Customer Reviews

The Unicorn (Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War, Second Scroll)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Although there aren't as many plot lines as in "The Scorpion", This book is just as good if not better. Better because the story doesn't have to deal with as many subjects and can spend more time developing fewer characters. "The Scorpion" had a lot to set up. "The Unicorn" is mostly about two characters, a Unicorn "Battle Maiden" and a Unicorn ambassador.

A lot of characters from the previous novel are here. Most are very much different from what they started out as in "The Scorpion".

After reading this one, I'm totally hooked on the series. I'm into the way the characters are changing and developing... specifically the hero from "Scorpion". It was also fun to watch the 'Battle Maiden' and her horse earn respect.

This series is a HUGE soap opera... with a lot of beheadings during battle. That seems to be a common way to die when there are swords about.

It resembles "Lord of the Rings" to the extent that there is a dark ominous bad guy whose power is growing (like Sauron). He uses goblins and ogres and other monsters as his minions (Like Sauron did). He has his own dark land (like Mordor). There are even Shadow Warriors that are basically clothing and armor draped over nothing more than shadows (like Ringwraiths). There is also a capitol city under siege (in "The Scorpions") that reminds me of Gondor. At least there aren't any Hobbits.

One interesting note so far is that these first two books don't really seem to have a bad guy. Everybody (even the Scorpion clan) are working for the better of Rokugan. The only real bad guys are the monsters and the dark bad guy called Lo Feng or something like that.

On to "Scroll 3"!!

This book started out ok, and then got better, and towards the end I couldn't put it down. Following the dual story of Tetsuko's breathless life of battle and Tadaji's dreams and palace intrigue was a stark contrast at first, but once the threads between them become clearer, it all fell into place. The whole book is full of brilliant images and characters. The plot's foreshadowing had me guessing and flipping back to re-read and see if I had guessed right. At one point I even read ahead because I couldn't stand the suspense (and I never do that)! Like Jikkyo, "No matter what happens tomorrow, it will be with you always..."

I would like to give The Unicorn a higher rating because there is a very good short story going on within this messy novel. The tale of Ide Tadaji, Unicorn diplomat and courtier, is a very well crafted political drama holding some of the best moments of the entire Clan War series.

Unfortunately, there's this dishwater dull "Battle Maiden" who takes up the rest of the book with her run-of-the-mill coming of age story. By the end of the book you care even less about her than you did at the beginning and you're left wondering if the rest of series is going to slide into disasterous territory. Tadaji's political maneuverings and repartee with Kachiko are thankfully there to keep you engaged for the sake of the series if nothing else.

The biggest disappointment with The Unicorn, however, is that you never feel that you understand the clan's purpose or place in the overall scheme of things. With such wonderful secrets and an amazing cultural history the Unicorn clan contains ample material for a very engaging novel. The shame is that you won't find any of it here.

The Unicorn clan likes beef, wears leather, and doesn't care much for the intrigues of the imperial court. On top of that, they believe in helping the peasants.

The are allied with the Crane, and prove to be true allies. Wherein does the service lie though, to the Emperor or the Empire.

This is primarily a tale of a few individuals. It doesn't deal with the overall Health of the empire, but does set up several of the battles that would shape Rokugan and the Rokugani during the Clan Wars at the end of the Hantei Dynasty.

This also introduces some of the conflict that would be highlighted in the next book of the Legend of the Five Rings Clan War Scrolls, the Crane.

This is a fairly good book, though not great. If you are interested in Rokugan, the world of Legend of the Five Rings, or Feudal Asian style High Fantasy, you would probably enjoy this book, otherwise, you would probably find it an interesting work of fantasy but not particularly enjoyable.

First of all you should be familiar with the card game of Legend of the Five Rings before you judge the contents of this book. Some the characters have predetermined roles to fill due to the game. I feel the book was well writen and filled in some of the gaps as for how some of the characters came about. I, for one, enjoyed this book and will buy the other books as they come out.

The Unicorn is the second in the series of the Legend of the Rings. A set of novels that are based upon the card game with the same title. The novels are recreating the history and story line of the card game. As someone who does not play the card game - I find the stories fascinating and interesting. So the stories should be insightful to anyone who enjoys playing the game.

The second book picks up where The Scorpion (Book 1) left off. It is a few years after the the coup and things are not settling back down, in fact life for the people in the novel is increasingly getting more dangerous as undead warriors return to sack towns and destroy everything in their path.

The novel brings back many of the players from the first novel and introduces a few more who will become players in the upcoming novels.

The book is worth a read if you enjoy a good fantasy book, especially if you enjoy a good Samurai-esque adventure. This is no Shogun - but it is fun, none the less.

I didn't get to read the first book in the series, but I'm definitely going to after this one! The battle scenes were enthralling - I don't always go for that sort of stuff (especially all the gore) but I was totally hooked. The woman in me really appreciated the equal treatment of the genders. Tetsuko was great - I really want to read more about her (just hopefully without so many tissues next time)!

This one deals with the beginning of the Clan War, beginning with the aftermath of the Plague and ending with the Battle of Beiden Pass. I liked this one better than the previous one wich, IMO lacked drama and intensity. This one is lower key, but doesn't fail to deliver. Plenty of guest stars... Sukune on a Stick, Yori, etc...

For those of you not familiar with the Legend of the Five Rings setting, The Unicorn takes place in a fantasy world fairly close to medieval japan. The events described in the book are part of a series depicting the end of the empire and the heroic tales of the heroes trying to save it. This is epic fantasy, no doubt about it : the Dark God aims at destroying the Empire. But this is epic that's well-written and with enough plot to keep you reading.

I've known the plots for quite some time as it has already been exposed in the card and rolepkaying game. Still, I'll probably read all of the novels, just to get more of it. ANd because the characters are compelling. The Unicorn differs from The Scorpion (the first in the series) in that it deals with the pains and problems of a particular samurai where the Scorpion expanded mostly on major events and politics. Depending on what you like, you may prefer the Unicorn, where a young samurai faces the loss of those she loves and the doubts about her own value. I did prefer the Scoprion as I expect of the series to build on the heroic and political events more than the private stories of the characters. Nevertheless, the books are both well-written and worth a read.

This book was an okay read, but not a riviting one like the first book. Some of the characters were interesting, but the pace of the book seemed a little rushed to me. Like she needed to get to the next part as quickly as possible without going into deapth.

There were some interesting things that I really wanted to learn more about at the end of the first book and the unicorn book just jumped ahead and didnt go into any of them at all. Which I found disappointing.

For me the most annoying thing was the odd japanese word usage. I assumed that the spoken language was not english even though it is printed as english, that being the case to see a sentence like " Sumimasen. I am disturbing you." instead of just " Excuse me. I am disturbing you." Struck me as a pointless and silly thing to have done. It happens quite alot throughout the book.

However it is still a good read and some of the characters make it worth the effort. If you like the series then read it. I will be reading the 3rd.