Customer Reviews

Heaven's Net is Wide

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Otori Shigeru is the young heir to the powerful ruthless Otori clan. Yet in spite of growing up in an authoritarian pyramidal hierarchy, he understands that greater Japanese society and especially his clan venerate loyalty.

However, his lessons were also tempered as an adolescent when he observed how dishonorable some behaved; seditious backstabbing by his uncles and an assault from the Iida family to gain power. The culmination occurs when his uncles' perfidy and the Iida betrayal lead to the deaths of thousands of Otori warriors at Yaeahara and the eradication of his family. He lives, but is heir to nothing as the Otori clan was exterminated. Although those who murdered his family want him dead so he symbolizes nothing, Shigeru survives with an inner fortitude made stronger with what he saw enhanced by a desire for retribution. He turns to his former mentor warrior-monk Matsuda Shingen for guidance and patience, and meets Lady Maruyama who keeps him human and more as she knows what he is going through as the Tohan destroyed much of what she held sacred. However, the hope for retribution might begin in a mountainous village ...

The fifth Tales of the Otori is a brilliant novel that brings the beginning and the end to this great saga of Medieval Japan. The story line is a superb historical fantasy as the audience learns much of how Otori got to where he ends. Fans of the series will fully appreciate this great finish that is also the beginning as HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE completes this non-linear epic saga with a sweeping winner.

Harriet Klausner

Prequels are always a dangerous thing. We know where the story is going to go, and in many ways there is no suspense because we know whether certain characters will survive or perish. But the lure for authors (and publishers) is undeniable despite the fact that it is the rare prequel that enhances a series rather than merely rides on its coattails.

Lian Hearn's "Heaven's Net is Wide" defies that generalization. Hearn has written a novel of strength and beauty, loss and betrayal, love and hope. This novel lays the foundation for her enjoyable "Tales of the Otori" series.

The greatest strength of this novel is that it focuses on Lord Shigeru, young heir of the noble house of Otori. Lord Shigeru is the man who discovers young Takeo, the hero of the later novels, but while Shigeru casts a large shadow over the later books, he's not much of a direct actor (for obvious reasons). So this novel focuses on this valiant, tortured, stoic young man as he struggles to save his house and his realm from destruction.

It is also a novel about love, as the poignant affair between Lord Shigeru and the beautiful Lady Naomi of Murayama blossoms into full-fledged adoration.

Readers of the Otori series will have probably already read this book. If you haven't yet picked up this series, this novel is an excellent place to start, as Hearn lays a terrific foundation for her later work.

This is book 0 in the series--it ends just where Across the Nightingale Floor starts. In quality, it's comparable to Nightingale Floor, and certainly better than books 2, 3, and 4. You'll meet many of the Nightingale characters here, many of whom play a much more significant role in Nightingale Floor. You'll find the training in the martial arts, the court life, etc, that made Shigeru who he was. There are battles, heroic deeds, sacrifice.

One of the things I didn't like is that there's too much drawn in black and white. Shigeru has no visible flaws. Most of the "good" people have some fatal weaknesses, such as impetuosity. Shigeru's father, the head of the clan, seems impossibly weak. Shigeru's uncles are among the "bad" people, and I cannot recall any of the bad people who has any kind of redeeming good fault. There's no need to make this kind of delineation in a novel. Tony Soprano and Flashman are much more appealing and interesting because of their character flaws. Mother Teresa, recently in the news, had a serious crisis of faith--and she's more human for it. Bad people need not be 100% evil to be good villains. Shigeru is the top swordsman in the Three Countries--it wouldn't have hurt to have made him good, but not number 1--then the problem for him would have been how to deal with swordsmen better than he was. That would have made things a lot more interesting.

So--for those who liked Across the Nightingale Floor, a decent prequel.

After what I thought was a disappointing "last" tale of the Otori, The Harsh Cry of the Heron, Heaven's Net Is Wide turned out to be a truly wonderful novel. It reminded my why I first became so engrossed with the Across the Nightingale Floor and eagerly awaited the released of the final two books in the original trilogy.

The plot is rather straight-forward. It tells the story of Otori Shigeru, his early life and training, his loves and losses, his first meeting with Lady Maruyama, the treachery of his uncles, and why Iida Sadamu despises him so much. Even though we know how it will end, it's getting there that is so thrilling and so engrossing. Lian Hearn once again returns to the wonderful storytelling that made the first three books so great and like them I was sad when it finally came to an end.

If you are new to the "Tales of the Otori" series, you may be tempted to read "Heaven's Net Is Wide" first. In fact, it is being promoted as the first book in the series in some advertising. DON'T DO IT. It is a prequel, clearly written for those who have already read the central trilogy, beginning with "Across the Nightingale Floor." Reading it first will almost completely spoil the trilogy, much of which is based on the gradual discovery of the true natures of its main characters and their relationships with each other. Once you've read "Heaven's Net," there is little left to discover.

After reading the first four books-- Across the Nightingale Floor, Grass for His Pillow, and Brilliance of the Moon, Harsh Cry of the Heron (which, truth must be told, I don't know if I could read again... I got too angry at the end... Stupid Kaede!)-- I fell in love with the world and the characters. Heaven's Net is Wide is a MOST welcome expansion upon the character and story of Shigeru. He had been somewhat of an enigma in the first book- we never quite knew what he was thinking- but HNiW explains his personality and actions beautifully.

The fact that I can't reread Harsh Cry of the Heron because it is literally too painful speaks volumes for the author's abilities, and Heaven's Net is Wide definitely showcases those abilities as well. Both books made me feel for the characters so acutely it translated into real physical anguish. I knew, from reading the other four Tales of the Otori books, what would ultimately occur, and in Heaven's Net is Wide, I could see the characters make the decisions that would put them on the path to that end, and it nearly killed me. I actually found myself yelling at the book a couple times, as ridiculous as that sounds.

In all, a very well executed return to the beginning of the events in the Tales of the Otori series. Most definitely recommended.

I absolutely love the whole Otori series. This prequel is no exception. I always wanted to know the character Shigeru better, and I wasn't disappointed. I couldn't put it down, and when I finished it I really wanted to read them all over again. Lian Hearn knows how to tell a story!

What a great book. I originally "read/listened to" the trilogy. Then this book came out. After listening to this book, I wanted to go back and listen to the trilogy again, so that the sequence of what happened was now chronological. I loved all 4 books. Although some of the Ninja-like qualities are hard to believe and is quite fantasy-ish, the rest of the book shows the historical cultures of Japan very well, and extremely entertaining.

Heaven's Net is Wide is (chronologically) part one of the wonderful "Tales of the Otori" series, although the fifth published. The benefit of being able to go back and tell the early story later, so to speak, was already proven by the Star Wars series, and Liam Hearn makes good use of the concept. If, like me, you read this book last, it will evoke much of the later story and fit into all the parts. But for those who choose to read this book first, it will be an even greater experience to take it all in order. If you are at all capable of being charmed by the complexity and pageantry of feudal Japan, this series is a "must read"!

Lian Hearn is an amazingly descriptive writer. She practically paints the scenery with her words. Chapter after chapter of dense writing... her stories take place practically inside the character's minds. What they see, feel, think... it's absolutely wonderful.

This last installment of The Otori Series is just as wonderful as the other four books. You become as attached to the characters as a reader can be, and I suggest you buy it! It's an honest to God, not cheesy in the least, Samurai Vrs. Ninja story! I have deeply enjoyed this series and I intend to make everyone I know give the book a try!