A review by kj2355
Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn

2.0

I could not work out how distance and the map worked in this book. I was constantly looking at the map trying to get bearings on the character's movements. But I couldn't work out how big the place is and how spread out things were. At times it took the characters days to get somewhere, and at other times for seemingly similar distances it took weeks. It was also confusing because sometimes travel was by foot and sometimes by horse. It just completely broke the illusion of the story.
Also where does the 'eight islanders' of the title fit in? I haven't read the precursor books, Tales of the Otori, and I'm assuming it has something to do with that. But there was no mention of islands, unless islands is a metaphor for all the different clans and families??