Format: Paperback, 528 pages
Release Date: April 7th 2015
Publisher: Roc
Source: Library
Genre: Fantasy
After a deadly terrorist attack in Tokyo, Detective Sergeant Mariko Oshiro urges her commanding officers to arrest an insane zealot who was just released from police custody. When her pleas fall on deaf ears, she loses her temper and then her badge.
Armed with only her cunning and her famed Inazuma blade, Mariko must work outside the system to stop the terrorist. But going rogue draws the attention of the Wind—an underground syndicate that has controlled Japanese politics for centuries, using mystical relics to achieve their nefarious ends. Now, Mariko is left with a perilous choice: join an illicit insurgency to thwart a deadly villain, or remain true to the law.
Story Locale: Tokyo, Japan
Series Overview: Tokyo’s only female detective fights to keep her city safe by wielding one of the most dangerous swords ever forged.
Disciple of the Wind is the third installment in author Steve Bein's Fated Blades series. It follows Year of the Demon (10/13) and Daughter of the Sword (10/12). The stories in this series alternate between the years 2010 and 1588. The series features a heroine in 27-year old Mariko Oshiro who grew up in Illinois, before moving to Japan where worked her way up the ladder in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. She's a Detective Sergeant (Narcotics) who follows the Bushido Code.
Bushido holds that a true warrior must hold that loyalty, courage, veracity, compassion, and honor as important, above all else. She's faced severe challenges, lost her trigger finger on her right hand, destroyed her career after shooting a terrorist while saving dozens of innocents, and has no remote control for her emotions, or her attitude towards incompetent supervisors. She is the proud owner of a wicked cool sword called Glorious Victory Unsought, and should have died several times now, but somehow managed to survive against all odds.
She is the only voice within the Department who knows how dangerous the villain of this book really is. She should know. She had a chance to stop him once, and failed. Mariko's path takes her into the realm of the Disciples of the Wind who have access to every part of Japan's society. They may be the only avenue she has in order to stop the villain from destroying the Japan that she has come to call home.
I think this series is one that doesn't get the publicity it needs. I really love Bein's writing, and how he twists a bit of paranormal into a modern world with a fantastic heroine. Bein impressed me with he learned knowledge of Japanese culture and the language. I love that the author has a sense of humor in calling Mariko "Frodo" from The Lord of the Rings. I love the scenes that go back to 1588 which means we get the story of Diagoro who was born with a handicap that people tried to take advantage of, and lost their lives. Diagoro are connected because of the challenges they face, but also the blades that have come into their lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment