Published By: Pan Macmillan Aust
Released : Available Now in Australia on its 2nd print already!!!
Details: Uncorrected Proof Copy from Publisher for review. Thank You Pan Macmillan, 618 Pages
RATING: 8 OUT OF 5 STARS!! I SPEAKS THE TRUTH
Blurb: Goodreads
A SHATTERED EMPIRE
The mad Shōgun Yoritomo has been assassinated by the Stormdancer Yukiko, and the threat of
civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation’s broken
dynasty and crush the growing rebellion simultaneously – by endorsing a new Shōgun who desires
nothing more than to see Yukiko dead.
A DARK LEGACY
Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes by the Kagé
rebellion. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father’s death, and her ability to hear the
thoughts of beasts is swelling beyond her power to control. Along with Buruu, Yukiko’s anchor is Kin,
the rebel Guildsman who helped her escape from Yoritomo’s clutches. But Kin has his own secrets,
and is haunted by visions of a future he’d rather die than see realized.
A GATHERING STORM
Kagé assassins lurk within the Shōgun’s palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins.
A waif from Kigen’s gutters begins a friendship that could undo the entire empire. A new enemy
gathers its strength, readying to push the fracturing Shima imperium into a war it cannot hope to
survive. And across raging oceans, amongst islands of black glass, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no
katana or talon can defeat.
The ghosts of a blood-stained past.
BOOK REVIEW by Michelle:
How I felt after reading Kinslayer
Izanagi’s Balls, where do I start? I can’t truly explain in words how breathtaking and amazing the writing in this book is.
Jay has upped it with Kinslayer. I loved Stormdancer, but this book was more, much, much more in so many ways.
Kinslayer is made up of a kaleidoscope of chapters.
Yukiko and Buruu are sharing the limelight with a swagger of characters you will be introduced to, all sharing center stage. There are other female characters of note and strength. The sisters are doing it for themselves.
Yukiko will be taken away from the explosion of this new cast of characters so they can do their thing, their side stories moving in and out of Kinslayer. Yukiko and Burru have other things in their path.
Jay will leave you stunned and make you wait a few more chapters to come back in to that characters side story before you can know more. Sometimes I sat there and thought, you can’t leave me like this.
There will be heroes and villains, and those that want to live better... but foolish they can be. There will be revelations. No good deed will go unpunished.
‘Never let the dragon steer the ship.’
I am not even going to name characters from this new cast as I want you to all go in naked like I was and let it unfold until you are fully clothed in them.
Buruu and Yukiko have such a brother, sister love, a beautiful bond, even when somebody was getting side tracked and thinking about his winky. They will do anything for each other.
You will watch Yukiko understand.
I think I understand you more and more each day, Father.
You will watch Yukiko become more.
‘But this is a war, Kin. The Yukiko you knew? That frightened little girl in the Shogun’s palace? She’s gone.’ Fire in her eyes. ‘She’s dead.’
Hiro. You make my heart bleed.
‘Even after you tore her heart from her chest, betrayed the girl who loved you true ... still you failed to save your Lord’s life.’
Jay has upped it with Kinslayer. I loved Stormdancer, but this book was more, much, much more in so many ways.
Kinslayer is made up of a kaleidoscope of chapters.
Yukiko and Buruu are sharing the limelight with a swagger of characters you will be introduced to, all sharing center stage. There are other female characters of note and strength. The sisters are doing it for themselves.
Yukiko will be taken away from the explosion of this new cast of characters so they can do their thing, their side stories moving in and out of Kinslayer. Yukiko and Burru have other things in their path.
Jay will leave you stunned and make you wait a few more chapters to come back in to that characters side story before you can know more. Sometimes I sat there and thought, you can’t leave me like this.
There will be heroes and villains, and those that want to live better... but foolish they can be. There will be revelations. No good deed will go unpunished.
‘Never let the dragon steer the ship.’
I am not even going to name characters from this new cast as I want you to all go in naked like I was and let it unfold until you are fully clothed in them.
Buruu and Yukiko have such a brother, sister love, a beautiful bond, even when somebody was getting side tracked and thinking about his winky. They will do anything for each other.
You will watch Yukiko understand.
I think I understand you more and more each day, Father.
You will watch Yukiko become more.
‘But this is a war, Kin. The Yukiko you knew? That frightened little girl in the Shogun’s palace? She’s gone.’ Fire in her eyes. ‘She’s dead.’
Hiro. You make my heart bleed.
‘Even after you tore her heart from her chest, betrayed the girl who loved you true ... still you failed to save your Lord’s life.’
She glared with narrowed, hate-filled eyes.
‘You are a disgrace, boy.’
The ghost of a smile graced Hiro’s lips.
There are lighter moments Buruu brings. He did make me smile.
THIS IS MY HELL I SWEAR IT. WHEN I PASS INTO THE AFTERLIFE AND AM PUNISHED FOR MY SINS, THIS WILL BE MY TORMENT. SURROUNDED BY A SEA OF MOONING , ADOLESCENT MONKEY-BOYS. MUDDLING ABOUT IN PUDDLES OF THEIR OWN DRIBBLE.
I am such a fan of Kin. He has given so much up.
‘I’d never hurt you,’ he said. ‘Never betray you. Never.’
He squeezed her fingers so hard it hurt. ‘You mean everything to me. Everything I’ve done. All of it. You’re the reason. The first and only reason.’
There will be moments where you will put your hand over your mouth at the sheer fierceness of Jay’s writing.
Moments where you try to look away but you can’t.
O.M.G!
The more you read the more the chapters become like presents you unwrap with a surprise for the reader in them.
There are beautifully choreographed fighting scenes with colour and light, mood, emotion and there will be blood.
There will be violence.
You will be blindsided from the left, the right, the front and the back.
You will get whip lash.
Who can you truly trust?
‘Thank you for trusting me,’ she said.
‘I don’t trust you.’
‘Then ... thank you for not killing me.’
‘Though we may shed our skins, the stain of our pasts dwell as deep as our bones.’
Oh. Dear. Lord, there is blood. Jay is a fearless writer with his characters. He will choose who he wants to strike down with his mighty pen. In his case the pen is mightier than the sword. In the characters case, the sword will get ya!
Kinslayer is quite a literary work of art.
It’s not just a story.
It is an orchestra of sight and sound and Jay is the conductor, the Grand Maestro.
You will be at one with all your senses when reading his words. Touch, emotion and colour will flood your system.
Jay can proudly and quite rightly so, sit next to the big names in the book world with his head held high. It is early days, but this guy is here to stay. I already see him as a classic author. He will only get more magnanimous . Is that the right word?
This dude can write epically.
‘You are a disgrace, boy.’
The ghost of a smile graced Hiro’s lips.
There are lighter moments Buruu brings. He did make me smile.
THIS IS MY HELL I SWEAR IT. WHEN I PASS INTO THE AFTERLIFE AND AM PUNISHED FOR MY SINS, THIS WILL BE MY TORMENT. SURROUNDED BY A SEA OF MOONING , ADOLESCENT MONKEY-BOYS. MUDDLING ABOUT IN PUDDLES OF THEIR OWN DRIBBLE.
I am such a fan of Kin. He has given so much up.
‘I’d never hurt you,’ he said. ‘Never betray you. Never.’
He squeezed her fingers so hard it hurt. ‘You mean everything to me. Everything I’ve done. All of it. You’re the reason. The first and only reason.’
There will be moments where you will put your hand over your mouth at the sheer fierceness of Jay’s writing.
Moments where you try to look away but you can’t.
O.M.G!
The more you read the more the chapters become like presents you unwrap with a surprise for the reader in them.
There are beautifully choreographed fighting scenes with colour and light, mood, emotion and there will be blood.
There will be violence.
You will be blindsided from the left, the right, the front and the back.
You will get whip lash.
Who can you truly trust?
‘Thank you for trusting me,’ she said.
‘I don’t trust you.’
‘Then ... thank you for not killing me.’
‘Though we may shed our skins, the stain of our pasts dwell as deep as our bones.’
Oh. Dear. Lord, there is blood. Jay is a fearless writer with his characters. He will choose who he wants to strike down with his mighty pen. In his case the pen is mightier than the sword. In the characters case, the sword will get ya!
Kinslayer is quite a literary work of art.
It’s not just a story.
It is an orchestra of sight and sound and Jay is the conductor, the Grand Maestro.
You will be at one with all your senses when reading his words. Touch, emotion and colour will flood your system.
Jay can proudly and quite rightly so, sit next to the big names in the book world with his head held high. It is early days, but this guy is here to stay. I already see him as a classic author. He will only get more magnanimous . Is that the right word?
This dude can write epically.
You feel the passion in his words. You can see the research and work that has gone in to this series. I was trying to imagine him sitting at his computer when he was writing those epic fight scenes and...well... all those other scenes.
This installment is like a crescendo of chapters. It builds and builds and then explodes with OMG ( polite version) moments and violence that Quentin Tarantino would be proud of, and...and...and...and ...
The surprises, twists, are of epic heart stopping proportions. It was truly an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G read that I feel quite honored to have read. I cannot spoil so I have to simply convey how I felt reading this book.
You can forget how young some of the characters are, you are so immersed in what they are doing.
I had that many O.M.G ( polite version) and WT moments throughout the book. There was only one thing that crossed my mind which I promptly forgot about as Jay had me so immersed in everything else that was going on around me that when I actually was right about this one thing, he threw in an extra curveball that still had me open mouthed like a stranded fish trying to get its last breath out.
Oh the places that can go.
My heart got worked over quite a bit in this book. I was in a front loader washing machine being spun about with his twists.
Then spun the other way.
Kinslayer is brutal, unrelenting, terrifying, accurate, colourful, honest, the glass isn’t half full when it comes to Jay’s writing.
He shows no mercy.
This is a story painted in the colour of the lotus sky.
The names of all the characters just rolled off my tongue. You never forget the Japanese influence as it is so strong and constant.
The Steampunk is exceptional. Whether this series gets made into film or anime, it will be magnificent to view. I of course have this already penned for the big screen in my mind. The book is a front row seat to the possibility of a movie adaptation. The costumes would win Academy Awards.
This is really just the start for Jay.
I did get my ahhh moment when I found out what the title meant.
My words in this review cannot truly express how epic this book is. The size of the book is as epic as the words that fill the page. So many times I sat and thought, how did he think this shiz up.
He can make snot sound poetic.
I can’t even begin to imagine where Jay is going to take me with # 3. I went so many places in this one. There is only one direction for one character certain and then, when it is Jay writing... it isn’t that certain.
I could not read this book at my usual pace. I took a week to really read the pages and write 18 pages of notes. Most of which I can’t even use in my review for spoilers. I had to absorb and often sit in awe of the rich, exquisite beauty of his words.
Towering mountains beneath them, ancient and unchangeable. Making her feel like a brief and tiny thing; a spark escaping the rush of a twilight fire, speeding into the sky even as it burned away to nothing. Trees arrayed in gowns of bloody scarlet and shining gold, of bright rust and fading rose, like dancers awaiting the moment autumn’s music would falter. And then they would shed their finery in a flurry , sleep naked in winter’s arms, and wait for spring to wake them with warm and gentle kisses in all their softest places.
You Sir, are one hell of a writer.
* Palm holding fist *
Respect.
This installment is like a crescendo of chapters. It builds and builds and then explodes with OMG ( polite version) moments and violence that Quentin Tarantino would be proud of, and...and...and...and ...
The surprises, twists, are of epic heart stopping proportions. It was truly an A.M.A.Z.I.N.G read that I feel quite honored to have read. I cannot spoil so I have to simply convey how I felt reading this book.
You can forget how young some of the characters are, you are so immersed in what they are doing.
I had that many O.M.G ( polite version) and WT moments throughout the book. There was only one thing that crossed my mind which I promptly forgot about as Jay had me so immersed in everything else that was going on around me that when I actually was right about this one thing, he threw in an extra curveball that still had me open mouthed like a stranded fish trying to get its last breath out.
Oh the places that can go.
My heart got worked over quite a bit in this book. I was in a front loader washing machine being spun about with his twists.
Then spun the other way.
Kinslayer is brutal, unrelenting, terrifying, accurate, colourful, honest, the glass isn’t half full when it comes to Jay’s writing.
He shows no mercy.
This is a story painted in the colour of the lotus sky.
The names of all the characters just rolled off my tongue. You never forget the Japanese influence as it is so strong and constant.
The Steampunk is exceptional. Whether this series gets made into film or anime, it will be magnificent to view. I of course have this already penned for the big screen in my mind. The book is a front row seat to the possibility of a movie adaptation. The costumes would win Academy Awards.
This is really just the start for Jay.
I did get my ahhh moment when I found out what the title meant.
My words in this review cannot truly express how epic this book is. The size of the book is as epic as the words that fill the page. So many times I sat and thought, how did he think this shiz up.
He can make snot sound poetic.
I can’t even begin to imagine where Jay is going to take me with # 3. I went so many places in this one. There is only one direction for one character certain and then, when it is Jay writing... it isn’t that certain.
I could not read this book at my usual pace. I took a week to really read the pages and write 18 pages of notes. Most of which I can’t even use in my review for spoilers. I had to absorb and often sit in awe of the rich, exquisite beauty of his words.
Towering mountains beneath them, ancient and unchangeable. Making her feel like a brief and tiny thing; a spark escaping the rush of a twilight fire, speeding into the sky even as it burned away to nothing. Trees arrayed in gowns of bloody scarlet and shining gold, of bright rust and fading rose, like dancers awaiting the moment autumn’s music would falter. And then they would shed their finery in a flurry , sleep naked in winter’s arms, and wait for spring to wake them with warm and gentle kisses in all their softest places.
You Sir, are one hell of a writer.
* Palm holding fist *
Respect.
Michelle
Wow, 8 stars out of 5?! Sounds like a must read then. I have not read the first book Stormdancer yet however it's definitely now in the top part of my to-read list after reading this convincing, detailed review :)
ReplyDeleteEstelle @ Reading in the Dark
Fraaaack!!! What in the world?! So jealous you got to read this already!
ReplyDeleteB