The Sword of Kaigen
Ratings199
Average rating4.4
15
Ratings199
Average rating4.4
Better to die sharp in war than rust through a time of peace. A mother struggling to repress her violent past, A son struggling to grasp his violent future, A father blind to the danger that threatens them all. When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?
High on a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire's enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name 'The Sword of Kaigen.'
Born into Kusanagi's legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family's fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen's alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.
Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.
Reviews with the most likes.
An amazing and well built fantasy standalone. So sad to see that the other serie by the same author has been discontinued or I would have jump straight back in this universe.
A great character centered story about duty, tradition and sacrifice with an amazing elementary magic system. Highly recommend this read !
Really enjoyed it...I only wish someone would have warned me that I was going to cry my eyes out for a half hour while reading it. I loved it so much though that I went ahead and joined the Kickstarter to get the special addition hardcover. Solid standalone, highly recommend (but have some tissues handy).
Wow. Just wow.
This has got to be one of the most innovative takes on fantasy I have ever read. It reads like a combined Kurosawa film with street fighter style magic powers set in a modern world but with a traditionalist main focus point that almost feels medieval Japanese. The end result is a jediesque group of sword fighters wielding swords and magic in a truly phenomenal manner. The battles in this book are epic mangaesque sequences that vividly role off the page and leave the reader breathless.
Beneath this is a truly amazing cast of characters: the son fighting for his fathers acceptance, the wife whose hidden past is masked by the traditionalism of the society she lives in, the foreign kid bringing new ideas and helping to unmask propaganda, the traditionalist husband struggling to understand the changing world around him.
There is an amazingly jarring juxtaposition between the almost feudal living style at the centre of the book and the cyberpunk stylings of the world outside - and the gradual encroachment of the modern world into this oasis of peace is one of the main stories running through the book.
This book came highly recommended, but even with all that I was surprised by just how innovative it was. I really need to delve more into Wang's Theonite universe. It is a truly fascinating place.
Books
7 booksIf you enjoyed this book, then our algorithm says you may also enjoy these.
Featured Prompt
3,136 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
