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gingerbready's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Blood, Child death, Child abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual violence
therestisstillunwritten16's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Child death, Rape, Suicide, War, Blood, and Death
thenoboshow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexism, Xenophobia, Child death, Classism, Miscarriage, Rape, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, and War
lucajgrainger's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Gore, Child death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Blood
aksmith92's review against another edition
- 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
The Setup: Mamoru is a Matsuda. Meaning he was born into a line of people resembling gods. Matsudas possess a unique magic form called jijaka, someone able to control water. Well, those in Kaigen can all be jijakalu, but Matsudas have the unique ability to take their control of water even further and take water molecules to make something called a Whispering Blade, a sword of ice that can cut through literally anything. Matsuda boys and men are trained early as warriors, serving the Kaigen empire wholeheartedly and rigidly. They live and train on the Kusanagi Peninsula, known as the Sword of Kaigen, and are the first to defend the Empire's enemies. Mamoru is fourteen, in school, and is one of the best warriors of his age. Thankfully, "warrior" is more of a title than anything; Kaigen and the rest of Danu, the world everyone lives in, have maintained peaceful relations, and there hasn't been a war since the Keleba, the only war that occurred in Danu's history. Mamoru is going to school, hanging out with his friends, trying not to fall asleep in history class, and, of course, training. He is determined to master the Whispering Blade and be the youngest to do so. Therefore, much of his time is spent mastering his jiya and trying to prove to his father that he is focused and talented.
In tandem, Misaki, Mamoru's mother, is battling fifteen years of, for lack of better words, boredom and anger. Misaki was also a warrior, as she spent her teenage years at a school in Carytha, another country in Danu, mastering her jiya and another magic: Blood Needle, the ability to control a small amount of the blood inside their victim's body and freezes it in the shape of a needle. This jijaka technique is specific to the Tsusano family, Misaki's bloodline before she married a Matsuda. She spent time at this school mastering her sword skills and even partnered with a crew of kids her age to fight crime. However, Misaki is from Ishihama, a town in Kaigen, meaning that she knew that her main role in life would be to marry into a powerful bloodline and bear his children, specifically sons. She made the incredibly challenging choice once she was of age to stay back on Kaigen and marry Takeru Matsuda. But life is not easy, and she struggles without a sword on her hip.
The narrative delves into the emotional journeys of both Mamoru and Misaki, revealing Mamoru's battles with new revelations about his assumptions and preconceptions of the Kaigen empire, and Misaki's life as a housewife and a mother, with glimpses of her past at school. The story then weaves in Duna unrest, suggesting that peace may soon become a distant memory.
What made this six stars? I'm having a hard time explaining what made this a phenomenal book. It was NOT a good time, I can tell you that! I cried MULTIPLE times in this book, which generally does not happen to me and hasn't happened since The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah. M.L. Wang is clearly a powerful and amazingly talented writer - her prose isn't fluffy; it's straight to the point and makes you feel like you are living at the Sword of Kaigen with the small community. I would not suggest picking this up if you want atmospheric or whimsical writing. Wang is literal yet still poignant and dives into challenging topics like misogyny, classism, and war. It was beautiful, yet sharp and harsh, and I loved it so much.
So, I generally prioritize character layers and development over everything else. Do not get me wrong, the plot and world-building must be there! However, there is something so beautiful about connecting with characters, regardless of whether they are the protagonists, antagonists, or morally gray folks. This book did that so well. Mamoru and Misaki are beautifully written characters with many layers, conflicts, and flaws. The other characters, specifically Setsuko, Takashi, Hyori, Chul-Hee, and Robin, were also fantastically written. Additionally, I could write multiple paragraphs about Takeru Matsuda - Mamoru's father and Misaki's husband - what a character! Everyone was their own character, and I love nothing more than relating to many characters and seeing them go on their journeys.
Now, technically, Wang's 100-page (or so) action scene was unbelievable. Actually, unbelievable. I've never read an action scene like this one before. I was immersed, captivated, and absolutely DEVASTATED during it. I honestly couldn't put my book down. This gruesome portrayal of battle was incredibly done, even though it was hard to read.
Lastly, this was such a well-done magic system, world, and plot. It takes a slightly different approach to war, combining some politics, war potential, and the aftermath of battle.
While this book was incredible, please know you will be angry. Kaigen was awfully sexist and misogynistic - it was a patriarchal society where women had to watch what they said to their husbands, let alone fight in battle. It can be challenging to read, but it made you appreciate Misaki and her wonderful friends even more. The balance Misaki portrayed as a mother and a warrior was unique, and her relationship with her husband, Takeru, was incredibly layered. However, unlike other fantasy novels with a main female protagonist, this one doesn't have the nice, neat power ending we're used to, and it may frustrate you. As someone who cares deeply about feminism, this should have angered me, but Wang portrayed all of this in an incredibly realistic way and therefore didn't make the story seem to go into a 180 abruptly.
I have no criticism. At all. You may and I get that, but I don't. What an incredible ride - Wang will be an auto-buy author for me. I've read Blood Over Bright Haven, which I LOVED, and I can't wait to see what else Wang comes out with. I am so thankful for this novel, yet now it is time for a fluffy and light book where I shed no tears.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, War, Death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Classism, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Genocide, Gaslighting, and Confinement
Minor: Cursing
Please, please, please take some of these triggers seriously. M.L. Wang does a phenomenal job with action scenes, but they involve lots of detail about injuries and death, including for literal children. Please take care.andrew_corduroy's review against another edition
- 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
Admittedly there are some interesting stylistic choices like:
However, despite these choices I found the book engrossing and didn’t feel like my attention was being whipped about too much. I highly recommend reading this.
Graphic: Grief, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Sexism, Miscarriage, and War
Minor: Racism, Rape, Physical abuse, and Suicide
storyorc's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Child death, Classism, Rape, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Misogyny
rikuson1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
-★★★★✬- (4.25/5.00)
My Grading Letter Score = 85% (A-)
The Sword of Kaigen was a very good book. This book was hyped up a lot by many people, and almost the entirety of the book, I completely understand why that is the case. I had a blast reading this for basically all of the book and was fully engaged and hooked. I had my very small gripes here and there, like a certain little kid taking out a full grown adult (even if it was a sneak attack from behind) or another certain inexperienced kid that went from struggling to take out yellow robes to taking them out at ease in an extremely short amount of time and then getting in a stalemate with a black robe who was hyped up to be a ridiculous powerful veteran warrior. I was willing to forgive these issues I personally had because everything around it was so well realized, well written and amazing. But then the longest and final chapter occurred...
The final chapter I enjoyed, don't get me wrong. But the chapter before it and going into this one it did feel like they were trying to setup new mysteries and plots to the overarching story which when we got to the end, seemingly lead to something inconclusive on our end as the reader. Additionally, one of the main conflicts of this story, which was in regards to the Emperor and the corruption of Kaigen also is a plot point that is inconclusive, and that bothers me from a critical standpoint.
It seems like this story definitely wanted to be a character driven story primarily, and in that regard, it was satisifying and conclusive. But then it was also wanted to flesh out its worldbuilding in a way that seemed like there was more to come from the book, and the same thing can be said about it's cultures and magic system. There's so many regions on the world map that are lightly mentioned but did not amount to anything in this very character focused story in the Kaigen Region. And even when it comes to Kaigen, when you name your book the name of the Region it takes place in and it's a stand alone that does not resolve the main driving conflict that leads to all of these horrors throughout the story within Kaigen, maybe one can understand why it could reach a feeling to me that feels incomplete, unsatisfying, lacking poetic justice solution and inconclusive for the region the book is named after.
If we focus on the strengths of this book, it shines through heavily. The characterization, character development, impactful/emotional moments, and action scenes were all some of the best I've read ever and why it remains in the realms of a 4 star book off those accolades alone and those deserve all of it's praise.
Verdict
Sword of Kaigen is praised at being this phenomenal stand-alone book, but I disagree with that statement. If this was a Book 1 to a series of books to come, then this would be a phenomenal book 1 and I would have probably given it a 5 star going off of that notion that there is more to come but as far as we know right now this is all we are getting.
If the author announces she will be continuing this with a sequel then I might actually come back and retroactively change my rating but seeing as those she's dropped her other series this one was a side novel to, I'm not holding my breath on that nor am I currently interested in her new novel Blood over Bright Haven regardless of how amazing that might be.
Nonetheless, even with the extremely disappointing conclusion, I can't deny that everything that led up to it is sublime and excellent. I thought this would go down as the best fantasy novel I read this year, but that isn't the case.
Nonetheless, it's still a very good book that I'd still recommend to others.
I Really Liked It.
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Murder, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Racism, Rape, War, Death, Child death, Classism, Sexual assault, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Pregnancy
sokkaspoon's review against another edition
- 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
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
Graphic: Death, Violence, War, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism, Suicide, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Rape, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
eusteph's review against another edition
- 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
I really wanted to take my time with this book and savor every moment of it but, as usual, I got so excited about everything that I went into manic mode and finished it.
This is one of the best books that I have ever read in my life, and I don't say that lightly.
I fell in love with all the characters; I laughed, I cried, and I felt their heartache.
Although I am glad this was a stand-alone novel, part of me wishes the author hadn't discontinued the stories that happen within this world. Especially because the other two Theonite books are no longer available for purchase.
It's not really like me to re-read many books, but this one definitely feels like the type of book that I would gladly re-read in the future.
Looking forward to reading more from this author in the near future.
Graphic: Grief, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, War, Suicide, and Violence