04-07-2013, 03:35 PM
Flash forward eight centuries and you have 'River of Stars'. It's not a sequel because of the time disparity but it is set in the same mileue. There were allusions to Under Heaven but I only vaguely got them. It probably would have helped to have read Under Heaven again, but the story in River of Stars is still self contained.
The warriors from the north are making inroads into the Kitai Empire. But a succession of emperors have become so afraid of there thrones being taken from them by ambitious generals that they are woefully unprepared to deal with the invading forces.
Except for Ren Daiyan who sees his future in heading armies and protecting his country.
For my taste, the book needed more Ren. GGK has a lot of people to talk about in this book and he gives, in my opinion, to these people. Yes, it fills out a whole story talking about the intrigue at the imperial court and the manuevering there, but I really like Ren and wanted to see more of his action packed adventures. DM will appreciate the fact that Ren joined up with the Outlaws in Marsh for quite a spell. My brief reading of those books gave me that pleasure of that echo in Rivers of Stars.
The pacing heats up in the second half of the book. All the pieces are in place so it gives a lot of time for Ren to do his thing. Ah, bloodshed.
I'm thinking this book wasn't as good as Under Heaven but it is still really good.
The warriors from the north are making inroads into the Kitai Empire. But a succession of emperors have become so afraid of there thrones being taken from them by ambitious generals that they are woefully unprepared to deal with the invading forces.
Except for Ren Daiyan who sees his future in heading armies and protecting his country.
For my taste, the book needed more Ren. GGK has a lot of people to talk about in this book and he gives, in my opinion, to these people. Yes, it fills out a whole story talking about the intrigue at the imperial court and the manuevering there, but I really like Ren and wanted to see more of his action packed adventures. DM will appreciate the fact that Ren joined up with the Outlaws in Marsh for quite a spell. My brief reading of those books gave me that pleasure of that echo in Rivers of Stars.
The pacing heats up in the second half of the book. All the pieces are in place so it gives a lot of time for Ren to do his thing. Ah, bloodshed.
I'm thinking this book wasn't as good as Under Heaven but it is still really good.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit