On a mountainside at the edge of the Kaigenese Empire live the most powerful warriors in the world, superhumans capable of raising the sea and wielding blades of ice. For hundreds of years, the fighters of the Kusanagi Peninsula have held the Empire’s enemies at bay, earning their frozen spit of land the name ‘The Sword of Kaigen.’

Born into Kusanagi’s legendary Matsuda family, fourteen-year-old Mamoru has always known his purpose: to master his family’s fighting techniques and defend his homeland. But when an outsider arrives and pulls back the curtain on Kaigen’s alleged age of peace, Mamoru realizes that he might not have much time to become the fighter he was bred to be. Worse, the empire he was bred to defend may stand on a foundation of lies.

Misaki told herself that she left the passions of her youth behind when she married into the Matsuda house. Determined to be a good housewife and mother, she hid away her sword, along with everything from her days as a fighter in a faraway country. But with her growing son asking questions about the outside world, the threat of an impending invasion looming across the sea, and her frigid husband grating on her nerves, Misaki finds the fighter in her clawing its way back to the surface. 

When the winds of war reach their peninsula, will the Matsuda family have the strength to defend their empire? Or will they tear each other apart before the true enemies even reach their shores? 

I’m a little fuzzy on the exact details/timeline of the ongoing SPFBO & when it all wraps up, but what I do know is this: M.L. Wang’s The Sword of Kaigen is one of the finalists, and even prior to that, it was a book that was getting absolute rave reviews from so many SFF bloggers.

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In an email, Wang mentioned to me that The Sword of Kaigen, which is a standalone story set in her Theonite world, actually began its life as a novella. Considering the book wound up being about 615 pages, it’s clear that this was a story that took on a life of its own!

This is the story of the Matsuda family. The book is told mostly from two different POVs, Misaki, and her teenage son, Mamoru. The Matsudas are legendary warriors, and Mamoru is a student at the Kumono Academy. There’s a lot of pressure on Mamoru to live up to the family name, but early in the book, he meets a new student who has a serious effect on the way Mamoru perceives many things about his home country, Kaigen.

Back home, Misaki lives the life of a housewife, in an arranged marriage to a man with an incredibly cold persona. But she also has a bit of a secret past, as she was part of a small team of vigilantes when she was younger. There are some phenomenal flashback scenes to Misaki’s prior life as a crime fighter! In Misaki’s current life, women are not supposed to be fighters. She’s had to try to keep this part of her life secret for many years, but her time spent holding a blade is far from over.

One of the things that struck me most about The Sword of Kaigen is, the structure of the story is incredibly unique. There were times where, in some way, that felt almost frustrating to me. But in ways that actually had me feeling super engaged in the story, if that makes sense. The point is, this is a book that kept me on my toes, and really surprised me more than a few times.

Another thing worth mentioning is just how insanely readable this one is…I was definitely a little intimidated by the length of the book at first, but I found myself reading pretty large chunks of this at a time, even in December, which is a crazy month!

I absolutely loved this book, and thought the writing was just outstanding. Wang has a super keen ear for dialogue, and some of the interactions between family members in the book felt like they were happening right next to me. And then of course, this is a war story, and a badass one at that. This is a world filled with master swordsmen (and women), elemental magic, government conspiracies, bomber planes…there’s a lot going on!

But the story ultimately boils down to the great characters, and the ever-evolving dynamics in the Matsuda family. M.L. Wang has lots to say about things like family, tradition, gender roles, abusive relationships, questioning the past…The Sword of Kaigen is a thematically rich story, but also deeply character driven & frequently thrilling. Oof…there’s an action sequence in this book that feels like…almost real-time, and you start wondering whether even you are gonna make it out alive.

The Sword of Kaigen is as good as you’ve heard it is from bloggers/review sites! It’s bold & badass & brutally emotional at times…if this one isn’t on your TBR, it really ought to be!

Best of luck to M.L. Wang in the SPFBO, and thanks so much for the copy (with apologies for the delay!)!!