A review by libram
The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Shadow by Fuyumi Ono

3.0

Two things stopped me from unreservedly loving this book: Yoko is difficult to root for (read: annoying) in the first two-thirds of the story, and the unavoidable reality that this first entry largely serves as world building. World building is all well and good, but so much of it was (apparently) necessary that the action crawls for much of the book. And heck, flawed protagonists are fine too. But I wanted to reach into the book and shake Yoko when she reached her 'absolute lowest point' for the 4th time in as many chapters.

However, both of these 'issues' were resolved for me by the end of the novel as Yoko managed to evolve into being a less annoying character, and the Twelve Kingdoms are so beautifully constructed and otherworldly that I was sorry to leave the world upon reaching the final page. I could quibble over some of the slight translation issues, but overall the tale is well written and intriguingly plotted.

I can see myself adoring future installments of this series. I just hope more...happens...next time, as this entry felt as if it was almost entirely comprised of travelling (and travelling and travelling) with exciting and intriguing bits sprinkled in.