The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang book review from someone who is getting back into reading

Photo from Medium

I have personally never been much of a bookworm. After a long period of scarcely reading at all and constantly starting books but never finishing them, this past summer, something changed. I had a lot more extra time on my hands, and I began to really enjoy reading. One of the books that pulled me in this summer was The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M.L. Wang, published in 2018.

Before I read this book, I wasn’t sure what would come out of it. I started reading because it was described as a fantastic five-star novel by many different creators on TikTok, and I was really hoping that the book would live up to its hype rather than being just a shallow action book. I am very happy that that was not the case. I thought this book was truly fantastic, with great character depth, world building, and storytelling. The biggest flaw about this book is the plot holes that are left unfinished, due to the book originally being intended to be a part of a series until the author, M.L. Wang, announced she would put a freeze on her "Theonite" books. Even as a standalone fantasy novel, this book was still a very exciting read.

I am going to structure this review by starting with spoiler free thoughts about the characters, setting, and plot, and then finish with some of my spoiler included opinions.

Photo from M.L. Wang Books

Characters

The story follows two POVs of the Matsuda household, the oldest son 14-year-old Mamoru Matsuda, and the mother, Misaki Matsuda. Mamoru is an earnest and gifted boy who struggles with the expectations of becoming a strong warrior and the instilled nationalism in him, while feeling confused and blindsided by secrets being held from him by his empire. Misaki is a character who has been pressured to fulfill her strict role as a wife and mother after marrying into the Matsuda family and has been forced to neglect her past as a fighter. I love how well the main characters and supporting cast develop and unfold as the stories go on. All the characters in this book have a well written backstory, motivations, and flaws, which make them feel like real humans that act with their own autonomy, and it is really captivating. Mamou and Misaki’s characters are chefs kiss, I think they were great main characters: 5/5 stars!

Setting

The setting of this book first seemed to take place in a world inspired by 17^th century Japan, but the world in this story is actually very modern, with the main story taking place on the Kaigenese Peninsula, a mountainous area where the people live a very traditional lifestyle. Characters in this story are called Theonites who can control specific elements, most similar to a darker version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The setting is bigger than just the Kaigenese Peninsula where the Matsudas live but rather incorporates a whole political story about imperialism and propaganda between whole nations, and it adds a lot of depth and complexity to the story.  5/5 stars.

Plot

Overall, I also really liked the plot of this story. The plot balances Mamoru and Misaki’s personal conflicts to become a perfect warrior or become a perfect mother without question or liberty from the traditional society they live in, alongside the bigger problems of war arising. It leads to the discovery of identity between both of the main characters, and by learning from mistakes, they are able to combat their grief, confusion, and anger and stand up for what they really believe in. The book seems like a simple, emotionally jarring, intense war story, but actually, it is also a coming-of-age story about the main characters. The story really ripped my heart out, but I found that pretty beautiful because it made the plot that much more authentic. Unfortunately, my rating of the story is watered down by the unfinished plotlines. Some came up way too late in the book, and I would have liked to uncover more about the political environment, but I still thought the rest of the book was amazing. 3.5/5 stars.

Overall

Overall, this book quickly became one of my favorites despite its flaws. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes coming of age stories, coming of age about womanhood in traditional society, and people who want to see a step up in action and intensity from Avatar: The Last Airbender fight scenes. I would not recommend this book to anyone who is deeply sensitive to war tragedy.

Photo from M.L. Wang Books

Spoiler warning: final thoughts and opinions

This last section includes spoilers about the book. If you plan on reading The Sword of Kaigen, I would not recommend reading this last section.

What I did and didn’t like

At the end of the book, we finally see some character development for the father of the Matsudas, Takashi Matsuda, and the reasoning behind his cold, emotionally unavailable exterior.  After tragedy strikes, he finally takes accountability for what happened, but I personally think that he did not take enough accountability, and I think Misaki was too forgiving, which frustrated me a little bit. I think I see the perspective that the author was able to come from, being that it is indeed possible to heal from the grief and sadness we feel as humans, and I believe that can be very comforting to audiences who have battled grief or trauma in their own personal lives. I really appreciate this lesson from the book, but a part of me felt that how easily Takashi’s years of cold-heartedness were forgiven took away from the other lesson of the story, being that we shouldn’t take the people around us for granted or be so rigid in traditional ideals. I personally loved Misaki’s character development in the story and how she grew into an independent woman, but I think it would have been even more impactful if she also divorced her husband, Takashi, or something of the sort.

Thank you for reading my blog! If you read this book, let me know your opinions!

Caleb G / Industry Insider