cdeane61's review
2.0
Not sure what all the fuss is about - struggled to get through this.
Just seemed very clichéd to me. Orphan boy, religious persecution, mysterious background, high ranking benefactor, possessed of extraordinary skills, succumbs to love-at-first-sight, which of course is totally reciprocated.
Meh.....
Just seemed very clichéd to me. Orphan boy, religious persecution, mysterious background, high ranking benefactor, possessed of extraordinary skills, succumbs to love-at-first-sight, which of course is totally reciprocated.
Meh.....
macau21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
sfletcher26's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this. Hearn has written a great story and some really memorable characters. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series in due course.
kandicez's review
5.0
Reading this book felt like watching a WuXia movie. Besides the setting, rituals and politics being gorgeously drawn in words on the page, there's the added mystical abilities. Not exactly magic, just enough to make our hero a little more.
The love stories were beautifully written, even if Takeo's and Kaede's was a little sudden. It's at least semi-believable that in such a strict society, love at first sight would happen often. Especially when most marriages were arranged, so the betrothal of "true" lovers was often out of the question.
I was a little shocked at the physical aspect of Takeo's relationship with Makoto. Not that they were both male, but because they so obviously had the spiritual connection from their first meeting, the physical part seemed a little over the top. Their lovemaking came so close behind Takeo's lovemaking (in secret) with Kaede. As the reader, I felt betrayed on her behalf. Perhaps I just didn't put myself far enough into the culture's shoes. It did seem acceptable for the men to have numerous partners, even when married, and I know it was in the read Feudal Japanese society.
I can't wait to read the next in the series. I love the world that Hearn created. It had the right amount of accuracy to catch my attention, and then it was perfect fantasy enough to keep it. I'll be sorry Shigeru and Maruyama can't be there, but I will be hoping for much more of Shizuka and Yuki. They were among my favorites.
The love stories were beautifully written, even if Takeo's and Kaede's was a little sudden. It's at least semi-believable that in such a strict society, love at first sight would happen often. Especially when most marriages were arranged, so the betrothal of "true" lovers was often out of the question.
I was a little shocked at the physical aspect of Takeo's relationship with Makoto. Not that they were both male, but because they so obviously had the spiritual connection from their first meeting, the physical part seemed a little over the top. Their lovemaking came so close behind Takeo's lovemaking (in secret) with Kaede. As the reader, I felt betrayed on her behalf. Perhaps I just didn't put myself far enough into the culture's shoes. It did seem acceptable for the men to have numerous partners, even when married, and I know it was in the read Feudal Japanese society.
I can't wait to read the next in the series. I love the world that Hearn created. It had the right amount of accuracy to catch my attention, and then it was perfect fantasy enough to keep it. I'll be sorry Shigeru and Maruyama can't be there, but I will be hoping for much more of Shizuka and Yuki. They were among my favorites.
minabix's review
Started off enjoyable and intriguing but the pace reaaally slowed down in the middle and sort of lost track of the main characters - it felt like we were kept at a distance from them, and it wasn't enough to keep me engaged in the ongoing mystery/action plot. The evocative descriptions were cool and I did quite like Takeo's mystical powers, with his focus on everything there was to hear in the world, but after a while it was too much beautiful natural scenery and not enough plot. In the end I was only reading on in the hope that we'd get to the nightingale floor itself, but skimming ahead it looks like the ending that I imagined was being set up isn't actually there at all ... oh and yeah it WAS pretty stupid that they fell in love at literal first sight. Come on ... Also every chapter was like 30 pages long which made it seem like such an effort to get through.
tezzarudge's review
5.0
So I first read this book 16 years ago, as part of my English lit class. Where we read all of the shortlisted Carnegie medal books. I then read all of Lian Hearns other works over the years. With the recent release of the children of the otari I decided on a reread.
As magical as I remember. The nostalgia from reading a book that I cherished as a teenager, made this such a perfect reread.
Thank you
As magical as I remember. The nostalgia from reading a book that I cherished as a teenager, made this such a perfect reread.
Thank you
eggsread's review against another edition
4.0
i don’t really know what to think about the ending of this first book…
i’m really fond of Takeo’s loyalty toward Shigeru, and thus it pains me how things turned out for Shigeru. i feel like history repeats itself since Shigeru felt the same way as Takeo when he first lost his brother. Takeo been feeling like a stranger since the beginning, feeling like he neither belongs to the Otoris nor the Kikutas, too bad we couldn’t get a deeper view(?) of their feelings? also i don’t consider getting a full background on Shigeru?
i’m really fond of Takeo’s loyalty toward Shigeru, and thus it pains me how things turned out for Shigeru. i feel like history repeats itself since Shigeru felt the same way as Takeo when he first lost his brother. Takeo been feeling like a stranger since the beginning, feeling like he neither belongs to the Otoris nor the Kikutas, too bad we couldn’t get a deeper view(?) of their feelings? also i don’t consider getting a full background on Shigeru?
damopedro's review against another edition
2.0
I'm mildly curious to know what happens in the next books in the series but there's no way I'm going to read them. Mostly I was a bit bored, didn't think it was written particularly well and I didn't really care for any of the characters. Now and again it had good moments though.