The Sword of Kaigen - Review
Link to the author's (M. L. Wang) personal website
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Type: Book
Tags:
- Average Age of Main Characters (25)
- Length (6 / 10)
Link to Goodreads
Blurb: On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire’s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name ‘The Sword of Kaigen.’
Born into Kusanagi’s legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family’s fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen’s alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.
Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.
When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?
Review: This took me a while to get into, but damn did I get hooked after a bit. I fell in love with the setting, I was jamming with the characters, I was vibing with the potential of the story, and then the book just blew me away. This book is a huge recommend for me. It did a fantastic job of introducing a large scale fantasy world while keeping the focus on a single city. It also managed main characters of varying ages fabulously.
The book is technically part of a larger series, and serves as a prequel from my understanding. I am yet to read any of these books, and am not sure if I actually will. This should not change your decision on reading this book, as it is an entirely self-contained story. Very happy with it!