The Lion

Legend of the Five Rings: Clan War #7

by Stephen D. Sullivan

The last book in the Clan War series, "The Lion" will generate a great deal of interest. All the great clan heroes from the six previous books play critical roles in this novel. This book provides an exciting conclusion that is eagerly anticipated by fans of the popular series.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, High Fantasy

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

I was born in 1959, grew up in Massachusetts, attended SMU (U. Mass, Dartmouth), and moved to Wisconsin to work for TSR (the Dungeons & Dragons people) in 1980. I’ve been here ever since, writing stories, drawing, and raising kids with my wife (who I’ve been with since 1980 as well).

I’ve had more than 30 books published (not counting the anthologies, but counting the ghost-written stuff only alluded to on this site). I also run a small publishing house, Walkabout Publishing. Recently, I've started posting new stories for Kindle on Amazon, in addition to my print work.

You can write to me: fanmail@stephendsullivan.com – but please be kind (and patient), okay? And don't forget to check my web site. You'll like it. Adventure guaranteed. (Monsters optional.)

Reviews

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

a solid conclusion to the series, albeit still with some continuity weirdness relative to the other books (especially, in this case, The Dragon) and a very rushed conclusion. I’m still unsatisfied by how little Kamoko we got relative to the other Thunders, though. also, although this is a minor point, it’s not clear to me that Sullivan is clear on Toku’s position — if, as was established in The Crane, he’s an Emerald Magistrate (which is how he’s referred to at two points in this book as well), how does he get to serve in Toturi’s army? also. Yoritomo. I get why there isn’t a novel for the Mantis, since they don’t have a Thunder, but — they could at least have stood to, like, introduce Yoritomo and his clan at any point in the series (other than that one passing reference to the Mantis in The Crab) before using him as a deus ex machina in the final book.

overall, the series suffers from a lack of consistency re the timeline and some ineffective characterization. I still think The Unicorn is the strongest book, followed by The Scorpion; I’d put The Lion in third — it’s not perfect, but after six books it provides some satisfying emotional payoff.

not gonna lie, though, Matsu Tsuko should have been the Lion Thunder, and yes, I’m mad about her death.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The conclusion to the series of novels set in the world of Rokugan. Fans of L5R will enjoy this series, as would readers with an interest in the fantasy samurai genre.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concluded the Clan Wars series with the seven heroes of the different clans—the Seven Thunders—facing off agains Fu Leng and his evil army. I very much enjoyed most of this book, and I appreciated the ending it brought to the whole series. To me, the ending improved my feelings towards the other books as it tied up most of the loose ends and plot threads. Most, but not all. Looking back on the entire series, though, I wonder why there wasn’t as much of a focus on developing the various Thunders as heroes or standouts among their own people—for example, Kachiko stood mostly in the background in The Scorpion and Kamoko barely appeared in The Unicorn. I had the same disconnect with the heroes as well that I felt when reading the other books, probably because there were simply too many characters. Also, the editing in this book was not good. Many typos, including using the word “viscously” instead of “viciously” twice! I still liked reading it and look forward to reading more novels set in the world of Rokugan.

[Bradford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Backstory on Fu Leng, the origins of Rokugan and dominant themes like the role and prophecy of the thunders would have been helpful, particularly given the focus on the second half of the book. More interplay between the thunders would have also substantially added to why they are so important and why 7 are needed. These facts seemed tacked on at the end, supposing the reader would just take it at face value. This seemed to be a missed opportunity, creating major holes in the plot. Same goes for the random side story of the Mantis clan. They haven’t been involved in any of the other six books, nor has the role and significance of being a major Vs minor clan been addressed. Other minor clans - falcon, fox, hare, etc have been mentioned across the series, but with limited context, other than these clans exist. These cultural pieces, like the backstory of Rokugan could have strengthened the story.

Second half of the book felt like a blend between Shang Chi and the legend of the ten rings and Avengers Endgame movies.

[Rodrigo Medina · Rating 1 out of 5]

No le doy menos estrellas porque no puedo. Lo peor que he leido en mucho tiempo.

[Javier Molina]

Si al menos lo hubiesen editado en español...

[Bertalan Kiss]

Language: hungarian