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Reading: Emperor of the Eight Islands
Nov. 24th, 2017 07:17 pmI'd often glanced at Lian Hearn's fantasy novels, set in a fantasy country inspired by Japanese folklore and history, in bookshops but never actually bought one until earlier this year when I was trying to find a third book for the three-for-two offer in Blackwell's and picked up Emperor of the Eight Islands, a recent novel which is the first of the two-volume sequence The Tale of Shikanoko rather than being connected to the earlier sequence which began with Across the Nightingale Floor.
Emperor of the Eight Islands tells several interlocking stories, with each chapter devoted to one of several point-of-view characters. Shikanoko, the son of a lord who is dispossessed by his ambitious uncle, becomes the "deer's child", owner of a stag's-head mask that imbues him with supernatural powers; meanwhile, the powerful and scheming Prince Abbot supports a coup against the rightful Emperor, and the rightful heir to the throne is forced to flee in disguise, and characters from both factions appear and reappear, connecting with each other and moving the plot forward in unexpected ways.
Despite the complexity of the plot, this felt like a very easy book to read; the style is very simple and has a detached feeling which reminded me of folk tales and fairy tales. It felt a bit like a children's book, though had enough sex and violence that I think it was probably intended for a primarily adult audience. I liked it a lot, and particularly enjoyed reading fantasy set in a world so different from the default fantasy world based on medieval Europe.
Emperor of the Eight Islands tells several interlocking stories, with each chapter devoted to one of several point-of-view characters. Shikanoko, the son of a lord who is dispossessed by his ambitious uncle, becomes the "deer's child", owner of a stag's-head mask that imbues him with supernatural powers; meanwhile, the powerful and scheming Prince Abbot supports a coup against the rightful Emperor, and the rightful heir to the throne is forced to flee in disguise, and characters from both factions appear and reappear, connecting with each other and moving the plot forward in unexpected ways.
Despite the complexity of the plot, this felt like a very easy book to read; the style is very simple and has a detached feeling which reminded me of folk tales and fairy tales. It felt a bit like a children's book, though had enough sex and violence that I think it was probably intended for a primarily adult audience. I liked it a lot, and particularly enjoyed reading fantasy set in a world so different from the default fantasy world based on medieval Europe.
