Customer Reviews

Wind of War (Legend of the Five Rings: The Four Winds Saga, Book 2)

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

 

 

Wind of War was a huge disappointment. The author seems to have a very weak grasp of Rokugani society and custom. In fact, take out all of the bowing and references to katana and yari and this story could have taken place anywhere. There is no sign of the complex system of etiquette that governs all social interactions in Rokugan. The Scorpion Clan provides the story's villains but the characters behave nothing like the Scorpions of previous novels. Their leader is a buffoon, easily intimidated, short of temper and extremely heavy-handed - the complete opposite of what one would expect from a Bayushi lord. It is absurd to think that a political mastermind like Hantei Naseru would have anything to do with such a man. The Scorpion clan mandate to protect the empire at all costs, even if it means the sacrifice of their honor is disregarded and these samurai are reduced to nothing more than a band of thugs and extortionists. The plot revolves around Akodo Kaneka but does nothing to advance the story of the conflict between the Four Winds. In fact, the late emperor's other children do not even appear in the novel and only Naseru is even mentioned by name. Kaneka spends the entire novel defending a village of poor farmers from their Scorpion oppressors. The book is full of combat scenes that go on for pages but do nothing to advance the plot (in one scene, seven pages are devoted to a fight between Kaneka and a gang of thugs). The author frequently repeats himself (Lord Zuto is constantly narrowing his eyes and Kaneka is always rolling his shoulders and stretching his neck). Perhaps the most upsetting thing about this book is that the author clearly did not do his homework. Besides failing to capture the feel of Rokugan's complex society, there are events in this book that contradict events that have already taken place in previous novels of the series. For example, in The Steel Throne the Water Dragon dumps Hatsuko at the feet of a cowering Akodo samurai and commands him to care for her. For some reason, the author feels compelled to retell this part of the story, but in his version, Hatsuko shows up at the Akodo stronghold with a hand-written note explaining her circumstances. Did the author not read the previous novels? And how did this get by the folks at Wizards of the Coast? Are they not concerned with the quality of these stories? The Four Winds are potentially interesting characters and their struggle for Toturi's throne could make for an excellent series of novels. This potential is wasted however, if each character is handled in a vacuum as in this novel. What a shame!

I think that the autor completely missed the complex background and tradition that guide the Rokugani world. Characters in this book go around dressed in leather like some ... bikers, touch dead without any hint of repulsion, take gift at the first giving without the customary two refusal. Lion samurai are bold ... and not the honorable and stalwart warrior who are depicted on the whole Rokugan fictions.Finally the title is all the way very fitting because there are hardly two chapter without a fighting, this would have been not so bad if the combat have had some mean but the main character go around ... breaking bones only to make a show of himself.
Not to mention the main opponent, a Bayushi lord worth of the lesser of the Crane jester, a plain unimaginative man who throw wave after wave of thugs hoping that someone casually [destroy]his enemy, personally i think very differently of a Scorpion samurai, even one not very cunning. Last but not least this book bring me a very strong sense of RPG flavour, in a scene some paesants bring Kaneka a pot with a mixture that can heal his wounds. "Please honored master take this Potion of cure serious wounds" that is what i have thinked when i read this passage...

Although I was engaged throughout the book it seemed like I knew what was going to happen next. Then I realized it was because I had seen Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Read it beacause it's part of the series, but don't expect too much to happen to further the story line throughout the saga. Nothing of any importance happens to Kaneka. The story of Shahai and the 8 Oni is nowhere to be found. Nothing happens to the empire or the other winds. It almost seems like this was a side road not a real book in the series. Like I said, under impressed.

I've read all the L5R books, being a big fan of the setting, and the worst is by far the Crab book. This book, however, comes awfully close. The author shows little knowledge of the source material. The whole plot makes no sense for those who know quite a bit about the L5R world. (Why would Bayushi Yojiro openly authorize an entire army to kill Akoda Kaneka? Why would Naseru also be so open about it? Why would an Iuchi shugenja work for a scorpion daimyo? This Lion shugenja seems to be the most powerful magic-user alive, with no explanation or wonderment from the charectors.) Magic is also used a deus ex machina to solve all kinds of things. All the charectors and plot are shamelessly borrowed from Kurosawa movies. The book itself is quite boring, and the fight scenes(of which there are dozens)go on for WAY to long. On second thought, this IS the WORST L5R book, at least the Crab book didn't have inside jokes.

I was looking forward to a new L5R novel, especially after Wind of Honor, which I thought was a great book. Wind of War managed to disappoint me on soooo many levels. Outside jokes (the village of "Rutro Ragi"), poor characterizations of established characters, poor grasp on a developed setting, and repeated use of the same metaphors (how many times can an author say "the opponent fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut) all contributed to a book that was frequently painful to read.
I'll pick up future books for the setting, but I'll hesitate to pay for another book by this author.

Wind of War is a story about the bastard son of Akodo Toturi. Long ago during the Scorpion Clan Coup, Akodo Toturi failed his duty in defending the empire when he was with a geisha by the name of Hisoko instead of fighting against the Scorpion Clan who attacked the capital. In disgrace, Toturi was able to eventually make his way back to eventually fulfill his role as a champion of the country and then become a emperor.

By alas, Hisoko had a child with Toturi and named his Kaneka. Wind of War touches upon the origin of Kaneka, the story of Hisoko, and the Kaneka's upringing in the beginning of the novel. The story touches upon the death of Toturi near the city of Ryoko Owari and then a meeting between his heirs.

Realizing that a life of politics and court was not for him, Kaneka goes to a small village which he finds is under oppression from a Scorpion Lord....

The book had promise in the beginning of the novel, and then from there turns into a story one of Kaneka's tails and adventures. If you are a fan of the Scorpion Clan you will not enjoy this novel because they play the role of the main villains of the novel. Kaneka spends a great deal of time fighting off bandits and humiliating the Scorpions in combat.

I would have liked to see a novel more about the politics during that time in the history of the Emerald Empire or a story about Kaneka when he first accepts the position of Shogun from his brother.

The book reads like a B rated movie. The novel has a lot of action and poor characterization. There are some decent battle scenes, but the action over shadows the story and development of the plot and characters. Overall I give the book 3 out of 5 stars.

Wind of War is by far the worst book I have ever forced myself to finish hoping at some point it had some relevance to the rest of the series. Its contradictory to other books and short of calling the two factions the Lion and the Scorpion Clans it has absolutely nothing to do with L5R, if you are a fan of the Clan War series and just want to read the Four Winds Saga for a taste of more Rokugan skip this book as it has nothing to do with the development of a story (no other clans are mentioned and neither are any of the other Winds except Nesaru by name).

Jess Lebow (I curse the name) even fails to learn anything about the series setting. The Samurai wear leather, never refer to each other with honorifics, touch the dead, kill indiscriminately, and have magic to make armies invisible and potions that heal all wounds.

And that isn't even the worst part as the book quickly turns into a bad Kung Fu film wannabe western (the tea House has a full bar and swinging doors, which the author declares are bamboo as if that makes it Asian). The lead bad guy is a stereotypical monster with a short temper, his minions are buffoons and drunks, the hero is invincible and drinks a potion every time he gets scratched to replenish his Hit Points and he even has a lightsaber. The villagers are more than a match for trained Samurai, and the maiden of the book quickly develops from a waitress to one of the best warriors in the Empire. The writing is just bad, the development is lacking, and the entire book is nothing more than a long bar fight that spills out into the village.

If this was an independent book it may not have been as awful (but that is really pushing it) it should not be a part of the L5R. Whoever allowed this book into the series should be fired and the fact that I just realized I have another Jess Lebow book in my collection makes me want to return it (if the bookstores weren't all going out of business). I haven't read the other novel yet and now I probably never will - books do make good kindling.

I could continue on but this book just made me so mad that I wasted my time hoping it had something to do with the series.

A stunning book. I couldn't put it down! I loved the way the author moved between time segments and his characterization is soooo real!!!

I'm not going to address this other review, as I completely disagree with this other readers assessment of "Wind of War". I have read the other L5R books, and I think this author takes a great risk with his imaginitive style, and unique story telling ability. The book is great, entertaining, and I will buy any other books this author writes in the future. It is such a great read, and I highly recommend it! Great job Jess Lebow!