The Sword of Kaigen by M L Wang

The Sword of Kaigen (Theonite)

by M. L. Wang

On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire's enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name 'The Sword of Kaigen.'

Born into Kusanagi's legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known 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 realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.

Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into 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 growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface.

When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores?

A rich elemental magic system and deep world-building make this martial fantasy perfect for fans of R.F. Kuang, Brandon Sanderson, Leigh Bardugo, and Lian Hearn.

Reviewed by ross91 on

5 of 5 stars

Share
So, this was an utterly beautiful and gut-wrenching book. I loved it so much and I’m so very sad I finished it so soon.

The element I always love the most in a fantasy book is the worldbuilding, but I have to say that even though this book does an amazing job creating a believable culture, strong traditions and mindsets, my favorite aspect of this story were the characters: everyone, without any exception, was so well-written, so real and flawed I thought I was reading about real historical figures.

This is a standalone military fantasy with a strong japanese inspired culture and Avatar:the last airbender vibes. We follow the lives of Misaki and Mamoru, mother and son, in the isolated village of Takayubi, home to very strong lines of god-like warriors.
Mamoru is a teenager, the eldest son of one of the greatest warrior of his time, and he's studying to become one of those himself but a new school companion, coming from a different and more modernized part of the Empire, makes him doubt about his values and the stories the Empire propaganda is feeding him.
On the other hand we have Misaki, the perfect image of the demure and ladylike housewife. In her flashbacks though we see her as a student half a world away, crime-fighting and sword-wielding, all aspects that now, in this very traditional patriarchal society, she had to let go and bury deep.

In the background we also have modern technology (tvs, bullets, airplanes, telephones, satellites...), something that's not prominent in this world (yet) but was really interesting to read.

The magic was also one of my favorite things to read (but let's be honest: I loved every single thing about this book): in Kaigen we have lots of water wielder, the Matsudas (our main protagonists' house) are masters of the Whispering blade technique (they can create a sword of pure ice strong enough to cut metal), Misaki's strenght is blood manipulation... all the fighting scenes were so interesting and exciting to read, so well done!

Maybe the only thing I didn't unconditionally love were Misaki's flashbacks, 'cause they felt disjointed from the rest of the story with their YA superhero sub-plot (much like the Reckoners series by Brandon Sanderson). I have to say though that they were vital to the story nonetheless.

So, to sum up: READ THIS BOOK IT'S SUPER AWESOME.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 August, 2019: Finished reading
  • 21 August, 2019: Reviewed