The
Fated Blades series is an interesting combination of historical
novel set in feudal Japan and modern buddy cop story in teeming
Tokyo. Narcotics officer Mariko has a strong sense of duty.
Her duty to her job and to her beloved city seem in conflict,
with Mariko and her partner making different choices. Mariko
takes the high road; her partner, no so much. As a result,
the investigation into a dangerous religious fanatic may be
in jeopardy, but which is more important -- protecting the
city or convicting the perp? The novel is filled with hard
choices like that, for Mariko and for the characters we visit
in the distant past. Each must wrestle with duty, honor, and
fear. Although I found the one torture scene difficult to
handle, the novel overall was fascinating and filled with
glimpses of a different time. My favorite character was the
one least visited in the novel, a crippled pearl diver who
longs for a very different life. Overall, this isn't a fast-paced
read and keeping all the characters separate with the jumps
in time and place can be challenging -- also, if you're looking
for a lot of fantasy elements, you won't find them here. Instead,
the fantasy is quite subtle and seems to be coming from the
character's beliefs more than from actual magic. So, it's
not totally my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it just the same.
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