Author/Publisher: M.L. Wang
Narrator: Andrew Tell
Length: 24 Hours, 24 Minutes
Publication Date/Year: 2020
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Over the past dozen years or so, the term self-published has transformed from a negative connotation to the term “independently published,” which is almost a badge of honr. With that shift in nomenclature, books that writers set out to publish outside of traditional paths have gained wider recognition, acclaim, and respect. Which brings me to The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M.L. Wang.
I’d seen this book generate a lot of good response over the last couple of years and finally decided to use one of my audible credits to read/consume this novel. I tried not to read too much about the plot details when skimming over reviews from folks whose opinion I trust aside from the generalities…a Japanese-influenced military fantasy/family saga which takes place on the Kusanagi peninsula. And full transparency, I recently watched the incredible FX mini-series Shōgun and I was blown away. I was looking for something with a similar flavor/influence.
First, a little bit about the world-building while the novel is Eastern Asian influenced, it most definitely is not traditional. This world has telecommunications, airplanes, high-rise building, and modern technology. The language is Japanese, but the world is not Earth, it is called Duna. The people of the Kaigenese Empire very much live near the water and as such, the magic is water/ice based and is depicted as extremely powerful. Case in point, an ice sword conjured by a powerful manipulator of the magic can rival the sharpest metal sword. The rival empire, the Ranganese, utilizes a fire-based magic.
Very high marks for the world building because Want makes her world feel like a character. But a character we only know a little bit about. The world in this novel is fascinating on so many levels, I haven’t read too many fantasy novels where spells sit alongside airplanes and telecommunication infrastructure. Well, sure, quite a few Urban Fantasy novels, but not very many Epic Fantasy novels. Want wraps all these seemingly disparate elements together masterfully.
From a character perspective Wang focuses her story on the Matsuda family, eldest son 14-year old Mamoru and his mother Misaki. Told from their points of view, Wang evokes a world of strict rules with regard to class, gender, and age. In Mamoru, we see a young man coming of age, on the cusp of manhood, trying to be as good a fighter like his legendary father and uncle. Mamoru still has a lot to learn about combat and the world at large. But he, like many teenagers transitioning to adulthood, begins to question the history he’s been fed over the years. As a citizen of the Kaigenese Empire, he is told to believe everything the Emperor disseminates to the populace. But Mamoru has questions about the Ranganese enemies, he is more open to what they might be and how powerful they truly are. Mamoru is desperate to prove himself to his father and his uncle and himself, as well. Mamoru has been training to be a Sword of Kaigen, a great defender of the Kusanagi peninsula. Mamoru is a well-drawn, believable character.
Misaki was betrothed to Mamoru’s father Takeru when she was 19 in an arranged marriage, uniting two prominent families. As such, Misaki was forced to leave her life behind and it turns out, she had quite a robust life before becoming wife to Takeru. She had an identity, she had friends, she felt she had a purpose with those friends as a crime-fighter. Misaki also has the power to control blood, which she can use to heal herself or others and increase her strength. But that life, once she’s married to Takeru, is all gone and her only purpose was to essentially be a baby-making machine for the Matsuda line. As much as I liked Mamoru and felt him to initially be the protagonist, I felt much more drawn to Misaki the more I got to know her. Wang played a deft hand with both of these characters.
Wang gives readers chapters from her POV from her early life before being married all the way to being married and a mother. This provides a fascinating and ultimately enthralling view into one character’s major lifespan. A great deal is given over to being a mother, not something you’d typically see in an epic fantasy novel.
When war arrives on the doorstep of the Matsuda family, the novel takes a turn as the tension gets even higher. A good portion of the novel is dedicated to the major conflict and the fallout. This major conflict takes place with a great deal of narrative in the rearview mirror, but there's a lot ahead as well. That's my fancy way of saying I can't recall exactly how closely to the middle it takes place, maybe the arrival of war takes up the middle third of the novel?
I’m a fan of books told with parallel narratives, whether those narratives take place in different time lines of from different points of view. My favorite instance of this, at least with parallel character narratives might in Scott Lynch’s Red Seas Under Red Skies but I think M.L. Want topped that here in The Sword of Kaigen. There comes an instant (and this isn’t too much of a spoiler, I think) when Mimoru’s storyline intersects with that of his mother, Misaki and it was a genuine “a-ha” moment for me.
I have to give kudos to narrator Andrew Tell. At first, I wasn’t exactly connecting with his performance, if I’m being honest. I felt some of the pauses were a little off. Soon enough, I was hooked and realized what a masterful job he did. He portrayed each character distinctly, and helped to build tension through his pacing and voice.
The Sword of Kaigen is a very powerful Epic Fantasy novel, a familial saga, a novel of war. Epic in its magic, epic in its scope even though it focuses primarily on one nation of a world, and most definitely epic in scope of the family. Not just one of the best “self/independently” published novels I’ve ever read, but a top single-volume fantasy novel I’ve ever read.
