The Harsh Cry of the Heron by Lian Hearn

Finally finished! Its kind of sad when that's the first impression I have of finishing a series. But that's honestly about right. By the fifth book the beauty and novelty of the setting has begun to lose its effect, and as I discovered awhile ago, the story isn't particularly interesting and the characters tend heavily towards annoying.

Although I appreciate that Lian Hearn gives her Hero the full classical/archetypal treatment, I think I've realized why Takeo in particular is such an annoying character. He's basically a perfect 21st century man, with social, mental, and moral outlooks and attitudes that are extremely modern. He'd be a paragon of politically correct virtue in any book set in the 21st century, but is jarringly out of place in feudal Japan, even fantasy feudal 'not-really-Japan-at-all-we-promise'.

To be fair, his rather unique upbringing gives him good reason to hold views that do not match his time, but it just seems all too convenient and contrived. * shrug * Maybe that was the whole point of the book, and I'd be more forgiving if those coincidentally modern morals aligned more closely with my own. Any dissenting opinions are welcome :-p

Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn

I finally decided that it was time to pick up Tales of the Otori again--time to grow up and get over my disappointment from the last book I'd read. Grass for His Pillow turned out to be less intense than the first two books, with no major surprises or twists. There's still a fair amount of action, tragedy, etc, but this volume is suffering from the 'middle of a trilogy' effect. (despite the fact that there's five books in the series :-p)

Overview (Spoiler Threat: Moderate)
It's hard to give a summary of the middle book without giving away some of the earlier books, so if you care about spoilers, it's probably a good idea to skip this whole review and just check out the review for Heaven's Net is Wide.

When we left off, Evil Overlord was dead and Beautiful Not-a-Maiden-Anymore was left heartbroken because Lonely Emo Hero had to go pursue his destiny.

Okay, that's an unfair simplification, but only kind of. Luckily, Takeo quickly regrets his decision to join the Tribe, sticking around just long enough to learn a few more crazy ninja skills. Unluckily, this poor kid has a triple helping of destiny, so he's still got to restore the Otori clan and save the Hidden (or do something for the Hidden, it's not quite clear). Meanwhile, Kaede picks up some character development as she works to hold onto her father's lands and claim the much large domain she inherited from her aunt. (confused yet? yeah, I don't know if it's a good idea to review individual books that fall in the middle of a series)

Recommended for: Fantasy fans and anime fans, but only if you've read the first two books, don't start here.

Parental Worries: Less sex and violence than the first books, but there's still a fair amount of both.

Audiobook Comments: Read by Kevin Gray and Aiko Nakasone, who do a very good job.

Ramblings (Spoiler Threat: Low)
I feel like a bit of a hypocrite, because I complained so much about the plot twists in Across the Nightingale Floor, and now that we have a nice calm book that's basically all exposition, I'm criticizing that too. In fact it was so calm, and things were going so well for the heroes, that when I looked down to discover there were only 30 minutes left in the book, my automatic thought was 'Okay, just enough time for the shit to hit the fan and leave us hanging for the next book'. But no, we sailed smoothly through the last 30 minutes. We're promised shit hitting the fan as soon as the next story starts, but that's in the future. (and I am learning not to trust Hearn's promises, anyway) The ending of this book is actually quite happy ^_^ I approve.

All in all though, I've got to admit that I'm not really reading these books for their plot or their characters. Both are interesting and likeable, but frustrating and occasionally annoying at the same time. I'm really reading these books for the beautiful setting that Hearn paints, the oriental aesthetic that pervades the entire series. For authenticity, I'd be better off reading the ancient Chinese and Japanese classics, but the Tales of the Otori are much more accessible (in several different senses of the word) and it's not like I'm cultured enough to know the difference ^_~

Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn

After finishing Heaven's Net is Wide, I couldn't wait to get started on the next book in the series. I was in for a bit of a shock, however. While Heaven's Net left me with a warm fuzzy feeling of hope and a foreshadowing of vindication and justice delivered, Nightingale left me absolutely furious with a bad taste in my mouth. Most of my rage came from betrayal that 80% of the promised justice and vindication never showed up, and the bad taste came from the 20% that did. Don't get me wrong, Nightingale is still a good book. (the fact that I became so emotionally involved is a testament to the author's skill) I'll finish the series eventually, but my enthusiasm is significantly dimmed.

Another difference between the two is that unlike the first book, which is told in third person from various points of view, this one is alternately in first person and third person. The main character Takeo is the only one who has the privilege of narrating for himself, anyone else whose viewpoint is required for the story has to make do with third person. It's an unusual structure, but it works.

Note: For an intro to this series, read the first half of my Heaven's Net is Wide review

Overview
The book opens with a description of Tomasu's childhood in the village of the Hidden (a Christian sect). It's an idyllic life, although the young Tomasu is slightly restless, with the age old 'I'm-bigger-than-this-town' syndrome. As we find out later, Tomasu’s case is justified—he is descended from a secretive race known only as the Tribe, who possess semi-magical powers. This is quickly and brutally cured when the evil warlord Iida Sadamu, who has a particular vendetta against the Hidden, shows up and murders everyone he can get his hands on. Fortunately, he can't get his hands on Tomasu, who flees the villiage with soldiers close on his heels. This is the point where the first book ended, and the fleeing boy meets Otori Shigeru, who saves him from the soldiers, takes him under his wing, and renames him ‘Takeo’ to hide his Hidden origins. The story continues with Takeo’s adoption into the Otori clan, the development of his Tribe skills, and his training in the arts of the warrior and the assassin. (or samurai and ninja, if you prefer the Japanese names, although they are very pointedly avoided in the book) As time goes on, Takeo realizes that his encounter with Shigeru was no accident, and that he had specifically been chosen and trained to be the assassin of Iida Sadamu: the most evil, powerful, and paranoid man in the Three Countries.

Recommended for: Anyone who’s read the first book, or fans of fantasy and anime

Parental worries: Not for the kiddies: sex, violence, attempted rape, all that jazz. (and some hints at bisexuality, if that bugs you)

Audiobook Comments: Read by Kevin Gray and Aiko Nakasone, not the same readers as Heaven’s Net, but still the same format: male narrator for male POV and vice versa. The names of people and places are also pronounced slightly different for these two readers, with more accurate Japanese accents.

Ramblings (Spoiler Threat: Low)
I'm trying to decide whether my decision to read the prequel before the original was a good one, and I'm leaning toward yes, because there is so much in Nightingale that would have really come out of left field without the backstory from Heaven's Net. I guess I lost the joy of discovering the world of the Otori at the same time as Takeo, but it was as much fun (if not more) to watch him discover what was already familiar to me. Also, Shigeru is a very enigmatic character in Nightingale; I probably would have become completely fed up and slightly disgusted with him if I hadn't known his history. (i.e, why he was willing to adopt a stranger for the express purpose of training him as an assassin--shaping and forging the boy as a weapon against some random bad guy) I’ve also thumbed through some of the Amazon reviews for Nightingale, and it sounds like the lack of explanation ranks pretty high as a complaint among the bad reviews.

On the other hand, reading the prequel first meant that my focus was off--since the first book involved Shigeru suffering horrific tragedy and insult at the hands of Sadamu and his uncles, all I really wanted was to see was Shigeru claim his revenge against them all and take his place as the rightful ruler of the Otori. That's what I felt was promised throughout the first book and most of the second. That is not at all what happened. While the ensuing disappointment would only be enough to whet the interest and compassion of someone not acquainted with Heaven's Net, to me it was a complete and utter failure of the whole affair. Never mind that in the wider scheme of things, Takeo is the center and Shigeru's tragedy is only meant to give Takeo's life direction, to spur him on to a greater destiny. I think that’s a failure in the story arrangement: if you haven’t read the (admittedly very good) backstory, then you don’t understand enough, but if you have read the backstory you get hung out to dry.

The second largest problem I have with this series so far is that Hearn simply cannot write romance. When she tries, the result is either creepy (for the pairings that aren’t your ‘made in heaven, lasting for all eternity’ variety) or painfully clichéd and overdone (the love at first sight, ‘we must have been lovers in other lives’ variety). I can understand that the plot doesn’t leave too much room for romance, but there’s got to be a better way of fitting it in.

Extra Rant (Spoiler threat: Very High)
That's right, this rant gets a section all to itself (for easy skipping, ‘cause it probably won’t make sense unless you’ve actually read the book):

Screw Muto Kenji and the horse he rode in on! It's not enough that the Tribe killed Takeo's real father, Kenji had to be the star player in the death of Takeo's adopted father as well. I cannot remember the last time I was this pissed off at a character, and it's kind of sad that I can get so angry at someone who doesn't exist. It's not that he's an evil character, that's the problem. If he was a traditionally evil character, with no knowledge or care of right and wrong, then his betrayal would be more understandable. But Kenji has a fair amount of good in him--we can see it in his affection for Shigeru, Takeo and various members of his family. The problem is that he's so dedicated to his #$%@#! Tribe that he's willing to throw away every last one of them for its benefit. Not a noble sacrifice, bravely endured for the greater good, but the betrayal of trust and friendship simply because the Tribe wanted to keep a monster in power (more money for them). And then he has the gall, the gall to ask Shigeru for forgiveness. Shigeru, who had been stripped of his rank, labeled a traitor and crucified on the castle walls. And the thing is, Shigeru might have given it to him, if not for the fact that Kenji's betrayal had also resulted in the death of Lady Maruyama and her unborn child. It doesn't really matter that it was Sadamu's hand behind all the killings, at that point Sadamu had become a force of nature—doing the most harm, the most evil, wherever he could. And Kenji knowingly unleashed that force onto the only man he had ever considered a friend. I can think of no fate horrible enough for such a man.

Heaven's Net is Wide by Lian Hearn

Most fantasy novels are deeply entrenched in western culture; if they have oriental elements it's usually a transplant to introduce something new, exciting and/or mysterious. These transplants are more than likely half-assed and never manage to do real justice to eastern traditions or history. In much the same way, most anime and manga that take place in a western setting are similarly inauthentic. Its like putting my blonde and blue-eyed self in a kimono, or a Japanese lady in an Elizabethan gown--the juxtaposition is interesting and a refreshing change, but nobody's fooled.

With these thoughts in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble across a fantasy series called "Tales of the Otori" which takes place in feudal Japan. (well, not really Japan in the same way that most fantasy novels aren't technically in England or Europe, but you get the idea) The author is a westerner (Hearn was born in Britain and currently lives in Australia) but she's studied Japanese history and culture extensively, and it shows in her writing. Heaven's Net is Wide is a wonderful read, not just because of its story and characters, but also because of the beauty of their world, which Hearn describes in loving and convincing detail.

Overview (Spoiler Threat: Low)
Heaven's Net is Wide is the prequel to the series, (the first book, Across the Nightingale Floor, was published five years earlier in 2002) so I might be missing a few important points in reading it first, but I've always preferred to read books by their own chronological order when possible, not necessarily by their date of publication.

The book opens with a murder: Kikuta Isamu, who had abandoned his old life as an assassin to start anew, is found by his cousin, Kikuta Kotaro, and knows that his life is at an end. However, he has taken a vow to never kill again, and can only lead his assassin as far as possible from his village, young wife and unborn son before calmly accepting death. This opening chapter introduces us to two of the three driving forces of the series. The first is the mysterious Tribe, the group of assassins and spies that Isamu had tried to leave behind. No Japanese adventure tale is complete without ninjas, and although the term is never used, that's the Tribe in a nutshell. The second group, only hinted at here but expanded upon later in the book, is the Tribe's antithesis--the Hidden, a Christian cult whose members practice their religion in secret. This was a big hook for me, not only because I have a fondness for my own creed but also because of the historical basis behind this apparently artificial insertion. The first Westerners to reach Japan brought along Catholic missionaries, and the new faith first flourished then survived, even in the face of heavy persecution after Japan secluded itself from the West.

After this enigmatic (although extremely important) opening chapter, the book follows the life of Otori Shigeru, heir to the ancient and powerful Otori clan (driving force #3). Shigeru starts out as a 12 year old boy and we watch as he is fostered and forged into a tragic hero of epic proportions (although significantly more likable than most other tragic heroes I can think of). The title 'tragic hero' may be a bit of a spoiler, but this is the prequel, after all--it's obvious that Shigeru will be a powerful driving force in the later series, but he is not the main character. Quite a bit of the book is also spent filling out the political and cultural background of the land, setting the stage (or rather, filling in the background) for later developments. The book ends with Shigeru finding and adopting Isamu's son, now a boy of 16. The boy, originally named Tomasu and renamed Takeo, is obviously the true star of the series--tied to all three groups: Hidden, Otori and Tribe. Poor kid. And here's the danger of reading the books in the wrong order ^_^ Now I'm more emotionally invested in a secondary character, and we'll have to see if Takeo can earn his rightful place.

Recommended for: Fantasy and anime fans

Parental Worries: Lots of sex. Nothing too explicit, but there's no shyness about the topic, and it's quite central to the plot.

Audiobook comments: Read by J. Paul Boehmer and Julia Fletcher, depending on whether a woman or man is narrating a particular chapter. It's a nice effect.

Ramblings (Spoiler Threat: High)
For all the high points of this book, its got definite issues as well. I started out with the assumption that Lian Hearn was a man, and only recently discovered that I was wrong. This assumption was strengthened as I read because I thought that only a man could write female characters and romance as abysmally as they were handled in this book. For example, our first major female character is a courtesan named Akane. She's not a courtesan when we first meet her, she's an anonymous girl who helps Shigeru save his brother from drowning and then haunts his adolescent dreams for years. Oooo, a mysterious beauty, very nice. What really gets me though, is how Akane falls into her line of work. She's the daughter of an eccentric but extremely talented mason, and his reputation combined with her own 'independent spirit' mean that none of the women in the village want her to marry their sons. The mothers don't like her, so she'll have to be a prostitute. That's how it's presented in the book, just a matter of fact cause and effect. I had to stop for a minute at that. Really? Is this society so restrictive and structured that there's no other way? She can't find a man who doesn't have a mother, or isn't completely under her control? She can't learn a trade of some kind, become a healer, work as a servant, anything? She's a beautiful, intelligent, resourceful woman, and the first alternative she turns to is prostitution? Please.

To be fair, the type of prostitution she comes to practice falls under the geisha tradition, and because she selects a well-run house, her virginity is guarded longer and more jealously than any other girls of the time could expect (there's a large price tag on it, after all). Even so, the setup of Akane as a 'happy prostitute' turned my stomach. And it gets worse from there. She eventually becomes exclusively Shigeru's mistress, and because both of them have for different reasons sworn to never fall in love, there is much silly going-on about how they are 'so dangerously close to the edge' (of falling in love, which is obviously a horrible fate). Bah. She becomes obsessively jealous of Shigeru's wife (from an arranged marriage) and does her best to poison the marriage and any chance Shigeru has of producing a legitimate heir. Circumstances being what they were, I can't really blame her for that, but there's this looming sense of doom that begins to emanate from Akane. I couldn't help but think that she was going to innocently and stupidly destroy everything Shigeru stood for, and by the time she dies in the throes of madness, all I could do was breathe a sigh of relief that her course of destruction had come to an end.

Shigeru's wife Moe turns out to be Akane's polar opposite, and although I never really got the sense of oncoming doom from her that I did from Akane, she's still a very poisonous character. Like Akane, she's trapped by circumstances, and like Akane, she makes them even worse, to the point where her death is a relief to the reader.

Now, to be fair I think the first two female characters are meant to be awful, but even Shigeru's main love interest isn't particularly impressive, imho. She's supposed to be this powerful ruler in her own right, strong and independent. Predictably, therefore, she goes completely goey when the hero shows up. That's all well and good, but in the meantime we never actually see her political prowess and independent spirit at work, we just have to take everyone's word for it. We do see quite a bit of her strength as a woman; she's really remarkable just for that, but since her character is sold so strongly as transcending the traditional role of a woman, it would have been nice to see more than one side of her. Oh well :-p Maybe I'm a bit too hard on Lady Maruyama.

This is not to say that all the female characters in the book are horrible. There's several minor characters that I have no objection to (mostly because, as minor characters, there's not enough for me to object to :-p ) But there's also Muto Shizuka, a woman of the Tribe who eventually realizes the depths they are willing to sink to, and transfers her loyalty to Shigeru. Shizuka is an interesting character, walking a tightrope of loyalties and deception without coming off as fake or insincere in any of them. It'll be interesting to see what happens to her.

There's probably a few more things I could ramble about, I haven't given nearly enough time or attention to Shigeru himself, for one thing, but this post is getting really long. Suffice it to say that Heaven's Net is Wide is an interesting, delightful book, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.