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守り人 [Moribito] #3
El guardián del sueño
Por encima de todas las cosas, Balsa es una luchadora. Ocho hombres murieron para que ella sobreviviera. Ahora ofrece protección a niños y adultos, ricos y pobres, en su búsqueda de redención por aquellas muertes. Balsa es una experta en artes marciales y una maestra en el manejo de la lanza que desconcierta a sus rivales por su valor y su resistencia al dolor.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2000
6 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Nahoko Uehashi
88 books354 followersNahoko Uehashi is the author of ten books in the Moribito series, which have sold more than a million copies and won many major literary awards in her native Japan. An associate professor at a Japanese university, she has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and studies indigenous peoples in Australia. She lives near Tokyo, Japan.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 26, 2021
I'm currently reading Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb and I needed a tiny break before I continued with it, so reading a standalone in a series I adore was a definite easy choice to make... ESPECIALLY NOW THAT IT BECAME AVAILABLE!!
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This is the first story of the 3 I've read so far, where Balsa, is not the main driving force of any of the critical events. She is somewhat more accurately portrayed of her job as a bodyguard, by being a protector who's on the sidelines more than anything, which I, at first was not very optimistic about.
I love Balsa, I love her unyielding focus and spirit and I absolutely love her strength. Therefore, having her be aside felt like it won't be something I'll enjoy much.
Ever heard of a blessing in disguise? This was probably that as Balsa being aside this time, after her brilliant story and closure in Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness, gave the needed space for other characters to fill in that void and in turn gave me the needed backstories I didn't hear yet about them.
I got some brief bits of information about her previous companions when I had that first adventure with them, but this time along, Tanda and Torogai were the main driving forces behind almost everything. The latter specifically, I didn't expect to know so much about Torogai here, but I definitely am not complaining. Her time before becoming a magic weaver, how she became one, a story about her family and how all of that ties into the plot we see this time along.
Tanda as well, I learn about his side of things from growing up in a village and then becoming Torogai's apprentice. He also had a very important role to play here, which I didn't expect to see to this extent, but I don't think it was a bad choice. He has the initiative as I've seen before and expanding on that feels like the natural next step. I will however, admit that because of the series taking this approach in this book, it made the encounter with the final boss or the final solution, let's say, a bit too easy for my taste. There was no immediate felt danger for me, and considering that I enjoy this part of Uehashi Nahoko's writing, I was a bit bummed out.
I think that the other one of my main issues here is that (alongside the easiness mentioned earlier), in comparison to the previous two books, the plot in this one felt weaker. The author is seemingly going to be tackling a legend in the world in every installment, so if we go with this episodic approach then it's clear that not all of them will be impressive to read. Yes, the situation could potentially be dangerous if not dealt with and there are mentions of that as we go forward, but I didn't feel like I cared all that much, while also keeping in mind my lack of danger feeling here.
Dreams are a very hard thing to get right in my opinion, as a main focus of any plot, a side one is fine, but the main? That's hard, I don't recall ever reading about a book where the characters being in a dream made me hold my breath in anticipation of what could happen. Therefore, I applaud the efforts, but I don't think it's as strong as the others as a collective product.
Which is probably why it's a great thing that the characters are almost all familiar faces that made following them the main drive behind my journey in this book. How they reacted with it and displayed their abilities that are a definite fit was a clever spin on it, I rooted for them which got me engaged and I believe that it's a win for all.
Another kind soul has translated the 4th book, and I will be leaving that for a bad day.
Final rating: 3.5/5
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This is the first story of the 3 I've read so far, where Balsa, is not the main driving force of any of the critical events. She is somewhat more accurately portrayed of her job as a bodyguard, by being a protector who's on the sidelines more than anything, which I, at first was not very optimistic about.
I love Balsa, I love her unyielding focus and spirit and I absolutely love her strength. Therefore, having her be aside felt like it won't be something I'll enjoy much.
Ever heard of a blessing in disguise? This was probably that as Balsa being aside this time, after her brilliant story and closure in Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness, gave the needed space for other characters to fill in that void and in turn gave me the needed backstories I didn't hear yet about them.
I got some brief bits of information about her previous companions when I had that first adventure with them, but this time along, Tanda and Torogai were the main driving forces behind almost everything. The latter specifically, I didn't expect to know so much about Torogai here, but I definitely am not complaining. Her time before becoming a magic weaver, how she became one, a story about her family and how all of that ties into the plot we see this time along.
Tanda as well, I learn about his side of things from growing up in a village and then becoming Torogai's apprentice. He also had a very important role to play here, which I didn't expect to see to this extent, but I don't think it was a bad choice. He has the initiative as I've seen before and expanding on that feels like the natural next step. I will however, admit that because of the series taking this approach in this book, it made the encounter with the final boss or the final solution, let's say, a bit too easy for my taste. There was no immediate felt danger for me, and considering that I enjoy this part of Uehashi Nahoko's writing, I was a bit bummed out.
I think that the other one of my main issues here is that (alongside the easiness mentioned earlier), in comparison to the previous two books, the plot in this one felt weaker. The author is seemingly going to be tackling a legend in the world in every installment, so if we go with this episodic approach then it's clear that not all of them will be impressive to read. Yes, the situation could potentially be dangerous if not dealt with and there are mentions of that as we go forward, but I didn't feel like I cared all that much, while also keeping in mind my lack of danger feeling here.
Dreams are a very hard thing to get right in my opinion, as a main focus of any plot, a side one is fine, but the main? That's hard, I don't recall ever reading about a book where the characters being in a dream made me hold my breath in anticipation of what could happen. Therefore, I applaud the efforts, but I don't think it's as strong as the others as a collective product.
Which is probably why it's a great thing that the characters are almost all familiar faces that made following them the main drive behind my journey in this book. How they reacted with it and displayed their abilities that are a definite fit was a clever spin on it, I rooted for them which got me engaged and I believe that it's a win for all.
Another kind soul has translated the 4th book, and I will be leaving that for a bad day.
Final rating: 3.5/5
March 18, 2019
Another good book in the series! It was great to learn the backstory of a couple more members of the main cast.
I wasn't as taken up with the plot/action this time around, not sure why. But I did really enjoy the characters interactions with each other though, in contrast to the first book, everyone is pretty nice to each other. I think that might be why I wasn't as invested because it seemed like there wasn't as much conflict between characters as it was characters trying to avoid hurting each other. Sometimes I enjoy books like that, but must of the time I'd like to have at least one character to root against.
I also learned a lot of new vocabulary about flowers, pollination, etc. So that's great, haha.
I wasn't as taken up with the plot/action this time around, not sure why. But I did really enjoy the characters interactions with each other though, in contrast to the first book, everyone is pretty nice to each other. I think that might be why I wasn't as invested because it seemed like there wasn't as much conflict between characters as it was characters trying to avoid hurting each other. Sometimes I enjoy books like that, but must of the time I'd like to have at least one character to root against.
I also learned a lot of new vocabulary about flowers, pollination, etc. So that's great, haha.
May 30, 2023
English Title: Guardian of the Dream. I read Ainikki's fan translation of this book, immediately after "The Wanderer". Note: though The Wanderer was released as book #11, it is a prequel story, and works well as an interquel between books 2 &3.
The plot of this book centers around a flower that is blooming in the world of souls. This flower blooms once every 50 years, at which point it must leave its seed in the soul of someone. When it gets close to blooming, it begins calling potential souls. The souls become trapped in a dream, while the person's body is in a coma-like state. The book follows the efforts of Tanda, Torogai, and Shuga in figuring out how to call people's souls back. Meanwhile, Balsa is guarding a traveling singer whose song seems to be linked to this process, and Chagum is chafing trying to adjust to becoming the crown prince.
The framing of this story is weaker than the first 2 books. We never really understand how the flower effects the real world, or why it is important that it blooms. If that piece had been included, I think the book would have benefitted greatly from it. Where this book excels though is in the character work. Guardian of the Darkness was essentially a Balsa solo story. This story, Guardian of the Dream, includes all of the characters from the original novel, and furthers their story. This includes minor characters like Jin, Toya, and Saya as well as the main characters. In many ways, this is the true sequel to Guardian of the Spirit, and it pains me that we never got it in English.
The theme of this book is grief, and moving past it. The theme is echoed mostly by Torogai, Balsa, and Chagum. Tanda, as the hero of the story, does not know how to deal with grief. He has too much empathy, and is drawn into sharing others' grief, rather than rising above it. It is for this reason that I love Uehashi's writing. Tanda is far from perfect, and needs people's help to overcome his weaknesses. Balsa is the same way; her weakness is that she loves fighting, but hates hurting people. However, the main reason I love Uehashi is not because the characters have flaws, but because she's not afraid to let those flaws shape and change the characters, leaving them different people by the end of the book. Balsa's development is understated in this novel, but it's an important shift that shows that an eventual happy ending might be possible for her.
In all, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The plot is somewhat lacking, but the characters and themes are on point. The fandom for Moribito considers this to be the worst book in the series, so I have no idea what I'm in for from here.
The plot of this book centers around a flower that is blooming in the world of souls. This flower blooms once every 50 years, at which point it must leave its seed in the soul of someone. When it gets close to blooming, it begins calling potential souls. The souls become trapped in a dream, while the person's body is in a coma-like state. The book follows the efforts of Tanda, Torogai, and Shuga in figuring out how to call people's souls back. Meanwhile, Balsa is guarding a traveling singer whose song seems to be linked to this process, and Chagum is chafing trying to adjust to becoming the crown prince.
The framing of this story is weaker than the first 2 books. We never really understand how the flower effects the real world, or why it is important that it blooms. If that piece had been included, I think the book would have benefitted greatly from it. Where this book excels though is in the character work. Guardian of the Darkness was essentially a Balsa solo story. This story, Guardian of the Dream, includes all of the characters from the original novel, and furthers their story. This includes minor characters like Jin, Toya, and Saya as well as the main characters. In many ways, this is the true sequel to Guardian of the Spirit, and it pains me that we never got it in English.
The theme of this book is grief, and moving past it. The theme is echoed mostly by Torogai, Balsa, and Chagum. Tanda, as the hero of the story, does not know how to deal with grief. He has too much empathy, and is drawn into sharing others' grief, rather than rising above it. It is for this reason that I love Uehashi's writing. Tanda is far from perfect, and needs people's help to overcome his weaknesses. Balsa is the same way; her weakness is that she loves fighting, but hates hurting people. However, the main reason I love Uehashi is not because the characters have flaws, but because she's not afraid to let those flaws shape and change the characters, leaving them different people by the end of the book. Balsa's development is understated in this novel, but it's an important shift that shows that an eventual happy ending might be possible for her.
In all, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. The plot is somewhat lacking, but the characters and themes are on point. The fandom for Moribito considers this to be the worst book in the series, so I have no idea what I'm in for from here.
September 27, 2023
মরিবিতো সিরিজের তৃতীয় বই, "গার্ডিয়ান অফ ড্রিমস" এর ফ্যান অনুবাদ এটা। অফিশিয়াল অনুবাদের সাথে এটার পার্থক্য করতে পারিনি, অনুবাদক বেশ যত্ন নিয়ে অনুবাদ করেছেন।
এই বইটা আগের দুই বইয়ের চাইতে বেশি জাদুময় লেগেছে। তোরোগাই শামানের অতীত জানতে পেরেছি। গল্পের মূল প্লটে মহাজাগতিক পদ্মফুলের পরাগায়নের সাথে পৃথিবীর মানুষদের স্বপ্ন আর আত্মা কীভাবে জড়িত তা গুরুত্ব পেয়েছে৷ মরিবিতো সিরিজ সবসময়ই পৃথিবীর সাধারণ কোনো বিষয়ের সাথে ফ্যান্টাসির মেলবন্ধন করাতে পারদর্শী, এবারের বেলাতেও স্বপ্ন আর আত্মার সাথে নেকটার আর মৌমাছির প্যারালেল চমৎকার মানিয়েছে।
প্রথম বইয়ের অনেক চরিত্র, যারা দ্বিতীয় বইয়ে ছিল না তারা এবার গল্পের ভূমিকায় ছিল।
এই বইটা আগের দুই বইয়ের চাইতে বেশি জাদুময় লেগেছে। তোরোগাই শামানের অতীত জানতে পেরেছি। গল্পের মূল প্লটে মহাজাগতিক পদ্মফুলের পরাগায়নের সাথে পৃথিবীর মানুষদের স্বপ্ন আর আত্মা কীভাবে জড়িত তা গুরুত্ব পেয়েছে৷ মরিবিতো সিরিজ সবসময়ই পৃথিবীর সাধারণ কোনো বিষয়ের সাথে ফ্যান্টাসির মেলবন্ধন করাতে পারদর্শী, এবারের বেলাতেও স্বপ্ন আর আত্মার সাথে নেকটার আর মৌমাছির প্যারালেল চমৎকার মানিয়েছে।
প্রথম বইয়ের অনেক চরিত্র, যারা দ্বিতীয় বইয়ে ছিল না তারা এবার গল্পের ভূমিকায় ছিল।
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2017
Me ha encantado volver con estos personajes, pero el argumento me ha resultado algo decepcionante. Demasiado confuso.
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