A review by duskvstweak
The Scorpion by Stephen D. Sullivan

3.0

This was more enjoyable than it deserved. Technically, it was poorly written. It abuses third person omniscient with a vengeance. Characters navel gaze like there's no tomorrow and smile all the time. The smiling! Every thought, every memory makes these characters smile again and again. This is a dark, samurai fantasy, why is there so much smiling? Sigh.
Take that away and within this book is an enjoyable story, though it doesn't start being interesting until halfway through. I used to play Legend of the Five Rings, and it was a lot of fun. I loved the setting and the clans, and this was a great way to change my negative perception of the Scorpion clan. While they're still the "villains", I suppose, they have their own sense of owner and loyalty that I understand much better. The coup in the middle is handled well and has a great sense of movement thereafter. Holding the fortress proves to be no easy matter and the end results is expected though sad. I just wish the rest of this book had the same power.