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The Guin Saga #5
辺境の王者―グイン・サーガ(5)
The Guin Saga is epic fantasy at its best. This installment concludes the Marches episode of thr 100-volume saga.
Paperback Bunko
First published September 30, 1980
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About the author
Kaoru Kurimoto
458 books31 followersKaoru Kurimoto ( 栗本 薫, Kurimoto Kaoru, February 13, 1953 – May 26, 2009) was the pen name of Sumiyo Imaoka (今岡 純代, Imaoka Sumiyo), a Japanese novelist. Imaoka also used the pen name Azusa Nakajima (中島 梓, Nakajima Azusa) to write criticism and music. She was known for her record-breaking 130-volume Guin Saga series, which has been translated into English, German, French, Italian and Russian. Her style has been described as being part of the New Wave science fiction movement.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 15, 2014
Guin, the mighty leopard, has been fighting against the Mongauli forces for quite some time now, finally banding together the Sem forces into one unit. And though they are smart and strong with Guin's leadership, they are simply not enough to stand against Mongaul alone.
Seeing this problem, Guin sets out on what he promises to be a four day journey to find aid. He leaves the twins with the Sem and races off into the desert with the blessing of the Raku Sem chief Loto. But something goes wrong, and he is swept into the mountains by some unknown force. There he meets a strange wolf that leads him exactly where he wants to go, then disappears. While Guin is confused about the happenings, he finds a crystal stick, and carries it on his journey.
Unbeknownst to him, he has wandered into the territory of the very people he seeks to find. But they don't find him as friendly as he hoped. He is forced into combat with one of the leaders to even have them listen to him. He withdraws the strange stick during the fight and the Lagon immediately begin to worship him. According to the second leader of the tribe, Kah the Wise, this stick is a diety followed by the Lagon.
Meanwhile, the Sem's tribal alliances have broken at the seams. The Mongauli take this opportunity to attack and slaughter the Sem. They escape into the mountains, but the Mongauli forces pursue them, becoming more and more brutal with each attack. The twins have been captured, and Istivan has fled. Without Guin, all is lost. Will he make it back in time?
A great conclusion to a great series. This book really put a nice close on it, and I really enjoyed it. I give this book an 8 out of 10, and for those that have read the other books, the last one is the best of all.
Seeing this problem, Guin sets out on what he promises to be a four day journey to find aid. He leaves the twins with the Sem and races off into the desert with the blessing of the Raku Sem chief Loto. But something goes wrong, and he is swept into the mountains by some unknown force. There he meets a strange wolf that leads him exactly where he wants to go, then disappears. While Guin is confused about the happenings, he finds a crystal stick, and carries it on his journey.
Unbeknownst to him, he has wandered into the territory of the very people he seeks to find. But they don't find him as friendly as he hoped. He is forced into combat with one of the leaders to even have them listen to him. He withdraws the strange stick during the fight and the Lagon immediately begin to worship him. According to the second leader of the tribe, Kah the Wise, this stick is a diety followed by the Lagon.
Meanwhile, the Sem's tribal alliances have broken at the seams. The Mongauli take this opportunity to attack and slaughter the Sem. They escape into the mountains, but the Mongauli forces pursue them, becoming more and more brutal with each attack. The twins have been captured, and Istivan has fled. Without Guin, all is lost. Will he make it back in time?
A great conclusion to a great series. This book really put a nice close on it, and I really enjoyed it. I give this book an 8 out of 10, and for those that have read the other books, the last one is the best of all.
January 19, 2018
This is probably the first book in the series that I felt was "too easy." The way Guin finds the legendary Lagon... helped by a huge wolf?
February 26, 2019
Winding to a close the ever improbably and occasionally fantastical mythos of the leopard-headed man-beast known as Guin, BOOK FIVE: THE MARCHES KING ripples with sumptuous language in much the same way the previous four volumes do. No matter how distant and alien the well-trodden correspondence of warriors debating toughness, of lonesome soldiers debating loves lost, or of wildling enemies debating the scent of their defeat . . . no matter how uncommon these intrusions of introspection, it remains true that Kurimoto spends an inordinate amount of time plucking and pulling at every single thread until all is bare.
Fortunately, this fifth volume contains none of the aimless wandering and weirdly phantasmagoric adventure of the previous book. Instead, readers are provided with internal debates galore, as well as a handful of fierce and gruesome battles. Guin quests to find the mythical people of the lagon, while the Sem, tired and frustrated, must fend off the ever-fierce Mongauli army. As is often the case with The Guin Saga, readers will need to charge through 50 or more pages of internal dialogue and wayward philosophizing before hitting upon a solid 25 or 30 pages of gripping warfare. A difficult tradeoff, to be sure, but by the fifth volume, one has become inured to such narrative trappings.
However, regarding the nuts and bolts of the story itself, the author does an excellent job of interweaving a more emotional element into the character's misgivings. The extraordinary death of Count Marus at the close of the previous volume looms large. Such a battle was an incredible feat of storytelling, and one is grateful the warriors of Gohra feel the weight of the man's passing for days thereafter.
And although the wait-and-see tethering of Guin's return to the battlefield is rather bittersweet, BOOK FIVE: THE MARCHES KING does its best to wean readers off of their affection for the man-beast, and instead devote more interest to the fury, the caution, or the intellect of others: Lady Amnelis, absent her avuncular advisor, is a brat; Siba, no longer in the shadow of the Riyaad, grows into leadership; and Rinda, always fleeing from danger, strikes fear into the most impudent soldier ("Astrias flinched in the face of her passionate dignity, overwhelmed by the majestic presence of this fourteen-year-old queen," p. 188).
Altogether, another fun book. One would have loved another volume filled with strategy or another volume with Guin surprising his foes at every turn, but this was not to be such a volume. It's the end of a saga. The afterword, which stretches into infinity, certainly made sure of that.
Fortunately, this fifth volume contains none of the aimless wandering and weirdly phantasmagoric adventure of the previous book. Instead, readers are provided with internal debates galore, as well as a handful of fierce and gruesome battles. Guin quests to find the mythical people of the lagon, while the Sem, tired and frustrated, must fend off the ever-fierce Mongauli army. As is often the case with The Guin Saga, readers will need to charge through 50 or more pages of internal dialogue and wayward philosophizing before hitting upon a solid 25 or 30 pages of gripping warfare. A difficult tradeoff, to be sure, but by the fifth volume, one has become inured to such narrative trappings.
However, regarding the nuts and bolts of the story itself, the author does an excellent job of interweaving a more emotional element into the character's misgivings. The extraordinary death of Count Marus at the close of the previous volume looms large. Such a battle was an incredible feat of storytelling, and one is grateful the warriors of Gohra feel the weight of the man's passing for days thereafter.
And although the wait-and-see tethering of Guin's return to the battlefield is rather bittersweet, BOOK FIVE: THE MARCHES KING does its best to wean readers off of their affection for the man-beast, and instead devote more interest to the fury, the caution, or the intellect of others: Lady Amnelis, absent her avuncular advisor, is a brat; Siba, no longer in the shadow of the Riyaad, grows into leadership; and Rinda, always fleeing from danger, strikes fear into the most impudent soldier ("Astrias flinched in the face of her passionate dignity, overwhelmed by the majestic presence of this fourteen-year-old queen," p. 188).
Altogether, another fun book. One would have loved another volume filled with strategy or another volume with Guin surprising his foes at every turn, but this was not to be such a volume. It's the end of a saga. The afterword, which stretches into infinity, certainly made sure of that.
October 25, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series. When I came to this book I was eager to see how the story could come to an end? The ending of the book felt like it came to abruptly. Overall I enjoyed this read but it definitely left me feeling the need for more and I believe they're are Manga's written after this but not all are translated in English. I would definitely recommend this series to others now completing it but it definitely felt unfinished in a lot of ways and left me craving more.
August 13, 2025
Definitely better than #4 which I gave the same score only due to the vagaries of this system. Be that as it may, this book did a semi-good job of wrapping up the five book series, but the last page or two were weak and insubstantial. readers of the five books deserved better!
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July 27, 2021Honestly I'm furious that this series is over 140 volumes long and English speakers only get the first FIVE?? I want to know what happens so bad!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews