Anime in Book Form? Something Else? | The Sword of Kaigen | Book Review

An epic, anime inspired rebellion, a meditation on grief, a love story? All of it? The Sword of Kaigen, by M. L. Wang. This is a Japanese inspired fantasy, where a woman has long ago retired from her once violent past to become a housewife at the request of her father. She is now in a loveless marriage with a cold man and four sons who all seem to reflect his characteristics to varying degrees—save for one. She has struggled to find connection with her husband, and with her children, but that might be changing with her oldest starting to question the Empire that he has grown up in his whole life. This is the second perspective: the oldest son, practically a prodigy even though he is only fourteen years old. He is entirely fixated on uncovering his family's key secret, known as The Whispering Blade, a technique that is unparalleled in its power. His father is putting a lot of pressure on him, and he is not sure if he can do it.

This book is well praised in the book community, though I did manage to track down some sharp critics of the book, as well. It really does seem like this is one of those books that you either love or hate, though the vast majority seem to love it. I have a number of things to say about it, and I want to comment on some of the things that were talked about in other reviews, as well.

Overall, I liked it. While the book was not conventional in its structure, I thought the themes it explored, and the way it approached them was well done. That said, there are some execution problems that could have some sanding, but that did not terribly matter to me, given the audacity of the story.

No Spoilers

Book Structure

I think the book structure is the most interesting part of the story, from a writing standpoint. Some people say that the story has one major climax at the very center of the story, and then there is a very long falling action afterward. Other people argue that there are two climaxes, one at the center, then another much later. I think these are both true, in a sense. The story is definitely a slow burn. It builds to a major explosion of violence at the center point, and then everything that follows is the aftermath, including a second climax that is lower in stakes but greater in terms of character depth. The second climax is important to acknowledge, but it is also important to understand that this book's structure is built around the events in that first climax; it is the pivot point in this novel. Even thematically, the book is built as a meditation on grief and dealing with the horrors of war, so once the first climax happens, the themes are able to be explored.

While I was watching reviews of this book, comments on the structure were among the more interesting. Depending on how you liked the book would affect how you saw the structure of the book. Everyone knows that it is abnormal. Yet, those who liked the book said it was just an abnormal structure for a book, perhaps experimental. Those who criticized it came in with their fingerwagging, suggesting that it was poorly done, and that everything needed to be restructured accordingly. I naturally came down on the more positive side.

The way the story is structured is definitely something that might divide some people. I'm surprised that people have responded to this book as positively as they have. Indeed, I'm surprised it is this popular (setting aside the fact that it won SPFBO). And I'm not the only one. This book is not only structured strangely in the manner that I described before, but it is also a little bit misleading, because it wants you to think the story is going one way, when it ends up going another. Some of the critics of the novel, particularly at Unresolved Textual Tension, suggested that Wang was stitching together two or three different kinds of stories that did not work well together. I would not go that far. In fact, I'll say right now that their critiques were largely baffling, almost as if they had read a different book entirely. All the same, I think the largely positive response comes from the maturity of the writing. Adopting the heavy climax right at the middle, with a focus on the aftermath in the latter half, was beneficial to the themes and the character development. This was never meant to be about action or intrigue, for its own sake.

Character

I think the characters are also the most important part of this story. I already mentioned Misaki and her son, Mamoru. But there are other characters, as well. Takeru is just as important. He is the chad. The badass. The husband of Misaki and the father of Mamoru. I am the pre-Chapter 27 Takeru Stan. I genuinely found this character to be among the most terrifying in the novel, perhaps in fiction more generally. One aspect that I thought was well chosen was that Takeru is spoken of and remembered in the beginning. In the present story, he is completely absent for almost the entire beginning. This gives the character an ominous feel as we wait for the inevitable.

But there is also something related to this character that is pivotal to this story as a whole. Wang makes use of change, but also perspective and perception, to achieve this—and it was something that I found believable, yet also stunning. There are a few things that could have been sanded over to make the change more sensible. Wang could have ended at a point where the direction of change was implied, more than shown, but this is not a fatal mistake.

The side characters are also well-wrought. Setsuko and Hiyori stick to the mind as Misaki's best friends, the people who helped her through all the horrible moments of her marriage. Even the four children are distinct and well-defined.

There are some exceptions, however. Kwang Chul-Hee is very important in the beginning, but he kind of slips away at certain points in the book. An even bigger problem is Robin. Frankly speaking, Robin is a bitch-ass weasel. As the love interest for Misaki when she was a teen, I guess it makes sense that he would be annoying and stupid, but I don't think that was intentional.

Themes

In fantasy, matters of oppression are dealt with in ways that are predictable. Wang chooses to take another route, however. While she does focus on the oppression and the abuse that the Empire inflicts on its own people, she is also conscious of the limitations of rebellion in this book. Not only that, but she also chooses to keep the lens close to home. We are with the lives of Misaki, Mamoru, and their loved ones first and foremost—and the book is all about what the oppression does to them as a people.

Despite the fantastical setting and powers that the people possess, this book is incredibly human and very down to earth.

The one exception is when we are with Robin. There is one conversation that they had about killing, where Robin's basic philosophy was just so childish and stupid. It was all so reminiscent of the many BLM arguments about aiming for the leg. Not only that, but the theme asserted there seemed to be directly contradicted, the moment the first climax hit and the blood started spilling. I guess they were children at the time, haha, but still.

Worldbuilding

The worldbuilding was kind of spotty, but it also doesn't matter that much for the story itself. That is kind of a lukewarm message, yet I honestly don't know what else to say about it. Technically, it is fantasy that is set in the modern day. There are references to video games and satellites, even. Never guns, though. And at the same time, the location in which this book is set is almost completely isolated from the rest of the world. I almost want to reference the Village movie, though technically the people of Takayubi know about the outside, they are simply attached to tradition.

What matters is that there are serious questions of how magic can mix with technology in this world, but they are never explored. There is elemental magic, and warriors train to learn the sword. But what about guns? We don't know. Wang never bothers to ask. And the strangest thing is that I don't understand why post-industrial technology was ever introduced in the first place. It was never relevant. It's not part of the plot or even the aesthetic. The only reason seems to be the fact that there are other books in this world, even as this book is a standalone.

There are also strangely placed info dumps. I don't mind occasional info dumps in the beginning third or fourth of the novel to help lay the groundwork. What I am talking about here was a bunch of heavy info dumping that came at the very, very end of the book. They were not revelatory. They were random and sudden and even confusing. I just glazed over that section, wondering why it hadn't been worked into the front.

And before I move on, I also want to mention a part about crimefighting. Because yes, Misaki, in her teens, was a crimefighter, apparently. Thankfully this was not utilized in a way that was obnoxious or ridiculous. That said, it should not have been used at all. This might actually be a good example of an element of a story that does not gel well with the rest. On one hand, we had a story about a mother and her son, with an oppressive Empire holding them down, and then we also have crimefighting vigilantes. It just felt . . . off. If Misaki had been a part of a gang or a mercenary group, that would have made more sense, and it would have had aesthetic sense to it. I honestly think this is more of a problem with signifiers, too. It's the words you choose to use, more than anything.

Speaking of that . . .

Anachronisms

I'm not a perfect author, myself. Apparently, I need and/or have had to fix up some anachronisms in my own books. But that doesn't mean I can't call them out here.

There were parts where terms like "sexism" and "racism" were used. And while you can talk about the concepts themselves, the signifiers stuck out like a sore thumb. There was even a point where the phrase "woman enough" was used, as opposed to "man enough," or some other related phrase, for that matter. Again, this just felt strange for the character, given their fifteen year situation. Of course, you can contrive reasons for why that character in particular might use words like that, but the point is not so much about possibility than it is about what makes sense aesthetically. Perhaps this is even a problem that falls out of the worldbuilding issues that I already talked about.

Finally, this is not an anachronism, by the technical definition, but I also want to mention a very out-of-place torture scene that happened at the end of the story. I found it very eyebrow raising and wondered what the hell Wang was thinking.

Ending

The ending was drawn out, and it takes its time to place all of the pieces in the final places. I agree with the general sentiments of most, that the ending overall was great, though there was one final chapter that was incredibly bloated because it was primarily created to build on parts that are related to other books that have or haven't been written in the series yet; I've heard contradictory things. Either way, the chapter should have been trimmed, if not cut all the way.

Overall

This was a self-published novel, and given the amount of nitpicks that I had about it, I think this is obvious. The self-published nature allowed the novel to have its interesting story structure, but I do think it could have been cleaned up. The edges could have been sanded off. But they are also nitpicks. The core of the story was still great. I want to discuss some of the details with spoilers, however, so I will give my final thoughts and then move on to that.

Conclusion

Overall, I found this book to be an interesting exploration of war, grief, and love. It grappled with issues like oppression in ways that were more mature than you would expect in fantasy. It is not . . . fantastical. I think I will give this an 8/10.

Spoilers

Character

This book is built on its characters. Even the story structure bends its knee to the characters in the story. We have Mamoru and we have Misaki. Mamoru is fighting to unlock the power of The Whispering Blade, and he is also learning that the foundations for his whole life are built on a lie. Misaki is trapped in a cold relationship with her husband and even her children, a life full of regret. But she begins to connect with Mamoru, realizing that she had missed out. This is the first hint. She is blind. And when an attack is implied, she is forced to confront her husband. But it is too late.

There is an enormous attack by the Ranganese at the middle point of the novel. Many things could be said, but what matters for the novel are the massive casualties and the death of Mamoru.

The second half of the novel deals with the aftermath. The village is forced by the Empire to cover up the attack and let the dead be thrown away in a mass grave. They can never speak of what happened. They can never remember.

Despite being in charge, Takeru disappears for a few days to meditate. And his neglect leads to Misaki breaking. She challenges him, blaming him for Mamoru’s death and his weakness in handling the Empire. This is the second climax. Here, we finally get Takeru’s perspective. And through a combination of revelation about Misaki’s bias and also explanation, we learn why Takeru is the way he is. His actions are not necessarily justified, but you do understand them.

A pathway to reconciliation is now available.

Through this, we are now able to understand what the point of this story was. In essence, it is a kind of romance. It is not conventional by any means. It is just that the relationship between Misaki and Takeru is able to progress and resolve itself from this point.

This second climax is simultaneously the best and the worst part of the book. That might be a bit of an exaggeration, but my point is simply that everything is riding on this twist and how it works. For the most part, I would say that it does work. At the same time, I do think the story could be tweaked in a few places to clean it up. I mentioned sanding over the edges, and this is where it primarily applies.

I think there are two shifts that Takeru goes through, and they should have been separated more explicitly. First, his misunderstanding with his wife, and second, his understanding of how the norms in society should change. In the story, this all happens at once, and it does feel a bit sudden, with some lag in a few places. I suggest that Wang should have addressed the communication issue first. And once this issue is dealt with, it could be used as a building block to deal with how norms in society should change, like how women should be seen and how men should treat their children. This would be an open question, given his own revelations about his wife. There was a prior moment between Mamoru and Misaki that could be recalled for this purpose, namely when Mamoru was talking about Takayubi's origins and how it was founded by taking on aspects of other cultures. Naturally, this is fertile ground for Misaki pushing Takeru in a certain direction. When he decides to send his sons overseas, it will make sense in this context.

Some people, namely at the aforementioned Unresolved Textual Tension, thought the change in Takeru came from nowhere. I don't agree with this at all. I think part of the reason the twist worked for me, and for so many others, is because we see the story through Misaki's eyes. We see what she saw of him, and the twist is about her reorienting her understanding of him. Their rebuttal was Mamoru. He was also a perspective, and he ought to have clued us in to what he was like outside of Misaki's distorted perspective. I think this is a fair point, but only to an extent. Takeru does not transform into a sobbing, love-bombing husband after the twist, so Mamoru seeing his father as stern and terrifying is not story-breaking. He is his oldest son, and he is trying to live up to expectations that are terrifying on their own.

Their critiques do make some points about how Wang cleverly avoids thorny problems, like how often Mamoru thinks about his mother and what he says about her. The storycraft reason for this is obvious. There is some ambiguity over how neglectful Misaki has actually been, as a mother. She thinks that she has, but I had the impression that she was exaggerating. This ambiguity goes away if Mamoru starts to think about his mother as neglectful or loving, etc. I guess it is up to you whether this neat little excision is a serious flaw or not. Mamoru is single-minded, so it's not obvious why he would be thinking of his mother in any significant capacity.

Conclusion

Overall, I found this book to be an interesting exploration of war, grief, and love. It grappled with issues like oppression in ways that were more mature than you would expect in fantasy. It is not . . . fantastical. I think I will give this an 8/10.

2 to Ramble: https://youtu.be/hppZR2GyLYI?si=muA1vDmFwWei9yAV

Unresolved Textual Tension: https://youtu.be/FzOYwdapVWU?si=oEa0lDOJMgtkC1JH

Video: https://youtu.be/iLMEHn0MRyo