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#5 Platform - Grass for his Pillow
Oct. 9th, 2007 11:20 pmMore and broader escapades in the land of faux Japan.
Book #44: Grass for his Pillow
Author: Lian Hearn
Provenance: Bought remaindered at the McGill bookstore (only $1!)
This book picks up the thread pretty much immediately after the end of the first book in the series, Across the Nightingale Floor. This one has more of a dual thread running compared to the first one, however; in that one, Kaede and Takeo may have started off separately, but everything basically entwined together in one plot. Here, each of them has their own set of trials and their own story, and the book feels the richer for it.
Again, it's set in the Three Countries, but now, Kaede is trying to hold together her lands, and Takeo is learning more about his inheritance and working out how best to live his life. The plotting is still complex and fairly surprising, and the writing is still sharp (and the character who I thought had very vague hints of being gay in book 1 turned out to be in book 2 - personal progress on my part?).
The only thing to dislike about the book is that it really feels like it's meant to be a companion to the one after it; lots is left up in the air, to a greater degree than at the end of book 1. But it's still quite good, and I'm enjoying the series thus far.
Next up: Brilliance of the Moon. I want to at least finish the initial trilogy before moving on.
Book #44: Grass for his Pillow
Author: Lian Hearn
Provenance: Bought remaindered at the McGill bookstore (only $1!)
This book picks up the thread pretty much immediately after the end of the first book in the series, Across the Nightingale Floor. This one has more of a dual thread running compared to the first one, however; in that one, Kaede and Takeo may have started off separately, but everything basically entwined together in one plot. Here, each of them has their own set of trials and their own story, and the book feels the richer for it.
Again, it's set in the Three Countries, but now, Kaede is trying to hold together her lands, and Takeo is learning more about his inheritance and working out how best to live his life. The plotting is still complex and fairly surprising, and the writing is still sharp (and the character who I thought had very vague hints of being gay in book 1 turned out to be in book 2 - personal progress on my part?).
The only thing to dislike about the book is that it really feels like it's meant to be a companion to the one after it; lots is left up in the air, to a greater degree than at the end of book 1. But it's still quite good, and I'm enjoying the series thus far.
Next up: Brilliance of the Moon. I want to at least finish the initial trilogy before moving on.
