In a less rushed story, the tension between Yoshimori's duties and desires would be a compelling narrative in itself. But for a story that is ostensibly about restoring Yoshimori to his rightful throne, we barely see him on the page, much less get into his head. This recurring failure of characterization was, to me, the central problem in Hearn's books: a rushed narrative diffused among so many POV characters that no one voice could truly stand out. On the whole, I found myself wishing that I'd invested my time in rereading the Tale of the Heike instead.

Iori Kusano

I recieved an ARC of this book from Netgalley. I wish I had realized that it was the third book in a series before beginning it. That being said, I was still able to follow the narrative and the writing was visual and flowing. As a fan of Japanese stories (legends, myths and otherwize), I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the other 3 books in the series (the 2 previous and 1 following)

About : Lord of the Darkwood, the third installment of the four-part medieval Japanese fantasy serial The Tale of Shikanoko, covers an enormous amount of time considering its small size of 220 pages: over a decade. As the older power-players of the empire die out, a younger and equally-ambitious set of players matures and takes over. This book covers that shift and the shape of the book reflects it: unlike the previous two installments, the ending does not hinge on a monumental choice by our eponymous hero; in fact, Shikanoko hardly appears at all, compared to his near-constant presence in the first two. I enjoyed this shift from the older to the younger characters; the flat male characters in authority during installments I & II interested me less than the younger crowd does.

Spoilers For Books I-II in the next 2 paragraphs!

In the first two books, Hina lived as a neglected stepdaughter, who was then captured and raised by her father’s mortal enemy in another town. All these years, she admired the Deer’s Child (Shikanoko) from afar. But the death of the Autumn Princess at the end of book II leaves Hina in charge of Shika’s infant son—and she only twelve years old herself. In book III, she hides among the courtesans of Lake Kasumi’s pleasure boats and works for them as she comes of age and watches Shika’s son grow up. Along the way, she meets the true emperor for the first time.

Meanwhile, in the Darkwood, Shika’s Spider Tribe sons grow in emotional maturity and demonic magic. Like Hina, they learn of love and lust; but unlike the powerless Hina, each of the sons finds his own place in the power hierarchy of the family, and the most powerful among them shape the empire far beyond the Darkwood, inheriting the power structure left by the deaths during of the first two books. Ultimately, they aim to spin a trap for Shikanoko, the father who sent them away at the end of book II, as he hides in the Darkwood, unaware and still lost in grief for the death of his beloved Autumn Princess, now over a decade before.

Overall : Even though Lord of the Darkwood feels very much like an installment (instead of a novel), I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the previous two. The younger characters present a wide array of hopeful heroines and terrifying monsters, and their journeys more than make for an interesting story. With Hearn’s characteristically spare, but perfect prose, she has drawn an even more immersive and adult fantasy world than her famed Tales of the Otori series.

Lord of the Darkwood is adult fantasy written by Lian Hearn and was published August 9th 2016 by Fsg Originals. Paperback, 224 pages.

Thank you to Lian Hearn, FSG Originals and Netgalley for my review copy!

The opinions I share are completely my own and in no way compensated for by publishers or authors. If you liked this review, you can read more of my speculative fiction reviews on my blog.

Blog Review: https://christyluisreviews.wordpress.com/2017/04/21/lord-of-the-darkwood-tale-of-shikanoko-3-by-lian-hearn/