Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Loved it! Great story and characters, with just a touch of fantasy in the form of "magic" (or "cursed") swords.
4.5 Stars, actually.
Daughter of the Sword breathes fresh air into Urban Fantasy.
Mariko Oshiro is a Japanese female cop in one of the most elite police forces in Japan. As if that wasn't enough to make her life difficult, she's also got a meth addict sister, a childhood spent in the United States marking her "different", and a new commanding officer hell-bent on busting her down to coffee-maker for their office.
Rumors of a new yakuza drug pusher, a break-in at an old man's house to steal a priceless sword, and Japan's destiny weave together to force Mariko to battle a thousand years-old curse.
What pushes this beyond your everyday kick-ass woman with a sword is how Bein wove backstories of the swords through the main narrative. Switching between Mariko and various periods in Japanese history was very cool.
He got most of the historical and cultural details right as far as I can tell (I've lived in Japan more than 6 years). Bein's descriptions sometimes have a cool twist: "Beyond the glass stretched the crazed labyrinth of Shinjuku, a werewolf in urban form, biding its time until nightfall to unleash its full madness."
Nothing rubbed me the wrong way beyond a tendency for a character to occasionally veer into pondering about Japan in a slighly unauthentic way ("Was it the unflappable demeanor the Japanese were famous for the world over?")
And the sword fighting scenes were excellent; not too mired down in technique to be boring, but visually accurate enough for me to see what was going on.
So why not 5 stars? It's a matter of personal taste. I wanted more Mariko. She was so cool, and her position teetering in a precarious place in society both emotionally and professionally was so frought with interesting subtones. Urban Fantasy is at its best when the main character hooks into your heart and takes you along for the ride. Mariko certainly hooked into my heart (as well as Keiji from one of the sword backstories) but the nature of the intertwined narratives prevented me from getting all the juicy emotional scenes I really wanted.
I'm a romance junkie as well, since Mariko's biggest concern is her meth-addict sister and keeping herself from being fired, if you're looking for a romantic Urban Fantasy, this is not your book. But if you're open to fresh Urban Fantasy with a conflicted cop caught up in the destiny of three swords that changed Japan's history, then definitely go buy this book.
This Book's Snack Rating: Terra Blue Potato Chips for the fresh taste of a kick-ass lady cop on the hardy crunch of well-researched, intertwined narratives
Daughter of the Sword breathes fresh air into Urban Fantasy.
Mariko Oshiro is a Japanese female cop in one of the most elite police forces in Japan. As if that wasn't enough to make her life difficult, she's also got a meth addict sister, a childhood spent in the United States marking her "different", and a new commanding officer hell-bent on busting her down to coffee-maker for their office.
Rumors of a new yakuza drug pusher, a break-in at an old man's house to steal a priceless sword, and Japan's destiny weave together to force Mariko to battle a thousand years-old curse.
What pushes this beyond your everyday kick-ass woman with a sword is how Bein wove backstories of the swords through the main narrative. Switching between Mariko and various periods in Japanese history was very cool.
He got most of the historical and cultural details right as far as I can tell (I've lived in Japan more than 6 years). Bein's descriptions sometimes have a cool twist: "Beyond the glass stretched the crazed labyrinth of Shinjuku, a werewolf in urban form, biding its time until nightfall to unleash its full madness."
Nothing rubbed me the wrong way beyond a tendency for a character to occasionally veer into pondering about Japan in a slighly unauthentic way ("Was it the unflappable demeanor the Japanese were famous for the world over?")
And the sword fighting scenes were excellent; not too mired down in technique to be boring, but visually accurate enough for me to see what was going on.
So why not 5 stars? It's a matter of personal taste. I wanted more Mariko. She was so cool, and her position teetering in a precarious place in society both emotionally and professionally was so frought with interesting subtones. Urban Fantasy is at its best when the main character hooks into your heart and takes you along for the ride. Mariko certainly hooked into my heart (as well as Keiji from one of the sword backstories) but the nature of the intertwined narratives prevented me from getting all the juicy emotional scenes I really wanted.
I'm a romance junkie as well, since Mariko's biggest concern is her meth-addict sister and keeping herself from being fired, if you're looking for a romantic Urban Fantasy, this is not your book. But if you're open to fresh Urban Fantasy with a conflicted cop caught up in the destiny of three swords that changed Japan's history, then definitely go buy this book.
This Book's Snack Rating: Terra Blue Potato Chips for the fresh taste of a kick-ass lady cop on the hardy crunch of well-researched, intertwined narratives
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I am not terribly enthusiastic about this book. The story is interesting and I enjoyed jumping from modern Japan to previous points in history and back again. I also recognize that the author worked to keep the history accurate. I loved the personification of the swords. However, the characters felt a bit stereotypical and the conversation is dreadful in my opinion. The dialog is stilted at best. No way a hardened, drug-dealing, methhead is going to say "alrighty" when threatened by a cop. And who says "do come in" when answering the door, a line used in several places? With that said, I will probably try other stories by Steve Bein. He weaves a good tale.
Very clever story line. Perfect mix of historical fiction and modern-day police work.
If this book were a newspaper article, it would read:
"Crazy lady destroys priceless sword 'because it was cursed'"
"Crazy lady destroys priceless sword 'because it was cursed'"
Their were aspects of this story that I truly enjoyed, like the historical vignettes and the subtle fantasy aspects of the story. Over all I would recommend this story. I am interested to see in what direction Bein takes this series.
Really liked this book. Bein has a clean, clear way of writing, especially when it comes to action scenes. And there are plenty of those in this story of haunted swords. (Yes, haunted. Not cursed. I know, right? Interesting take.)
The book follows the swords through Japan, both historic & contemporary, & though I initially worried I wouldn't be able to connect to every episode, in fact Bein's writing carried me through. He writes sensitively without being sentimental. Which is less surprising when you find out that he's apparently a visiting professor of Asian philosophy--& an accomplished martial artist.
Found this book in a local community book-swap library. Pretty sure I replaced it with two lesser books. ;)
The book follows the swords through Japan, both historic & contemporary, & though I initially worried I wouldn't be able to connect to every episode, in fact Bein's writing carried me through. He writes sensitively without being sentimental. Which is less surprising when you find out that he's apparently a visiting professor of Asian philosophy--& an accomplished martial artist.
Found this book in a local community book-swap library. Pretty sure I replaced it with two lesser books. ;)
Loved it! I believe i would’ve given it five stars if it had went more into fuchido sans head. The back and forth between the present and the past makes the legends of the sword real and impressive.