Books and Stories #5
A Blade as Calm as Ice
A Review of The Sword of Kaigen
The Sword of Kaigen is an action-fantasy inspired by the bushido period of Japan, written by M. L. Wang. There are some books you have to experience to understand how good they truly are, and I believe this is definitely one of those books.
Wang has brought forward an incredibly unique take on fantasy through the perspective of a mother who was a master swordswoman turned demure housewife. Her days as a crime-fighting Shadow ended in her parent’s arranged marriage to the Matsuda family’s second son.
The author has written very genuine, real but broken characters, some that make you loathe them, and some that make you constantly weep for them. Sword of Kaigen tackles issues of family and propaganda in a laser-focused manner, which is already unique in the fantasy genre. There is a lot of influence from the bushido era lifestyle, where, unfortunately, the women are only allowed to remain as housewives, unable to raise their voice against their husbands, unable to keep their heads high. Some of the scenes in this story were genuinely hard for me to stomach, as Misaki faces her horrible father-in-law and an unfeeling and distant husband, Takeru. Thank the Buddha, the father-in-law died before the story takes place. He was awful even in the few flashback chapters that featured him.
But Misaki has been blessed(?) with 4 boys, the eldest one being 14 years of age. Mamoru was the starry-eyed dreamer in the Kaigen state. But he had the skills to back up the dreams as he is one of the most proficient magic-sword users around his age and is athletically gifted. But when faced with a breaking reality, he finds himself breaking down, unable to cope with the truth behind his country. We follow these 2 characters throughout the book as they discover themselves amidst highly turbulent waters.
Wang’s depiction of action is masterful, dare I say, on Brandon Sanderson tier, and that’s the biggest honour anyone can give it. With highly detailed and imaginative merging of swordfights and magic battles, the magic system reminds me of Avatar the Last Airbender, albeit in its own unique way.
M L Wang is a master of language. Her prose is a breeze to read, and it definitely enhanced my reading experience. While I don’t mind highly descriptive prose like Scott Lynch, I find myself in harmony with simpler and straightforward prose. That does not, in any way, take anything from this book. Instead, it gives you enough headroom to picture the world, characters and battles even clearer.
The world in The Sword of Kaigen is filled with poetic descriptions, reminiscent of the haiku aesthetic, especially since Samurai were often well-learned poets.
I recommend any fantasy fan to give this book a try. Not because I’m a fan of Japanese media, but because this book is truly one of the best experiences I’ve had in a while.
A count of the number of times it made me cry: #4
Number of times it made me curse: #2
Number of times I jumped in excitement: #6
(This book was unputdownable for me, and I think I have to come up with a rating system to rate my recommendations)
