I really liked this book. The author, John Paul Catton, has lived in Tokyo for 15 years and it shows. He describes places in great detail and many of the cultural references and observations could only have been done by someone living in Japan for quite a while. The story was fast-paced, full of action and bits of humor. Reiko was a well-developed character, although I thought she accepted things a bit too easily, although I think that is a conceit of the story, in order to get everything moving along. Genji is a stand-out character, a parody of the talents that populate Japanese variety shows but isn't the doofus you initially think he is. There is more to him than meets the eye and I hope more is revealed about him in later volumes.
The enemies seem straight out of anime and manga and several times I found myself thinking that, especially when a set of plates and dinnerware came alive, creating a humanoid figure with cups for elbow and saucers for eyes. It was great, I loved it. While the book wasn't exhausting in description, there were vivid details that added to the atmosphere of the story.
I recommend this book, especially anyone interested in anime, manga or Japanese history and culture. This is the first in the Sword, Mirror, Jewel Trilogy and I look forward to the rest.
Visit John Paul Catton's official site to learn more about Voice Of The Sword and his other works.
No comments:
Post a Comment