Stormdancer

The Lotus War, Book One

By: Jay Kristoff

Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda

Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

The first in an epic new fantasy series, introducing an unforgettable new heroine and a stunningly original dystopian steampunk world with a flavor of feudal Japan.

A Dying Land

The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

An Impossible Quest

The hunters of Shima's imperial court are charged by their Shogun to capture a thunder tiger - a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shogun is death.

A Hidden Gift

Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shogun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her. But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

©2012 Jay Kristoff (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Consistently interesting

Love this book! Jennifer Ikeda is my favorite narrator, and she really brought the author story to life! Can’t wait to listen to the next one!

Kind of Boring

Stormdancer had two great things going for it: alternative universe Japan and steampunk. And if you had never been introduced to either of those worlds, then you likely would have been fascinated by the 'wealth' (read: truckload) of info dumping done to describe them. But as a long time Otaku and steampunk aficionado, I'm not impressed by the mythology or worldbuilding any more - I know it already. I want a great story first, not tell and never show. But it was all tell and I was bored to tears by this simplistic plot.

Plot: selfish jerk of a Shogun wants to show he's powerful and orders his chief beastmaster to go capture a griffin. Beastmaster and daughter (main character, Yukiko) set out on what is a hopeless task but they run into one. Griffin escapes, Yukiko uses her 'demon' powers to communicate and placate beast, they return to main City, and set out to kill evil emperor Shogun.

Right off the bat, the pace was slow, with lots of descriptions and info dumps, and the characters were very flat. There was so much loving descriptions going on about the world that it was almost annoying to have characters in that pretty place. I loved the entire concept of Lotus plants powering a steampunk type of world. And there were some great chances to really interject horror elements into the plots - demons and sacrifices and ritual deaths. But the author never stayed with the story and kind of meandered through the plot so he could show off his knowledge. This was a book that felt 600 pages long - I kept stopping and it was nearly impossible to want to return to the drudgery of endless mythology descriptions, Japanese history descriptions, societal ranking descriptions, blah blah. Especially since I was so well aware of it already anyway.

I know many will rail against how the author has portrayed Japan; but hey, it is an alternate universe. I don't mind the way he set it up at all and was fascinated by the things that were NOT authentic Japanese history. But the characters really need to live and breathe in that world and no one in the story did that. Everyone talked the same, acted the same, in very simplistic manners. There really was no subtlety or subterfuge, complexities or nuances. And that's where the story really started to drag with me. If the speaker wasn't named, it could have been ANY character that was speaking, male or female. The Achilles heel of this book was the lack of action and pace.

I listened to the Audible version and the author did a decent job, though there were some irritating tics in there. But she made it easy to differentiate between the different characters, giving them much more personality than the writer did.

Magic v Mech - great concept, good execution

Dystopian, urban fantasy epic set in an alternate steampunk, feudal Japan? Heck, ya! Anime imagery of magical spirit griffins and gorgons vs. Flash Gordon mechanical Guild zealots and tech-weaponized samurai? Take my money! Court intrigue and a female lead who fights with brain, brawn, and body?
Holy trifecta!

The overall concept, setting, and storyline were great... but the execution fell a little short, especially in character development and dialogue. The Shogun is a one-note bad guy, cartoonishly shallow and too oblivious to be a credible leader. Yukiko is better balanced, with the expected flaws of being 16 conflicting with great potential and strength of spirit. But, the relative ease in which she gains mythic status, battle prowess, and espionage savvy weren’t developed enough for me to truly believe. The romantic plots and sex were particularly abrupt and clumsy. I also think there was a missed opportunity to lean more into the horror vibe.

This male author seems focused on teen girl leads who are instinctive warriors in a world of dark blood magic and swords. The writing worked better for me in his Nevernight series, but the graphic novel world painted in this book most captured my fancy. The sex and violence is more TV than cable level (especially compared to his Nevernight series). There’s a smattering of F bombs. I’m recommending this to my teenagers and am satisfied enough to move to book 2. But, I most recommend the Lifelike trilogy, my favorite series by this author, featuring more action, fun, and anime-pop culture vibes with two strong females including the ebullient Lemon Fresh.

Update in 2022: The trilogy gets better with each book, with more GoT style betrayal and bloodthirst. The horror vibe I found missing in this opener seeps into book 2 until finishing in a vicious Empire Strikes Back middle cliffhanger. It’s a long, tangled, mechanical spider’s web. You have to work for it. You have to know this author doesn’t do happy endings. You have to be ready with book 3 before you hear book 2. By the end, you’ll be feeling all five heart rending stars.

Great start to a trilogy.

I loved it. A Steam/Diesel/Lotus punk in a Japanese based worlrd...just awesome. More fantasy based then "punk" however still had a solid foothold in the "punk" genre.

wonderful

An amazing and compelling story that keeps you transfixed and wanting more. Good narration and pace.

Amazingly Beautiful!

I loved this book, it took me to another world and the narator made it even better. I am so glad that there are books to follow this one, I hate that when I find a great book at some point it has to end. I wish they'd never end.

I'll Have The Katanas With A Side Of Steampunk!

I've been away for a couple months due to a VERY hectic travel schedule, but I'm back to do a number of reviews, and I'll begin here.

Whenever a good writer, both new or seasoned, takes up the challenging task of creating a genre'-bending scifi and quasi-fantasy novel or series, and does so successfully, it's a beauty to behold. But, it CAN also be a MESS. We're talking dangerous waters. Slippery slopes. Career-ruining mistakes. We've all read and listened to such disasters.

Not worries here. This is a great listen, and it's not only designed well, it's WRITTEN well. Be prepared to be absorbed in this enjoyable listen, and overlook the minor errors to get the most out of the experience.

It's often so easy to look at an audiobook cover, title or brief description, and write off the author and his or her work as a "typical genre'" read/listen. BE CAREFUL. You do that here, and you've missed out. Kristoff offers great prose, solid character creation, excellent fight scenes (I will NOT say much on this to give anything away, except that the sky battles are astounding!), and very successful delivery of steampunk with strong eastern influence. It's a sweet refreshing mix, unlike the tirade of Steampunk writing that is so landlocked within it's own genre'.

As to the narrator, meh. Good, but not a Roy D. Some may not agree with this, but that's fine. I expect GREAT narration to enhance my experience. There are other better female and male choice I would have chosen, but the narrator didn't detract from the story.

If you've followed any of my previous reviews, I offer no spoilers, no elaborate details, no free reads on plots. Am I being intentionally vague? You BET. Doing differently only takes away from the initial listening experience. Let's get over that, and move along,

Keep in mind, dear Audible listener, that book listening is very much like a having a meal on the town: You can go where you usually go, and choose a meal of which you're comfortable. You get what you expect. Ho hum.

OR...

You can reach out a bit, and try that Oriental place around the corner that you didn't know was there. It may not have the glossy front or the valet parking you're used to, but you can discover a great cuisine that you'd never enjoyed if you'd not taken the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone. You expand your culinary tastes, and are better for it. And suddenly, a whole new world opens up to you. Steampunk is a fantastic genre' IF written with an original style and storyline, and that definitely happens here.

This audiobook will surprise you, take you on a new journey, and possibly expand your listening taste for the unusual and surprising.

I look forward to more from this author, and will definitely make the choice to listen to his next in the series!

Oops! I've talked too much, and the waiter is here waiting for my order, so I'd better speak up!

"I'll take the Katana with a side order of Steampunk please!"

A wonderful story - well worth your time...

Jay Kristoff did an amazing job creating a convincing conflict and complex characters and relationships. The story did start a little slow and if you’re a native English speaker it might be a little difficult to get all the names down, but by chapter 10 I was hooked.

The story is comparable to Mindee Arnett’s Onyx and Ivory. Featuring young girls with the ability to form mind to mind relationships with beasts and animals. A concept of towns being governed by corrupt guild societies and leaders gone mad. This book was lovable and heart-shattering.

It did fall short on a couple things - I felt that some character dynamics were extremely questionable, which I will explain further in the spoiler section. But overall I wouldn’t let that impact your decision too much to give this a listen.

Jennifer Ikeda did a nice job with the voicing. I also listened to her narration of SJM’s ACOTAR and ACOMAF and I love her rendition of the characters voices. My only complaint is her choice for Buruu’s voice - I don’t know why she chose to give him the voice of a dying attor...

Overall, the story really dragged me through all the emotions. I definitely cried once or twice, fell in love with characters, despised others... well worth the credit - can’t wait to get the next two.

*SPOILERS*

Yukiko’s relationship with Buruu was absolutely beautiful - one of my favourite character relationships. Though, I really wish we could have seen more into it as I found the transition from her breakdown in the arena to Kin measuring his wings kind of odd. One moment she was shutting him out and hating herself for not deserving him while he offered his understanding and then we see them again as if nothing happened.

Her relationship with Hiro made no sense to me whatsoever. She saw him for maybe 3 minutes at the beginning of the book and then obsessed about him and crushed over him because she liked his eyes. He was such a one dimensional character and I didn’t understand her immediate fascination with him. I don’t even understand how she convinced herself that she loved him; they formed almost no relationship before or after they jumped on each other like MONKEY CHILDREN. And when he betrayed her all I could think was ‘no shit’. Lust is perfectly fine but that was just stupid.

Kin was a complex character. He made sense and was a good character. Though personally I wasn’t a fan. Frankly I was on the Arashitora’s side when he suggested having him for lunch. Honestly, I was just disgusted with his affiliation with the guild for the entire book and viewed him as a parasite.

Other than that I loved Yukiko, Buruu, Masaru, Daichi, Akihito, Aisha, Michi and all the others. Great characters. Great story.

No Romance+Female Lead = YES

I love stories that have multiple parallels throughout the story. Not only does the author do a good job at creating this fictional/fantasy world, but also models the destruction of pollution that we are facing in our world today.

awesome

The only thing I struggled with was her voicing a couple characters . other than that. great listen