After a slow start, this built into a wonderfully fun tale of trust, lies, magic and warriors. Some have described this as a ‘Mulan’ retelling, but beyond taking the identity of a young man and joining a band of warriors, I felt this was so much more than that.
I was particularly taken with the themes and settings within the story, as they felt so authentic and were described well. The forest where Mariko begins her journey with the Black Clan in particular is suitably menacing, with descriptions of otherworldly creatures and man eating trees. There’s an underlying presence of things that are always watching, hiidng just out of sight, waiting to guide or hinder an unfortunate victim. The tea house and emperor’s palace, where we’re introduced to Yumi and various secondary characters, are suitably a polar opposite to this as we are exposed to opulence and excess - another level of foreshadowing that exposes the corrupt nature of the empire.
Mariko is a strong protagonist, although I admit to feeling annoyed with her in the beginning. She believes herself to be worldly wise, cleverer than most people she meets and her only hindrance is her sex. She initially looks down on the Black Clan as murderers and thieves, believing herself to be far superior. However, I liked her development over time. As she becomes more worldly wise, she opens herself up to more points of view and the rose tinted glasses she’s worn her whole life begin to fall. Her conflicting feelings for her brother also help to build on overall feeling of inner turmoil and a conflict of loyalties that helps propel the story forward.
The various relationships between Mariko and the members of the Black clan certainly help to shape Mariko’s changing point of view. From hostility to friendship and more, it’s built on gradually and in a realistic way. I particularly liked the dynamics between Okami, Mariko and Ranmaru. We have the headstrong leader, the carefree warrior and a girl who equally hates and admires these two men. The mixture of confusing emotions makes for a great amount of internal struggle and tension with arguing and cerebral mind games that’s delicious to see unfold, and builds to a great scene in a hot pool.
Some storylines were left a little undeveloped towards the end, such as Yumi’s story and the real truth behind the attack on the convoy that brought Mariko to the forest. The chapters involving the emperor and his wife/courtesan also only show hints of some foreshadowing of darker magic and a larger overall plan that I presume will be expanded on in future novels. There’s also a cliffhanger ending, which I tend to dislike in novels as I find them untidy.
However, overall I really enjoyed this. I’m so glad I picked it back up again after initially thinking it was too slow. The gradual build up and development of these characters set in a wonderful and more diverse world really made for a strong YA fantasy with the right amount of magical realism to keep me wanting more. I look forward to the sequel.
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