Kinslayer / Jay Kristoff

Kinslayer

(Lotus War 2)

by Jay Kristoff

fantasy, steam punk, young adult? not really

copyright 2013

read in February 2017

rated 8/10: really quite good ... no... 7/10: well worth reading

Absolute over the top steam punk fantasy... Japanese steam punk fantasy. Wow.

The main characters are in their late teens. Is this a young adult book? Probably. But that is a category, not a limitation. Anyone would enjoy this book. As long as you like escapist steam punk fantasy with dragons... Or, as long as you like hectic adventure in a complex and fantastic world.

In this fantastic version of Japan, the steam punk machinery is terrific. Terrific and very traditional Japanese :-)

Prosthetic limbs which whirr and clank and hiss fumes. Giant mechanical vehicles on steam powered legs. Computer input via abacus. And just wait till they start to use those steam punk swords...

Amongst all this, the teenage characters struggle on. They are tough. They are bitter, they are sweet. They are willing to put their lives on the line to fight evil.

The empire is evil. And -- to add to the challenge -- there are evil demons. Evil humans may be destroying the world. Evil demons would like to destroy the humans. And, possibly, the world. Yet the demons are just a sub-plot.

At the start of this book is a quote, "Your anger is a gift." The heroic revolutionary tells this to the heroic girl. And yet... she realises that anger is not the only, not the best, answer. Good for her.

So. Question. Can this book be read by itself?

Yes.

This is book two. There are quite a few carry-over characters. Who the hells are all these people? Those are the author's words, as he gives a brief pen picture of the key continuing characters. It was at the start of the book, so I knew it was there. And regularly referred to that section. Thank you :-)

The story itself began, twisted, split, rejoined, then ended. Satisfactorily.

Yes, there are villains still alive, seeking to destroy the good guys. There is a twist at the end which seems to me, to be ready to twist a few more times in future books. There is an entire anti-empire resistance group noted but yet to be introduced. One battle is over, the war continues...

Yet this book ends with a solid and satisfactory conclusion. It can be read alone.

I want to read more of this saga. I am happy with the one book that I have read.

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nov22:

I read it again... with some new opinions.

First: Book one may have been teen escapist fantasy. This book two adds a lot more adult nastiness.

There is sex, betrayal, apparent betrayal, torture and general suffering.

It's a violent book. Gone is the happy I-ride-a-griffin teen fantasy.

and Second: Yes, books one and two are very clearly the start of a series.

The end is satisfactory -- but wide open, even for the key characters.

There are also major threads which are entirely unexplored. The possibly-Russian group, for example.

The world is wide and complex. Even two books have barely explored a corner. With glimpses of lots more.

Because it is so incomplete -- I have reduced my rating from 8 to seven.

Also... my current tastes are for books with less violence and nastiness.

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems? Solved.
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"Before your dreams can come true, you have to have those dreams" … Dr Joyce Brothers