no Elves in England? Do we complain when fantasy writers with books set in Europe mix up cultures from all over? The answer is no. So why should Kristoff work by different rules just because he's writing about Japan? The answer is 'he shouldn't'.
Like any fantasy writer, Kristoff should get to do whatever the hell he bloody well wants, and if he decides that oni wear pink kimono with rainbow obi and are actually friendly (which he doesn't, btw), then we should all nod and accept it and not question the fact that he is breaking a mythology that he is being inspired by.
Hell, anyone who has read manga and anime will know that the Japanese are first in line to breaking their own history, let alone when they get to just be 'inspired' by all the myths and legends of their country. So please, to all the people out there bashing this book because it isn't true enough to Japan and you feel a need to show off that you obviously 'know more than the writer', stop and think for a second. Would you do that a writer writing European based fantasy? Because if the answer is no, I'm sure you can see the problem!
Anyway, having gotten that out of my system, onto the review proper!
Stormdancer follows the story Yukiko, daughter of the Black Fox, master hunter of the emperor. But there isn't much work in Shima left for her, her father and their companion: the lotus fields and the pollution from them have driven most animals away or to extinction, and some have even become creatures of legends, people no longer sure if they even existed. So when the emperor demands that a Thunder Tiger be brought back to him, Yukiko--who has had to drag her drunk father out of a gambling den again--is afraid that it is the end of them all.
Kristoff effortlessly brings his world to life, applying efficient brushstrokes of description in all the right places to describe the bustling, thriving, stinking streets of the city where the story starts. You can almost hear the din of all these people together, imagine the strange contraptions that form the streampunk side of the story (although oilpunk or chi-punk would actually be a far better description!). There is life in Kristoff's world and it is everywhere and unavoidable as Yukiko pushes through the crowd, navigating crowded streets expertly.
The story is well paced, and doesn't like to wait around. We find out early on that Yukiko is special and I love how the 'love interest' is introduced. Yukiko is a fierce young girl but that doesn't mean that a pair of pretty eyes isn't going to stick with her, sometimes at the most inappropriate of times. It doesn't take long for the arashitora to be captured but then everything goes to hell: the sky vessel Yukiko and the others are on catches fire and crashes: Yukiko is separated from the others and finds herself with the now crippled Thunder Tiger as only companion.
Here starts one of the most genuine and touching friendship I have read in a long time: Yukiko's gift allows her to communicate with animals telepathically and so she does with Buruu. At first he hates her and hers for what they have done to him, but he has to tolerate her presence because he cannot survive in the middle of the mountains alone when he cannot fly. And so the two are stuck together, Yukiko hunting for the both of them whilst Buruu keeps watch. Soon hatred turns to wariness, turns to a grudging respect that Yukiko can sense when her mind is connected to Buruu's. And together in the mountains, Yukiko and Buruu meet the people that will change both of their lives.
Kristoff does an excellent job of his heroine, who is both strong and soft, wilful and conflicted, but overall driven by a need to be reunited with her father and to stop the abominations that are happening all around her. Yukiko is not stupid, though she can be reckless (and what girl her age wouldn't be at times!), and she almost manages to outwit all those who she needs to. She is extremely likeable, and it's impossible not to get attached to her. Much as it hard to not get attached to Buruu or to feel for Kin who is trapped, literally, in a skin he doesn't want to be in.
But beyond that, Kristoff manages to make us care for the world, for all the people we never get to see, for all the creatures that have been exterminated throughout the years. The weight of it all is there but never is it overbearing and the beauty of the described landscapes plays a perfect counterpart to the events happening within the story.
I fell in love with Stormdancer within the first few pages and after that I was hooked. I wanted, needed to know what would come next. Even when events took a direction that I usually find infuriating in books (getting caught for some stupid reason, namely!), Kristoff managed to not drag anything out, and put the story back on track very quickly. I just honestly cannot see what people have against this book. It was a fantastic read, full of life and adventure, and I am definitely looking forward to listening to the sequel!