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A review by andypeloquinauthor
Never Die by Rob J. Hayes
4.0
TL;DR version: 3.5 Stars - Really enjoyed a lot of it: the classic Japanese ronin-style story, intriguing characters, fascinating Asian story elements, legends and heroes, and the overall thrust of the story. Not perfect, but one hell of a read!
Long version:
I've been debating on how to rate this one because there was a lot about it I really loved.
Growing up in Japan, I was raised on Japanese history, with a generous helping of mythology sprinkled in for the mix. Reading this story was like taking a journey back through Japanese history and seeing the "epic" stories of warriors like Oda Nobunaga or Hideyoshi Toyotomi brought to life, with just enough flavor of Avatar: The Last Airbender and 7 Samurai to be thrilling.
Being a huge fan of wuxia movies and martial arts films, I found this felt like the sort of story that Jet Li or young Jackie Chan would have been in. Very reminiscent of Fearless, Hero, or Fists of Legend.
The variety of characters was quite intriguing. Itami Cho the fearless swordswoman, Emerald Wind the snarky bandit, Chen Lu the quintessential fat guy with an iron gut and a predilection for drink, and the Master of Sun Valley, bare-handed fighter extraordinaire. Adding in the rifleman Death's Echo was a really neat touch that added a lot of spice to the story.
Now for the things that left me a tad disappointed:
-The fight scenes. Fascinating fight scenes, but the words used to describe the various moves left me a bit underwhelmed. But I know that's just my preference.
- The characters. Emerald Wind and Chen Lu had great personalities, but the others felt a tad "grey". Itami Cho could have been a truly fascinating powerful woman--a deep, intriguing blend of warrior and woman--but the focus on her "oaths" detracted from getting a sense of who she was and what she wanted beneath her warrior's facade.
- The ending. No spoilers, but that was not the ending I anticipated, expected, or hoped for. My expectations were subverted in a very clever way, but I might argue that it was TOO clever, given how straight the rest of the book was. I found myself disappointed in the final pages, though everything up until then had been exactly as epic as I'd hoped.
Overall, this book is 100% worth the read! I'm definitely a picky reader, and this book sucked me in nicely. I owe the author thanks for helping to pull me out of my reading slump with this book, which had me turning pages like my iPad was on fire.
Long version:
I've been debating on how to rate this one because there was a lot about it I really loved.
Growing up in Japan, I was raised on Japanese history, with a generous helping of mythology sprinkled in for the mix. Reading this story was like taking a journey back through Japanese history and seeing the "epic" stories of warriors like Oda Nobunaga or Hideyoshi Toyotomi brought to life, with just enough flavor of Avatar: The Last Airbender and 7 Samurai to be thrilling.
Being a huge fan of wuxia movies and martial arts films, I found this felt like the sort of story that Jet Li or young Jackie Chan would have been in. Very reminiscent of Fearless, Hero, or Fists of Legend.
The variety of characters was quite intriguing. Itami Cho the fearless swordswoman, Emerald Wind the snarky bandit, Chen Lu the quintessential fat guy with an iron gut and a predilection for drink, and the Master of Sun Valley, bare-handed fighter extraordinaire. Adding in the rifleman Death's Echo was a really neat touch that added a lot of spice to the story.
Now for the things that left me a tad disappointed:
-The fight scenes. Fascinating fight scenes, but the words used to describe the various moves left me a bit underwhelmed. But I know that's just my preference.
- The characters. Emerald Wind and Chen Lu had great personalities, but the others felt a tad "grey". Itami Cho could have been a truly fascinating powerful woman--a deep, intriguing blend of warrior and woman--but the focus on her "oaths" detracted from getting a sense of who she was and what she wanted beneath her warrior's facade.
- The ending. No spoilers, but that was not the ending I anticipated, expected, or hoped for. My expectations were subverted in a very clever way, but I might argue that it was TOO clever, given how straight the rest of the book was. I found myself disappointed in the final pages, though everything up until then had been exactly as epic as I'd hoped.
Overall, this book is 100% worth the read! I'm definitely a picky reader, and this book sucked me in nicely. I owe the author thanks for helping to pull me out of my reading slump with this book, which had me turning pages like my iPad was on fire.