A review by charliauthor
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is probably the most subjectively polarising (is that a thing!?) review I’ve ever written for myself. 

For the simple fact that it prompted an emotional response, even if that emotion wasn’t particularly positive, Sword of Kaigen is a good book. However, despite the positives that it does have: the thought out world-building and the layered characters, I just don’t think I liked it. I say think because I’m still not entirely sure.

My initial issue with Sword was the pacing. I found the first half very tedious and difficult to get through which almost tainted my feelings towards the rest of the book. Before getting to that though once I finished, I learned that this was previously a serial posted online which explains the long winded, over explanatory narrative style, much like Manacled. Knowing this explains the pacing but doesn’t take away from my dislike of this style and how it takes away from what could have been immense tension and excitement at the very start.

I enjoyed learning about the juxtaposition of worlds which I also learned is part of a wider inter planetary world that the author no longer writes in. I can see now that she was writing in a way for people who already understood her world but for someone new going in it felt like being thrown into a story halfway and being expected to know what certain words meant. Saying that, I loved the Japanese coded world building, the martial arts, the honourifics used to speak to characters, the understanding of their power/jiya, how they use it, I did enjoy. It was just delivered in a way that I didn’t mesh with, that wouldnt allow me to comfortably read this again.

Now, speaking of being comfortable, what I meant by a not necessarily positive emotional response was that this book made me angry. From certain deaths to certain acts of war, to certain consequences of those acts of war, to the traditional yet archaic role that women had to play in Japan, the whole book just left me with a sense of rage that left me wondering what I had achieved from reading this other than crippling frustration. 

While the end of the book definitely ends on a more positive note it felt underwhelming and unfulfilling simply because of how much they lost because of the ruling government, that as far as I know or understand, will never pay for those crimes against them. It felt unfair and I was simply annoyed that i’d gone through all of that for a fairly weak reason and very little satisfaction. This is a standalone but it needs more which the author said she isnt going to write so like…what now!?

Sword of Kaigen is a good book, but after suck harrowing emotional highs and lows, I just didnt leave it feeling positive and that kinda sucks.