Heaven's Net is Wide

By: Lian Hearn

Narrated by: J. Paul Boehmer, Julia Fletcher

'A beautifully realized setting, action and romance played out across a couple of generations, a high-class voyage to the long ago and far away – Lian Hearn has written a saga that will continue to give pleasure to many.' – Ursula K. Le Guin

The Middle Country, home of the Otori clan is ruled by a benign but weak leader while in the East, the warrior-like Tohan are gathering power. On the plain of Yaegahara the clans clash in a bloody battle that leaves Otori Shigeru desperate for vengeance. Meanwhile, in a remote mountain village, a boy is born gifted with the supernatural skills of his father, once the deadliest assassin of the Tribe.

Set in the years before the beginning of Across the Nightingale Floor, Heaven's Net is Wide by Lian Hearn is the first and last Tale, which both closes the circle and introduces new readers to the fantastical, beautiful and thrilling world of the Otori. It is an epic story of betrayal, revenge, magic and love.

Critic reviews

A beautifully realized setting, action and romance played out across a couple of generations, a high-class voyage to the long ago and far away – Lian Hearn has written a saga that will continue to give pleasure to many. (Ursula K. Le Guin)

An indispensable introduction to a remarkable saga. I was spurred into re-reading the whole thing. It was pure pleasure. The setting is beautiful and beautifully described, the story clicks into place perfectly.

Scenes of exquisite beauty and tension, aided by the mesh of Hearn's meticulous and convincing imagined world.

A thrilling story of violent combat, legend and passion.