The Initiate Brother
Ratings3
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating4.3
Plague and warfare have swept across the Orient, ravaging the ancient kingdom of Wa, devastating the royal line, and leaving a new dynasty on the throne—a new emperor, Akantsu, filled with fear of all who might seek to wrest the Empire from his grasp. Among those out of favor with the new liege is the Order of the Botahist Monks, whose mystical powers have enabled them to hold positions as Spiritual Advisers to the Imperial court for nearly ten centuries. But Emperor Akantsu fears none so greatly as he does Lord Shonto, the brilliant leader of the most important of the Old Families, whose influence could rally the Great House against the throne, and whose adopted daughter, the beautiful and talented Lady Nishima, is the last surviving member of the old royal family. Sent to be the military Governor of a northern border province long threatened by barbarian invaders, Lord Shonto knows he is being lured to his death. But Akantsu has underestimated his foe, for not only is Lord Shonto the greatest military genius of the age, but he has with him a Spiritual Adviser from the Botahist Order—a young man gifted with extraordinary martial arts skills and magical abilities, Initiate Brother Shuyun. And even Lord Shonto does not realize the true potential of this young monk. Only time will reveal that Shuyun’s magical powers have not seen their equal in nearly a thousand years—not since the Perfect Master himself walked the paths of the Empire….
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2 primary booksInitiate Brother is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 1991 with contributions by Sean Russell.
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4 stars
The Shonto have always been willing to take second place in the Empire of Wa. But the Emperor of the young Yamaka dynasty is suspicious, and Shonto Motoru is “promoted” to Governor of distant Seh, on the border with barbarian tribes. Obedient, he goes. Wise, he takes precautions. He takes with him his newly appointed Spiritual Advisor, a prodigy of the Botahist order.
I'm not a big fan of political books - those that are all about trading for advantage, calculating relationships, etc. Yet I like this book, which is all about those things. It and its sequel, Gatherer of Clouds, are one huge mass of carefully calculated strategy manipulation.
Russell makes it work because despite the background and concept, he shows the politics through a finely focused lens of personal, intimate relationships. Despite the book's title, this book is less about Shuyun, the initiate, than about the Shonto family - about Shonto Motoru and his allies. Despite a large cast, Russell does an excellent job of creating credible, individual characters. There are half a dozen that stand out, and only a few key characters that are never fully realized.
Russell smooths the way by creating a believable, well thought out world for his characters to inhabit. He steers clear of the ‘all that is Oriental is magic' trap some Western writers fall into, building his empire on an amalgam of real-world cultures. If the prose seems restrained and under-emotional, that ties in with his world's values.
Note that this isn't really a stand-alone novel. It's effectively the first part of a larger volume cut in half in the days before massive tomes were more common. You can read this book alone with some satisfaction, but you really need to read the sequel to get the full story.
All in all, highly recommended - even if, like me, you get bored by fantasy politics.
