A review by morybaby
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I want to preface this by saying I struggled to get into it. I had dnfed it about twice. I first started it on kindle unlimited and I struggled. I was on TikTok and the one creator said it only gets good 30% into it. I then decided to get it on audible and best decision. 

By the 30% mark it started getting good. The author did the best job with the world building, I found myself dreaming about the world and words used. I loved that they didn’t over explain what was going on.

The fight scenes???!! Oscar. 

The reason this is not a full 5 star for me is because 
1. It took too long to get into it
2. After the big climax in the book, it kind of fell flat to me, I kept expecting something(bad) to happen. I didn’t read spoilers which is a first for me.
3. Takeru’s character arc was not my cup of tea unfortunately… I get it but I just don’t fuck with him like that. He can go to hell. 

The characters were very well developed and distinct. I think it speaks to the author’s talents that all the characters were so different, even the children. 

I don’t know how to spell the character’s names since I listened to it but my favourite characters were in no particular order: 
- Misaki
- Setsuko 
- Mamoru
- Misaki’s 3rd son the talkative one 
- Mamoru’s friend, the clone whose dad built the towers. 

This story will stay with me for a long time and I just might revisit.