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A review by korrick
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono
4.0
There was a time in my life when I imbibed gargantuan amounts of Japanese comics and Japanese cartoons, known respectively (and sometimes contemptuously) as manga and anime. Chances are good that I don't remember even most of the ones that would be worth revisiting even in my older days, but this work occupies the fortunate position of not only having survived the sands of my memory, but also having first existed as a written work before it was illustrated and then animated. The second made it feasible for me to acquire a copy during my usual book sale sojourns without having to rely on a more often than not stunted section, if it existed at all, for comics, while the first sustained my interest long enough for me to see the worth in acquiring this copy when I did. Now, coming back to this at my age meant finding the prose rather simplistic and certain choices in plot and characterization awkwardly paced. However, my adult self is also a great deal more invested in the concept of the 'Mandate of Heaven', alongside theories of good governance and systems of cultural enrichment, so to have that presented alongside some good old fashioned magical kingdoms and bildungsroman engagement was quite the treat. I have enough qualms, some of less narratological sort, for me to not rate this a perfect work, but it is still one of the most intelligently crafted fantasies I've ever come across, and the fact that it can engage younger audiences makes even more worthy of note.
When I first committed to reading as many of the four to six (depending on your definition) of the Classic Chinese Novels, I wasn't expecting much of a payoff beyond my personal pride garnered in certain circles of readers and/or literature. What I'm beginning to discover, though, is when one spends 2000+ pages following the trials and tribulations of a cast of characters struggling with the 3000 year old political philosophy known as the Mandate of Heaven, one builds up not only familiarity with the whole civilization-shaping enterprise, but also a healthy amount of respect. Still, this is hardly the easiest or even most accessible way of engaging with it, especially when one is stuck on the other side of a sociocultural/ethnolinguistic divide that today's politicians and money-grubbers artificially exacerbate so as to keep profits and power in their stagnating place. So, to see it applied in the classic style of narrative where a 'normal' young person is spirited away on a fantasy adventure in a manner that is all the more engaging for its credibility is truly something special. Now, the prose generated by this translation isn't the greatest, and the narrative pushes the limits when it comes to sticking to its measured buildup until the grand cathartic payoff is finally reached. There's also the matter of the fraught relations between Japan and China, and I'm not entirely sure about the author's intent when the narrative was using examples of regional architecture to juxtapose 'civilized' (aka Tokyo) kingdoms with those less so (aka Chinatowns). Still, one must note that this translation has received criticism elsewhere, so the remedy to some of my quibbles may be me paying more attention when choosing editions of future volumes. Of course, the question of the availability of other editions and volumes of this series is a whole 'nother bag of worms, so the best thing may be for me to be satisfied with how this particular read went and be in no rush to binge the rest anytime soon.
The foundering of the translation of the full seven volumes means that it's just as well that I've only come across the first entry, but it was enough to remind me full force how much of a joy the work is. Much as I love Tolkien, the latest half assed revivals of his work by soulless corporations of Mammon demonstrate how saturated the ideas market of fantasy is with his work, and this particular work with its mix of modern presentation and ancient belief systems is the perfect antidote to the copy-paste-to-death antics of the venture capitalists of culture. Of course, the fact that this work functions in such an original fashion probably contributes to why adaptations to other media and languages ran out of initiative and/or funding before completion, but the nice thing about the obnoxiously grasping bowels of the Internet is how easy it is stumble across something worth reviving and pulling others across the globe into getting the project off the ground. It's something I would spearhead myself I had the knowledge or the means, which should give you an idea of how poorly my four star rating can encompass my feelings of how important it is that this piece and its incarnations exist in ways that folks in my own culture can interact with and derive worth from. Until then, I await the day when various published genres in my part of the world get a real infusion of insights whose seeming freshness doesn't discount the fact that they have been tried and tested for thousands of years by minds willing to take responsibility and hearts willing to care even when it isn't 'profitable' or convenient. It's not only good reading, but a necessary ideological framework in this day and age, and if it happens that the first four volumes that have been thus far translated into English show up on the shelves that I manage as a librarian, what can I say except that, what's the point of the work I do if I can't nudge the readers here and there?
When I first committed to reading as many of the four to six (depending on your definition) of the Classic Chinese Novels, I wasn't expecting much of a payoff beyond my personal pride garnered in certain circles of readers and/or literature. What I'm beginning to discover, though, is when one spends 2000+ pages following the trials and tribulations of a cast of characters struggling with the 3000 year old political philosophy known as the Mandate of Heaven, one builds up not only familiarity with the whole civilization-shaping enterprise, but also a healthy amount of respect. Still, this is hardly the easiest or even most accessible way of engaging with it, especially when one is stuck on the other side of a sociocultural/ethnolinguistic divide that today's politicians and money-grubbers artificially exacerbate so as to keep profits and power in their stagnating place. So, to see it applied in the classic style of narrative where a 'normal' young person is spirited away on a fantasy adventure in a manner that is all the more engaging for its credibility is truly something special. Now, the prose generated by this translation isn't the greatest, and the narrative pushes the limits when it comes to sticking to its measured buildup until the grand cathartic payoff is finally reached. There's also the matter of the fraught relations between Japan and China, and I'm not entirely sure about the author's intent when the narrative was using examples of regional architecture to juxtapose 'civilized' (aka Tokyo) kingdoms with those less so (aka Chinatowns). Still, one must note that this translation has received criticism elsewhere, so the remedy to some of my quibbles may be me paying more attention when choosing editions of future volumes. Of course, the question of the availability of other editions and volumes of this series is a whole 'nother bag of worms, so the best thing may be for me to be satisfied with how this particular read went and be in no rush to binge the rest anytime soon.
The foundering of the translation of the full seven volumes means that it's just as well that I've only come across the first entry, but it was enough to remind me full force how much of a joy the work is. Much as I love Tolkien, the latest half assed revivals of his work by soulless corporations of Mammon demonstrate how saturated the ideas market of fantasy is with his work, and this particular work with its mix of modern presentation and ancient belief systems is the perfect antidote to the copy-paste-to-death antics of the venture capitalists of culture. Of course, the fact that this work functions in such an original fashion probably contributes to why adaptations to other media and languages ran out of initiative and/or funding before completion, but the nice thing about the obnoxiously grasping bowels of the Internet is how easy it is stumble across something worth reviving and pulling others across the globe into getting the project off the ground. It's something I would spearhead myself I had the knowledge or the means, which should give you an idea of how poorly my four star rating can encompass my feelings of how important it is that this piece and its incarnations exist in ways that folks in my own culture can interact with and derive worth from. Until then, I await the day when various published genres in my part of the world get a real infusion of insights whose seeming freshness doesn't discount the fact that they have been tried and tested for thousands of years by minds willing to take responsibility and hearts willing to care even when it isn't 'profitable' or convenient. It's not only good reading, but a necessary ideological framework in this day and age, and if it happens that the first four volumes that have been thus far translated into English show up on the shelves that I manage as a librarian, what can I say except that, what's the point of the work I do if I can't nudge the readers here and there?