The Sword of Kaigen
"On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful fighters in the world, warriors capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For centuries, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire's enemies at bay, earning their treacherous spit of land the name "The sword of Kaigen.' Born into Kusanagi's legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always know his purpose: to master his family's fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen's alleged age of peace, Mamoru ralizes that he might not have much time before he has to become the fighter he was bred to be.
Even worse, the empire he was born to defend might stand on a fountain of lies. Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married to the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country.
But with her son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of invasion looming on the horizon, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface."
- Pages
- 698
- First published
- February 13, 2019
- Language
- English
- Edition
- ISBN
- 9781955252379
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Shelved by 16 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished February 16, 2025
“Wholeness, she had learned, was not the absence of pain but the ability to hold it.” 💭 My thoughts If I rated in halves, this would be 3.5 stars. I'm giving it 4 stars because the latter half of this book saved it. The slowness of the first 30% made sense. There is some tactical setting up of the story, the characters, the world which can be a bit mundane. The climax happens before we're even halfway, and the remainder of the book is back to a slow, cleaning up after the fall-out. My understanding before even reading it was that The Sword of Kaigen was meant to be a series essentially making for weird pacing. Like I said, the latter half saved it for me because I'm a sucker for second chances; not only in relationships but in life. While it can be fun to get other point-of-views in a story, I ultimately didn't feel it was necessary to have Mamoru's or Takeru's. I honestly wanted nothing but the perspective of Misaki from the very beginning. The evolving of her outlook regarding herself, her life, her children and husband is ultimately what this story is about. Seeing that evolution of her character was the major pay-off for me. Besides the story itself, learning a bit about Japanese/Korean culture through fiction was so enjoyable. Their culture is unique, beautiful, and honorable. I do recommend this read regardless of the pacing, it is a great story. ⚠️ Trigger warnings - Graphic: War, Child death, Violence - Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Miscarriage - Minor: Homophobia, Child abuse, Kidnapping [Follow my Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/inkstainedemotions?igsh=aTh6eTZ6dGwxMXpy&utm_source=qr)
Started February 15, 2025 · Finished February 19, 2025
this book ripped my heart to shreds and stomped on it too. while the main meat of the book didnt happen until later, it was a 5 course meal. I loved the realism of war and grief, the complicated relationships and emotions. Everything was done so fucking well, I will definitely be checking out the series of the world this book takes place in.
- emotionalsad
Started September 30, 2026 · Finished October 1, 2026
▸ Did not finish (1)
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