The heart of the novel is a coming-of-age story of two characters: a mother and her son. The son’s journey reminds me of a Japanese shonen arc. The mother’s journey is more special because it does something rarely found in fantasy; it focuses on the character development of a middle-aged housewife. Similar to Lois McMaster Bujold’s Paladin of Souls, The Sword of Kaigen describes a noblewoman’s coming-of-age story after years of being oppressed by a patriarchal culture.
The backdrop to these two journeys is warrior village at the brink of war. Of course the government’s propaganda and news suppression makes problems only worse for the village. This setting provides fertile ground for character growth and trauma. Similar to R.F. Kuang in The Poppy War, M. L. Wang does not shy away from depicting all the horrors of war (content warning). Moreover, M. L. Wang takes ample time to explore how these horrors emotionally impacted the characters.
Yes, there is elemental magic, combat, and all the trappings of an Asian-inspired fantasy story (a la Avatar: The Last Airbender). What makes the novel memorable though is how the author gives us such a raw view of the characters’ emotions including depression, suicidal thoughts, unhealthy coping mechanisms, regret, unbearable grief, and affects from abuse. Narrator Andrew Tell has a range of voices that allow the reader melt into the story.
If I were to nitpick, I would say that the beginning of the novel is guilty of info-dumping. The use of certain made-up words (e.g., words measuring time or distance) were unnecessarily disruptive to the reading experience. I also thought certain rapid character transformations at the end were a bit unrealistic. None of these flaws diminish the story. If you enjoy fantasy, The Sword of Kaigen is definitely worth your time.