Can there please be a spoiler section in at least some of your reviews? That way those of us who want an in actual depth review can get one while those who don't want spoilers can click off the video before the spoiler section? How are we supposed to know what you're talking about when you refer to characters and plot points and themes if you're just giving vague opinions with zero details? 98% of all booktubers cater exclusively to those of us who don't want spoilers instead of compromising and making videos for the other half of us who do want actual in depth reviews and opinions on plot points and character development too. At least half of us don't care about spoilers and only like three or four booktubers make videos for us. Why do the people who don't want spoilers get catered to while the other of half of us are totally ignored when it would be very easy to make a video where the first part is non spoilers and the second part is spoilers and detailed that way everyone is happy! Not telling you what to do with your channel or anything and I hope I'm not coming off that way I just know that there are many many people who feel the same way as I do and it's so frustrating to hear these weird vague "reviews" where there are no examples to backup your opinion, no explanation on why the character arc's were or weren't well done, no discussion on plot points at all, no explanation of themes, no examples of why or why not the writing wasn't well done ECT you might as well be reading a good reads summary of the book and then ending the video.
I actually prefer when you do videos like this even if they don’t appeal to everyone. It’s nice to see someone giving lesser known things exposure, and not just covering what’s hot.
Just wanted you to know that you're one of the reasons I've gotten back into reading. I'm sure I'm not the only who feels that way. Appreciate your work dude.
Definitely, I was in a reading slump waiting for either another Dresden or Doors of Stone. It helped to get a direction to go with for branching out to new series and authors.
One aspect to consider is that Chinese, Korean, and Japanese story structure and narrative is different. It's called kishōtenketsu. The types of conflict vary in meaning from our man vs the world, often focusing on the internal conflict and coming to terms with yourself and nature. It restructures how we follow characters through their journeys. I personally love it! So when that lens is mixed with western plot structure, you get a great fusion of the two!
Western fantasy is not man vs world thats ignorant and dum@ definition Western fantasy is becoming full of characters with existentialism and they have internal wars in their soul
The 6th book of the Cradle series by Will Wight "Underlord" has a rating of 4.7, with over 6000 ratings! All other reviewers are really sleeping on this, but if you are looking for a FUN Asian influenced fantasy series that is incredibly addicting, THIS IS IT! edit: huge props to "sword of kaigen" as well, its also amazing and well worth the read!
Spoiler Alert: Mamoru after summoning his whispering blade and dying hit me so different. I was so upset when he died, but Misaki POV was also good. I loved this book and Monmoru especially. I wish I could follow the family more.
This book is easily #1 all time favorite. The masterfully deep characters, the absolute stunning high stakes combat and emotional weight of the story make me deeply care for what going on within the world. 9/10 highly recommend this book
@@rolanddeschain9880 can't stand when someone says they really like something and there's just that one guy that's always gotta be like "ClEaRlY yOu HaVeN't ReAd EnOuGh". Just let people like things
I think simply that fantasy is more and more becoming literature. The themes, focus on characters and tragedy rather than universes and adventures... it has evolved and matured, like troubadour songs evolved into Shakespearian tragedies, and short novels in newspapers evolved into realistic novels. We might see a fantasy writer getting a Nobel price in the coming decades.
The Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erickson is already the greatest story ever written/told. It is all-encompassing and one of the marvels that humanity has produced
Picked it up on your recommendation (With Tigana, jade City and the first three Drresen books) and literally just finished reading it. The pacing felt strange to me but wow did it make me feel. That second climax was incredibly cathartic after the first. Thanks for the review and making me aware of it.
Oh shit! As an indie author myself, I love seeing self-pub stuff hit good review channels. The world sounds fascinating and your review gave some pretty high praise. I'll def have to check this out!
Thanks for everything you do Daniel. You got me back into reading. Just finished the The First Law triology bc of your channel and I absolutely loved it.
I love that you review books that aren't too well known! It really helps to expand my horizons. It also helps to know that I can trust your judgement on a book or piece of media, even if I don't necessarily agree with your points, because you speak on it and articulate your views in a mostly objective and unbiased way, while still throwing your flare of personal preference into it. I'll definitely be picking up Sword of Kaigen now. Thanks Daniel, I hope you have a great weekend!
Just wanted to shout out the UA-cam channel of the SPFBO judge who nominated this book to the finals, “Kitty G”. She’s a really excellent booktuber who tends to specialize in reviewing self published and lesser known fantasy and SF. She loved this book so much it’s one of her all time faves now. And thank you for featuring a book that’s out of the typical mainstream set of authors.
Good job Daniel. You need to remember that this type of videos is what makes you stand out. It might not be an immediate "hit", but the value of these videos and your "musings" are intenagble. For me you are the go to guy for quality and substance, and I can't be the only one. I am certain that in the long run, this is what will people remember. They will point out how you brought attention to so many future hits when nobody was talking about, and that in return will cement your reputation.
I found Rob J. Hayes, Jonathan French, and J. Zachary Pike through the SPFBO. Really appreciate what Mark Lawrence is doing for self-published authors with this competition, and the books have a high quality too.
@@Grimscribe732 It's a truly level field too. Brian Mcclellan and Diane Duane entered this year and were both eliminated. You might get a judge that doesn't like your type of book. But that's a risk in any competition.
Thank you! Just picked this up in physical form after watching your review. I needed something to get me back into the swing of reading fantasy stories.
Hi, might I suggest Vinland saga, it's new anime that came out this year(on amazon prime). Its similar to what u've mentioned. And one of the most original animes I've seen in a long time. It has great characters, interesting philosophies, beautiful moments, ties to Scandinavian history and some bloody good action.
Ep 1 SPOILERS - - - It opens with ship to ship combat between raiders. Not a thing. Followed by the fully armoured protagonist swimming easily after being injured and thrown from a ship. Not possible. Ends with protagonist beggaring family to let an escaped slave die free rather than die a slave. Evil. Hard pass. Which is a shame, adult male protagonist rather than a child is a reason to watch on its own but meh, cannot deal with the stupid.
@@benwhiley9680 bruh, it is an Anime, it is not about historic realism or real world physics and biology, just because they pay some attention to the setting doesn't mean that it isn't a shonen phantasy series... + the protagonist IS a kid
@@adamraad8445 it actually isn't a shonen, it's targeted at adult audiences and the protagonists isn't a kid beyond the first few episodes, he grows and the story follows he's life,
@@benwhiley9680 How much have u seen it exactly, cause episode 1-3 are prologues, the actual story takes place throughout the world, following multiple characters and blending different genres.
adam raad not sure how much you’ve read or watch, but that statement is very far from the truth!! Even though it does have some anime tropes doesn’t make it shounen, for the majority of series the mc is well into adulthood , so I hope you give it a try👍
I picked up this one a while back during a 99cent sale. I'm glad you reviewed it because I think it's awesome when you use your platform to elevate lesser known books/authors, etc.
Pleas review the Cradle series by Will Wight. He's a new author and has created addictive short novels that are the best I've read. I like them more than wheel of time and Stormlight.
100% liked this one too - particularly agree that the character arcs were really well done. It's a very surprising book in a number of ways, whether we're talking about plot structure, character arc, and generally having this surprising-yet-inevitable story that alternates between dark/bitter and hopeful, while still maintaining a really grounded yet organic plot.
Read this on your recommendation, absolutely loved it. Half way through the "second climax" I put the ereader down and started trying to find a hardcover copy to order(sadly paperback only), since I knew I would be rereading this. Seriously awesome moments just everywhere in this book. The climaxes felt as impactful as if they were at the end of a solid trilogy of build up, and the characters the same.
Since I started really watching your channel a few weeks ago, my TBR list has grown quite a bit. Love videos like this that spotlight lesser known books, and definitely looking forward getting this one! Love the channel!
@@CantStopTheMadness to break it down further, if you slow it down, you would kah-i-gen. However, the Japanese say it so quickly that the transition between A and I is very subtle that I almost sounds like eeee. So for us it's easier to just say Kye-gen.
Hi Daniel, not sure where to ask you questions, so I put it under your most recent video. Was curious to know if you have ever read Stephen R. Donaldson? I would love to see a review if you have. Thanks for your wonderful opinions and what you do here. I got away from fantasy for many years and thanks to you I have started reading it again, well done.
Just finished it, wanted to watch your review before I leave mine on Goodreads. All i will say is Chapter 20 man, it broke me, I’ve only ever cried like that with one other book in my life. Fenomenal read
I loved The Sword of Kaigen. Wang wrote two books in the same world prior to The Sword of Kaigen (Theonite book 1 and 2, which in my mind are more YA), which I read before Kaigen and helped to understand this book.
Hm, the book sounds awesome. I'm glad you did a review, Daniel. Otherwise, I wouldn't have looked at it twice, the cover doesn't stand out and those 'The Sword of Insert-Fantasy-Name-Here' titles aren't a big draw for me either. Edit: Also, why do so many female fantasy authors use pen names starting with two initials? Is that a trend that developed after J. K. Rowling's success? I mean N. K. Jemisin, R. F. Kuang, M. L. Wang, V. E. Schwab... it really stands out to me. I remember Robin Hobb talking about choosing her pen-name because it doesn't give away if she's a man or a woman and men tend to sell better in fantasy - and there is a similar thing in the romance genre where women tend to sell better and male authors often choose either neutral or even female pen-names because of sales statistics.
Personally, I don't read fantasy written by women. Because I may not be in the minority, they take pen names to fool people into thinking it was written by a man.
I just finished listening to the audible of this book. It was quite the emotional roller-coaster. It definitely makes you look at violence differently. I share your exact sentiments. It's not my most favorite thing I read but I did enjoy it and It really was a breath of fresh air from the stuff I normally read.
Thank you so much for recommending this book. I picked it up after watching this video and I loved it and its one of my favourite books I have ever read.
So I just read this after seeing you place it so high in your tier list of all the books you've read so far in 2020. And man was it good. I agree with the idea of it dragging it a little after the one climax but yeah it was really cool seeing the ramifications of what happened as you said. I don't normally get emotional when reading, unless I'm annoyed because the characters aren't acting logical and thus furthering an unnecessary conflict. But this book got a rise out of me and like damn. For that alone it's one of my favorite books ever now.
Yah I felt like Misaki was a little unfair with putting the blame on her husband for Momoru’s death, but at the same time I just saw it as she was grieving and building up resentment towards him. Also the resolution of their relationship was really well done
You should read up on Tomihiko Morimi if you want to get deeper into Japanese books. He’s widely considered one of, if not the best, and I think you’d highly enjoy his works.
Well, you sold at least one book here! I am glad to see self published books get more support, because as a reader, it's a jungle out there. I try to read a couple of self published books a year, and it can be quite rough going (no offence intended at self publishing authors out there! I know you're working hard on that dream and I want you all to Get There!) but I am always rooting so hard for these authors, and I get disproportionately happy when I come across something neat. I think I'll like this one, and you know what. I don't like that there seems to be a trend that any new author's first published work has to be flawless in every way and be a eye-searingly bright masterpiece to get some recognition and even celebration thrown their way. Thank you for not following that trend.
Hmm. Sounds interesting. I'll have to look into it more before I consider buying (sorry, am just cheap). I'm a little leery, after my experience with The Blade Itself (highly recommended on a few channels though), but I am excited to see fantasy from different perspectives. Even the imagery and emphasis on different attributes makes "new" fantasy interesting.
Japanese fantasy with modern or advanced technologies is a very common trope in anime and manga. I am surprised this kind of book wasnt written sooner.
I almost DNFd this one with how slow it started. It felt very YA at first, and I only continued due to reading it for a bookclub. I ended up really enjoying it though, I gave it 4 stars.
Hi Daniel, thanks to you i finally got myself into the Wheel of Time series, started in late November, and just finished The Shadow Rising yesterday - I know that´s WoT is the one thing you absolutely love and you allways praise it no matter what, but surely (and i completely agree that the series is fantastic, not my #1 tho - for me that would be Malazan) you got some things you don´t like or you find problematic about the series, and I would be really interested to see what exactly that is - just and idea for a video. Cos I really like to dig into pros and cons of the things i love, just to try and be objective, which can ofteb be really hard :)
Bought it on your recommendation. Easily one of the best books I've read in a long time. Had no issue at all with the change in pace toward the end. It was essential to bringing it all home for the characters left in the aftermath of that epic 100 page battle. Curious of her Theonite series. Any thoughts?
Why no one is talking about Meluha by Amish Tripathi (shiva trilogy). This trialogy is an Indian mythology fiction but if you don't know anything about indian history or "myths" this trilogy is complete fantasy. It have everything! I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Homer’s work, The Iliad, portrays violence in such a casual manner as to be horrifying. Read some of the battle scenes and you will see what I mean. The main characters are no Mary Sues. Achilles showing his childishness and petulance in the most unflattering way and Paris’ pathological impulsiveness are two examples. The best scene is with the old king, Priam beseeching Achilles for his late son’s Hector’s
Please give Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty a try! It's fantasy inspired by ancient chinese history and features incredibly intriguing characters. It could be likened to what Game of Thrones is to european history.
This is a good review I love it - daniel greene you should give the broken empire trilogy another chance. Jorg actually gets better in each book(morally), the writing gets better(like if it wasn't already good) I think you can love it if you gave jorg another chance.
Definitely going to get this one! Always up for supporting indies, and this sounds like my thing anyway. Thank you for doing a review of it otherwise I probably wouldn't have discovered it(:
Thanks Daniel! You should definitely keep covering less popular books such as this one! It really is part of the reason why i love your channel so much. Liked the video and got the book too!
This was an excellent book almost shockingly so. I only say that because the other books in this particular series come across as fluff in comparison. I almost didn't realize it was the same author. Weird, but this one was amazing.
this book reminded me Nanjing massacre. Exactly what Japanese soldiers did during Sino-Japanese wars during WW2. But the thing is that in this book Kaigen represents Japan. they speak Japanese. And the words that Ranganese are saying are Chinese words, like "Ni hao kuai" which means, you're so fast.
Like it a lot, that you review and promote lesser known authors/books even though it might damage your bottom line a little. Think you should promote your Patreon a touch more, so you’re not as dependent on AdSense and more free to review whatever you feel like. Thanks fo this review, will pick up the book for sure.
Been reading fantasy for over 30 years.Best series by far is "Malazan books of fallen" by Erikson and Esselmont.Will you be doing any interviews or reviews?
It makes me really happy to see some literary fiction aspects coming into Fantasy. There’s something really exciting about hearing “Yeah, the last 20% of this book happens after the plot and is all about the ramifications for the characters and seeing how they cope.” That’s so cool. And it feels like how a lot of genre fiction is going to evolve in the coming years, by allowing for greater variation in plot-based characterwork vs. internalized characterwork. While it might not speak to some people, it shows a greater chance of health for the genre’s longevity and adaptation to me. More variety in that regard is always a good thing, in my book. Let authors experiment!
With time, I have come to LOVE this book more and more. Sword of Kaigen deserved a RAVE review which I just wasn't doing yet.
Please use your influence to make Steven pacey do the audiobook. Wishful thinking on my part I know.
if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription
I just checked and, unless I am mistaken, it looks like it is no longer free.
Can there please be a spoiler section in at least some of your reviews? That way those of us who want an in actual depth review can get one while those who don't want spoilers can click off the video before the spoiler section? How are we supposed to know what you're talking about when you refer to characters and plot points and themes if you're just giving vague opinions with zero details? 98% of all booktubers cater exclusively to those of us who don't want spoilers instead of compromising and making videos for the other half of us who do want actual in depth reviews and opinions on plot points and character development too. At least half of us don't care about spoilers and only like three or four booktubers make videos for us. Why do the people who don't want spoilers get catered to while the other of half of us are totally ignored when it would be very easy to make a video where the first part is non spoilers and the second part is spoilers and detailed that way everyone is happy! Not telling you what to do with your channel or anything and I hope I'm not coming off that way I just know that there are many many people who feel the same way as I do and it's so frustrating to hear these weird vague "reviews" where there are no examples to backup your opinion, no explanation on why the character arc's were or weren't well done, no discussion on plot points at all, no explanation of themes, no examples of why or why not the writing wasn't well done ECT you might as well be reading a good reads summary of the book and then ending the video.
Almost $4 is almost free, but not quite. :D
I actually prefer when you do videos like this even if they don’t appeal to everyone. It’s nice to see someone giving lesser known things exposure, and not just covering what’s hot.
2Spooky4U 100%! This was not on my
radar and now I’m hoping to fit it in my 2020 reading list!
I totally agree!!!!
its why i listen to Daniels reviews. He has pointed me at books that i would never have known about.
Misaki is one my favorite fantasy characters. He arc is so heartbreaking at times and beautifully written. Sword of Kaigen is a true hidden gem
Just wanted you to know that you're one of the reasons I've gotten back into reading. I'm sure I'm not the only who feels that way. Appreciate your work dude.
He and Merphy Napier both have had the same influence on me. Heck, I even signed up to Goodreads.
Same, I got back into reading and writing when I first found this channel
Ikr? It's like having a reading buddy
Definitely, I was in a reading slump waiting for either another Dresden or Doors of Stone. It helped to get a direction to go with for branching out to new series and authors.
Same here.
One aspect to consider is that Chinese, Korean, and Japanese story structure and narrative is different. It's called kishōtenketsu. The types of conflict vary in meaning from our man vs the world, often focusing on the internal conflict and coming to terms with yourself and nature. It restructures how we follow characters through their journeys.
I personally love it!
So when that lens is mixed with western plot structure, you get a great fusion of the two!
Western fantasy is not man vs world thats ignorant and dum@ definition
Western fantasy is becoming full of characters with existentialism and they have internal wars in their soul
Can't wait to see more reviews! I got into the Blade Itself on your recommendation and two months later I met Joe Abercrombie at a signing!
The 6th book of the Cradle series by Will Wight "Underlord" has a rating of 4.7, with over 6000 ratings! All other reviewers are really sleeping on this, but if you are looking for a FUN Asian influenced fantasy series that is incredibly addicting, THIS IS IT!
edit: huge props to "sword of kaigen" as well, its also amazing and well worth the read!
I am obligated as a fellow Cradle fan to second this.
Awesome series that deserves way more attention.
Let's bump this comment more and more.
now ...you convinced me. I'm going to try it.Thanks
@@duhlai7 dont blame me after your life has been consumed for a couple of weeks haha! Nah, but happy reading!
Spoiler Alert: Mamoru after summoning his whispering blade and dying hit me so different. I was so upset when he died, but Misaki POV was also good. I loved this book and Monmoru especially. I wish I could follow the family more.
@@marianemingshobbies sorry buddy!!
My favorite book of the year in 2019!
This book is easily #1 all time favorite. The masterfully deep characters, the absolute stunning high stakes combat and emotional weight of the story make me deeply care for what going on within the world.
9/10 highly recommend this book
Lmao it is not even good book it is solid
Surely you did not have read many fantasy books
@@rolanddeschain9880 can't stand when someone says they really like something and there's just that one guy that's always gotta be like "ClEaRlY yOu HaVeN't ReAd EnOuGh". Just let people like things
@@PuffBittle agreed
9/10 and easily the best you’ve ever read? Hmmm
@@rolanddeschain9880 Everyone's taste is subjective. There's no universally agreed upon greatest book of all time.
I think simply that fantasy is more and more becoming literature. The themes, focus on characters and tragedy rather than universes and adventures... it has evolved and matured, like troubadour songs evolved into Shakespearian tragedies, and short novels in newspapers evolved into realistic novels. We might see a fantasy writer getting a Nobel price in the coming decades.
Yay
The Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erickson is already the greatest story ever written/told. It is all-encompassing and one of the marvels that humanity has produced
@@anubistv1154 Will download a sample thanks a lot for recommendation :)
Yay a new book to add to my 2020 TBR list!
Almost to 100k subs! Congrats🎊 🎉
Picked it up on your recommendation (With Tigana, jade City and the first three Drresen books) and literally just finished reading it. The pacing felt strange to me but wow did it make me feel. That second climax was incredibly cathartic after the first.
Thanks for the review and making me aware of it.
Oh shit! As an indie author myself, I love seeing self-pub stuff hit good review channels. The world sounds fascinating and your review gave some pretty high praise. I'll def have to check this out!
Thanks for everything you do Daniel. You got me back into reading. Just finished the The First Law triology bc of your channel and I absolutely loved it.
So Good! Now try BERSERK
Nooooo
I love that you review books that aren't too well known! It really helps to expand my horizons. It also helps to know that I can trust your judgement on a book or piece of media, even if I don't necessarily agree with your points, because you speak on it and articulate your views in a mostly objective and unbiased way, while still throwing your flare of personal preference into it.
I'll definitely be picking up Sword of Kaigen now. Thanks Daniel, I hope you have a great weekend!
Just wanted to shout out the UA-cam channel of the SPFBO judge who nominated this book to the finals, “Kitty G”. She’s a really excellent booktuber who tends to specialize in reviewing self published and lesser known fantasy and SF. She loved this book so much it’s one of her all time faves now. And thank you for featuring a book that’s out of the typical mainstream set of authors.
Good job Daniel. You need to remember that this type of videos is what makes you stand out. It might not be an immediate "hit", but the value of these videos and your "musings" are intenagble.
For me you are the go to guy for quality and substance, and I can't be the only one. I am certain that in the long run, this is what will people remember. They will point out how you brought attention to so many future hits when nobody was talking about, and that in return will cement your reputation.
The SPFBO competition has produced nearly a dozen authors who have gone on to sign with Big Five publishers.
I found Rob J. Hayes, Jonathan French, and J. Zachary Pike through the SPFBO. Really appreciate what Mark Lawrence is doing for self-published authors with this competition, and the books have a high quality too.
@@Grimscribe732 It's a truly level field too. Brian Mcclellan and Diane Duane entered this year and were both eliminated. You might get a judge that doesn't like your type of book. But that's a risk in any competition.
The second from 2018 signed with Orbit.
Mark Lawrence is doing a great job discovering these new authors every year.
I just finished this base on your recommendation and wanted to thank you. I could not put this book down!
I literally thought the "Kai" in Kaigen was pronounced Kai like in Dragon Ball Z Kai.
That would be my guess as well, since it is inspired by Japanese culture
It IS pronounced that way! :)
Knowing dyslexic daniel, he may not be saying it right.
It is Americans always pronounce Kai wrong the first time they encounter it.
Thank you! Just picked this up in physical form after watching your review. I needed something to get me back into the swing of reading fantasy stories.
Hi, might I suggest Vinland saga, it's new anime that came out this year(on amazon prime). Its similar to what u've mentioned. And one of the most original animes I've seen in a long time. It has great characters, interesting philosophies, beautiful moments, ties to Scandinavian history and some bloody good action.
Ep 1 SPOILERS
-
-
-
It opens with ship to ship combat between raiders. Not a thing.
Followed by the fully armoured protagonist swimming easily after being injured and thrown from a ship. Not possible.
Ends with protagonist beggaring family to let an escaped slave die free rather than die a slave. Evil.
Hard pass. Which is a shame, adult male protagonist rather than a child is a reason to watch on its own but meh, cannot deal with the stupid.
@@benwhiley9680 bruh, it is an Anime, it is not about historic realism or real world physics and biology, just because they pay some attention to the setting doesn't mean that it isn't a shonen phantasy series...
+ the protagonist IS a kid
@@adamraad8445 it actually isn't a shonen, it's targeted at adult audiences and the protagonists isn't a kid beyond the first few episodes, he grows and the story follows he's life,
@@benwhiley9680 How much have u seen it exactly, cause episode 1-3 are prologues, the actual story takes place throughout the world, following multiple characters and blending different genres.
adam raad not sure how much you’ve read or watch, but that statement is very far from the truth!! Even though it does have some anime tropes doesn’t make it shounen, for the majority of series the mc is well into adulthood , so I hope you give it a try👍
I picked up this one a while back during a 99cent sale. I'm glad you reviewed it because I think it's awesome when you use your platform to elevate lesser known books/authors, etc.
Pleas review the Cradle series by Will Wight. He's a new author and has created addictive short novels that are the best I've read. I like them more than wheel of time and Stormlight.
I picked up this book jade city and to sleep in a sea of stars all on your recommendations im really enjoying kaigen so far
100% liked this one too - particularly agree that the character arcs were really well done.
It's a very surprising book in a number of ways, whether we're talking about plot structure, character arc, and generally having this surprising-yet-inevitable story that alternates between dark/bitter and hopeful, while still maintaining a really grounded yet organic plot.
I love the fallout. I get so frustrated that so many books end with a climax. It doesn't make sense to me. So I was already excited but now yes!
Cried reading this it was amazing in so many ways
I personally loved this book. It's setting, characters, themes, and story are stellar. It's now one of my top 3 favorite stand-alone fantasy novels.
Read this on your recommendation, absolutely loved it. Half way through the "second climax" I put the ereader down and started trying to find a hardcover copy to order(sadly paperback only), since I knew I would be rereading this.
Seriously awesome moments just everywhere in this book. The climaxes felt as impactful as if they were at the end of a solid trilogy of build up, and the characters the same.
TSOJ Was the best book I’ve read in 2019
Since I started really watching your channel a few weeks ago, my TBR list has grown quite a bit. Love videos like this that spotlight lesser known books, and definitely looking forward getting this one! Love the channel!
thanks soo much for reviewing more unknown books, it's so fun discovering new authors and books.
I just finished this after numerous recommendations and what an emotional roller coaster of a novel. I loved every bit of it.
Congratulations on 100k! I've been watching since you had less then 10k subs and it's awesome seeing you hit this milestone
I appreciate videos like this. Its easy to find popular fantasy books when your an avid reader. Thanks for vids like this!
Love your channel Daniel but every time you say Sword of Kaygen, Terry Goodkind gets a new idea.
What’s the proper way of saying it?
@@CantStopTheMadness If it is Japanese inspired, K-EYE-Gen
@@tylerdiederichsen309 Thanks!
@@CantStopTheMadness to break it down further, if you slow it down, you would kah-i-gen. However, the Japanese say it so quickly that the transition between A and I is very subtle that I almost sounds like eeee. So for us it's easier to just say Kye-gen.
Hi Daniel, not sure where to ask you questions, so I put it under your most recent video. Was curious to know if you have ever read Stephen R. Donaldson? I would love to see a review if you have. Thanks for your wonderful opinions and what you do here. I got away from fantasy for many years and thanks to you I have started reading it again, well done.
thank you so much for this kind review. Sounds like a book I would enjoy a lot!
100k! You have come a long way Mr. Greene! Well done.
Gonna give this one a try. Thanks for the suggestion
I liked this video a lot - it’s nice when you highlight books which are not so well known. Maybe make this a series ?
Just finished it, wanted to watch your review before I leave mine on Goodreads. All i will say is Chapter 20 man, it broke me, I’ve only ever cried like that with one other book in my life. Fenomenal read
Omo! I have to get back to reading this. Not too many Asian based stories for reference
I actually loooove reading about ramifications, so this book is for sure on my 2020 TBR now.
Thank you😊
I loved The Sword of Kaigen. Wang wrote two books in the same world prior to The Sword of Kaigen (Theonite book 1 and 2, which in my mind are more YA), which I read before Kaigen and helped to understand this book.
Hm, the book sounds awesome. I'm glad you did a review, Daniel. Otherwise, I wouldn't have looked at it twice, the cover doesn't stand out and those 'The Sword of Insert-Fantasy-Name-Here' titles aren't a big draw for me either.
Edit: Also, why do so many female fantasy authors use pen names starting with two initials? Is that a trend that developed after J. K. Rowling's success? I mean N. K. Jemisin, R. F. Kuang, M. L. Wang, V. E. Schwab... it really stands out to me. I remember Robin Hobb talking about choosing her pen-name because it doesn't give away if she's a man or a woman and men tend to sell better in fantasy - and there is a similar thing in the romance genre where women tend to sell better and male authors often choose either neutral or even female pen-names because of sales statistics.
Wow I never knew that!
EXCELLENT point about the title; I feel the same!
Personally, I don't read fantasy written by women. Because I may not be in the minority, they take pen names to fool people into thinking it was written by a man.
@@evieni1465 Why does the actual gender of an author matter? If its a good story.., its a good story?!!
@@evieni1465 Why do you chose stories by the gender of the author and not just pick stories you find interesting?! I'll never get stuff like that.
Review Unsouled - Cradle series by Will wight, it's great.
Best series!
This sounds like the sort of book I would really enjoy. Picking it up. Thanks!
I just finished listening to the audible of this book. It was quite the emotional roller-coaster. It definitely makes you look at violence differently. I share your exact sentiments. It's not my most favorite thing I read but I did enjoy it and It really was a breath of fresh air from the stuff I normally read.
This so nice of you! And that rating for a self published book is incredible!
Added to my TBR. Appreciate your perspective as always, Daniel.
This book is $2.99 on amazon. Picked it up. Sounds fun .
charles lash the kindle version. The paperback costs $21.
Congrats on 100k subscribers, Daniel!
Fantasy that is not as medieval based is always fun to read. It's great when an author puts in the effort to add influence from a different culture.
Thank you so much for recommending this book. I picked it up after watching this video and I loved it and its one of my favourite books I have ever read.
Man! I love your reviews. Always bringing different writers and books rather than jumping on the hype-train. Keep up the great work pal.
Pick up the book, couldn’t put it down.
Thanks for the suggestion
I wanted this a year ago... Started the book this week. I WASTED TIME... Such a great story!
So I just read this after seeing you place it so high in your tier list of all the books you've read so far in 2020. And man was it good. I agree with the idea of it dragging it a little after the one climax but yeah it was really cool seeing the ramifications of what happened as you said. I don't normally get emotional when reading, unless I'm annoyed because the characters aren't acting logical and thus furthering an unnecessary conflict. But this book got a rise out of me and like damn. For that alone it's one of my favorite books ever now.
Yah I felt like Misaki was a little unfair with putting the blame on her husband for Momoru’s death, but at the same time I just saw it as she was grieving and building up resentment towards him. Also the resolution of their relationship was really well done
Misaki is such a bad ass mom :) A great read.
Another excellent review Daniel! These don't hurt the channel, they enhance it.
You should read up on Tomihiko Morimi if you want to get deeper into Japanese books. He’s widely considered one of, if not the best, and I think you’d highly enjoy his works.
Both of Will Wight's books from 2019 were over 4.5 with over 5k ratings. You gotta get on that
I love Will Wight. His LitRPG Cradle series is just plain fun, especially if you've ever been involved in martial arts.
SevenThunderful Cradle isn’t a LitRPG at all. It doesn’t even come close to fitting into the genre.
I have been crying for two days straight. I honestly think this is the most emotional and best books I have ever read
Looking forward to M. L. Wang's new standalone, "Blood Over Bright Haven".
Well, you sold at least one book here!
I am glad to see self published books get more support, because as a reader, it's a jungle out there. I try to read a couple of self published books a year, and it can be quite rough going (no offence intended at self publishing authors out there! I know you're working hard on that dream and I want you all to Get There!) but I am always rooting so hard for these authors, and I get disproportionately happy when I come across something neat.
I think I'll like this one, and you know what. I don't like that there seems to be a trend that any new author's first published work has to be flawless in every way and be a eye-searingly bright masterpiece to get some recognition and even celebration thrown their way.
Thank you for not following that trend.
Thank you for this recomendation, I will check it out. I love new things in fiction.
Really want to see more Asian and like Jungle types of fantasy so bad. Going to download this book today
Hmm. Sounds interesting. I'll have to look into it more before I consider buying (sorry, am just cheap). I'm a little leery, after my experience with The Blade Itself (highly recommended on a few channels though), but I am excited to see fantasy from different perspectives. Even the imagery and emphasis on different attributes makes "new" fantasy interesting.
Bought it on Kindle just because you said it's good... and because it's only $2.99 right now 😜
Thanks for the review!
Japanese fantasy with modern or advanced technologies is a very common trope in anime and manga. I am surprised this kind of book wasnt written sooner.
Loved the Sword of Kaigen, so good characters, reveals and action
Thanks for letting me know about this book. Going to read it on kindle unlimited
Thanks for such a great job reviewing. You've got a real gift 👍
Picked up my copy! Excited to check it out!
I almost DNFd this one with how slow it started. It felt very YA at first, and I only continued due to reading it for a bookclub. I ended up really enjoying it though, I gave it 4 stars.
Thank you for making me aware of books I would completely miss otherwise.
Hi Daniel, thanks to you i finally got myself into the Wheel of Time series, started in late November, and just finished The Shadow Rising yesterday - I know that´s WoT is the one thing you absolutely love and you allways praise it no matter what, but surely (and i completely agree that the series is fantastic, not my #1 tho - for me that would be Malazan) you got some things you don´t like or you find problematic about the series, and I would be really interested to see what exactly that is - just and idea for a video. Cos I really like to dig into pros and cons of the things i love, just to try and be objective, which can ofteb be really hard :)
I'm so waiting for this book to be available on the kobo store... Or else I'm paying for the physical copy with full shipping across the world
Bought it on your recommendation. Easily one of the best books I've read in a long time. Had no issue at all with the change in pace toward the end. It was essential to bringing it all home for the characters left in the aftermath of that epic 100 page battle.
Curious of her Theonite series. Any thoughts?
I heard the Theonite series wasn't so good, but then very little is...
Why no one is talking about Meluha by Amish Tripathi (shiva trilogy). This trialogy is an Indian mythology fiction but if you don't know anything about indian history or "myths" this trilogy is complete fantasy. It have everything! I LOVE IT SO MUCH.
Homer’s work, The Iliad, portrays violence in such a casual manner as to be horrifying. Read some of the battle scenes and you will see what I mean.
The main characters are no Mary Sues. Achilles showing his childishness and petulance in the most unflattering way and Paris’ pathological impulsiveness are two examples.
The best scene is with the old king, Priam beseeching Achilles for his late son’s Hector’s
I would add that realism in fantasy or semi fantasy is not new.
Please give Ken Liu's Dandelion Dynasty a try! It's fantasy inspired by ancient chinese history and features incredibly intriguing characters. It could be likened to what Game of Thrones is to european history.
Thank you for reviewing this. It has totally put it on my list.
This is a good review I love it
- daniel greene you should give the broken empire trilogy another chance. Jorg actually gets better in each book(morally), the writing gets better(like if it wasn't already good) I think you can love it if you gave jorg another chance.
Definitely going to get this one! Always up for supporting indies, and this sounds like my thing anyway. Thank you for doing a review of it otherwise I probably wouldn't have discovered it(:
This book made me choke back tears many times.
Thanks Daniel! You should definitely keep covering less popular books such as this one! It really is part of the reason why i love your channel so much. Liked the video and got the book too!
I'm really intrigued by this book! But damn it's too expensive:(
I believe you can rent it on Kindle if you have amazon prime
Its on Kindle Unlimited! So you can read it using the one-month free trial
I've begun this book and only upto a few chapters, but this is filling my long time void of Avatar the Last Aibender like nothing else!
Nothing much to say other than I have picked it up for later! You have made me really curious.
This was an excellent book almost shockingly so. I only say that because the other books in this particular series come across as fluff in comparison. I almost didn't realize it was the same author. Weird, but this one was amazing.
this book reminded me Nanjing massacre. Exactly what Japanese soldiers did during Sino-Japanese wars during WW2. But the thing is that in this book Kaigen represents Japan. they speak Japanese. And the words that Ranganese are saying are Chinese words, like "Ni hao kuai" which means, you're so fast.
Like it a lot, that you review and promote lesser known authors/books even though it might damage your bottom line a little. Think you should promote your Patreon a touch more, so you’re not as dependent on AdSense and more free to review whatever you feel like. Thanks fo this review, will pick up the book for sure.
Been reading fantasy for over 30 years.Best series by far is "Malazan books of fallen" by Erikson and Esselmont.Will you be doing any interviews or reviews?
It makes me really happy to see some literary fiction aspects coming into Fantasy. There’s something really exciting about hearing “Yeah, the last 20% of this book happens after the plot and is all about the ramifications for the characters and seeing how they cope.” That’s so cool. And it feels like how a lot of genre fiction is going to evolve in the coming years, by allowing for greater variation in plot-based characterwork vs. internalized characterwork. While it might not speak to some people, it shows a greater chance of health for the genre’s longevity and adaptation to me. More variety in that regard is always a good thing, in my book. Let authors experiment!
100k waiting for the live stream
Love the review
You seem to have gotten more views on this than Malazan. I think many of us would like to hear more like this.