luddite reviewed The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang
Review of 'The Sword of Kaigen' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Interesting world. Good fighting. Great character arcs. Highly recommend.
Paperback, 613 pages
English language
Published Feb. 19, 2019 by Independently published.
On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful fighters in the world, warriors capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For centuries, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire's enemies at bay, earning their treacherous spit of land the name 'The Sword of Kaigen.'
Born into Kusanagi's legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always know 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 ralizes that he might not have much time before he has to become the fighter he was bred to be. Even worse, the empire he was born to defend might stand on a foundation of lies.
Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda …
On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful fighters in the world, warriors capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For centuries, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire's enemies at bay, earning their treacherous spit of land the name 'The Sword of Kaigen.'
Born into Kusanagi's legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always know 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 ralizes that he might not have much time before he has to become the fighter he was bred to be. Even worse, the empire he was born to defend might 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 son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of invasion looming on the horizon, 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 ever reach their shores?
Interesting world. Good fighting. Great character arcs. Highly recommend.