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A review by strawberrytops
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
dark
emotional
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
3.5
There’s a lot to unpack in this book for me. So much so I will probably come back to edit this as I unpack more and more.
This book does not hold back in the themes it set out to explore. Grief, motherhood, loss of identity and sense of self, self worth, traditional/patriarchal societies, propaganda, and sense of duty just to name a few.
It holds a unique perspective and exploration of some of these themes, and lacks a lot for others.
The strong points are exceptionally strong. The fighting scenes are incredible. You can really see the authors martial artist background come through in the most captivating way possible.
The character development is thorough . By the end of the book you understand how the main characters came to be, you may not like them, but you understand their behaviors. I could write a whole review on just the duel, and would like to discuss it if anyone reading this would like to discuss it too.
The perspective is unique. A mother and son point of view is deeply moving, and unlike anything else i’ve read.
As for the lacking-
This claims to be a standalone but it clearly is hinting at the other unfinished series the author has written. It makes the book feel clustered, and in some ways unresolved. Because I know of the other series, I knew what parts are hinting at it. However if you have no knowledge of the other series, there are parts of this book that make no sense at all. I can’t fault her for it, but it is a tad annoying.
The world building is pretty lackluster and not good. There is a ton of info dumping in the book, and it feels to go on forever. It could definitely use some editing.
Hot take incoming: the way misogyny is dealt with in this book is actively harmful. there’s definitely a way to write stories that take place within traditional/patriarchal societies without furthering misogyny. and this is not it.
There is never any acknowledgement of the horrid treatment of women in this book, never a stance of this is wrong.
And I don’t understand why it’s so prevalent to begin with.
it’s a FANTASY book.
if your main narrative revolving around misogyny isn’t that it’s bad and it shouldn’t exist in your MADE UP WORLD, then it shouldn’t be written into your world to begin with.
An example of this is the treatment of thetreatment of the baby who survived the friends unalivement. the mc knows the baby will be treated horribly by the town, knowing half the town thinks the baby should be killed. yet she sends it off into the public system anyway, “hoping” they will be okay. why? why not take the baby into your safekeeping? If she knows her friends baby isn’t safe in the public eye, she should take it into safekeeping on her own.
A mix of feelings about it. Where the book thrives, it excels.
Where it falls short, it’s impossible to look past.
This book does not hold back in the themes it set out to explore. Grief, motherhood, loss of identity and sense of self, self worth, traditional/patriarchal societies, propaganda, and sense of duty just to name a few.
It holds a unique perspective and exploration of some of these themes, and lacks a lot for others.
The strong points are exceptionally strong. The fighting scenes are incredible. You can really see the authors martial artist background come through in the most captivating way possible.
The character development is thorough . By the end of the book you understand how the main characters came to be, you may not like them, but you understand their behaviors. I could write a whole review on just the duel, and would like to discuss it if anyone reading this would like to discuss it too.
The perspective is unique. A mother and son point of view is deeply moving, and unlike anything else i’ve read.
As for the lacking-
This claims to be a standalone but it clearly is hinting at the other unfinished series the author has written. It makes the book feel clustered, and in some ways unresolved. Because I know of the other series, I knew what parts are hinting at it. However if you have no knowledge of the other series, there are parts of this book that make no sense at all. I can’t fault her for it, but it is a tad annoying.
The world building is pretty lackluster and not good. There is a ton of info dumping in the book, and it feels to go on forever. It could definitely use some editing.
Hot take incoming: the way misogyny is dealt with in this book is actively harmful. there’s definitely a way to write stories that take place within traditional/patriarchal societies without furthering misogyny. and this is not it.
There is never any acknowledgement of the horrid treatment of women in this book, never a stance of this is wrong.
And I don’t understand why it’s so prevalent to begin with.
it’s a FANTASY book.
if your main narrative revolving around misogyny isn’t that it’s bad and it shouldn’t exist in your MADE UP WORLD, then it shouldn’t be written into your world to begin with.
An example of this is the treatment of the
A mix of feelings about it. Where the book thrives, it excels.
Where it falls short, it’s impossible to look past.