Emperor of the Eight Islands

The Tale of Shikanoko #1-2

by Lian Hearn

FOUR MILLION COPIES SOLD. In 40 languages. One of the most thrilling series of our time. In this magnificent new epic, destined to become a modern classic, bestselling Australian author Lian Hearn transports us to a mythical Japanese world set 300 years before TALES OF THE OTORI.

Like George R. R. Martin, Lian Hearn has captivated millions of readers worldwide with her masterpiece of imagination, TALES OF THE OTORI. Now, against a dazzling canvas of wild forest, elegant court and savage battlefield, she brilliantly brings to life the world that existed 300 years earlier.

Hearn weaves an intricate tapestry - seething with intrigue, adventure and love - of two rival clans struggling over who will be crowned Emperor of the Eight Islands, in a medieval Japanese country inhabited by warriors, assassins, ghosts and guardian spirits. And as the laws of destiny play out their inexorable drama, so the battle for the Lotus Throne begins.

Coming soon
LORD OF THE DARKWOOD: Books 3 & 4 in THE TALE OF SHIKANOKO.

Praise for TALES OF THE OTORI:
'One of the most thrilling series of our time.' THE TIMES
'The best story of magic, love, sex, revenge and suspense since Philip Pullman.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
'A classic in the making. A tour de force of pure storytelling. Rich with character and detail, yet effortless to read.' SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
'An engrossing fantasy saga of literary quality.' THE AGE

Don't miss any of the novels in the OTORI saga
ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR
GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW
BRILLIANCE OF THE MOON
THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON
HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Japan, Audiobook, Historical Fiction, Asia, Japanese Literature

431 pages, Paperback

Published February 23, 2016

About the author

Lian Hearn's beloved Tales of the Otori series, set in an imagined feudal Japan, has sold more than four million copies worldwide and has been translated into nearly forty languages. It is comprised of five volumes: ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR, GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW, BRILLIANCE OF THE MOON, THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON and HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE. The series was followed by two standalone novels, BLOSSOMS AND SHADOWS and THE STORYTELLER AND HIS THREE DAUGHTERS, also set in Japan.

Hearn's forthcoming series: The Tale of Shikanoko will be published by FSG in 4 volumes in 2016. Book 1 will be EMPEROR OF EIGHT ISLANDS out in late-April 2016, followed by book 2: AUTUMN PRINCESS, DRAGON CHILD (June), book 3: LORD OF THE DARKWOOD (August), and the final book (#4) THE TENGU'S GAME OF GO (late-Sept. 2016).

Lian has made many trips to Japan and has studied Japanese. She read Modern Languages at Oxford and worked as an editor and film critic in England before immigrating to Australia.

Reviews

[Warwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lian Hearn's fantasy novels play out in a trippy, magical version of medieval Japan, which if nothing else makes a change from the versions of medieval Europe that constitute the rest of the genre. It must be said that it never entirely gets away from feeling like a Westerner's idea of Japanese folklore, and one reads this wondering constantly how a Japanese author might have done things differently. But that said, Hearn is much more than just a literary weeaboo, and her long study of the country and its language gives her fantasy a core of authenticity that I probably shouldn't be sniffy about (at least, that's how it seems to someone like me who knows very little about Japanese history).

I was particularly interested in the ‘native’ language occasionally referenced in the book, which looks like Japanese but doesn't seem to be; we are sometimes told the meaning of placenames or personal names, and I couldn't work out if these were actually valid Japanese interpretations or not. Most of them seemed wrong, but occasionally they make sense (the hero Shikanoko's name is said to mean ‘deer's child’, which looks plausible). If they are wrong, though, the elements are such that these words would probably mean something in Japanese which raises a whole load of other problems. But I only studied a year of Japanese many years ago, and I'd love to read a review of this by a Japanese speaker who could shed some light on the matter.

The story itself hits many of the usual genre tropes – disinherited heroes, wise old magic-users, mythical creatures, warring factions – and is told quite smartly and engagingly for the most part, though the author sometimes struggles when trying to get across a lot of information about characters' backstories. This particular edition collects the first two parts of a complete tetralogy, and part one is really mostly set-up. I rather enjoyed it at the time, though I don't feel in a mad rush to go out and buy the remaining two books.

[Sportyrod · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting, action-packed, mystical, power-playing and interesting characters with converging journeys. This book was selected for Book Club and we all enjoyed reading it. What the book lacks in character development, it makes up for in its pace. Everything happening is exciting and immediate with no dull tangents. It was full of surprises and completely unpredictable.

Some of the characters were hilarious, especially the spirits. Some situations were amusing too if you enjoy seeing the funny side of the misfortune of others. There was a good mix of characters to like and hate and some that made you question whether you still like them and vice-versa.

The plot was full on. So much activity. So many perspectives. So many conflicting missions. It was hard to pick a side and stick with it. There is one particular event that had the Book Club divided. There is one brutal part where we were not sure whether the wrong-doer was responsible or not. We could not agree on which characters were evil or misunderstood. This uncertainty made the reading all the more interesting because it's hard to judge when there is good mixed with bad. Does one deed balance out another?

Having been to Japan, I loved the setting. I liked the fictitious setting based on Japan with it's volcanoes, earthquakes and mountains as well as some ancient cultural resemblances but with a unique spin on them.

I loved reading this book so much that I went out and bought two more copies and gave them to friends. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Game of Thrones (as you could say this is the Japanese equivalent of GOT - you can't really compare, they are both fantastic in their own right, just appealing to the same audience). History-lovers and Japan enthusiasts would also enjoy this. Fantasy readers would easily like this book.

[Kitty G Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such and easy read and I really wanted it to be. I hadn't been reading anywhere near as much as usual and I was in the midst of many books, but this one was the one I decided to focus on finishing first, becuase it's written in a way which makes it easy to read. If I didn't know better I would almost say that I thought that this was a children's book becuase of how easy it is, but there are sexual scenes so I except this would actually be classed as a YA.

This story is set in the same world as the Tales of Otori, but this is 300 years earlier when the people rule over courts, they live in wild landscapes like forests, and magic is very much alive. This is set in a Japanese-inspired world with lots of large family dynasties, plots and so on all competing for power and land.

We follow a few different characters and this book is actually a bind up of the first two in the series. The first is called Emperor of the Eight Islands, the second book is called Autumn Princess, Dragon Child. Of the two parts I enjoyed the second one more, as the first felt much more like a set up, but the second one felt more as if the story had begun.

The characters we follow include:
Shikanoko - A young man who is thought to have been killed by his family so that he will not take the seat of power, but who actually runs away and lives in the wilds with a Sorcerer, learning their ways.
Yoshi - A young Emperor who is only a child and yet is mixed into all the warfare and drama which is going on around the country and has to try and hide away until he's old enough to rule.
Aki - The Autumn Princess who aims to shepherd Yoshi away and get him to safety away from the world, but she also has her own troubles to worry over.
Hina - A young woman from a household which is wiped out who grows to live with an enemy and comes to love him...but not enough not to help her own allies.

These are the characters who most stood out to me, although there are a few more too. I definitely think that the above four are the major ones though and their stories were the ones which most interested me.

The magic of this world is super interesting as we have sprites haunting old family homes, eyes which truly can see deep into your soul (and which are detached from the head) and shadow-babies who have extraordinary powers. There's a mask of great importance and power, and a lute which plays when it wants to. All very exciting and all makes the story that much more dramatic.

Overall I really liked this book and it certainly helped to get me back to reading again becuase it was such an easy read. I will definitely be picking up the next bind-up when it come out, and I look forward to seeing how the story ends becuase we're left wanting to know more. 4*s

[Chris Comerford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review originally posted at Geek of Oz here.

---

There is a fine line between objective and subjective criticism. Some reviewers can tell you the difficulty in maintaining professional distance when critically analysing something, especially if that something provokes the kind of absolute joy or abject loathing that keeps someone like me motivated to write.




It's a difficulty I run into when reviewing Emperor of the Eight Islands, Lian Hearn's first book in the prequel to her acclaimed Tales of the Otori series. As a novel, there are a few points where Hearn falls short. As a story, I was completely in love with it, meaning those shortcomings weren't as noticeable.

Set 300 years before Across the Nightingale Floor, two rival clans are battling for control of the Lotus Throne. A young man, nearly killed by his lord uncle, is revived as a new man named Shikanoko by a mystical sage. An ancient and mysterious woman gives birth to five supernatural children from five different fathers. After a devastating earthquake and subsequent attack, a young woman takes her stepsister and brother - the latter being the incumbent Emperor - into hiding.

This is where we start with Emperor's labyrinthine plot(s), which Hearn herself - in an interview I conducted with her, which will be posted here shortly - describes as a vinelike structure. That makes it problematic to discuss the full plot(s) of the novel, since so many characters follow paths that are, in some cases, completely unexpected. A further difficulty in outlining Emperor is the direction its narratives traverse, with character plotlines intersecting and rearranging around each other in near-constant balletic movements. An earthquake seen by a character in one chapter has disastrous consequences for several others, whilst a point of view character unknowingly crosses paths with the hero of the story. Emperor trusts its audience to patiently keep track of who, what and where, letting the reader connect the dots when such interplays are formed.

I'll be honest: I did like Across the Nightingale Floor, but part of what bothered me in my review was its foundational nature. As a first book, it felt more like a story largely there to set up the further, exciting adventures of the Otori clan and our heroes, Takeo and Kaede. Emperor doesn't have that problem, hitting the ground running and presenting itself as a very standalone story that does not beggar much setup. It manages to pull off the elusive trick most prequel stories strive for, and usually fail to achieve: Emperor is entirely accessible for those who've never stepped into Hearn's beautifully rendered world, yet also provides plenty of easter eggs and eureka moments for those who are Otori series veterans.

While it does have something of a jarring start, Emperor soon settles into a narrative rhythm that alternates between off-beat and syncopated. The structure is ambitious, especially given the sheer number of featured point of view characters which the novel lightly skips between, and doesn't read like a traditional three-act structure. Rather, this is a book that reads like its own, self-contained epic saga, playing with time and characters by truncating a lot of unnecessary narrative passages; a series of Robert Jordan or George R. R. Martin books crammed into a single, succinct volume. While at times this structure can feel odd, it nonetheless provides the reader with a sense of the novel's sheer scope; compare how Shikanoko begins the novel as timid young child Kazumaru, and ends it as a figure of power and self-assurance, in order to get an idea of how the passage of time really makes Emperor feel like the grand, sweeping epic that it is.

Hearn juggles multiple plots and characters with adept skill, yet occasionally some of both feel a little alienating. Of particular note is the sheer number of anti-heroic (at best) characters the book follows, some of whom can commit entirely reprehensible acts before following up with something diametrically heroic. Among them - and again, trying not to spoil here - are figures like Masachika, Lord Kiyoyori and even Shikanoko himself; in the latter's case, a chapter near the book's midpoint involving Shikanoko committing a monstrous act - a passage I found extraordinarily difficult to read - preceded a sequence where our hero dramatically strikes out on a mighty quest to fell one of the book's main villains as recompense. Very few characters are outwardly heroic in the traditional sense; of those who are, almost all of them are the strong, layered women Hearn has expertly written, such as Akihime and Hina.

Keep in mind, with all that Hearn has accomplished in Emperor, this is just the first volume. The book's sequel, Lord of the Darkwood, is due for release this coming August. Its timing couldn't be better; whilst Emperor wraps up many of its standalone plots by novel's end, there are some lingering threads yet to be sewn up. If you're someone like me, who was utterly engrossed with the book, you'll want the next book in front of you right now.

With a spellbinding series of interwoven plots, handling some exceedingly dark themes confronted by a number of strong protagonists, Emperor of the Eight Islands is a masterstroke for Lian Hearn, and surely a delight for fans of the Tales of the Otori series. Thanks to the way it ends, August cannot come soon enough.

[RitaSkeeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your life is not your own. You will die to one life and rise to another, to become what you are meant to be.

It's been quite while since I last read the Otori series, but I have a date with it for right after I read the next instalment of this series. The Shikanoko series is set a couple of hundred years before the events of Otori and, just like the other series, is gripping, intelligent, and one hell of a ride. As it is set prior to the Otori series, there is no need to be familiar with that series - you can jump straight into this one.

Sick of waiting for GRRM to finish off GoT? Come to this series instead. There are the same political machinations with people shuffling into position like they're on a Go board, but unlike GRRM the final book of this series is coming out in just a couple of months. NO WAITING. And here's another thing - it's heaps better than GoT too (imo, I know other will disagree but this is my opinion).

I've been a tad disappointed in many of the fantasy offerings I've read over the last couple of years, but this has restored my faith. Well worth reading.

With thanks to the publisher and Goodreads giveaways for this copy to read.

[۰ ۪۫ Maja Haber ۪۫ ۰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bardzo dobra powieść. Zasługuje na pięć gwiazdek. Przyznaję, że potrzebowałam więcej, niż połowę książki, żeby wczuć się w historię oraz zapamiętać bohaterów (jest ich trochę), ale kiedy już to się stało, naprawdę czytałam z zapartym tchem do samego końca, do ostatniej strony, a zakończenie daje apetyt, by sięgnąć po drugi tom. Samej Japonii jako tako nie czułam z miejsca laika, który nie zna dogłębnie kultury, aby wyłapać ją w szczegółach, ale mogę spokojnie powiedzieć, że przypominało mi to japońskie anime. Jeżeli ktoś takowe oglądał, wie, o co mi chodzi. Mamy tu bowiem całą paletę dziwnych, wręcz abstrakcyjnych stworzeń, duchy i dziwną magię. Książka ma w sobie sporo elementów magicznych i fantastycznych, przez co właśnie staje się taka atrakcyjna. Książka mi się niesamowicie podobała. Polecam!

[Trzcionka]

2021.01.26
Kończę na 88 stronie. Jedna czwarta książki a ja nie wiem o czym czytam. Bohaterów jest na tym etapie ok. 20 sztuk. O żadnym nie wiem praktycznie nic, a jak wiedziałam to już zapomniałam. Kolejne wydarzenia są opisywane niemożliwie szybko, chaotycznie i bardzo skrótowo. Nie wiem co do czego i kto z kim. Totalny chaos.
Jakby tego było mało autorka pisze w tak suchy i pospieszny sposób, że nie idzie się wciągnąć w nic, bo za chwile następuje zamiana tematyki i bohaterów. Nie da się tego czytać.

[Klaudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Cesarz Ośmiu Wysp" to książka, w moim odczuciu, pełna sprzeczności. Osadzona w cudownych realiach, ale wprowadzająca bohaterów, którym nie sposób kibicować.


Cykl "Opowieść o Shikanoko" wrzuca czytelnika do fikcyjnego świata mocno inspirowanego feudalną Japonią, w którym sporą rolę odgrywają wierzenia, duchy i przeznaczenie. To właśnie obecność typowych dla tamtejszego folkloru postaci i fajnie oddany klimat trzymały mnie przy tej powieści do samego końca. Niestety, nie przypadł mi do gustu styl pisania, który kojarzy się z "Mitologią" Parandowskiego - skupiający się na ekspozycji, pobieżnie opisujący wydarzenia i dialogi. Odbiór takiego typu narracji zależy oczywiście od preferencji, ale mnie się nie podobało.


Pierwsze rozdziały czytało mi się dość opornie, ponieważ Autorka zasypała mnie ekspozycją (co powtórzyło się jeszcze w późniejszej części tomu, kiedy wprowadzono kolejnego istotniejszego bohatera). Zdobyta wiedza okazała się wprawdzie przydatna w późniejszej części lektury, ułatwiając identyfikację postaci - postaci, które stanowią najgorszy (w moich oczach) element powieści. Ich rozróżnienie i tak nie jest łatwe, ponieważ na kartach powieści pojawia się sporo bohaterów, a imiona często zaczynają się na tę samą literę. Dodatkowo wielu postaciom ciężko przypisać jakieś konkretne cechy charakteru, które mogłyby ułatwić kojarzenie. Protagoniści z kolei to, nie przebierając w słowach, banda zapatrzonych w siebie i przesadnie okrutnych ludzi. Na ich tle wyróżnia się Akihime - zwana też Jesienną Księżniczką - którą mogłabym polubić jako jedyną z głównych postaci, gdyby nie fakt, że Autorka przez jej kreację usprawiedliwia gwałt "miłością z przeznaczenia", co mnie wysoce zniesmaczyło. Podsumowując ten przydługi akapit - nie lubię bohaterów "Cesarza Ośmiu Wysp" (poza małpkami - one są urocze i, paradoksalnie, ludzkie), a przez to nie potrafiłam im kibicować.


Fabularnie, "Cesarz Ośmiu Wysp" kojarzył mi się z trochę uboższą wersją "Pieśni Lodu i Ognia" George'a R.R. Martina. Znajdziemy tu spór pomiędzy braćmi, spisek przeciwko władzy, zdrady czy ucieczki - więc teoretycznie same fajne elementy. Odbiór utworu uprzykrzały mi jednak styl pisania oraz kreacje bohaterów, ale także swoisty mesjanizm Shikanoko. Przez ten ostatni element kilka wątków zostało rozwiązanych "deus ex machina", byle udowodnić jego niesamowitość.


Czy zatem warto sięgnąć po "Cesarza Ośmiu Wysp"? Jeśli przepadasz za japońskim folklorem czy Japonią czasów feudalnych (i nie przeszkadza Ci obecność magii), daj tej powieści szansę. Jeśli z kolei nie "czujesz" tego klimatu, obawiam się, że szybko odbijesz się od omawianej dzisiaj powieści.

[By Book and Bone (Sally) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to feel or even how to rate Emperor of the Eight Islands. I'm giving it a three for the moment because I finished it and though enjoy is the wrong word... I don't regret reading it.

Lian Hearn has written an epic that rivals A Song of Ice and Fire in worldbuilding and how awful the characters are as people. There is just so much unabashed misogyny in the actions and thoughts of the male characters that it's tiring to read. On one hand I appreciate that Hearn does not shy away from the attitudes of the time (many modern fantasy epics set in the middle-ages write POV characters with modern attitudes to sex, family and politics) but on the other hand, its wall to wall misery, rape, child abuse, child murder, 'women have weak minds', grooming and one guy raising a little girl with the express purpose of creating the perfect wife for himself. Apparently it has always been a dream of his...

Still, Emperor of the Eight Islands held my attention and has absolutely gorgeous worldbuilding, with fascinating magic systems. I wish we got more of it instead of Shinanoko just going with the flow so much, from disaster to disaster.
One thing I will say for him, is how is he meant to know the right thing to do. He has about 5 men at different stages, treating him well after so much abuse and also telling him what to do. It was hard to understand why he did things much of the time.
I can't ever fully like Shinanoko as a protagonist because he's a rapist and his actions led to my favorite character being relegated to dead love interest. Two of the four female POV characters die because they had sex (one was raped), so that's not a great statistic right off the bat...

[Natalie H · Rating 3 out of 5]

November 2023
Paperback edition

My brother handed me this one, which is a surprise given I've never seen him read anything other than Sanderson. It was good. Felt a little abstract and telling in places, but I did enjoy the fast pace. It was a strange story with a mix of characters good and bad mix. I felt sorry for Aki, she got the brunt of it with her destiny ripped from her.

I'm curious where Shikanoko will end up, playing go against a tengu is my guess. How he'd manage that with the mask sealed to him I don't know. Nothing in this story went the way I thought it would. I thought Shika would end up on a journey to hunt down Lady Tora. Nope, he ends up playing papa instead. I hope he doesn't have to kill the kids. But if they're acting on his secret desires and he's grieving the loss of Aki...yeesh.

Apart from the priest, there seemed to be a running theme with bad uncles and jealous women. I didn't like Tama. I initially felt bad for her but it goes down the villains are made route. I did like the animals and the spirits. The foal was strange. I kept picturing a horse with a human's face. Sad ending so far. Looking forward to the next one.

[Coral Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative and magical. This complicated tale about the multiple entwined lives of those living in a mythical Japan is delightfully engaging. Thank goodness for the map and character list at the start! Without it I would have gotten dismally lost in this intricate book about an emperor usurped, a wrathful Heaven and those who try to put right the many wrongs that are littered throughout this novel.

I am excited to read the next instalment and discover the fate of those characters that managed to survive.

[emcia.czyta · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️ historia ciekawa, zakończenie bardzo dobre ALE za dużo postaci i trudno się połapać kto jest kim

[Sadie Slater · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd often glanced at Lian Hearn's fantasy novels, set in a fantasy country inspired by Japanese folklore and history, in bookshops but never actually bought one until earlier this year when I was trying to find a third book for the three-for-two offer in Blackwell's and picked up Emperor of the Eight Islands, a recent novel which is the first of the two-volume sequence The Tale of Shikanoko rather than being connected to the earlier sequence which began with Across the Nightingale Floor.

Emperor of the Eight Islands tells several interlocking stories, with each chapter devoted to one of several point-of-view characters. Shikanoko, the son of a lord who is dispossessed by his ambitious uncle, becomes the "deer's child", owner of a stag's-head mask that imbues him with supernatural powers; meanwhile, the powerful and scheming Prince Abbot supports a coup against the rightful Emperor, and the rightful heir to the throne is forced to flee in disguise, and characters from both factions appear and reappear, connecting with each other and moving the plot forward in unexpected ways.

Despite the complexity of the plot, this felt like a very easy book to read; the style is very simple and has a detached feeling which reminded me of folk tales and fairy tales. It felt a bit like a children's book, though had enough sex and violence that I think it was probably intended for a primarily adult audience. I liked it a lot, and particularly enjoyed reading fantasy set in a world so different from the default fantasy world based on medieval Europe.

[Elise Belleville · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les plus :

- Une entrée en matière FABULEUSE dans l'ésotérisme et la magie japonaise, avec des idées très neuves, j'ai été enchantée par les bizzareries et légendes de ce livre.
- Une atmosphère historique et mythologique entre réalisme et conte très intéressante, j'ai lu ce livre comme un documentaire. Mais un documentaire fantasy moderne écrit par une femme blanche, c'est à prendre avec des pinces à barbecue.

les moins :

- C'est teeeeellement complexe. beaucoup de personnages, beaucoup de trahisons et de revirements de situations, beaucoup de personnages qui changent de nom, de clan, d'avis... C'est très difficile à suivre. Sur un support série, avec des visages et du temps pour digérer, ce serait assez facile, mais en format roman, même avec l'aide, on oublie qui est qui, qui fait quoi...
- Et comme on oublie, on en a rien à faire. Les batailles sont sans enjeux quand on ne souhaite voir gagner personne. Les romances sont sans enjeux quand on n'aime personne. Emotionellement, c'est l'ennuie profond.
- Sauf pour l'horreur. L'horreur d'être une femme. (Ou Shika, tour à tour victime de viol et violeur.), d'être un objet, violées, groomées, tuées, mariées de forces, prostituées, déshonorées... C'est horribles. J'ai eu mal eu coeur et beaucoup de dégout.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the Otori books and went into this with really high expectations. Sadly, it does not live up to them.

It reads like an epilogue with nice descriptions of the scenery, or perhaps a very early draft of a story.

It appears character development was forgotten about bar the odd paragraph every so often where she remembers it might be worth doing.

New characters keep popping up and within a few paragraphs their use in developing the plot is made clear. The first handful of instances I tolerated it however it got much worse.

Character A says " I have this problem".
New character walks in "Coincidentally I'm an expert at that specific problem, and even though we've never met I'd like to drastically change my life to help you with that."

Sadly I can't recommend this for anyone. Go read the Otori books and forget this book exists.

[Aless · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Managed to acquire this and the sequel in beautiful hardback.
So it seems to have become my post Xmas tradition to read another Lian Hearn book. Seems a sure way to end/begin a year with a guaranteed good book.
I haven't read the Otori series for a long time but it was a childhood favourite for me. The Tale of Shikanoko is set in the same world, sometime in the past. There are just a few small things that link to the Otori world I remember, but it is largely quite a different land with different clans.
There were a few short times in part 1 which were slightly slow as a setup, but the rest was the usual excellence from Lian. Time for the next book to finish off this magical fairytale.

[Nika ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Cesarz Ośmiu Wysp" to książka przepełniona magią, dziwnymi istotami, rytuałami i sporem o ziemię i władzę z wieloma bohaterami, których poznajemy dzięki ich perspektywie oraz z punktu widzenia innych protagonistów. Każdy z nich jest inny, aczkolwiek nie będę ukrywać, nie przywiązałam się do żadnego z nich 😆

To nie była jakaś fantastyczna książka, ale dobrze mi się ją czytało. Chociaż na samym początku byłam trochę zdezorientowana kto jest kim, kto się z kim łączy i w jaki sposób, ale później nie stanowiło to żadnego problemu.

Polecam osobom, które szukają czegoś trochę dziwnego, inspirowanego Japonią i poniekąd Grą o Tron i czegoś, co pomoże im się odmóżdżyć i sprawi, że będą się dobrze bawić 🫶🏼

[Alanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like it's taken me a while to finish this (well, longer than usual), despite it being incredibly fast paced. It's described as being set in a "mythical medieval Japan" and as such, much of the story is tied up in complex family lineage, with many characters having similar names. I felt like I had to read carefully and often had to re-visit certain pages and the handy character list at the beginning of the book.

A difficult book to describe, but a "Japanese Game of Thrones" is probably the closest thing I can think of. It's written beautifully and the story is completely absorbing (once you settle into the flow).

[Poli · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read the first five books in the Otori tales I was fascinated by the world, it was complex, tragic and beautiful in equal measures, so much so that i tried to linger there by reading a short story from the author.
The tale of Shikanoko takes us back to that world, but at its origins. Here we witness the origin of the tribe and get to know how Jato obtained its magic.
I'm not particularly into Shika (think he could be more complex than he is) yet it's nice to be inside this world again.

[Paulina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przeczytałam (i polubiłam) w życiu sporo dziwnych książek, ale tej nie jestem w stanie wytłumaczyć. Najbardziej w niej uwielbiam sceny poważnych starć rozegrane w czterech zdaniach. Rozumiem i szanuję. Wbrew rozsądkowi, lubię bardzo, bawiłam się przednio.

Nie mogę wziąć jej na poważnie. Bez sensu, ale z sensem.

[blok sera szwajcarskiego · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bardzo, bardzo porządny kawał świetnej fanatastyki. Pomijając fakt, że zajęło mi pół roku nim wróciłam do książki, muszę przyznać że nawet większość fabuły pamiętałam, i jedyny problem miałam z przypomnieniem sobie kto z kim pozostawał w jakiej relacji.

[Cliché · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25, dobra historia o feudalnej Japonii, jednakże imo za dużo tu postaci, które mi się mieszały, kto z kim i dlaczego. Ale końcówkę zrozumiałam i trochę mi przykro, przez to jak potoczyła się jedna sprawa z głównymi bohaterami.
Książkę polecam dla każdego fana feudalnej Japonii i w ogóle Japonii.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as big a fan of this series as of the “Tales of the Otori” but hey :) I eat up this kind of fantasy content

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jeśli będziesz czekać, aż skończy się zima, stracisz miesiące."

[Alex Helling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kazumaru is heir to a small domain but his father has died in unusual circumstances and he is being brought up by his uncle but his uncle is not inclined to hand it over and so Kazumaru is to be killed. This is the start of a journey of learning and revenge for Kazumaru, now called Shikanoko. This journey rapidly gets mixed up in peculiar magic and sorcery. It also intertwines with much wider events as there are plots to dethrone the current Emperor.

Pros
Great setting
Interesting plot and characters

Cons
Too rapid ending
Magic too soft

The grand overarching narrative is around the conflict between two houses over control of the empire. The main character is at least nominally on the side of the reigning family that have the mandate of heaven. But with his main thoughts narrowly focused on revenge and his own domain he is quite ambivalent to the wider events and it is not always clear which side he is on. As a result Shikanoko is not always the most relatable hero. However he is only one of half a dozen characters who have their own chapters, many of whom, such as Akihime related to the emperor, and Hina are much more normal and relatable.

Hearn has quite a light touch writing style, the descriptions are sufficient to give depth and provide an image of the scene without dragging the story down. It moves quite quickly, despite being wide ranging, covering years in one comparatively short novel.

It is the setting that sets Emperor of the Eight Islands apart from most fantasy; it is based on Japanese history and mythology rather than anything western. Although not exactly corresponding to any point in history, Hearn has clearly drawn from the conflict between the Taira and Minamoto in the 12th Century - a conflict between two major families over who would control Japan through the Emperor. This world is also a land of spirits and magic with which there is also a clear Japanese (and to a more limited extent Chinese) influence.

My main issues with the book are interconnected. The magic does not have any clear rules to it, and the characters either don't know how it works or don't care to give any hints to the reader. It just is. They do it by mental feel. This I think can work well in a book, but not if it is going to be a main element of the plot because it just leaves the reader wondering what happened.

Which leads me to what happened at the end? Not a good climax. It is a sorcery battle in which one side wins and the winner loses something too. But it is all rather murky, albeit fast. I am left wondering… eh? The issue with this kind of ending is that the reader (or at least I) feel rather cheated as we don't really understand what happened, it is not satisfying. That said, the ending is not all bad. It resolves some main plotlines and leaves plenty to deal with in the next book so a good way to make sure the reader gets the next one.

As an aside, why is it called the Emperor of Eight Islands? The map (always good to have) doesn’t show islands - it appears to be a stretch of continent with a north and south sea.

A good novel if you like Oriental fantasy settings and like picking out the influences. Less good if you want a comprehensible ending. But since it is book one of two hopefully the real ending is better.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review also appears on my blog alexreadsboooks
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Kazumaru is about to be killed by his uncle, who wants to take over the family's estate once and for all, but a stag saves him in the last second. What follows is a tale of magic, demons and political intrigue that sees a family toppled, a mysterious woman looking for five fathers for her children, and a powerful  priest meddling in the politics of the country.


I picked this up  because I felt like reading something inspired by Japanese culture, and since Emperor of the Eight Islands is set in a fictional medieval Japan it seemed perfect. Besides, I loved Hearn's Tales of the Otori series when I read it years ago.

Emperor of the Eight Islands weaves a wonderful tale of intrique and politics. The world is built quite well, and while my knowledge of medieval Japan is limited, the feeling of the world checks out against my experience with manga set in similar settings.

The dialogue was a bit too stilted for my tastes in the beginning, but as I read on the overall style of the narration drew me in and the dialogue fit in very well with that after all. In fact, the narration is one of my favourite things about this book (and it was already a favourite in Tales of the Otori if memory serves right), because to me it just fits in so well with the overall world building and the characters. I'm not sure if I'm bringing it across properly, but it's a narrative voice that reminds me of some of my favourite story-telling in Japanese media, and I just really love that.

The characters are a bit of a weak point in my opinion. Some of them are amazingly complex and interesting. However, I felt that some of them could have been explored a bit more, and were kept a little one dimensional for my tastes.

Another thing that I already loved in Tales of the Otori and that has carried over to The Tale of Shikanoko so far, is the complete avoidance of dropping random Japanese words into the text. To me there's nothing that throws me off more than throwing in random Japanese words and '-san's and '-chans' just for the sake of it (and italicizing them on top of it as so many books do). It just reads a lot like something a 16-year-old weeaboo would do (believe me, I've been there myself). There's stories where it's appropriate and actually realistic to throw in words in other languages (bilingual characters come to mind, or multilingual and multicultural societies like the one in Ian McDonald's Luna series) but a world that is practically free from outsiders and where everyone speaks the same language is not the place for this. Believe me, we know that we're in Japan, even if you only use English words.
Sorry for the tangent, my point is that Hearn does not use Japanese words and honorifics just for the sake of it, which makes the world building and the text in itself so much better.

Overall I really liked Emperor of the Eight Islands, and while it's probably not the most amazing book out there it does a great job at things I've seen fail before.

[Terra Epsilon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Piać z zachwytu nie będę i nie miałam żadnego ,,dlaczego tak długo zwlekałam z czytaniem?!", aczkolwiek podobało mi się i nie uważam czasu na czytanie tego za stracony. Mam nawet (choć umiarkowaną) chęć sięgnięcia po kontynuację.

W głównej mierze wynika to jednak z moich własnych skojarzeń z jedną z moich ulubionych mang - Łowcy Dusz. I tam, i tutaj świat śmiertelników miesza się ze światem duchowym, a w walkę o przejęcie tronu cesarstwa wtrącają się nadprzyrodzone byty. Innymi słowy - polityka, waleczni bohaterowie, duchy i demony, cwani złodupcy oraz magia, a to wszystko podlane klimatem wyciągniętym z japońskiego folkloru. Wybitnie nie jest, ale to solidna, wielowątkowa historia, choć może nie być dla każdego. Mi osobiście kojarzyła się z baśnią - pełno w niej rzeczy, które mogą wydawać się dziwaczne i może nazbyt ,,fantastyczne" (nawet jak na fantastykę). I chociaż Shikanoko jest tym głównym bohaterem, tak powieść skupia się przede wszystkim na historii - bohaterowie są tu tylko motorem napędowym, pionkami pchającymi historię do przodu. Jednak w tym wypadku nie jest to jakiś minus, bo sama opowieść ma właśnie taki klimat, silnie związany z przeznaczeniem i tym, że wszystkie decyzje i działania bohaterów prowadzą do z góry ustalonego celu. Bohaterowie to tylko pionki, które nawet jeśli walczą z własnym przeznaczeniem, to koniec końców i tak lądują na konkretnej drodze.

O czym jednak na pewno muszę wspomnieć to pewne wątki, które mogą wydać się... niekomfortowe, tak to ujmijmy. Nie jest to coś, co przekreślałoby całą książkę, bo mimo wszystko to część wykreowanego w taki a nie inny sposób świata. Ja osobiście na przykład czułam się nieswojo przy wątku, gdzie jeden z bohaterów przygarnął małą dziewczynkę, jakieś 10-12 lat, która była córką wrogiego dowódcy. Bohater jednak nie chciał zabijać niewinnego dziecka (szlachetne), więc adoptował ją jako sierotę. Problem w tym, że nie chodziło o sam fakt przygarnięcia jej jako córki... otóż rzeczony bohater chciał ją w przyszłości wziąć za żonę, bo mu się spodobała. Już nawet pal licho dziecko jako narzeczona (świat jest kreowany na feudalną Japonię), ale kilka razy chłop ewidentnie nie mógł się doczekać, aż młoda podrośnie i będzie mógł z nią na legalu... To było dla mnie bardzo niekomfortowe do czytania... ale jednocześnie całe tło tego wątku samo w sobie było intrygujące (fakt, że bohater oszczędził dziecko wroga i miał wątpliwości czy stoi po tej ,,dobrej" stronie). Może nie było to aż tak wpychane, choć ewidentnie było widać fascynację dorosłego mężczyzny dzieckiem... ale tylko na tego typu uwagach się skończyło (na szczęście!).

Polecić mogę, choć nie obiecuję, że wciągnie. Mi się podobało, chociaż z odczuciem bardziej w stronę ,,umiarkowanie".

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kazumaru is treacherously slain by his uncle so he can inherit the estate that is rightfully Kazumaru’s. Or is he. while tumbling down a cliff side Kazumaru’s fall is broken by a stag. He ends up living with a powerful sorcerer in the forest, who fashions him a mask of great power out of the stag’s skull, and Kazumaru becomes Shikanoko and eventually falls in with a band of outlaws, the leader of who wants his own mask.
Meanwhile back in town there is meddling going on to alter the succession of the throne and the real heir apparent, who is only a child, escapes with his best friend under the care of the Autumn Princess.

The first part of the Emporer of the Eight Islands almost feels like a barrage of names, both of people and places. Luckily at the beginning there is a list of characters that feature, but after I had turned to it for the 48th time by page 3, I decided to lose myself in the flow and try to remember who I could. Eventually the characters fall into place, as Shikanoko ends up a semi outlaw trapped partially within the lord Abbot’s power and Lord Kiyoyori’s spirit is channelled into an unborn horse and Master Sesshin’s eyes release the house bound spirits Hidari and Migi.
As you can tell Lian Hearn delves into what I guess are Japanese myths and legends all which roam the land of the eight islands as much as the humans and horses do.

As the Lord Abbott seeks to control Shikanoko, who himself struggles to heed Sesshin’s advice over the mysterious spider tribe he helps bring into the world, the Emperor joins a troupe of performers in a lakeside town and disappears into his new life with all the relish that youthful expression and freedom can bring.

The story is spun out with each chapter focusing on a particular character, but which still drives the story along at pace, and they start intertwining towards the ending of this first book. Strangely it seems that in some regions it has been published as four books, but in the UK it’s been condensed into two.

If you enjoyed Hearn’s tales of the Otori series or Blossoms and Shadows then you will enjoy this, it kept me captivated throughout while it doesn’t do anything new, it doesn’t seem formulaic either. The ending resolves some conflicts but not the entire narrative but is not a cliffhanger. Still, you’ll want to read book two..
(blog review here)

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway - my thanks to Hachette.

Okay, I'll start with the cover, which I must say was brilliant. The red on the white with just a touch of black was what caught my attention on the computer screen and I was even more overjoyed when I unravelled it from it's packaging. To me, it was beautiful.

Now onto the book. I'll try not to give much away but it is mainly focused around a young lord turned warrior turned sorceror named Kazumaru, who later became known as Shikanoko, the deer's child. I thought Shikanoko was a wonderful character; he wasn't the strong, hero type I was expecting when I read the word's "the tale of shikanoko" on the cover. Instead he is a young man struggling to find his path in life, a man who had made many mistakes his life before he discovered his destiny. He was human (to an extent) with his emotions and I thought the author did a great job of portraying him.

The other characters who also 'spoke' throughout the book were all very different. You had a spiteful wife, a young lord, another lord who couldn't decide which side he was on, a princess, a now dead lord, the emperor and a young girl (to name a few). They felt real when they came into play and my favourite character was Akihime. She was strong and brave, but she did fear things and she was sometimes undecided in what to do when certain events came along - she was a character the reader could probably relate with.

The word that Hearn created was masterful and so intriguing, from the shrines to the Darkwood, from the estates and towns to the temples. Rich description to show it all. One problem I had and does have something to do with how I read words that I am not familiar with (nothing wrong on the authors part) was that there seemed to be too many people starting with the letter 'M' or there were too many places starting with 'R'. After a while, I was getting a bit tongue twisted with Rinrakuji and Ryusonji. But the names of places were exotic and fitting the settings perfectly.

Overall, a very great story and I recommend it to others to have a read of.

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Your life is not your own. You will die to one life and rise to another, to become what you are meant to be.’

This book contains the first two books of ‘The Tale of Shikanoko’: Book One: ‘Emperor of the Eight Islands’ and Book Two: ‘Autumn Princess, Dragon Child’.

There’s plenty of action in the opening pages: a future lord is dispossessed of his birthright by his uncle, a mountain sorcerer turns a stag’s skull into a powerful mask, a father forces his younger son to give his wife to his older brother, and a priest seeks to change the succession to the Lotus Throne. The rightful heir, a child, escapes from the capital – barely.

The characters, the links between man and nature, the magic, and the setting have all combined to make this a memorable read for me.

This novel is set in a fantasy world, based on a medieval Japan, where animals and spirits are also important characters. This is a world of contrast, where action moves between battlefields, castles, forests, and temples. Where many of the characters are in pursuit of power, and sometimes of truth. While Shikanoko is the main character in this novel, there are many other characters whose stories will intersect with his. The list of characters at the beginning of the novel comes in very handy, especially initially.

‘The dragon child, he flew too high.’

These are the first two of four books in Lian Hearn’s new fantasy saga entitled ‘The Tale of Shikanoko’. All four of the books are scheduled for publication in 2016. I am waiting (impatiently) for the next two books. Having entered this world, I want to see how it will work out, to see how the characters develop, to try to figure out the links with and consequences for the ‘Tales of the Otori’.

If you enjoyed the medieval fantasy world Lian Hearn created in ‘The Tales of the Otori’ then, here’s a chance to revisit.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith