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#5 Platform - The Harsh Cry of the Heron
Feb. 12th, 2008 08:21 pmA tragedy of the sort that really fits into the Japanese storytelling tradition... even if it's not really Japanese.
Book #5: The Harsh Cry of the Heron
Author: Lian Hearn
Provenance: Bought online from chapters.indigo.ca
I read the rest of this series last year, and found myself enjoying it, almost despite myself. I generally don't like faux Japan stuff, but Hearn really has a good feel for the aesthetics and dialogue styles. There was obviously a lot of research and craft that went into the stories, and into this one, as well.
This book is set a good fifteen years after the events of the last one, and to some degree, it suffers the same problem as that of the previous book I read, in that there's a decent amount at the outset that feels like, "Look, here are the old characters you know, and here's what they're up to now!" Which is fine, but it should be more in service of the story than I felt it to be.
But once you get past that part, it's a very good story, a fine tragic tale of a man, Takeo Otori, getting caught up both in his good and bad intentions. Trying to rule a country in a peaceful way can be very hard, when all of your traditions say that the least insult is an excuse for warfare, and the seams are showing a bit in Otori's realm. At the same time, he's keeping a number of secrets, and not always from the right people.
This book expands the scope of the world, and brings in the rest of the not-quite-Japanese islands, with the Emperor and his chosen warlord, along with foreigners and religious issues, too. All of this was handled nicely; I did like the political machinations that generally took the place of the fighting of Brilliance of the Moon. Her dialogue and her views into the thoughts of some of the characters are very nice; Shigeko in particular is a good addition to the cast.
Problems? There are pacing issues still, and some of the characters that are supposed to be important, such as the former female lead, get shunted off a lot. Still, on the whole, I quite liked this... and any tragedy that's enough to wring out a few tears has to be told quite well, right?
Next up: Music for Chameleons. About as far from Japan as you can get.
Book #5: The Harsh Cry of the Heron
Author: Lian Hearn
Provenance: Bought online from chapters.indigo.ca
I read the rest of this series last year, and found myself enjoying it, almost despite myself. I generally don't like faux Japan stuff, but Hearn really has a good feel for the aesthetics and dialogue styles. There was obviously a lot of research and craft that went into the stories, and into this one, as well.
This book is set a good fifteen years after the events of the last one, and to some degree, it suffers the same problem as that of the previous book I read, in that there's a decent amount at the outset that feels like, "Look, here are the old characters you know, and here's what they're up to now!" Which is fine, but it should be more in service of the story than I felt it to be.
But once you get past that part, it's a very good story, a fine tragic tale of a man, Takeo Otori, getting caught up both in his good and bad intentions. Trying to rule a country in a peaceful way can be very hard, when all of your traditions say that the least insult is an excuse for warfare, and the seams are showing a bit in Otori's realm. At the same time, he's keeping a number of secrets, and not always from the right people.
This book expands the scope of the world, and brings in the rest of the not-quite-Japanese islands, with the Emperor and his chosen warlord, along with foreigners and religious issues, too. All of this was handled nicely; I did like the political machinations that generally took the place of the fighting of Brilliance of the Moon. Her dialogue and her views into the thoughts of some of the characters are very nice; Shigeko in particular is a good addition to the cast.
Problems? There are pacing issues still, and some of the characters that are supposed to be important, such as the former female lead, get shunted off a lot. Still, on the whole, I quite liked this... and any tragedy that's enough to wring out a few tears has to be told quite well, right?
Next up: Music for Chameleons. About as far from Japan as you can get.
