dominish_books's review
4.0
** Full video review here https://youtu.be/uamsVsYH_t0 **
The Sword of Kaigen is a standalone adult fantasy self-published by author M L Wang. It links into her previously released titles, an incomplete YA series set in the same universe.
We follow the story of Mamoru and his mother Misaki, two members of the Matuda house—powerful Theonites with the ability to manipulate water in all its forms.
When Mamoru’s world is turned upside down by a new student’s revelations, he turns to his mother for guidance, but Misaki has a secret past that the Matsuda family must not learn about.
When war comes to the mountain and both Mamoru and Misaki are faced with impossible choices, life for the Matsuda house will never be the same again.
This book deals looks at war and family tension, but the main focus is on the consequence of both. We see how well-crafted characters deal with war and death, and everything that comes with it, in a really engaging and well-told story.
There were parts of this book that I did not like, with flashbacks shifting into an urban fantasy setting that I’m not a fan of, but overall this was a really enjoyable—and for many people, emotional—read.
The Sword of Kaigen is a standalone adult fantasy self-published by author M L Wang. It links into her previously released titles, an incomplete YA series set in the same universe.
We follow the story of Mamoru and his mother Misaki, two members of the Matuda house—powerful Theonites with the ability to manipulate water in all its forms.
When Mamoru’s world is turned upside down by a new student’s revelations, he turns to his mother for guidance, but Misaki has a secret past that the Matsuda family must not learn about.
When war comes to the mountain and both Mamoru and Misaki are faced with impossible choices, life for the Matsuda house will never be the same again.
This book deals looks at war and family tension, but the main focus is on the consequence of both. We see how well-crafted characters deal with war and death, and everything that comes with it, in a really engaging and well-told story.
There were parts of this book that I did not like, with flashbacks shifting into an urban fantasy setting that I’m not a fan of, but overall this was a really enjoyable—and for many people, emotional—read.
blueberreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
5.0
melancholyxcx44's review
5.0
Words cannot describe how Beautiful this book is
The prose is like silk, I breezed through this..... I honestly can't say there was a moment in this book I didn't feel captivated with the plot or the characters in question
The main characters Mamoru and Misaki...especially misaki my fucking MILF...please I will die for her ....her journey from rebellious teen to housewife and then ending up as a strong pillar of her community was incredible to follow and Mamoru in his own way really represented the struggles of living up to so well accomplished ancestors
I look forward to whatever M.L Wang does next ....this is a must read standalone everyone should recommend on a daily basis...I throughly enjoyed this
The prose is like silk, I breezed through this..... I honestly can't say there was a moment in this book I didn't feel captivated with the plot or the characters in question
The main characters Mamoru and Misaki...especially misaki my fucking MILF...please I will die for her ....her journey from rebellious teen to housewife and then ending up as a strong pillar of her community was incredible to follow and Mamoru in his own way really represented the struggles of living up to so well accomplished ancestors
I look forward to whatever M.L Wang does next ....this is a must read standalone everyone should recommend on a daily basis...I throughly enjoyed this
indi72547's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.5
punkhazard's review
2.0
I did not like this book.
At first, I was going to say that I don't know why I don't like such a popular book with a high rating, but that's not true, I know exactly why everyone likes it and I don't. It comes down to what I value in my story as opposed to what others read for. It's something I've seen come up time and time again.
Basically, I am a plot reader over a character reader. I don't care for all the emotional nuances of characters but rather I'm more interested in the beat-by-beat minutiae of the actual plot. Its more complicated than that but that's the general idea. This book didn't have enough actual plot nor did it garner enough intrigue in the actual events of the book for me to care. It didn't start or stop anything in the world, just things happening with no effect on the world around the characters.
So with that being said this book was just plain boring for me. The beginning took forever for anything to happen, the battle itself was cool with some exciting parts and unexpected twist even if I didn't really care for the action itself(I'm so so so tired of elemental magic systems). The fallout of that event and everything up until the ending was soooo long and strenuous that It retroactively made the exciting parts worse. I was just left with the feeling of how pointless everything felt.
At some point towards the end, it felt like they were starting plot threads even though the book was about to end, particularly about Robin and his past. It felt very jarring and my only guess is it's all set up for the main story(since this one is a prequel) and maybe it wouldn't have bothered me if I had read those books first.
The one thing this book did right was make me want to see what ends up happening with Robin and Misaki's kids though I doubt I will ever return to this author since she values things I don't(which is totally ok).
At first, I was going to say that I don't know why I don't like such a popular book with a high rating, but that's not true, I know exactly why everyone likes it and I don't. It comes down to what I value in my story as opposed to what others read for. It's something I've seen come up time and time again.
Basically, I am a plot reader over a character reader. I don't care for all the emotional nuances of characters but rather I'm more interested in the beat-by-beat minutiae of the actual plot. Its more complicated than that but that's the general idea. This book didn't have enough actual plot nor did it garner enough intrigue in the actual events of the book for me to care. It didn't start or stop anything in the world, just things happening with no effect on the world around the characters.
So with that being said this book was just plain boring for me. The beginning took forever for anything to happen, the battle itself was cool with some exciting parts and unexpected twist even if I didn't really care for the action itself(I'm so so so tired of elemental magic systems). The fallout of that event and everything up until the ending was soooo long and strenuous that It retroactively made the exciting parts worse. I was just left with the feeling of how pointless everything felt.
At some point towards the end, it felt like they were starting plot threads even though the book was about to end, particularly about Robin and his past. It felt very jarring and my only guess is it's all set up for the main story(since this one is a prequel) and maybe it wouldn't have bothered me if I had read those books first.
The one thing this book did right was make me want to see what ends up happening with Robin and Misaki's kids though I doubt I will ever return to this author since she values things I don't(which is totally ok).
biancahartley's review against another edition
• reverse colonialism? Okay.
• the fact that the real-life imperialists (Japan) are being subjugated by fantasy Korea and China? Okay. (And the fact "Japan" only amounts to one province?)
• white slaves? Lmao. The fact the the black countries have a set of random "West African" names and words. Some of which are fully just nonsense
• casual eugenics? Fun!
• every Matsuda warrior is more impressive than the last. What in Warhammer?
• actively obnoxious world-building, use of language in particular (and italics!)
• servicible prose
• descriptions of the use of magic felt like reading a textbook
• the book was clearly trying to make some commentary on misogyny but it all felt very blunt
• alright characters
• at some point I just did not care anymore
• the fact that the real-life imperialists (Japan) are being subjugated by fantasy Korea and China? Okay. (And the fact "Japan" only amounts to one province?)
• white slaves? Lmao. The fact the the black countries have a set of random "West African" names and words. Some of which are fully just nonsense
• casual eugenics? Fun!
• every Matsuda warrior is more impressive than the last. What in Warhammer?
• actively obnoxious world-building, use of language in particular (and italics!)
• servicible prose
• descriptions of the use of magic felt like reading a textbook
• the book was clearly trying to make some commentary on misogyny but it all felt very blunt
• alright characters
• at some point I just did not care anymore
mytearsricoxet's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am in pain
anhumann's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75