Ono Fuyumi - The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Wind
This is the second book in the Twelve Kingdoms series, and although you don't have to read the first book to follow the plot of this one, which stands alone, this book does build on some of the worldbuilding of the first book.
A young boy is swept away from his unhappy family life in Japan, and when he reaches the world of the twelve kingdoms, he is renamed "Taiki" and told he is the kirin of Tai. As such, he has the duty of selecting the rightful king. Unfortunately, because he did not grow up in this world, he has no idea how to shapeshift or do other things that most kirin can do.
As with the first book, the prose translation feels rather flat, and I seriously question the decision to use words like "lamia" and "faerie" to describe some of the mythological creatures. I'm particularly puzzled by "lamia," which is used to describe the kirin's guardian figure, who seems to be more of a chimera. Also, although I know the original lamia story is not a vampire one, I still associate the word with vampire. Also also, I know there are fairy-like creatures in Chinese mythology (仙女), but why use the "faerie" spelling? It has connotations that do not fit the book! And from what I remember, the faeries in this book don't particularly resemble anything I am familiar with. Instead, it feels like the translator picked random terms that kind off maybe not really fit the creatures in the book and slapped them on, completely disregarding any sort of cultural background.
At least they stayed with "kirin" instead of going for "unicorn."
Anyway! Back to the plot. As with book one, the protagonist may not be likable to everyone, but I actually liked him a great deal. And because I know now that Ono tends to go for a slow build up, I was much less impatient than I was with the first book. I did manage to guess most of what would happen, but for me, the plot was less important than Taiki's character journey, which was carried off well.
Like Rachel (link below), I do wish there had been more examining of how the kirin system of choosing a king is better than a different system. On the other hand, it was good getting a look at the other kirin who was not that successful with his king.
Also, I hope Risai shows up again! She was awesome.
Links:
- rachelmanija's review
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) | Link
A young boy is swept away from his unhappy family life in Japan, and when he reaches the world of the twelve kingdoms, he is renamed "Taiki" and told he is the kirin of Tai. As such, he has the duty of selecting the rightful king. Unfortunately, because he did not grow up in this world, he has no idea how to shapeshift or do other things that most kirin can do.
As with the first book, the prose translation feels rather flat, and I seriously question the decision to use words like "lamia" and "faerie" to describe some of the mythological creatures. I'm particularly puzzled by "lamia," which is used to describe the kirin's guardian figure, who seems to be more of a chimera. Also, although I know the original lamia story is not a vampire one, I still associate the word with vampire. Also also, I know there are fairy-like creatures in Chinese mythology (仙女), but why use the "faerie" spelling? It has connotations that do not fit the book! And from what I remember, the faeries in this book don't particularly resemble anything I am familiar with. Instead, it feels like the translator picked random terms that kind off maybe not really fit the creatures in the book and slapped them on, completely disregarding any sort of cultural background.
At least they stayed with "kirin" instead of going for "unicorn."
Anyway! Back to the plot. As with book one, the protagonist may not be likable to everyone, but I actually liked him a great deal. And because I know now that Ono tends to go for a slow build up, I was much less impatient than I was with the first book. I did manage to guess most of what would happen, but for me, the plot was less important than Taiki's character journey, which was carried off well.
Like Rachel (link below), I do wish there had been more examining of how the kirin system of choosing a king is better than a different system. On the other hand, it was good getting a look at the other kirin who was not that successful with his king.
Also, I hope Risai shows up again! She was awesome.
Links:
- rachelmanija's review
Comment | Read Comments (
) | Link