虚空の旅人 [Koku no Tabibito]

守り人 [Moribito] #4

by Nahoko Uehashi, 上橋 菜穂子

舞台となるのは、異界と人の世界が交錯する世界 ── 。

海にのぞむ隣国サンガルに招かれた、新ヨゴ皇国の皇太子チャグム。しかし、異界からの使いがあらわれたことで、王宮は不安と恐怖につつまれる。呪いと陰謀のなかで奔走するチャグムを描く、シリーズ第４作。 本タイトルには付属資料・PDFが用意されています。ご購入後、PCサイトのライブラリー、またはアプリ上の「目次」からご確認ください。

Genres: Fantasy, Japanese Literature, Magic, Manga

392 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2001

About the author

Nahoko Uehashi is the author of ten books in the Moribito series, which have sold more than a million copies and won many major literary awards in her native Japan. An associate professor at a Japanese university, she has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and studies indigenous peoples in Australia. She lives near Tokyo, Japan.

Reviews

[Sasan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First novel from Chagum's point of view and I think it was an interesting experience.

I have my own blog now, so please do give it a visit if you're interested in my other reviews :)

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Uehashi Nahoko was the first author to make me want to read everything they ever published, and for a long time, it was only her. That list is now a bit longer, but she will always have the special place in my heart for being the first to make me think so.

Before I read this novel, I was pretty curious to see how she will handle things from Chagum's point of view as I did hear previously that sometimes Balsa doesn't make an appearance in this series. This was the first of those books, where I also learned that it will be the norm of the progression whenever the title will have Tabibito in it, or Traveler. So how does this hold up in comparison to the Moribito novels? to be very honest, there isn't that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

For example, the world building is one of the most important aspects of any book written by this author, which most likely has something to do with the fact that she's a professor of anthropology in Japan. Best part about that however, is that every culture I saw so far is unique to its existence in her world and it doesn't necessarily derive itself from real life cultures either. That creativity to me is what lures me to her writing every single time, the richness of each shown culture is just the icing on the cake.

In this book, I got to see a country where the royal women of the court are just as important in its decision making as the royal men while not being through scorn or gender politics that have an underlying toxic base. No, just equals talking about things that suit them best while having differences in their duties that don't show a big gap of authority. I was very interested in seeing the new characters, and how they are required to behave vs how they actually do. Which in turn, made it very interesting to see the parallel created against Chagum's own duties as the crown prince of New Yogo.

That's not all either, she continues to mix legends related to that country or area into the plot-line that makes it have even more layers when it comes to the depth of her world. However, this focus, in this book in particular, is where I think it turned into a sort of con to the book.

Earlier this year, I got to read The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick where it also felt like the world-building, as much as I appreciated it, sort of took precedence over other things. I got a simialr feeling in this one, which I do think might have benefited a bit from having a bigger page count. I learned so much about Sangal as a country, so when the plot finally became the focus it felt a bit rushed and I couldn't enjoy the politicking in it as much as I usually do.

Given Chagum's personality however, the book does work out in a way that suits him more so than it suits someone a lot more confrontational like Balsa, I'll gladly admit to that, but yeah, I do think maybe a tighter plot could've been a good addition to it.

Overall, I did enjoy myself a lot as I love this world and I love her writing despite my nitpicks. I'm very curious to see the future adventures of both Balsa and Chagum in this world, and if I know anything so far after reading 6 of her books, is that it's enjoyable for me regardless which is just a massive win all around.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the environment a lot but the plot was a little boring. I'm glad Uehashi did a Chagum-focused book but I think I like the Balsa-led ones better.

[Scot Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Ainikki's fan translation of this book.

First, the good. It's really good to spend time with Chagum, and to find out that he still has a deep connection to Nayugu. I loved how he saw himself in the life of a commoner girl. Saluna was a great character too, and it was a pleasant surprise to see Kahm and Radelle worked into the story, after their roles in book 2.

This book just seemed really unfocused though. I feel like Uehashi let her cast and her plot threads run away from her, before realizing that she somehow needed to tie them all together. I've now read 5 of the Moribito books, and all 4 of The Beast Player books, and it just seems like Uehashi's weakness as a writer is when she has to follow more than 3 plot threads at the same time. The character that suffers the most from this is Surina. Her entire plot thread could have (and probably should have) been cut from this book, and the book would have been stronger for it. Instead, Uehashi had to write a backstory that tied Tarsan, Surina, and Eshana together. There was also the character of Karina, Saluna's older sister, who took over Saluna's agency and storyline. The book would have been stronger if Saluna played the active role towards the end of the novel.

All in all, the book was still good, but it was noticeably weaker than the rest of the Moribito series. I'm hoping this one will be better in hindsight after I read the later novels.

[Konatsu · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much going on to retain a nation as always.
Featuring spirit taking human's soul on seaside. At a certain timing, it is embodied in human.
Once a human is taken by the spirit, they are destined to die.

This time, the story revolves around two different type of princes. One is Chagum, the other is Taruthan（can be wrong in spelling）who is the second son of the king of a southern country. They are forced to deal with unexpected conspiracy using the spirit.

Chagum visits to the country to attend ceremony.
We can feel Chagum's growth in this novel. Calm, and sophisticated, and he can even avoid sudden incidental attack. On the other hand, Taruthan is brave but bit of afterthought.

I enjoyed calm friendship between them, another wonder of spirit, drama of loyal family, and plot.

[Monif Chowdhury · Rating 4 out of 5]

"ট্রাভেলার অফ দ্যা ভয়েড" এর গল্প বেশ ভালো। সাংগাল রাজ্যের বড় রাজকুমারের ক্রাউন সেরেমনিতে আমন্ত্রণ রক্ষা করতে আসে নিউ ইয়ো রাজ্যের রাজকুমার চাগুম। নিজ প্রাসাদে বন্দী অবস্থায় থাকতে থাকতে হঠাৎ এমন ভ্রমণ তাকে আপ্লুতই করেছিল বটে। তবে এখানে এসেও প্যারালেল ওয়ার্ল্ড নায়ুগের সাথে ঝামেলায় জড়ায় সে। এর উপর সে আবিষ্কার করে সাংগাল রাজ্যে সুপ্ত আক্রমণের পরিকল্পনা করছে টালশ রাজ্য। দুই রাজ্যের কোন্দলের মাঝে সে বিদেশী রাজকুমার হিসেবে কী করতে পারে?

বইটার বর্ণনাশৈলী অনেক ভালো। যত্ন নিয়ে অনুবাদও করা৷

[Arito Sato · Rating 5 out of 5]

日本語版
虚空の旅人
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E8%99%9A%E7%...