Autumn Princess, Dragon Child

The Tale of the Shikanoko, Book 2

In book two of Lian Hearn's Tale of Shikanoko series, a self-assured warrior stumbles into a game of Go that turns fatal.

An ambitious lord leaves his nephew for dead and seizes his lands. A stubborn father forces his son to give up his wife to his older brother. A powerful priest meddles in the succession to the Lotus Throne. A woman of the Old People seeks five fathers for her five children, who will go on to found the Spider Tribe and direct the fate of the country.

©2016 Lian Hearn Associates Pty Ltd (P)2016 HighBridge

Lian Hearn

......in a bit more of the fantasy vein than the OTORI TALES, yet still well worth the read. I’m super happy Hearn decided to write this series.

Middle book syndrome

This volume does not maintain the drama of the first book. This series is on the other hand a bit easier to follow than Otori. However, the frequent hinting of under-age rape and other bedding scenes makes me wonder if this is suitably placed in the YA category. As for pricing, my suggestion would be to re-package this 4 book series into 2 books, or give 2 books for 1 credit.