jessica_flower's review
4.0
Finally, I have finished the Spirit's Princess duology. . . after I read the first book 7 years ago.
And, I can say that I liked it a lot. The characters are well-rounded, the writing is easy to follow, and I loved seeing the sisterhood between Himiko and Kaya develop and grow as they grew.
The pacing is slow at times, but I think it's partly because that Friesner tried to make Himiko's story as realistic as possible. We see her grow up from a bright child into a teenager determined to make her own path to a young woman who is an accomplished shaman.
The first book is more like a coming-of-age story, the second is about her using all the wisdom she's gained for the benefit of her people.
Speaking of people. . . (spoilers ahead)
Spirit's Princess (the first book) was the first story I remember reading about that had a polygamous marriage where the wives don't hate each other and act like spitting cats. Instead, you could feel the love and care in the family dynamic as you learned about Himiko and how she grew up; there was no jealousy or hatred between Himiko and the rest of her half-siblings, aside from Himiko being snide that she wasn't allowed to be a hunter but her brothers were. As a Western girl in a Catholic high school, it felt quite weird to read about Himiko's mothers and father when the only accepted ("good") family dynamic I'd seen was one-woman, one-man; even in other books where polygamy was somehow part of the story, there was always that one "favourite" wife that the others tried to get at. I don't think that was the case here.
Speaking of families, the duology is set in pre-historic Japan where the land was divided up amongst family clans led by chieftains and assisted by shamans, or some measure of both in one. This is before the samurai, and way before the daimyo and the emperors and the shogunate. Friesner's historical research really shines through here. The different villages, the ethnic tattoos (although it's mentioned more in the first book), the activities of the commoners, the nobles, and the shamans, and the presence of the spirit world within Shinto legend all seem to come alive again for a brief moment.
And, I can say that I liked it a lot. The characters are well-rounded, the writing is easy to follow, and I loved seeing the sisterhood between Himiko and Kaya develop and grow as they grew.
The pacing is slow at times, but I think it's partly because that Friesner tried to make Himiko's story as realistic as possible. We see her grow up from a bright child into a teenager determined to make her own path to a young woman who is an accomplished shaman.
The first book is more like a coming-of-age story, the second is about her using all the wisdom she's gained for the benefit of her people.
Speaking of people. . . (spoilers ahead)
Spirit's Princess (the first book) was the first story I remember reading about that had a polygamous marriage where the wives don't hate each other and act like spitting cats. Instead, you could feel the love and care in the family dynamic as you learned about Himiko and how she grew up; there was no jealousy or hatred between Himiko and the rest of her half-siblings, aside from Himiko being snide that she wasn't allowed to be a hunter but her brothers were. As a Western girl in a Catholic high school, it felt quite weird to read about Himiko's mothers and father when the only accepted ("good") family dynamic I'd seen was one-woman, one-man; even in other books where polygamy was somehow part of the story, there was always that one "favourite" wife that the others tried to get at. I don't think that was the case here.
Speaking of families, the duology is set in pre-historic Japan where the land was divided up amongst family clans led by chieftains and assisted by shamans, or some measure of both in one. This is before the samurai, and way before the daimyo and the emperors and the shogunate. Friesner's historical research really shines through here. The different villages, the ethnic tattoos (although it's mentioned more in the first book), the activities of the commoners, the nobles, and the shamans, and the presence of the spirit world within Shinto legend all seem to come alive again for a brief moment.
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, such a great book, a bit sad with the death and all, but yeah, I really enjoyed this book, and it was just really great!!
mfkelly323's review against another edition
4.0
As I didn't really like the prequel to this book, I was a little wary of reading it, but I'm so glad I did. I literally almost cried at the end of this book, but everything works itself out in the end. Beautiful story.
spaceyfaerie's review against another edition
2.0
DNF @ page 145 because it's 2018 and I need to stop forcing myself to slog through books that bore me.
More...