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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
superb historical fantasy, August 27, 2007
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
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite book in series sets perfect, melancholy tone, January 23, 2008
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.
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13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
decent, but not great, prequel, August 27, 2007
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.
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