Across the Nightingale Floor Comments
Tales of the Otori:Across the Nightingale Floor (Lian Hearn)
This series is one of my favorite. Not in several years have I read a fantasy book (or any book) this good, and I have read thousands.
To tell you the truth, I have read so many books that are trash that I have grown used to, perhaps even expecting poor quality
when I read a fantasy novel. Pure drivel like Robert Newcomb's "The Fifth Sorceress"or Terry Goodkind's "The Naked Empire" pop up like weeds
these days. But amidst the piles and piles of rubble, sometimes you find that rose of exceptional beauty. And "Across the Nightingale Floor" is that rose.
It's vastly different than the usual run-of-the-mill fantasy novels, unique even. The setting of the book takes place in a mythical Japanese-like society, though it's not a direct allusion to actual history, and it
features a smattering of magic. It's a coming of age story, but not in the usual Robert Jordan type of way. Perhaps the best way to
describe it is as a recipe: Take the majestic backdrop of "Shogun", mix it with the cool assassin factor of "Hero's Die", imbue it
with the mysticism of Eric Lustbader's "Ninja", then toss in a fabulous plot, superlative characterization, a good dose of pathos,
a chunk of romance and you have what I consider to be one of the best books, ever.
If you have read "A Song of Fire of Ice"fifteen times, spun through the "Wheel of Time" more times than Nynaeve pulls her braid,
and consumed every Hobb novel, then give this book a shot; it won't disappoint. It's a sweeping epic of love, betrayal, loyalty, magic, and a high quest for revenge, and so dam fine a read you will want to lick
the cover when you're done. I HIGHLY recommend you check this book out.
Feel free to rate Accross the Nightingale Floor on the Community Book Review section of the site.
Seeing how my wife is Japanese I truly looked forward to these books and was quite pleased by the first two. The material was fresh and new compared to your everyday medieval knigths and sorcerers. But Hearn made what has to be the biggest blunder in all of the fantasy books ever made in the third novel, Brilliance of the Moon. The female lead character makes what has to be the stupidest move ever in any fantasy series and this move in totally out of character for her. I was so pissed with this flaw that I threw the book down. I mean she patiently waits for the hero then all of a sudden walks into one of the most obvious traps of all time and at a time she is trying to protect a certain item. Can it get any stupider? Do yourself a favor and stop after book two, Grass for His Pillow.
How this made any list besides a list one would call "introductory fantasy books for children" is beyond me.
This is a children's book! The characters r vague, the plot extremely predictable, the protagonist's abilities r unoriginal... all in all, if oyu want to get a lil kid into fantasy, give him this. If not, avoid.