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The Sixth Precept
In 16th century medieval Japan, Yoshima Mitsu, who is gifted with psychic powers, uses her prescient abilities to send her young attendant, Shioko, into the future. There, Mitsu belives Shioko will be safe from the purges of the maniacal warlord Omori Kadanamora, his warrior monks, and his half-human, half-bestial Shadow Trackers.
In present-day Pittsburgh, police lieutenant Kim Yoshima is attacked by a creature out of someone's twisted nightmare. In the aftermath of the terrifying struggle, Kin finds a young Japanese girl named Shioko, lost, confused, and calling Kim "Mitsu" and her monstrous attacker a "Shadow Tracker."
Wayne Brewster dreams of a costumed hero, ArcNight. But more than that, he feels bizarrely connected to the fictional crime fighter as if ArcNight and his comic book world are real. And in all of his dreams, Wayne sees one constant, one face repeated over and over--the face of Kim Yoshima.
Using her powers, Kim, accompanied by Shioko and Wayne, travels by means of a temporal rift to feudal Japan. There they must assume different personas to fight Omori and creatures of Japan's mythological world to fulfill ancient prophesy and modern historical fact.
If they fail, history will be altered and the world will be forever changed.
In present-day Pittsburgh, police lieutenant Kim Yoshima is attacked by a creature out of someone's twisted nightmare. In the aftermath of the terrifying struggle, Kin finds a young Japanese girl named Shioko, lost, confused, and calling Kim "Mitsu" and her monstrous attacker a "Shadow Tracker."
Wayne Brewster dreams of a costumed hero, ArcNight. But more than that, he feels bizarrely connected to the fictional crime fighter as if ArcNight and his comic book world are real. And in all of his dreams, Wayne sees one constant, one face repeated over and over--the face of Kim Yoshima.
Using her powers, Kim, accompanied by Shioko and Wayne, travels by means of a temporal rift to feudal Japan. There they must assume different personas to fight Omori and creatures of Japan's mythological world to fulfill ancient prophesy and modern historical fact.
If they fail, history will be altered and the world will be forever changed.
438 pages, Paperback
First published October 19, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 13, 2011
This is an amazing book. Larry Ivkovich describes The Sixth Precept as an urban fantasy - and it certainly is in the sense that it is a fantasy and quite a bit of the adventure is set in a modern day US city - but a lot of the adventure is also set in medieval Japan. And stuff happens there. Yes, it is an urban fantasy, but it doesn't deserve simple labeling. For example, it has a neat, convincing detective story feel about it as well.
I'm raving - and probably because this fantasy adventure has everything, all in the right proportions.
I wont give too much away of the plot, as it would be a spoiler indeed, but I can say that the key storyline is about a woman in medieval Japan with an amazing psychic gift, who is playing a key part in a great cosmic 'game', who sends the young girl she is protecting, through a rift into the future. That's just the beginning, when it comes to time travel as well as strange and miraculous people and creatures. I simplify this, because the most powerful feature of Larry's writing is the smoothness of the plot and the sustaining of adventure and entertainment. It is complex, but not distracting.
I normally am not a fan of time travel stories (although I should point out that time travel is not necessarily the sole, core element of this novel), as I often find authors handling paradox particularly badly. For me, the best time travel stories enable travel into the future, but impossible to travel backwards. However, there are a select few authors for me who handle forward and backward time journeying with flair - beautifully enabling the reader to suspend disbelief. Larry is one such author.
Another feature of the book that I liked was the treatment of some of the antagonists. They are complex. They are not necessarily black and white in the depiction of evil (with one deserved exception). The bestial creature who is supposed to hunt down the protagonists in modern day is an example of such a complex figure - while hated and dreadful in many ways, there are moments of sympathy as well. It makes the book memorable.
Larry Ivkovich's debut novel is way more polished and mature than a typical first work. I would strongly advise any fantasy reader - especially paranormal and urban fantasy readers - to buy and enjoy this 5 star piece.
I'm raving - and probably because this fantasy adventure has everything, all in the right proportions.
I wont give too much away of the plot, as it would be a spoiler indeed, but I can say that the key storyline is about a woman in medieval Japan with an amazing psychic gift, who is playing a key part in a great cosmic 'game', who sends the young girl she is protecting, through a rift into the future. That's just the beginning, when it comes to time travel as well as strange and miraculous people and creatures. I simplify this, because the most powerful feature of Larry's writing is the smoothness of the plot and the sustaining of adventure and entertainment. It is complex, but not distracting.
I normally am not a fan of time travel stories (although I should point out that time travel is not necessarily the sole, core element of this novel), as I often find authors handling paradox particularly badly. For me, the best time travel stories enable travel into the future, but impossible to travel backwards. However, there are a select few authors for me who handle forward and backward time journeying with flair - beautifully enabling the reader to suspend disbelief. Larry is one such author.
Another feature of the book that I liked was the treatment of some of the antagonists. They are complex. They are not necessarily black and white in the depiction of evil (with one deserved exception). The bestial creature who is supposed to hunt down the protagonists in modern day is an example of such a complex figure - while hated and dreadful in many ways, there are moments of sympathy as well. It makes the book memorable.
Larry Ivkovich's debut novel is way more polished and mature than a typical first work. I would strongly advise any fantasy reader - especially paranormal and urban fantasy readers - to buy and enjoy this 5 star piece.
May 18, 2014
More of a 3.5, as the writing is strong, but the whole time-travel thing is always hard and always confusing, and it seemed as though some things were placed in the story purely because the writer couldn't think of another way to resolve a particular plot line.
Still worth reading.
Still worth reading.
September 9, 2019
This action-packed novel would make a great Netflix series! It’s well-written and has memorable characters.
November 10, 2012
Originally published at Risingshadow.
Categorizing The Sixth Precept is easy. It's urban fantasy, but it isn't exactly the kind of urban fantasy which most people call urban fantasy, because it contains several different elements from ancient Japanese mysticism to time travelling.
I have to confess that I consciously try to avoid reading urban fantasy, because I've read a few bad books, which were quite horrible in almost every possible way. I've noticed that finding good urban fantasy seems to be difficult, because it often feels like several authors tend to clone the plots from other books and avoid originality as much as they can.
Fortunately The Sixth Precept was a totally different kind of a book and I found myself liking it very much. The Sixth Precept is a surprisingly original and exciting urban fantasy book. To be honest, it's an exceptionally good book.
Before I write more about this book and my thoughts about it, here's a bit of information the plot:
The events in The Sixth Precept take place in ancient Japan and modern day USA. The story begins in medieval Japan. A woman named Yoshima Mitsu sends Shioko into the future in order to protect her. In the present day Lieutenant Kim Yoshima is attacked by a shadowtracker and finds Shioko. Kim finds out that she has psychic powers. Brewster dreams of being a hero and learns things from his dreams. These characters meet each other and decide to fight together against evil...
I enjoyed reading about the characters, because Larry Ivkovich writes about the lives of the characters in an interesting way. Each character has his/her own life, but each of them is drawn to towards the mysterious happenings and can't fully explain why they're so interested in the happenings. The author doesn't underline what happens to the characters, but writes convincingly about their lives and problems.
One of the best things about this book is that the bad guys aren't as black and white as they usually are in several other modern urban fantasy books. It was interesting to read how Omori's father's beatings made Omori a cruel man. This gave depth to the character and made the reader understand his motives better.
The slowly manifesting psychic powers of Kim Yoshima are handled well. The author writes about these powers fascinatingly, because Kim has to learn how to use her powers. The author also writes fantastically about Brewster's dreams and his life, because Brewster dreams of being a super hero called ArcNight and is able to learn things from his dreams.
The shadow trackers are interesting creatures, because they're intelligent and ruthlessly hunt their prey. What makes shadow trackers especially interesting is that the author writes about their feelings and their ancestry. The author tells how they have been bred for their master to do what he wants them to do. (Several other authors would've probably just written about the main characters and not about the beasts and their thoughts.)
I was impressed by the author's writing style, because he gradually added depth to the storyline and made the characters come alive with a few carefully chosen words. One of the best things about this book is that the author writes fluently about time travelling (the time travel elements are handled believably in fantasy context).
Larry Ivkovich has clearly spent a lot of time doing research for this book, because he uses Japanese names and terms. He also writes about Japanese culture and history. In my opinion, he manages to combine elements of urban way of life and ancient Japanese culture and mysticism perfectly, because reading about them is genuinely fascinating.
I think it's great that IFWG Publishing published The Sixth Precept, because this book demonstrates that small presses often publish better and more intriguing books than big publishers.
I can recommend The Sixth Precept to fantasy readers and especially to readers who love urban fantasy. The Sixth Precept is almost like a hidden treasure, which awaits to be found by urban fantasy readers. If you're interested in good modern urban fantasy, this book will be of interest to you, because the story is surprisingly complex and intriguing.
Categorizing The Sixth Precept is easy. It's urban fantasy, but it isn't exactly the kind of urban fantasy which most people call urban fantasy, because it contains several different elements from ancient Japanese mysticism to time travelling.
I have to confess that I consciously try to avoid reading urban fantasy, because I've read a few bad books, which were quite horrible in almost every possible way. I've noticed that finding good urban fantasy seems to be difficult, because it often feels like several authors tend to clone the plots from other books and avoid originality as much as they can.
Fortunately The Sixth Precept was a totally different kind of a book and I found myself liking it very much. The Sixth Precept is a surprisingly original and exciting urban fantasy book. To be honest, it's an exceptionally good book.
Before I write more about this book and my thoughts about it, here's a bit of information the plot:
The events in The Sixth Precept take place in ancient Japan and modern day USA. The story begins in medieval Japan. A woman named Yoshima Mitsu sends Shioko into the future in order to protect her. In the present day Lieutenant Kim Yoshima is attacked by a shadowtracker and finds Shioko. Kim finds out that she has psychic powers. Brewster dreams of being a hero and learns things from his dreams. These characters meet each other and decide to fight together against evil...
I enjoyed reading about the characters, because Larry Ivkovich writes about the lives of the characters in an interesting way. Each character has his/her own life, but each of them is drawn to towards the mysterious happenings and can't fully explain why they're so interested in the happenings. The author doesn't underline what happens to the characters, but writes convincingly about their lives and problems.
One of the best things about this book is that the bad guys aren't as black and white as they usually are in several other modern urban fantasy books. It was interesting to read how Omori's father's beatings made Omori a cruel man. This gave depth to the character and made the reader understand his motives better.
The slowly manifesting psychic powers of Kim Yoshima are handled well. The author writes about these powers fascinatingly, because Kim has to learn how to use her powers. The author also writes fantastically about Brewster's dreams and his life, because Brewster dreams of being a super hero called ArcNight and is able to learn things from his dreams.
The shadow trackers are interesting creatures, because they're intelligent and ruthlessly hunt their prey. What makes shadow trackers especially interesting is that the author writes about their feelings and their ancestry. The author tells how they have been bred for their master to do what he wants them to do. (Several other authors would've probably just written about the main characters and not about the beasts and their thoughts.)
I was impressed by the author's writing style, because he gradually added depth to the storyline and made the characters come alive with a few carefully chosen words. One of the best things about this book is that the author writes fluently about time travelling (the time travel elements are handled believably in fantasy context).
Larry Ivkovich has clearly spent a lot of time doing research for this book, because he uses Japanese names and terms. He also writes about Japanese culture and history. In my opinion, he manages to combine elements of urban way of life and ancient Japanese culture and mysticism perfectly, because reading about them is genuinely fascinating.
I think it's great that IFWG Publishing published The Sixth Precept, because this book demonstrates that small presses often publish better and more intriguing books than big publishers.
I can recommend The Sixth Precept to fantasy readers and especially to readers who love urban fantasy. The Sixth Precept is almost like a hidden treasure, which awaits to be found by urban fantasy readers. If you're interested in good modern urban fantasy, this book will be of interest to you, because the story is surprisingly complex and intriguing.
July 27, 2016
I'm not sure if this is going to be a fair way to do this, but here goes. I've read the first two in a proposed series of four books. The series, by Larry Ivkovich, is called "the Spirit Winds Quartet" and if the first two are any indication of what to expect, the group is most appropriately named because of the influence of the so-called Spirit Winds on all the actions in the books.
I'm going to give a double review for the first two books: "The Sixth Precept" and "Warriors of the Light." (Especially since the last two novels aren't available yet.) If you want to see the second review, it will be listed under the title of the book, not following here.
"The Sixth Precept" by Larry Ivkovich
In "The Sixth Precept" we are introduced to Kim Yoshima, a police lieutenant in Pittsburgh, and a pretty extensive time-spanning cast of characters. In the cover blurb, a lot is made over the fact that Ms. Yoshima time-travels to 16th Century Japan to fight some desperately bad guys who have obtained magical help in order to accomplish their nefarious aims. In the reading of the novel, the narrative voice jumps from 16th century Japan in the city of Odowara, dealing with one set of characters to the same city in the early 20th century, dealing with a different set of people. Of course the challenge to the reader is to accept that the connection will ultimately be explained.
Finally we alight in 21st century Pittsburgh and get to know Kim Yoshima. A lot of time is spent learning about her through her internal monologues and asking herself questions as she searches for the answers. One of the ongoing questions was about the importance of a book given to her by her grandmother: "The Five Precepts for Enlightenment." Of course, the sixth precept of the title refers back to that and does find itself eventually noted and described by Ms. Yoshima.
Probably the first two-thirds of the book, except for some brief interludes in the past with a purported ancestor of Kim Yoshima's watching how she becomes tied into the 21st century, is set in that present. I found this part of the novel to be tad ponderous with so much of the character development taken, as I said, by internal monologue.
Ultimately, Yoshima and three others find themselves catapulted back to 16th century Japan to fight an evil Daimyo, his evil majo (male witch), assorted magical monsters, mythical beings and sycophantic minions.
This is where the pacing really kicked in. This is where the story finally stopped hoping I would keep following along, grabbed me by the front of my shirt and said, "Remember the fun I promised?(snicker) Well, hold on tight!"
This is where Mr. Ivkovich found his comfort zone. All the research on Japan, old and new, found its way into the narrative without seeming strained. It just flowed along with the plot, enhancing actions, and providing a foundation for the choices made by the characters. The last third of the book was great fun, watching the struggle of the good against the archetype of evil. There were surprises and even a little gratification along the way.
Another thing I enjoyed and appreciated was the fact that Kim Yoshima, while a strong (dare I say badass?) and able fighter, smart and confidant person, does her best when working with her assorted friends and compatriots, male and female, to overcome the forces she has been tasked to fight who are attempting to change history.
I would probably give the first part of "The Sixth Precept" only a three star rating, but the second, time-travelling, fighting-the-bad-guys-nose-to-nose part a solid four and a half stars. So on average I'd say a three point seven-five.
I'm going to give a double review for the first two books: "The Sixth Precept" and "Warriors of the Light." (Especially since the last two novels aren't available yet.) If you want to see the second review, it will be listed under the title of the book, not following here.
"The Sixth Precept" by Larry Ivkovich
In "The Sixth Precept" we are introduced to Kim Yoshima, a police lieutenant in Pittsburgh, and a pretty extensive time-spanning cast of characters. In the cover blurb, a lot is made over the fact that Ms. Yoshima time-travels to 16th Century Japan to fight some desperately bad guys who have obtained magical help in order to accomplish their nefarious aims. In the reading of the novel, the narrative voice jumps from 16th century Japan in the city of Odowara, dealing with one set of characters to the same city in the early 20th century, dealing with a different set of people. Of course the challenge to the reader is to accept that the connection will ultimately be explained.
Finally we alight in 21st century Pittsburgh and get to know Kim Yoshima. A lot of time is spent learning about her through her internal monologues and asking herself questions as she searches for the answers. One of the ongoing questions was about the importance of a book given to her by her grandmother: "The Five Precepts for Enlightenment." Of course, the sixth precept of the title refers back to that and does find itself eventually noted and described by Ms. Yoshima.
Probably the first two-thirds of the book, except for some brief interludes in the past with a purported ancestor of Kim Yoshima's watching how she becomes tied into the 21st century, is set in that present. I found this part of the novel to be tad ponderous with so much of the character development taken, as I said, by internal monologue.
Ultimately, Yoshima and three others find themselves catapulted back to 16th century Japan to fight an evil Daimyo, his evil majo (male witch), assorted magical monsters, mythical beings and sycophantic minions.
This is where the pacing really kicked in. This is where the story finally stopped hoping I would keep following along, grabbed me by the front of my shirt and said, "Remember the fun I promised?(snicker) Well, hold on tight!"
This is where Mr. Ivkovich found his comfort zone. All the research on Japan, old and new, found its way into the narrative without seeming strained. It just flowed along with the plot, enhancing actions, and providing a foundation for the choices made by the characters. The last third of the book was great fun, watching the struggle of the good against the archetype of evil. There were surprises and even a little gratification along the way.
Another thing I enjoyed and appreciated was the fact that Kim Yoshima, while a strong (dare I say badass?) and able fighter, smart and confidant person, does her best when working with her assorted friends and compatriots, male and female, to overcome the forces she has been tasked to fight who are attempting to change history.
I would probably give the first part of "The Sixth Precept" only a three star rating, but the second, time-travelling, fighting-the-bad-guys-nose-to-nose part a solid four and a half stars. So on average I'd say a three point seven-five.
May 22, 2016
Larry has quite an imagination, and this story really is an interesting blend of genres. The comic book hero story line involving ArcNight really didn’t last that long, and he did some surprising things with the little girl Shioko, but otherwise, his main focus in the story was mystical stuff like alternate realities, time travel, and psi-esper warfare. His descriptions were really vivid, and the story was very strong. I did think that the villain Omori seemed a bit weak, however, especially compared to protagonist Kim who had such a range of superpowers he didn’t stand a chance, but Larry did such a good job developing the creepy shadow trackers and their handler that it made up for that imbalance. His creation of the fictional library here in the Strip District was also really cool. I hear there’s a sequel in the works and wouldn’t mind reading that when it comes out.
January 6, 2018
There is a lot here to keep the reader engaged and entertained: mystery, fantasy, action, time travel, mythical creatures, history, ancient Edo, and all arising from the colorful neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. I came upon this book at a book and author fest at the Carnegie Library in Beaver Falls, and am happy to have met the author and bought his book. This genre is not one that I read before, but now am hooked and looking forward to book two of the Spirit Winds Quartet, by Larry Ivkovich.
May 24, 2015
Oh, good book, I loved the mythology, and the action and the characters! Great book!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews