M. L. WangThe Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story

Well, well, well.I have to admit that this book has been on my agenda for quite a long while. It first came on my radar almost a year and a half ago when another author I admire posted a review about it.Sadly, I have to be very choosy which books I physically read (as opposed to listening to audio) due to time constraints.So of course, when I heard there was going to be an audio edition I was one of the first to get in touch with the author about an early review copy of the audio!After all the hype (especially winning the fifth SPFBO contest!), I was expecting something big. Something powerful. Something intense and emotional and amazing.And let me just say that this book did not disappoint!Before I go any further, let's talk about the narrator for a moment.Andrew Tell is a new name for me. I had never even heard of him before this book, much less heard his voice. What becomes immediately clear is he has a powerful, nuanced voice. I was a bit concerned about his ability to present the female voices, and while I can't say he does so with believable accuracy, what I can say is that he found a natural way to differentiate gender voices that comes off exceptionally well. Apart from that, his voices in general are brilliantly crafted and distinct. He has particular skill in creating nuanced vocal inflections that match the emotional resonance either described or implied from the text. And his shifts in tempo throughout the novel are nigh on a perfect match to the tone and tension of each scene.Now, as is my wont, I will largely dispense with a discussion of the plot of the book. There are plenty of other reviews that summarize the story.So, what is the Sword of Kaigen?Well, here we have a large, sprawling creation that spans multiple nations yet still manages to keep things impressively personal. It is full of action, yet is emotionally resonant to a surprising degree. It is definitely what I would call a slow-burn, yet once we pass a certain point fairly early on, it becomes so engrossing, so fascinating, so viscerally real that I just couldn't put it down.One thing I have to admit is in the earliest chapters, I found my attention waning. At first I found it difficult to connect with Mimoru, on account of his youth, his arrogance, and his utter faith in a system he has never seen any proof of.Misaki I found little better in those early chapters, though for wholly different reasons. She's a woman who does not, in any way, belong in the life she's in, and it wasn't until much later in the story that I finally understood why she found herself living that life.But I digress.In short, this is the epitome of a slow-burn story in which you really don't understand who people are or why they are the way they are until much later. It requires a fair leap on faith in the author's ability to bring it all together and craft something beautiful.And make no mistake, M.L. Wang accomplishes that with finesse and style.I've seen other reviewers criticize the writing style as indulgent, needlessly complex, and overly wordy.Well, I have to disagree on 2-and-a-half of those points.Yes, you read that right. 2.5 of the three points.Allow me to explain.Although the writing is complex, with a good number of new words, ideas, and customs, I find that complexity fits this novel with near perfection.Similarly, while the writing absolutely is wordy, this is a case of characterization more than anything. You'll find many novels written in the third person that are written with considerable distance from the characters, as though the narrator is "God" or a similarly omniscient figure, thereby giving descriptions and background in a clinical way.Not so here. Every word of this novel is written in the voice of a character, and the wordiness is 100% in keeping with the way these characters see the world.Now, on indulgence I give a half-point.Allow me to explain.The author goes to considerable length to explain some things that I found obvious, and does go to great lengths to clarify cultural aspects that I suspect are well known among those more familiar with eastern cultures.However, I didn't find any of it to be excessive.I give it a half point largely because I can see it being tedious to those who might be more familiar with such things.If I had to name a single thing this novel does extremely well, it would be characters. Every major character has an incredible arc and it was far beyond a joy to witness the growth of these characters.The author also manages what I consider the "holy grail" of storytelling, which is the combination of plot and character. The characters are the plot, and the plot is the characters. You truly cannot separate the two in this novel. Every aspect of each character's arc is a major plot point, and every major plot point creates progression along those character arcs.Needless to say, I can't give you specifics about exactly what in those arcs I loved so much without giving spoilers for the story. So what I will say here is that if you read this book (and you should), go into it with the commitment to finish it. Even if you find the opening dull, trust the author to lead you on a wonderful adventure that has one of the most fantastic endings I've seen in a standalone novel.Another aspect of this story that I found absolutely incredible is the mixture of magic system and world building. I place the two together (against my usual method) because they really are inseparable. The magic system is as much a living, breathing part of the world as the culture of the Kaiganese or their enemies. And I find it fascinating. It does have something of an Avatar-meets-X-men vibe to it, in that certain characters or families have their own things that they can do, while pretty much everyone who can manipulate it has access to some variant of the natural elements. But it's so much more than than. There are so many specialized uses for the abilities they possess, and so many ways they turn those abilities into so much more than a normal individual would expect.It was phenomenal, and in the large battle where we get to see almost everything at work, the complexity and the setup that went into it blew my mind.It's a rare thing for me to laugh hysterically, stand up and cheer, and bawl my eyes out all within a single book. Much less a single chapter.This novel accomplished all three extremes in a single SCENE!Take a moment to absorb that and think about what that would take.Now, this is the part where I would normally talk about things that I found problematic in the novel. I'll admit that earlier in the book I had a couple things, but later on it proved to be merely that I didn't have a full understanding yet of the characters or the way this world works. I was under some mistaken impressions.I think the closest thing I have to a critique is the slow progress at the start of the book. I think I was probably 5 hours into the audiobook before I got so engrossed in it that I only put it down when I absolutely had to.I spent so much of the book in complete awe, which was only exacerbated by the fact that for much of it I just couldn't fathom how the story was going to keep going long enough to take up the rest of the runtime!So, let's discuss the ending for a moment.As I alluded to above, there are some major emotional extremes to be found in the climaxes (there are several). Every time you think you've reached the emotional high and it's going to start to wind down, you find an even higher emotional extreme that you have to find a way to come down from. Only at the very end, when you feel so wrung out that you wouldn't survive another emotional dropkick, does it finally end and bring everything around full circle for one of the most incredible endings of any book I've ever read.I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is absolutely my #1 novel of 2020.Really, if you read only one fantasy this year, it should be this one. Even if fantasy isn't normally your thing, read it. If superhero-eske books aren't your thing, read it. If semi-historical isn't your thing, still read it. And even if eastern cultures don't normally do it for you, read this book!You'll be glad you did.

This is a good book and well worth the read, but it requires some patience to get through the first part (more on that later.) There are some memorable characters—some I liked, some I didn’t—and the worldbuilding was fascinating.There are two main characters featured in the story; Mamoru, a 14-year-old born to a powerful warrior house, and Misaki, his mother, who harbors a lot of secrets. Mamoru was inquisitive, and like many young teens, wanted nothing more than to live up to everyone else’s expectations—his father’s especially (I’ll discuss his father in a bit.) Of the two main characters, I liked him the best. He had a kind heart, looked after his brothers, and was generally a likeable character.Misaki was…interesting. I didn’t dislike her, but I didn’t love her either. She had an interesting back story filled with crime-fighting prior to her marriage, but she wasn’t a happy person. I didn’t relate to her well, but I did empathize with her situation. Her marriage was arranged, and her husband’s family was very traditional. Women did not do certain things, and she gave up so much of who she was that it was heartbreaking. Her personality was difficult for me to connect with for most of the book, but once she finally started to take control of her life, I liked her a lot more.There were some memorable side characters too. Some, like Mamoru’s friend Kwang Chul-hee, and his aunt Setsuko, were likeable. Others, like his father, Takeru were not. While Takeru wasn’t the ultimate evil in this story, he was one of the most frustrating characters I’ve read about in a long time. Between the way he treated his family (which was with cold indifference most of the time, or outright anger if they questioned him), his entire lack of empathy toward everyone, and his unquestioning loyalty to the Empire, I really wanted to see him gone. He was so aggravating… But he served his role within the story really well.Both Misaki and Takeru evolved throughout the story—though it took a massive tragedy before either of them were prompted to even attempt change. The last few chapters were probably some of my favorites, even though it was well after the action was finished. They were both so much better at the end of the book than they were for the first 70%.The worldbuilding had some interesting elements in it. The book is set in a small mountain town in the Kaigenese Empire. The town is governed by a mayor in conjunction with the leader of the local warrior house—in this case, the Matsuda family. The warrior houses of Kaigen all possess a force called jiya, and depending on the family involved, the jiya takes on a specific form. The Matsudas are wielders of water and ice, and the strongest of the line can summon a whispering blade—an ice construct akin to their steel katanas, but so sharp it can cleave through anything.Misaki’s family have powers over blood, an ability that can be used to heal, but is also feared. The elite fighters from the country of Yamma wield fire, and the dangerous Ranganese—ultimately the enemy of the Empire and its allies—wield wind. There is quite a lot of lore introduced about each type of ability, the gods/goddesses they’re associated with, and the history of the various countries.And through all of this, there is the hint of a massive conspiracy. Even at the 70% mark, I only had a vague notion of what exactly was going on. I loved that element of the unknown and the ominous quality it leant to the story.But back to the first part of the book that I mentioned earlier. It starts off incredibly slow, to the point I almost decided to give up. If you’ve followed me or my reviews for any length of time, you know I rarely DNF and it takes a lot for me to even consider it. But this one was a nearly, and not only due to its crawling pace at the start.I’m usually not too picky about “info dumping” in books, but I struggled with a few early parts in this one. There were some history lessons that not only included huge chunks of information about the world and its past, but dates as well. I am not a numbers person. I do not retain them well. The history lessons were not fun for a reader like me. (I’d much prefer this type of content in timeline format at the back of the book, especially since it wasn’t even relevant to the rest of the story.)What kept me going through the first section was that the world was interesting and the book is very well-written. It felt immersive, despite the initial slow pace, and I think my favorite parts of the book were the combat scenes. They meshed physical combat with jiya work so seamlessly, it was almost cinematic—and really cool.If you can get past the book’s slow start, to where the story really begins to take shape, it’s a fascinating read with some pretty memorable characters.

This book was beautifully deep. Yes you get some avatar the last airbender vibes as well as some mulan vibes but that isn’t what makes this book great. It’s the depth and complexity of the characters, their individual stories filled with various unique challenges that shape and refine them. If you are reading this book only for the action sequences you may be disappointed or a little bored. While those scenes are intense and thrilling they are only perhaps a quarter to a third of this book’s content. Thankfully the characters are captivating as well as the culture. The old world, traditional customs were often jarring and a little upsetting especially where women were concerned. So remember when reading this book to not put your personal beliefs, values, and ideals on the characters otherwise you might be too angry to continue reading at times.I recommend this beautiful book to avid readers who love more depth in a story than just your quick action packed romantasy.Content disclaimer:No spice although sexual scenarios are reflected upon by the FMC when she analyses her marriage. No graphic descriptions. One instance of rape but also not graphically described and ends very quickly.Violence is descriptive with blood, guts, gore as well as the emotional and mental strain involved. Death of sensitive and even major characters occur. War both past and present. Suicide.Mental, emotional, and physical abuse is a common and integral theme.