a striking beginning to the series. the writing falters at times but fundamentally it’s strong and enjoyable, and the multiple POVs are imo well-balanced. Shoju, in particular, is an excellent tragic hero — channeling a bit of Macbeth, perhaps.
the imperfect Japanese is annoying, though — I’d rather places be referred to just by their anglicized names (which to be fair sometimes they were) than have the messy grammar (“Shiro no Soshi”, anyone? lol).
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