puzzleguzzler's review
4.0
This campy, fantasy samurai romp (based on an actual woman samurai) was surprisingly entertaining. How could this be anything but? "In the lightning crack of orgasm, a monstrous warrior was born of the elements. She slew."
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
This is a strange book, but strange in a good way. Salmonson takes the real life samurai Tomoe Gozen (a woman samurai who fought in the Genepi war) and creates a historical fantasy set in an alternate Japan.
The thing is, the book is meditation disguised as an adventure story.
Gozen starts as a sworn samurai who is debating taking a deeper oath with three others, but then a battle occurs in which despite heroic deeds, Gozen loses her status, loses herself. In many ways, the sequence of the rest of the book is about a re-discovery of self in terms of Eastern belief.
It is that quest, which is done in conjunction with various other adventures that is most engrossing as well as the look at what is a samurai, a wife, a lady, and who controls power. It is a thought provoking book.
Gozen comes to realizations about her place in the world though her adventures as well as in the mirroring of the past of those of that surround to her own. Salmonson combines Japanese folklore with Western fantasy elements to do so. The effect is beautiful.
The weakest part of the story is the love affair between Gozen and Tomiska. It is weak, not because of the lesbian relationship (which was beautifully referred to in the beginning of the book) but because the development of a two sided romance does not seem quite realistic. Gozen is too dispassionate. This could be playing on the idea of the dispassionate male hero that appears in several stories and films, but for some reason it falls flat here. Yet, when one considers when this book was first published, this relationship would have been far more different than it is seen today.
Enjoyable.
This is a strange book, but strange in a good way. Salmonson takes the real life samurai Tomoe Gozen (a woman samurai who fought in the Genepi war) and creates a historical fantasy set in an alternate Japan.
The thing is, the book is meditation disguised as an adventure story.
Gozen starts as a sworn samurai who is debating taking a deeper oath with three others, but then a battle occurs in which despite heroic deeds, Gozen loses her status, loses herself. In many ways, the sequence of the rest of the book is about a re-discovery of self in terms of Eastern belief.
It is that quest, which is done in conjunction with various other adventures that is most engrossing as well as the look at what is a samurai, a wife, a lady, and who controls power. It is a thought provoking book.
Gozen comes to realizations about her place in the world though her adventures as well as in the mirroring of the past of those of that surround to her own. Salmonson combines Japanese folklore with Western fantasy elements to do so. The effect is beautiful.
The weakest part of the story is the love affair between Gozen and Tomiska. It is weak, not because of the lesbian relationship (which was beautifully referred to in the beginning of the book) but because the development of a two sided romance does not seem quite realistic. Gozen is too dispassionate. This could be playing on the idea of the dispassionate male hero that appears in several stories and films, but for some reason it falls flat here. Yet, when one considers when this book was first published, this relationship would have been far more different than it is seen today.
Enjoyable.
lsneal's review against another edition
3.0
An impressive amount of research clearly went into this alternate history/next universe over story of a 12th century female samurai. The setting was certainly immersive, but I found it hard to relate to and root for any of the characters. The translation of the traditional, pseudo-Eurocentric and male-centric sword & sorcery genre into a Asian, female-centric story is definitely different and interesting, though.
More...