Sword
Da Chen
240 pp. Laura Geringer. $16.99
Pub. Date: 8/26/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0061447587
Reviewed by Lindsay Stotts
One of the great things about books is their ability to open up new worlds to a reader, the author assuming the role of knowledgeable tour guide. Not many Western readers have the opportunity to experience
Da Chen, who grew up in
Miu Miu wakes up on her fifteenth birthday not to the sounds of a Matchmaker knocking on the door to announce her choice of suitors, but to something much different. Before she was born, Miu Miu’s father was murdered, leaving her mother and her all alone. Now she has been informed that instead of starting her first steps into womanhood with her betrothal, she’s to avenge her father’s murder.
Before Miu Miu leaves for the capital, her mother reveals a secret that she has held onto for fifteen years. The son of her father’s apprentice Tong Ting has been chosen to be her husband, but only after he kills the murderer of Miu’s father, which just happens to be the emperor. (Talk about ratcheting up the difficulty factor!) Tong Ting will be wearing a jade necklace that matches the one that Miu’s mother gives her for her fifteenth birthday. She also recovers the last sword that her father had crafted, an immensely powerful weapon that can match the magical might of the emperor’s sword. Not wanting to leave revenge to someone who she’s never met, Miu begs the Elders to let her go and kill the emperor. Securing the permission of the Elders, Miu sets off on her murderous quest. It’s kill or be killed, since anything else will bring untold shame to her family and village.
On her long journey to the capital, Miu stumbles across a cocky young man who challenges her to a fist battle in the forest. (Miu is disguised as a man, so there are no fistic improprieties here.) While in the woods to settle this battle of egos, she discovers something she couldn’t have even imagined. During the heat of the battle, a necklace falls from his neck. It’s a perfect match to the one her mother gave her (you had to see that one coming) and is inscribed with Miu’s name. It seems she has found Tong Ting, he betrothed.
Together Tong Ting and Miu conspire to assassinate the emperor. (Who knew dating could be so much fun?) Finally on reaching the capital, nothing goes like they planned as they discover that the sword crafted by her father does more than just kill.
“Sword” has many enjoyable aspects. The narrative is very entertaining and engaging, effortlessly pulling the reader through the story. Chen displays great skill in creating his characters. They are interesting, warm and engaging, and I found myself empathizing with them. The fight sequences are detailed and vivid.
Sadly though, I found Chen’s use of Chinese terms for the martial arts moves very distracting. It’s not the Chinese words that are distracting, but the English translation that follows in parentheses. It’s like reading a book with parenthetical subtitles (which is so annoying, don’t you think?). This interrupted the fluidity of the narrative, the flow bogging down as each new technical term conveying the move is followed by a translation. Instead of trying to paint a picture with a description of the move, Chen only offers the technical term. It’s telling the reader rather than showing them.
The climax of the book felt very anti-climactic (although the fight scene was vivid if you could overlook the overabundance of technical terms in the description). But after the climax, the story finished somewhat flat, seemingly meandering to its conclusion. It’s a shame since every page of “Sword” has something interesting happening. The book doesn’t lack for page-turning action, and it never feels like a chore to continue. Unfortunately the resolution is disappointing.
Last Word:“Sword” is a quick and enjoyable read. The action scenes were entertaining, even though the Chinese (English) description of the moves took away greatly from the flow. After finishing the book, I was left with a sense of emptiness like I’d missed the
Final Grade: 67 out of 100
1 comments:
I have wanted to read this book and it sounded good, but I wanted to see what you thought of it (since i spotted it in your read pile). I am like you, though. I enjoy the battle scenes and action to flow with the story and not sound like they were the core of the story and the plot bits wer thrown in to make it 'book' worthy. Well, this one will be a book I would by used or rent from the library. Thnks for a good review!!
Post a Comment