The Snow Empress by Laura Joh Rowland

[desertvixen]

 Am I the only person who finished Laura Joh Rowland's book The Snow Empress and said WTF was that?

 I think the series might be succumbing to the same thing that killed the Karp/Ciampi books for me - the series plot has just gotten a little too out there.  Also, the whole bit with the spirit possession just... didn't work for me.

 There were still moments I enjoyed, but overall my impression of the book wasn't positive.  One, it's short but rambles.  Two, the characters seem off in a way the plot doesn't justify.  Three, Hirata needs to get his head out of his ass.  Four, there's a couple of points where characters seem a little too modern.

 Maybe it's just me...

Comments

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I just bought that a while ago, but haven't gotten around to reading it. I'll let you know.

[desert-vixen.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I admit I was kind of not-amused by the whole Hirata storyline a book or two back, but this just didn't work for me.

DV

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

Having finished the book, I have a couple of comments. First, it's true that Rowland has included Japanese-folklore supernatural elements before - in The Assassin's Touch, in particular, but I think there was something in one of the earlier books too - but it was much more pervasive in this one. Since I read the books more for the peek into late-17th-C Japan more than anything else, having it shift towards what I would consider fantasy is offputting. Second, yeah, Hirata in particular reacted to the Ainu in what seemed an anachronistic fashion. (Having it happen after such a brief exposure is what bugs, I guess; perhaps there were Japanese who "went native" on Hokkaido, but that should be a slower process.)

I don't see characterization as one of Rowland's strong suits, in any case - she does things with POV that I'm uncomfortable with - so that doesn't bother me too much. Still, I'm not feeling particularly engaged with the series anymore.