A review by le_terrier_oh_livres
Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I really wanted to like this series, which looked interesting with its Japanese folklore and myths come to life. However, the writing style makes it honestly *hard* to get invested in the characters storylines. 
I understand we are in an "epic, tale-like, legend writing itself" kind of situation. I understand it's not the type of tone that I typically enjoy and that I should take that into consideration.
But even knowing that, the narration is so dry, so cold, so impersonal ! We don't know how the characters feel, and when they express an emotion it's so rare and out of the blue that it sounds strange and almost cringe. Sometimes it feels like the author wants to tell so much in her plot that she sacrifices the emotional part of her story, which is not a good move in my opinion.
It's a miss for me and I won't read more from this author.