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trash_reader_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
When I went into this book, I was expecting a strong-willed mother who left her life of fighting behind to start a family, but picks it back up again when her family is threatened. That's not at all what this book is though? I'm not even sure the book knew what it was supposed to be doing, since there wasn't really a cohesive plot. Things jumped around a lot, the pacing was really weird, and so many aspects of this book didn't seem to connect with one another or have any relevance to anything.
Yes, Misaki was trained as a fighter when she was in high school, but the fact that she was trained as a fighter doesn't really matter because the country she lives in is extremely sexist (which you can tell by the sexist, misogynistic comments on every. single. page.), and so is the family that had sent her across the world to train in an elite military school. What was the point if you were going to force her into gender roles afterward anyway? Because she needed to be protected? Didn't you send her away so she could protect herself? Makes no sense.
The sexism grated my nerves to the point where it almost overshadowed everything else in the book. Especially since there wasn't any reason for it. "That's just how things are done here" I guess, but for what purpose? Absolutely nothing changed in Takayubi except for the renewal of the dojo and Takeru's attitude. And Takeru doing a total 180 so fast just because he was confronted with being a coward (which he already knew he was, by the way, and had admitted it several times) just seemed so out of place. Not out of place because it was unrealistic (which it wasn't), but it was out of place because it seemed as if it was only written in to make Misaki not hate her husband anymore and to give her more "character development." Because how is every response he gives to her "I don't know" and "I was afraid"?
Misaki's "character development" also seemed odd to me because how can someone repeatedly think about how they don't love their children and how they never wanted to be a mother or a wife and how much she hates where she is and hates her husband and resents her father for forcing her to go through with the marriage, but then randomly change her mind and love all her children so much to do the things she did? It seemed forced and the rest of her character development seemed strong-armed into the story just to further along everything else.
Also - Chapter 31? Unnecessary. Not a single thing about that last chapter was needed and I slogged through it. I don't care about Robin, and it seemed like it was an extended, boring catch-up type of Epilogue, which I guess would be fine if you actually cared about Koli and Elleen and whoever else Misaki knew in school, but I didn't care. We didn't see them enough for me to care, and I didn't connect with their characters at all. I actually laughed at Robin for his Batman-esque point of view.
I also did not appreciate the stance that the characters took about miscarriages. As if the sexism wasn't bad enough, miscarriages are the mother's fault? And Misaki fully believed her hatred for the life growing inside her was what hid terminated the pregnancy? GTFOH with that, we don't need anymore victim-blaming in the world, imaginary fantasy world or not.
The fight scenes were extremely detailed, though, often going on for pages at a time, and they kept my interest more than anything else in the book. And honestly, I think those fight scenes were the redeeming factor that kept this from being a 2 star read. Because not everything needed to be all wrapped up in a nice bow like it was, especially the "war" aspect of the novel. I have no idea how I would go about expressing my feelings on that whole "war" because I'm at such a loss for words. In the bad way, mind you.
I've seen so many people talk about how much they loved this, and I can see why they would. It just isn't for me, and maybe that had something to do with my expectations not being met or maybe I just wasn't understanding a deeper meaning behind everything, but regardless of the reason, I am really disappointed that I didn't like this book better. I was hoping I would since it sounds like something I'd normally love but I struggled so bad with this. By the end I felt as if I'd read about children being eviscerated just because. That's how unsatisfied this book left me.
Yes, Misaki was trained as a fighter when she was in high school, but the fact that she was trained as a fighter doesn't really matter because the country she lives in is extremely sexist (which you can tell by the sexist, misogynistic comments on every. single. page.), and so is the family that had sent her across the world to train in an elite military school. What was the point if you were going to force her into gender roles afterward anyway? Because she needed to be protected? Didn't you send her away so she could protect herself? Makes no sense.
The sexism grated my nerves to the point where it almost overshadowed everything else in the book. Especially since there wasn't any reason for it. "That's just how things are done here" I guess, but for what purpose? Absolutely nothing changed in Takayubi except for the renewal of the dojo and Takeru's attitude. And Takeru doing a total 180 so fast just because he was confronted with being a coward (which he already knew he was, by the way, and had admitted it several times) just seemed so out of place. Not out of place because it was unrealistic (which it wasn't), but it was out of place because it seemed as if it was only written in to make Misaki not hate her husband anymore and to give her more "character development." Because how is every response he gives to her "I don't know" and "I was afraid"?
Misaki's "character development" also seemed odd to me because how can someone repeatedly think about how they don't love their children and how they never wanted to be a mother or a wife and how much she hates where she is and hates her husband and resents her father for forcing her to go through with the marriage, but then randomly change her mind and love all her children so much to do the things she did? It seemed forced and the rest of her character development seemed strong-armed into the story just to further along everything else.
Also - Chapter 31? Unnecessary. Not a single thing about that last chapter was needed and I slogged through it. I don't care about Robin, and it seemed like it was an extended, boring catch-up type of Epilogue, which I guess would be fine if you actually cared about Koli and Elleen and whoever else Misaki knew in school, but I didn't care. We didn't see them enough for me to care, and I didn't connect with their characters at all. I actually laughed at Robin for his Batman-esque point of view.
I also did not appreciate the stance that the characters took about miscarriages. As if the sexism wasn't bad enough, miscarriages are the mother's fault? And Misaki fully believed her hatred for the life growing inside her was what hid terminated the pregnancy? GTFOH with that, we don't need anymore victim-blaming in the world, imaginary fantasy world or not.
The fight scenes were extremely detailed, though, often going on for pages at a time, and they kept my interest more than anything else in the book. And honestly, I think those fight scenes were the redeeming factor that kept this from being a 2 star read. Because not everything needed to be all wrapped up in a nice bow like it was, especially the "war" aspect of the novel. I have no idea how I would go about expressing my feelings on that whole "war" because I'm at such a loss for words. In the bad way, mind you.
I've seen so many people talk about how much they loved this, and I can see why they would. It just isn't for me, and maybe that had something to do with my expectations not being met or maybe I just wasn't understanding a deeper meaning behind everything, but regardless of the reason, I am really disappointed that I didn't like this book better. I was hoping I would since it sounds like something I'd normally love but I struggled so bad with this. By the end I felt as if I'd read about children being eviscerated just because. That's how unsatisfied this book left me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, Misogyny, Sexism, Child death, and War
maucha's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book broke my heart made me cry so badly. I love it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Gore, Blood, Child death, War, Misogyny, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Miscarriage and Suicide
Minor: Sexism and Rape
eloisereading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, War, Grief, Misogyny, Violence, Death, Rape, Self harm, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide
erinnicolecreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Wow. I have been waiting for a book to make me feel something & boy did this book deliver. Not only was the world & the plot fascinating & well done, but the characters were incredibly well developed & multifaceted. I am not one to care much for character driven stories, but the characters stole the show in this book. I have not felt so many emotions while reading in a long time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, War, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Gore
jasmine_470's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage
Minor: Homophobia
storyorc's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.5
Reading The Sword of Kaigen went a little like...
Chapter 1-3:A fantasy take on a super-traditional Japanese village on a picturesque little mountain by the sea. Ponyo vibes. Creative uses of waterbending, too. This should be fun.
Chapters 4-11: These mother and son characters have some real meat on them. Few odd details in mom's backstory but we're really grappling with our and our nation's failures and how to handle that. Fun but more mature and realistic than expected too.
Chapters 12-13: ML Wang leaps for the title of best cinematic battle sequences in a book. Sanderson, who? Water and ice have never been more badass and the stakes could not be higher. I've never read anything this kinetic; the closest thing coming to mind are beautiful anime showdowns with five years of buildup. When did I start caring about these characters so much? I have to keep catching myself from looking ahead on the page out of sheer anxiety for them. I sat down to read one chapter but end up reading a third of this 650-page book at once.
Chapters 14-17: You can do that??????? Are you allowed to do that in a book??? I almost wish you weren't.I'm crying over paper for the first time since Fred died. I have to get up and pace. What is going on. Have not felt this flayed by a fantasy book since the Broken Earth trilogy. A POV character dying is bold enough but usually those books span years and have like six POV characters who are all adults bringing their demises upon themselves with their hubris. I can only think of one other instance of getting blindsided with a child POV dying and even that was at the end of her book. I feel almost manipulated by being given his POV only to have it ripped away but it set us up to share Mikasi's loss the way a single POV never could have.
Chapters 18-27: We're dealing with the aftermath slowly but anything faster would feel rushed. My nerves are grateful for this slow-acting balm. The big emotional moment is thrilling and well-earned and if it doesn't pack quite as much punch, that's only because we're still reeling from the cannonball to the face that was the previous chapters. Also, though not the smoothest reading experience, there was a beautiful synergy between form and content in Wang giving us a slice ofTakeru's POV in the moment he finally let Misaki see behind his shields. I would have liked him to take over as secondary POV from that point on to keep them as a team at the forefront, since that seemed like the fruit of this book's labour, but I respect that it was ultimately Misaki's story.
Chapters 28-31: Should have been the start of book two but these characters are family to me now so I'm in it to the end. The final chapter also brings in a character who is a lovely way for us to witness just how muchMisaki has grown. Also, it's cute.
This is the kind of book that makes me grateful for self-publishing as I doubt this non-traditional structure would have made it through a publishing house's edits. Turning theorphaned superpowered hero trope on its head was also a colossal risk. However, by having that sneak-attack climax in the middle of the book, we get to keep watching after the point the curtain would usually fall, and see how these characters grow around hardship like the trunk of a tree. It does bear some of the clunkiness of a work without many eyes on it - Misaki's backstory as a vigilante, complete with a boy called Robin, is tonally jarring (although the idea of her past being a violence 'vacation' is compelling and the modern elements like internet felt unnecessary - but I'd forgive a thousand more fumbles for the honest, sometimes ugly, depth of character it achieved.
I really can't speak highly enough about the battle sequence either. Eighty pages of fight-or-flight adrenaline, constantly keeping you on your toes with new techniques, new environments, new stakes. My eyes were dry from not blinking enough. You need to read Sword of Kaigen, if only for that, in the same way you owe it to yourself to watch John Wick and House of Flying Daggers.
Chapter 1-3:A fantasy take on a super-traditional Japanese village on a picturesque little mountain by the sea. Ponyo vibes. Creative uses of waterbending, too. This should be fun.
Chapters 4-11: These mother and son characters have some real meat on them. Few odd details in mom's backstory but we're really grappling with our and our nation's failures and how to handle that. Fun but more mature and realistic than expected too.
Chapters 12-13: ML Wang leaps for the title of best cinematic battle sequences in a book. Sanderson, who? Water and ice have never been more badass and the stakes could not be higher. I've never read anything this kinetic; the closest thing coming to mind are beautiful anime showdowns with five years of buildup. When did I start caring about these characters so much? I have to keep catching myself from looking ahead on the page out of sheer anxiety for them. I sat down to read one chapter but end up reading a third of this 650-page book at once.
Chapters 14-17: You can do that??????? Are you allowed to do that in a book??? I almost wish you weren't.
Chapters 18-27: We're dealing with the aftermath slowly but anything faster would feel rushed. My nerves are grateful for this slow-acting balm. The big emotional moment is thrilling and well-earned and if it doesn't pack quite as much punch, that's only because we're still reeling from the cannonball to the face that was the previous chapters. Also, though not the smoothest reading experience, there was a beautiful synergy between form and content in Wang giving us a slice of
Chapters 28-31: Should have been the start of book two but these characters are family to me now so I'm in it to the end. The final chapter also brings in a character who is a lovely way for us to witness just how much
This is the kind of book that makes me grateful for self-publishing as I doubt this non-traditional structure would have made it through a publishing house's edits. Turning the
I really can't speak highly enough about the battle sequence either. Eighty pages of fight-or-flight adrenaline, constantly keeping you on your toes with new techniques, new environments, new stakes. My eyes were dry from not blinking enough. You need to read Sword of Kaigen, if only for that, in the same way you owe it to yourself to watch John Wick and House of Flying Daggers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Child death, Classism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Misogyny
sokkaspoon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I went into this book really expecting this to be a 5 star read for me. It's basically ATLA in feudal Japan so I should have loved it However, it really missed the mark for me. It has some impressive world building and some very moving emotional scenes and great action scenes, but it has some massive pacing and info dumping problems.
There were so many moments where I was just so bored, either because there was a section of info dumping or the characters are doing the most boring stuff like talking about cleaning (and not in an engaging way tbh). Along the lines of pacing, there would be some great/moving/exciting scenes and then the next scene is the characters moving on and talking about boring stuff. Not only is that a pacing problem, but it made me feel like the characters actually don't react to these tramutic things that are happening.For example, after Marmoru dies, they basically just move onto another scene. His death obviously effects the other characters when they find out, but I feel as a reader that I didnt get to sit woth that death really at all before the autor moved on. Also I felt like I was being told how Misaki felt all the time, i.e. being told that she's sad about Marmoru, but I'm not being shown how she feels. I know she lives in a more reserved society, but her lack of response made me feel like she didn't actually care a ton about her son's death, even though that's what Wang is telling me.
Everything after Misaki and Takeru's duel was sooo slow and boring. (Speaking of the duel, it was cool as hell, but felt like it came out of nowhere. I had to go back to the previous chapter to see if I missed something. Also felt like Wang was trying ro get me to like Takeru with this dual, but there was no way in hell that was gonna happen). Why is Robin there? Hello?? Also Misaki should have absolutely taken her kids and left Takeru and Kaigen behind.
Going back to the world building: it's rather impressive, especially all the elemental magic(Hell yeah, ice dragon!) , but this book really gets bogged down in the details. Hense the info dumping. Wang clearly did a lot of work on the world, but we didn't need all of it on the page. It also is part of why the pacing is so off. If she wanted to include this info, I think she could have added an appendix for readers who were interested in the history, etc. However, the info dumpy world building as it is honestly often gets in the way of the plot moving forward. Also, again, this is Samurai ATLA, which I think on a baseline the audience for this book would already be familiar with those two things, so it feels like some of the details could have really been left out.
This is also a very nitpicky thing, but I hated how Wang used diffent terms for time. Like I get it, they're on a different planet. Time isn't the same. But it felt so arbitrary and made it unessarily confusing when reading. Just use seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
I started out reading the physical book and about 100 pages in i ended up switching to the audio book because I was quite bored and having a hard time engaging with the book. I think I probably would have DNFd the book had i not switched over to audio. And even then, there were a few times that I thought about not finishing, but the emotional and action scenes kept me going and interested. So if you want to read this book, I will would just recommend the audio.
I think this book could have really been about 300-400 pages long and told the same story more efficiently and effectively.
Another thing. Despite what the other has said, this absolutely not a standalone. The story is not remotely complete in this book.
Overall, I think this book has some really good parts, but is overall a mess. If this every moves into trad publishing, I hope it gets a major editing pass.
I feel like I'm being gaslit by all the 5 star reviews lol
There were so many moments where I was just so bored, either because there was a section of info dumping or the characters are doing the most boring stuff like talking about cleaning (and not in an engaging way tbh). Along the lines of pacing, there would be some great/moving/exciting scenes and then the next scene is the characters moving on and talking about boring stuff. Not only is that a pacing problem, but it made me feel like the characters actually don't react to these tramutic things that are happening.
Everything after Misaki and Takeru's duel was sooo slow and boring. (Speaking of the duel, it was cool as hell, but felt like it came out of nowhere. I had to go back to the previous chapter to see if I missed something. Also felt like Wang was trying ro get me to like Takeru with this dual, but there was no way in hell that was gonna happen). Why is Robin there? Hello?? Also Misaki should have absolutely taken her kids and left Takeru and Kaigen behind.
Going back to the world building: it's rather impressive, especially all the elemental magic
This is also a very nitpicky thing, but I hated how Wang used diffent terms for time. Like I get it, they're on a different planet. Time isn't the same. But it felt so arbitrary and made it unessarily confusing when reading. Just use seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
I started out reading the physical book and about 100 pages in i ended up switching to the audio book because I was quite bored and having a hard time engaging with the book. I think I probably would have DNFd the book had i not switched over to audio. And even then, there were a few times that I thought about not finishing, but the emotional and action scenes kept me going and interested. So if you want to read this book, I will would just recommend the audio.
I think this book could have really been about 300-400 pages long and told the same story more efficiently and effectively.
Another thing. Despite what the other has said, this absolutely not a standalone. The story is not remotely complete in this book.
Overall, I think this book has some really good parts, but is overall a mess. If this every moves into trad publishing, I hope it gets a major editing pass.
I feel like I'm being gaslit by all the 5 star reviews lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Rape, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
frogsreadfantasy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death, Misogyny, Murder, and War
Moderate: Rape
macwiththemic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book broke me. One of the saddest books I’ve ever read. It kind of put me back together at the end but I’m not the same person I was. You should read it but also be prepared.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Blood, Physical abuse, Child death, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Rape, Suicide, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Misogyny
Minor: Colonisation and Miscarriage
mehendricks14's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
One of those books that makes me question other books I have rated 5 stars because it is THAT good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Child death, and War
Minor: Rape and Suicide