While Takeo learns the ways of the Otori from Shigeru, young princess Kaede becomes betrothed to Shigeru as part of a peace agreement between two Clans. Giving the boy the new name Takeo, Shigeru trains him as his eventual successor after discovering Takeo has the abilities of the Tribe, a collective of possibly superpowered warriors who live in secret. After escaping the destruction of his village and the murder of his family, the young boy Tomasu is rescued by the eccentric Shigeru of Clan Otori. The Three Countries are ruled by the Clans. So before seeing where everything begins in the fictional world, it's good to go back to the beginning in the real one. This is thanks in part to the recent re-release of Hearn's series in gorgeous new covers, but also because the prequel series, The Tale of Shikanoko, set three hundred years before Otori, begins in March 2016. Though it's been a beloved Australian classic for the better part of two decades, I'm only now experiencing Lian Hearn's Tales of the Otori for the first time. It's the kind of fantasy unconcerned with frenetic plotting and frequent action, preferring to channel its energy into developing compelling characters, multifaceted politics and a sprawling world inspired by the real feudal Japan. Fourteen years since its initial publication, Across the Nightingale Floor is a calm, measured book.
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