Scan barcode
angstifies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
incredible book.
the characters and dynamics were so well written it blew my mind, this world and magic system are super interesting and it had the literal best fighting scenes i’ve ever read.
probably one of the best standalone fantasy books out there, i truly loved this story and how it progressed so much, and i couldn’t have thought of a better ending, wow
the characters and dynamics were so well written it blew my mind, this world and magic system are super interesting and it had the literal best fighting scenes i’ve ever read.
probably one of the best standalone fantasy books out there, i truly loved this story and how it progressed so much, and i couldn’t have thought of a better ending, wow
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Suicide, War, Misogyny, Rape, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, and Sexism
Minor: Pregnancy, Genocide, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, and Domestic abuse
eating_or_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, War, Suicide, and Child death
poetry_shaman's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, War, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Blood, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Miscarriage
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
absolutely fantastic; the sword of kaigen is one of the best books ive ever read and has now joined the few ranks of my top fav books ever. i had quite high expectations going into this but the book still exceeded them. it's actually mind-boggling how this book manages to be so many things all at once, yet it excels in all of them. this is an amazing high fantasy filled w/ thrilling action (one of the best written action-heavy books ive ever read, idk if the author's martial artist bg is a factor here); great characters who are complex, w/ some of the best arcs ive ever read; emotionally charged, heartrending, and bittersweet moments; and important (and relatable) themes of regret, duty, openmindedness, among others.
it's also a phenomenal character study whose main character and her struggles--as a woman, a mother, a lover, a wife--are rarely seen in fiction, let alone in the traditionally male-dominated domain of fantasy. misaki is unto herself, but is also a symbol for countless women even in modern times; her struggles once again remind me of the repressive, stifling, soul-crushing impact of the patriarchy and sexism. and in the greatest reversal of my feelings towards a fictional character, takeru def takes the cake; how wang made me come to like an alpha male--the very paragon of the patriarchy--who i profoundly loathed and wanted to throttle for at least 60% of the book is beyond me. a miraculous feat, rly, and a testament to the author's ability to fully render her characters as complex, multidimensional humans w/ backstory and fears.
now, despite the myriad of the book's awesomeness, my absolute fav thing abt it is how emotionally charged it is w/o ever veering into being overdramatic. the post-battle misaki-mamoru and duel scenes are one-of-a-kind, id never read anything like them, and they tore at me, and i loved it. the last chapter is also a revelation; robin and misaki's relationship--w/ its fraught history and all things unspoken yet known--is bittersweet, w/ the taste of life, w/ the complexity of the world and its reality, and how, despite not being textbook HEA, we can still be ok, to care and to be hopeful. also highly relate to and appreciate the book's msg of not letting regret overtake us, to instead do our best and appreciate everyday bc we can truly never know when it will be our last this is one of my top reads ever; i just cant stop gushing abt this book and it's honestly a crime more ppl havent read it!!!
it's also a phenomenal character study whose main character and her struggles--as a woman, a mother, a lover, a wife--are rarely seen in fiction, let alone in the traditionally male-dominated domain of fantasy. misaki is unto herself, but is also a symbol for countless women even in modern times; her struggles once again remind me of the repressive, stifling, soul-crushing impact of the patriarchy and sexism. and in the greatest reversal of my feelings towards a fictional character, takeru def takes the cake; how wang made me come to like an alpha male--the very paragon of the patriarchy--who i profoundly loathed and wanted to throttle for at least 60% of the book is beyond me. a miraculous feat, rly, and a testament to the author's ability to fully render her characters as complex, multidimensional humans w/ backstory and fears.
now, despite the myriad of the book's awesomeness, my absolute fav thing abt it is how emotionally charged it is w/o ever veering into being overdramatic. the post-battle misaki-mamoru and duel scenes are one-of-a-kind, id never read anything like them, and they tore at me, and i loved it. the last chapter is also a revelation; robin and misaki's relationship--w/ its fraught history and all things unspoken yet known--is bittersweet, w/ the taste of life, w/ the complexity of the world and its reality, and how, despite not being textbook HEA, we can still be ok, to care and to be hopeful. also highly relate to and appreciate the book's msg of not letting regret overtake us, to instead do our best and appreciate everyday bc we can truly never know when it will be our last this is one of my top reads ever; i just cant stop gushing abt this book and it's honestly a crime more ppl havent read it!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Misogyny, Grief, Rape, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship
triangulartoaster's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
purplepentapus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
edie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“I mean, I knew our government wasn’t transparent—What government is?—but I never imagined anything like this... Maybe if I’d been paying more attention.”
The Sword of Kaigen is a standalone military fantasy with elemental magic, political intrigue, intricate battle sequences, and excellent characters that utterly broke my heart and I loved every second of it.
This book is intense, fast-paced, dark, and challenging — but so rewarding. I haven't read a book that weaved together plot and character development so masterfully in a very long time.
Also the magic system! Fuck! I will confess to being a fan of elemental magic in any setting; give me a story where people can manipulate air, fire, earth, water and I am there.
But even with that bias in mind, this book truly pushes the bounds of elemental magic in a way I haven’t seen done before.
I’m so used to magic systems being unfurled to the reader at a similar pace as the protagonists and you learn the limits as they do, but it is goddamn exciting to see a book just toss that out the window.
Everyone in the Sword of Kaigen is already highly skilled at the magic they wield and instead of a slow discovery arc with you in the protagonist's sidecar, you get an exploration of the different ways in which this expertise manifests.
<i>During</i> vividly-described high-stakes battle scenes.
Yeah, I know. More books like this, please!
And while I loved the action sequences and political intrigue, where this book really shines is in the character arcs.
We follow two main POVs in The Sword of Kaigen — Mamoru and Misaki, both belonging to the Matsuda family.
Mamoru is a 14-year-old who has been trained his entire life to be the perfect Matsuda warrior until certain events force him to confront the fact that the world isn’t what he’s been led to believe it is.
What follows is a series of truly bold writing choices, which I will leave you to experience yourself because I’ll be doing M.L. Wang a disservice to even attempt to describe his arc further.
And Misaki — oh, how do I talk about Misaki without writing sonnets in her name?
I love everything the author did with her character and probably cried for 6 hours straight over Misaki’s struggle to balance her past as a self-reliant warrior and her present as a mother of four in an extremely traditional and misogynistic household. The push and pull between trying to fit into what people in the village of Takayubi expected of her and what she thought herself to be? Exquisite.
It was also so refreshing to see the ‘mother’s love’ trope being subverted. I’m so tired of mothers in fiction being portrayed as paragons of love and selflessness and to see Misaki make conscious and realistic decisions about what motherhood meant for her at each step? A joy to watch.
It’s not all pain and despair, though, and this book balanced dark and lighter moments wonderfully. My favourite being the subtle injections of humour in Misaki's internal dialogue:
<blockquote><b>
At breakfast, she served him his tea with her usual smile and he accepted it with his usual straight-faced indifference.
“Good morning, Misaki!” Takashi greeted her as though nothing was wrong.
“Good morning, Nii-sama,” she said and poured the hot tea in his cup instead of his lap.
</b></blockquote>
There are so many moments of just .. joyful human connection sprinkled across this book and I honestly think that’s what brings it all together for me. You end up caring deeply for everyone in this little village and that is something that happens so naturally that it takes you by complete surprise. Every character’s decisions, motivations, and growth in response to the plot and each other happen so organically.
All of this to say: if you want a book that will tear your soul into bits and then slowly piece them back together in a way that is reminiscent of a blend between Avatar the Last Airbender and The Stormlight Archive (both the highest praises that I can think of): pick this one up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
m_________'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia and Racial slurs
WOW WAS THIS BOOK GOOD. First, I want to list out some of the major content warnings for the book (there are out of context spoilers here): \ \ \ \ \ \ physical/verbal/emotional abuse, violence/gore, death, death of children, rape, suicide/suicidal ideations \ \ \ \ \ REVIEW/RANT/GUSH: I was so impressed by The Sword of Kaigen. Everything is done incredibly well: character work, world-building, action sequences, the elemental magic system, the prose - I loved it all. This book is certainly not short, but I genuinely never felt bored by it and, if not for pesky things called sleep and school, would have absolutely devoured it in one sitting. M. L. Wang is not afraid to go there in this book - actually probably even a step past there - and it definitely caught me by surprise in many sections. If there was one stand-out feature, it would be the character work. To give specifics would be spoiler-y, but I love M. L. Wang's characterization and depiction of how various characters struggle with their identity, legacy, and guilt throughout the novel, as well as their progression and the healing they seek in themselves and their relationships. The characters felt so real to me, especially in terms of their morality, in a way that very few characters do. They are all very complex, but their moral complexities are not larger than life, they simply are, and I found that refreshing, particularly in a fantasy novel. In particular, her portrayal of Misaki and her growth from a teenager, to the start of the book, to beyond, is so, so superb. The book follows a very interesting structure where what people would consider the climax of the book occupies its middle chunk, not the just-prior-to-the-end chunk, and it worked SO WELL. It allows the latter part of the book to become very character driven, and I think it was integral to portray what happened after *climax which I won't describe in further detail*. This plot structure definitely wouldn't work for every book or author, but it is absolutely perfect in this case. Lastly, I am also just so impressed by the way the author elicits emotion through her writing. It is not a stretch to say that I sobbed through nearly 50% of the book - and I really don't cry that often while reading (there are notable exceptions, clearly). Despite it being a standalone, everything felt so actualized and real in a way many others can't do in full length series. Highly, highly recommend!!!
More...