The Sword of Kaigen
About the book
Author: M.L. Wang
Publisher: Self-published
More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.
My review
I picked this up after loving Blood Over Bright Haven and having a friend literally force their copy of Kaigen into my hand. I’m torn on how I felt; until about 2/3 into the book, I thought it was going to be a new favorite. But the ending felt like it was clearly setting up a sequel that is now equally clear will never be written (there’s an author’s note at the beginning that says this should be taken as a standalone), which makes it kind of hard to recommend to others.
Still, that is a structural complaint (mysterious elements introduced but not tidied up, the overarching conflict still in limbo) and not a complaint about the writing, which is incredible. In fact, the conflict scene that happened about 2/3 into the book was possibly one of the greatest I’ve ever read in my life. The plot twist halfway through floored me. The worldbuilding is fantastic and the magic system is unique. I’m just bummed that it didn’t feel like it fully ended! Especially as this is self-published, I would have thought Wang might have gone back to revise a bit if she wasn’t going to keep going. But I also understand that she has more potentially lucrative things to write that might earn her another traditional advance!
If nothing else, though, this has cemented me as a huge M.L. Wang fan, and I will be reading anything she writes going forward.
Content and trigger warnings
War
Death of one’s child
Rape
Suicide
Miscarriage
