as a standalone novel, this book is excellent. the interweaving of Tetsuko and Tadaji’s perspectives is well done, and the Japanese — while still honestly kind of unnecessary — is significantly improved from The Scorpion. the horror is well-executed (and remains tastefully within the boundaries of what I, a person who struggles with horror, can enjoy), as is Tadaji’s unraveling. it leans a little too far towards telling rather than showing re Tetsuko being disgraced, but that’s a minor point, so I’ll let it pass.
as a component of the Clan Wars series leading up to the Second Day of Thunder, this book is a little more perplexing: don’t get me wrong, I like Tetsuko, but Kamoko is the Unicorn Thunder. in all the other books in the series, the (future) Thunder is the main — or one of the main — POV characters, but Kamoko only shows up here for a few scenes during the Battle of Beiden Pass, and doesn’t say more than about two hundred words, tops. I remember being confused when I got to The Lion because by that point I’d forgotten that Kamoko appeared in this book at all; she might as well have been showing up out of nowhere just for the climax of the series.
so: good book, odd position in the series.
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