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Heaven’s Net Is Wide
The Tales of the Otori #5 (Prequel)

by Lian Hearn



      If you are wondering what will take the place of Lian Hearn’s groundbreaking Tales of the Otori trilogy (Across The Nightingale Floor, Grass For His Pillow and Brilliance of the Moon, and a fourth Otori book, The Harsh Cry of the Heron, are also reviewed on this site) then look no further. Back by popular demand, here is the fifth and final story which completes the circle, and brings the reader back to the beginning where it all started. This is Otori Shigeru’s story, and tells of his upbringing in a different world where Iida Sadamu had not yet risen to power. To reveal too much would be to spoil the story, and if you have read the first three books then you will already know some of what happened.

How I do love it when people think outside the box, and writing a fantasy series which is not exactly a fantasy and making it a quintet is a glorious way of breaking out of the Tolkein mold. These books have more in common with historical fiction than anything else, and their huge sales show how wide their appeal is.

A long vanished Japan comes to vibrant life in this novel, as in the others; and once again here is another book about choices, as Shigeru has to decide what his future is going to be. Unfortunately, the only flaw in this diamond is its tendency, just like The Harsh Cry of the Heron, to be overlong. An epic rather than a haiku, the length causes the novel to sag in the middle after the battle and perhaps have more in common with standard fantasy than it ought to in this respect. Less was more in the first two books, and although there is a lot in here it could still stand some careful editing. This is still an impressive and very memorable novel, and a laudable addition to the "crossover" genre as epitomized by the works of writers like J K Rowling, Michelle Paver and Philip Pullman. I look forward to seeing what this talented author is going to come up with next.

The Book

Macmillan UK
September 2007
Hardback
9780230013971
Teenage / Adult Historical Fantasy [16th century Japan]
More at Amazon.com US|| UK
Excerpt
NOTE: US edition is different
Some violence

The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2007
NOTE:
© 2007 MyShelf.com