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A review by spark_perez
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
5.0
I can see why Wang told us from the beginning to treat this as a standalone, because she has us clamoring for a sequel. This is a good and a bad thing.
To start with, this is a really really cool universe with a great magic system and super interesting lore. Makes you super engaged with this book. And makes you feel criminally let down for not having more stories to flesh out all the opportunities.
The characters are fantastic and well developed, to the point that some of my favorite scenes are literally just dialogue between people. There’s such discourse and reason for every conversation.
The action is also really good, if it doesn’t peak a little bit early and leave you wanting a little more.
But if you think you know where this book is going, you don’t. It does not follow the tropes you think it would. Which makes it all the more disappointing that these 31 chapters are what we get.
I am not anti-open ended conclusions. Leaving things up to your interpretation. But intentionally introducing plot threads and important world ramifications in the final chapters that seemingly serve no purpose but to make you wanna hear about a story that won’t be told? Quite a choice.
Still certainly worth the read as a standalone that will take you on a very cool journey, and end with you ranting on a Reddit post putting together a petition for a talented women to finish what she started.
To start with, this is a really really cool universe with a great magic system and super interesting lore. Makes you super engaged with this book. And makes you feel criminally let down for not having more stories to flesh out all the opportunities.
The characters are fantastic and well developed, to the point that some of my favorite scenes are literally just dialogue between people. There’s such discourse and reason for every conversation.
The action is also really good, if it doesn’t peak a little bit early and leave you wanting a little more.
But if you think you know where this book is going, you don’t. It does not follow the tropes you think it would. Which makes it all the more disappointing that these 31 chapters are what we get.
I am not anti-open ended conclusions. Leaving things up to your interpretation. But intentionally introducing plot threads and important world ramifications in the final chapters that seemingly serve no purpose but to make you wanna hear about a story that won’t be told? Quite a choice.
Still certainly worth the read as a standalone that will take you on a very cool journey, and end with you ranting on a Reddit post putting together a petition for a talented women to finish what she started.