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Sep 07, 2011

Mariel rated it:

I was protesting the Chinese food place down the block today. It's ridiculous. None of their offered cuisine is truly Chinese. If I want to eat American I'll go to Pizza Hut, thank you very much. If that wasn't bad enough I later had lunch at the restaurant next door. They had these little cookies. If you break open the cookies there's a piece of paper that pops out with a message of something that might happen to you. This time I didn't eat the paper first and read what it said. "The Tales More...

1 comment like (15 people liked it)

Aug 23, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

Japanese author and Nobel Laureate Yasunari Kawabata is famous for his ‘palm of the hand’ stories, stories so small and taciturn that they could fit in the grasp of one’s curled fingers. These stories comprise mere moments: a meeting of gazes, a gesture, a brief downfall of rain, the arranging of flowers, the steeping of tea. They are like wells: despite having a small, hemmed in surface of finite dimensions, their depths are unknown, dark, requiring close examination, speculation on behalf of t More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 01, 2011

± Colleen of the Crawling Chaos ± rated it:

1 1/2

In my review for Graceling I stated that I was a bit of a sucker for romance elements in action type stories. I have, in the past, admitted to, probably, over-rating certain books because the romance element gave me the warm-squishies, even though other aspects of the book were lacking or, at times, downright annoying. (See 'Fire Study'.)

So it's a bit ironic that, for this book, I think the romance element between the two protagonists was the weaknest aspect of the More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

This book is nothing other than a flight-of-fancy on the part of the author. The main character, Takeo, is virtually without flaw, which makes for an uninteresting protagonist and a predictable story. The female protagonist, Kaede, had slightly more promise that never managed to materialise, leaving her as a two-dimensional love interest for Takeo.

I enjoy trashy fantasy, but this novel was just so predictable and so mundane that I couldn't get into it. It has nothing new to offer, More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jan 21, 2010

Nicholas rated it:

Okay. I'll try to be as kind and heartfelt as possible. This book is insultingly bad. Normally a bad book is just that, but this book is actually infuriatingly bad.

Firstly, it's a fantasy book set in feudal Japan. That's fine. I would think that it being set in Japan, Hearn would have learned anything about the place, but she apparently did not. This book is written as if Hearn simply googled Japan and then decided to write a book on it. I'll go down the list of failings.

More...

13 comments like (18 people liked it)

Feb 09, 2008

Chris rated it:

This is a weird book for anyone who has more than a passing knowledge of Japan.

The author is a great fan of Japan, its culture and its history. That's obvious just by looking at her name, Lian Hearn, which is a pseudonym. According to Wikipedia, it's a contraction of "heron," an important bird in the Tales of the Otori series, but it's also the surname of one of the most famous Western experts on Japan, Lafcadio Hearn. She's gone to great lengths to instill Japanese culture More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2011

Lila rated it:

I couldn't, I just couldn't stand this book. I have no idea what the people who gave this book five or four stars were thinking. I just have to wonder what kinds of books they read in general if they praise this dreadful story to high heavens. Across the Nightingale Floor is one of the most boring books I've read in a long, long time. The story was going absolutely nowhere, the plot was mundane and I felt as if my brain cells were slowly disappearing. And categorizing it as a fantasy is misleadi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2012

Belinda rated it:

Note: In this review, there may be some spoilers, depending on your opinion of a spoiler. But there's nothing big, which is why I'm not hiding this review.

At first I really really really liked this book. Okay, that was slightly exaggerated. But, yeah, I really liked the book especially the premise of it. I don't know why, but I think the word "assassin" sounds intriguing, as well as a floor that squeaks at the slightest pressure.
True, the fact that the main character, Ta More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 29, 2010

Janina rated it:

Great epic/pseudo-historical fantasy with an amazing setting reminiscent of medieval Japan. This first installment of the Tales of thr Otori managed something epic fantasy rarely does for me: it captured me from the very first page.

When you take a look at the plotline, Across the Nightingale Floor has all the ingredients of an average epic fantasy: We have the orphaned hero, who is rescued by a noble stranger and discovers he has special abilities. We have the heroine, who is a pawn i More...

3 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2011

Bert rated it:

Being a fan of Japanese culture and history, as well as one of alternate history, I figured this was right down my alley. And it was. I really enjoyed the way it tied into Japanese culture, even though Hearn obviously took liberties with things she wanted to be different from reality. But hey, she is very clear that this is not set in Japan.

I really felt like Takeo could be better developed, and in the future Tales Of The Otori novels, he is. However, it's still not to the extent I w More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2009

Anggia rated it:

A beautiful story...
Dimana takeo bertemu dengan lord otori (shigeru), diangkat anak dan bagaimana takeo yang ternyata merupakan keturunan kikuta memiliki kemampuan untuk membalaskan dendam lord otori shigeru dengan membunuh lord iida... Ceritanya bagus menarik banget, dulu sampai ga sabar nunggu buku keduanya,, takeo jadi kayak kebagi antara dia seorang bangsawan pewaris shigeru dan seorang kikuta. Dan takeo jatuh cinta sama kaede gadis bangsawan yang cantik banget yang dijodohin sama lord More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2011

Scott rated it:

Given the number reviewers who hated this book, I will begin with a caveat. I listened in audio format which was very enjoyable but I can see where some of the tedious elements (if reading) would be hard to take. However the audible version is performed in Takeo's voice as well as Kaide.

For those who refuse to see any of the wonders of Japan and Japanese culture in the book I can only encourage you to "get over yourself". I have met many who people who, having spent some More...

0 comments like

Nov 17, 2011

Shannon added it

This is actually a fantasy novel, but, for marketing purposes it's being sold as fiction. Perhaps it's because the magical elements in this tale are very light and it focuses more on a Japan that never existed.

Focus is on two character viewpoints only: a teenage boy in first person and a teenage girl in third person. The mix works and it's one of the first times I've seen such a viewpoint mix, though, I'm sure this author isn't the first to do it.

The boy, Tomasau/Taeko, More...

0 comments like

Nov 17, 2011

Πέτρος rated it:

Notice: I have made a review for every book of this series and they need to be read in order since they are supposed to feel like an on-going impression. So if you read the second without reading the first will feel rather off.

I am mostly focusing on the style of storytelling and a lot less on if it reads well or something sophisticated like that. For the same reason I tend to have lots of SPOILERS which means that if you read this text you will know THE OVERALL PLOT and how much I DI More...

0 comments like

Sep 18, 2011

Sandy rated it:

Much like in anime, you have to be willing to let a few things go when you read this book. But if you can get past the unlikelihood that (amongst other things) this kid would have leared all of these amazing skills so quickly, then this is a fairly interesting read. I especially liked Kaede's character - I can see her continuing to develop into an even more well-rounded character as this series progresses.

My one major complaint is in the narration. About half of the chapers are re More...

0 comments like

Aug 28, 2011

Katarina rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Jun 09, 2011

Mystique rated it:

Bloody awesome 1st book of the series.
I was feeling restless at work (library), having caught up on all my usual authors, I wanted to try something new and fresh, so hopped over to the sci-fi/fantasy section and came across this on the shelves by chance.

After seeing that it was another foreigner take on feudal/traditional Japan, I was weary but with an element of actual fantasy (and ninjas, how can we say no to ninjas) I took the entire series out and safe to say, this definit More...

0 comments like

May 09, 2011

Cheeyee rated it:

Review At: I Read, I Think,

I Share

Review Date: 26 Jan 2011

Review URL: http://littlemermybooks.blogspot.com/2011/01/across-nightingale-floor-from-tales-of.html
The story is told primarily in first-person narrative by Otori Takeo. At first, I thought I will get bored very quickly but on the contrary, the more I read the more I get fascinated. The characters are well developed and the story was alternate between Takeo and Kaede. Both of them have sad story but the More...

0 comments like

Apr 02, 2011

Margaret added it

There’s an unwritten rule in the zombie flick genre that you’re not allowed to use the z-word. Call them anything else you like, revenants, unmentionables, the infected, the restless dead, but they are not – are not – zombies. Because to call them zombies would be to acknowledge that you’ve got zombies in your movie.

Something like that is going on in Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn. Takeo is a freaking ninja. Sure, in the context of the story, they sa More...

0 comments like

Mar 23, 2011

Zoltaire rated it:

Set in imaginary feudal Japan, Across the Nightingale Floor is part YA fantasy and part romance with a bit of a poetic narrative. It opens with sixteen-year-old Takeo finding his entire village wiped out by a powerful warlord's men (the men actually were sent there to kill him). What better way to start for a novel? Orphaned but having escaped death, Takeo is taken in by Lord Shigeru of the opposing Otori Clan who has traveled far and wide to adopt him. Takeo has mystical powers (something of More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 20, 2011

Lis rated it:

This is Book One of Tales of the Otori--the start of at least a trilogy. It's set in a fantasized mediaeval Japan, not overly constrained by anything like real history. Takeo is, through his mother and stepfather, a member of an outlawed religious sect called the Hidden, who strongly resemble a somewhat idealized early Christianity. Through his dead father, he's a member of the Tribe, a network of spies and assassins with supernatural gifts--the rarest and most prized of which Takeo has inherite More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 30, 2010

Karissa rated it:

This is the first book in the Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn. Originally I believe this was supposed to be a trilogy; with the addition of the Last Tale of the Otori and the First Tale of the Otori there are now 5 books that deal with the subject matter presented in this book.

This book tells the story of Takeo and Kaede. Takeo is a orphaned son of a tribe of the Hidden. After the decimation of his tribe he is found and taken into custody by the Lord of the Otori. Kaede is a yo More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 12, 2010

Splash Of Our Worlds rated it:

I bought the book in a hurry. It wasn't even at my TBR list. I'm still now sure why i got it...i could have find something else. And now after i finished it, i'm not sure if i liked it or not. Its genre is historical fantasy, if i'm not mistaken. I have try Japanese-myths-alike books two times before. One with Eon which i loved it and one with two sisters (don't even remember the name) which i hated it. And now this..which i don't know what to think of..

The summary is already too big More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 02, 2010

Kurishiler rated it:

Keep in mind I couldn’t finish the book, I didn’t have the heart and here is why.

When I read reviews of this book I expected something in the vein of The Wheel of Time. Where the author takes a culture and re-imagines it to something like the original Japanese culture but is rendered unique as well. This is not what I found. The book came across to me as, Feudal Japan plus some ninjas with magic powers. I think another problem with making a fantasy novel extremel More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2010

Doreen rated it:

Very fast read, in part because it was so utterly gripping (I nearly missed my bus stop because of it, then accidentally whapped the guy sitting across the way from me with my cello case in my hurry to get out.) Everything is beautifully detailed, and for this Legend of the Five Rings fan, it was an excellent addition to the mystical samurai sub-genre. My only quibbles were with the shifting narrative, which is fine if you keep it all from the same kind of viewpoint (e.g. consistently third-pers More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jul 17, 2010

Phi rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Jun 26, 2010

Crystal rated it:

Although there is nothing necessarily new that this book has brought to the table (it has a lot of the typical fantasy cliches such as the orphan with a greater purpose/destiny and those that brought them onto the path they were meant for dying), it still managed to be quite the gripping and surprising read throughout. I felt like this was also a bit of a coming of age story as well as provided some insight to some of the traditional Japanese values. The author does make the warning that this is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 28, 2010

Margaret rated it:

When I finished Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori series (of which this is the first), I felt as though I'd been eating Hershey's chocolate when I expected Valrhona (or at least Lindt).

These much-heralded books are set in a fantasy version of medieval Japan, and on the face of it, the story is promising: Takeo is the lone survivor of the massacre of his village by an evil overlord. He is rescued by the mysterious Lord Otori Shigeru, who adopts Takeo and brings him into his plans to ov More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 14, 2010

Jorge rated it:

Una historia predecible, pero muy bien contada y con giros inesperados dentro de lo típico. Hay personajes muy bien construidos e incluso los secundarios están bien delineados.

Como suele ocurrir en las historias en que el protagonista es un adolescente con quien (se supone) el lector debe sentirse identificado, el protagonista/narrador es algo plano y no es particularmente interesante... Salvo por un pequeño giro al final de la historia, [SPOILER:] cuando se ve enfrentado al dilema d More...

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2010

Mike rated it:

‘Across the Nightingale Floor’ by Lian Hearn. Publisher: Picador (£6.99).

Did you enjoy ‘Shogun’ the book or the TV series, and did you like ‘The Last Samurai’ starring Tom Cruise? Well this might just be your cup of sake or green tea.
As with the above, this first novel (of a series of 3) is set in a country very like feudal Japan and is a story of passionate love, treachery, war, beauty, and power struggles.
Orphan Takeo has mysterious talents and is adopted by Lord Otori More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)