A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.
AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger – a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.
A HIDDEN GIFT
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.
But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.
THE REVIEW
I took forever to read this one because I wasn't ready to put it down. Luckily, I have the next installment sitting beside me as I type this review so I was able to finish it. Yukiko is wonderfully sassy and sensitive and I enjoyed seeing her struggle between what she knows and what she feels. I think it's something emotionally sensitive people know and know well and I could see myself in her inner conflict. Her relationship with the arashitora and with her father, with Kin the artificer and Hiro the samurai, with the Shogun and the Shogun's sister are all so completely enthralling and captivating.
The mythology is beautiful but I feel as though the second half was a bit lacking in this department. I loved the stories of the gods that inhabited this dying world and how they connected to Yukiko. The ambiguousness was also interesting enough to make me wonder: were the gods really real? If the cave exists that locks the demons away from the world, certainly the manner in which they were spawned must also be partially true. Or perhaps not. I'd like to see this area explored a bit more.
I'm also hopeful to see more war in the next book. While we know there is an existent war, we don't ever see it. I'm curious to see how the technology that guild creates is used on actual battlefields. And regarding the guild, I gotta say that these mechanized people gave me the creeps. Like...skin-crawling, goosebumps creeps. The bit near the end from Kin's point of view was...just so gross. I love Kin and I love that he is as open as Yukiko is that there is something about this world that is sick and that it goes deeper than just the pollution and extinct species of animals. There's a sickness that has permeated the people and I'm hopeful that with a raised fist, they are not beyond redemption or healing.
I am rating this one five out five because I utterly loved how brutal it was and Buruu is worth all of the stars by himself.
