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A review by alexreadsboooks
Lord of the Darkwood by Lian Hearn
4.0
After losing Akihime, Shikanoko has disappeared into the Darkwood, meanwhile the true emperor is living his life as an acrobat, quite content with it. But the country needs its rightful ruler, and only Shikanoko can restore him to his throne.
If you read my review of Emperor of the Eight Islands, you will probably remember that I loved it, and I am glad to say that Lord of the Darkwood lived up to its predecessor.
The world remains interesting and magical, and I still love how easily Hearn incorporates the magical aspects into her story, while still making them seem completely realistic.
I also still love the style these books are written in. It fits the story so well, and unlike the first book, I was just able to dive into this one immediately without being thrown off by anything for the first few pages. I guess there’s somethign about refamiliarising myself with an author’s style.
The Tale of Shikanoko as a whole just works really well as an epic tale that gives more dimension to the world of Tales of the Otori, a connection it took me until late in the second book to realise. It’s possible that it was intended that way, and I thought it was great, but I’m also wondering a little if it wouldn’t have been more interesting to know about it a little earlier. (In case it was clear earlier, I hope you guys can excuse it, it’s been almost ten years since I read the Tales of the Otori series).
The one thing I thought as a bit weird was the love story between Hina and Shikanoko. I like both of them but their age difference made me side-eye the romance a little.
Lord of the Darkwood is a great sequel and finale to Emperor of the Eight Islands, and the whole series is just a great read all around. If you like Japanese culture this is definitely a good series to pick up. It feels like a lot of love went into the world building and the writing of it, and I think that really shows.
________
This review also appears on my blog alexreadsboooks
If you read my review of Emperor of the Eight Islands, you will probably remember that I loved it, and I am glad to say that Lord of the Darkwood lived up to its predecessor.
The world remains interesting and magical, and I still love how easily Hearn incorporates the magical aspects into her story, while still making them seem completely realistic.
I also still love the style these books are written in. It fits the story so well, and unlike the first book, I was just able to dive into this one immediately without being thrown off by anything for the first few pages. I guess there’s somethign about refamiliarising myself with an author’s style.
The Tale of Shikanoko as a whole just works really well as an epic tale that gives more dimension to the world of Tales of the Otori, a connection it took me until late in the second book to realise. It’s possible that it was intended that way, and I thought it was great, but I’m also wondering a little if it wouldn’t have been more interesting to know about it a little earlier. (In case it was clear earlier, I hope you guys can excuse it, it’s been almost ten years since I read the Tales of the Otori series).
The one thing I thought as a bit weird was the love story between Hina and Shikanoko. I like both of them but their age difference made me side-eye the romance a little.
Lord of the Darkwood is a great sequel and finale to Emperor of the Eight Islands, and the whole series is just a great read all around. If you like Japanese culture this is definitely a good series to pick up. It feels like a lot of love went into the world building and the writing of it, and I think that really shows.
________
This review also appears on my blog alexreadsboooks