What to say about this book… where to even begin? I will not give anything away, I mean it says it’s a war story on the cover, but it is so hard to discuss how it made me feel without discussing certain points. So I apologize if I am vague, but know here I really liked it.
The start felt a little bit rough to adapt to. While I watch a lot of anime, Japanese honorifics don’t typically get translated well, so I felt a little confusion as it began. Characters called by the family name rather than the individual name made for a little confusion at first regarding who was in the scene. There is some talk about increments of time that went over my head. But beyond that, this was an amazing story.
I am not the most knowledgeable regarding other countries as an American, but I feel there was clear influence from Japan in the writing of this story, and some possible influence from North Korea regarding some aspects of the culture? When the story carries into the war (as on the cover) readers/listeners are faced with some darker aspects that I personally feel don’t get brought up in other stories.
The story seems to follow the path of “Characters-> Climax->Aftermath”, but this results in probably one of the most realistic fantasies I’ve listened to in a couple years.
I would definitely recommend this. The way the author set up this world feels bigger. This was recommended to me as a single book, not a series I would need to get invested into, but if it turns out that it is intended to become a part of a whole universe, I would be very pleased.