The Sword of Kaigen

I have no words to describe how much I adore this book. Nothing I write will sufficiently capture the mess of emotions I was during and at the end of this book. M.L. Wang had me bawling at 1 am in the morning and crying on the train in front of strangers. She has easily cemented herself as one of my favorite authors.

I never thought I would enjoy a story that explored the dynamics between a mother, father, and son. I was honestly a little hesitant to start this book because family dynamics aren’t my cup of tea, but man oh man is M.L. Wang is a master of character work. Every single character in The Sword of Kaigen has my heart and more. I commonly gripe about character development in my reviews and I think I’ve finally found a book where I have nothing to say – every character, even the secondary ones, undergo such profound transformations. Mamoru (my beloved), the wayward, but honest son genuinely feels like a child coming into his own in a dishonest world. Misaki, the almost broken, but deeply resilient mother captures all the nuances and complexities of motherhood in a deeply patriarchal society. And Takeru, the frigid, but all-powerful husband is the perfect embodiment of toxic masculinity. M.L. Wang gracefully addresses many heavy themes (motherhood, war/propaganda, sexism, and more) with the whole cast and not a single character feels underutilized. I love all these characters goddamn it.

The world-building in this novel is also top-tier, but dense. The book comes with an extensive glossary which I suspect draws from M.L. Wang’s earlier Theonite series that can be overwhelming at first. The first 100 pages dump a lot of exposition that can also be a bit hard to follow. This does slow down the pace in the first half a bit, but as someone who also gripes about world-building in all her reviews, this was an absolute delight. The magic system is very Avatar: The Last Airbender inspired so it’s relatively intuitive. Certain components feel a little underdeveloped (i.e. we get extensive time understanding how “water bending” works, but less on say “air bending”), but since this is a supposed “prequel” to the Theonite series, I think that gets a bit of a pass. The Sword of Kaigen does slow down significantly in the second half which I personally didn’t mind, but some might find unwelcoming. This is when M.L Wang’s character work is at its best, but at the expense of pacing and plot.

The Sword of Kaigen deserves every bit of praise that it gets. Does it have its issues? Yes, but it is saved by the absolute masterclass of character development and world-building that I would expect from a high fantasy. Never have I seen such a raw and honest examination of motherhood with all the resentment of losing one’s livelihood to child-rearing, but the simultaneous overflowing joy that is having a child. As a young professional who is facing similar questions from family, The Sword of Kaigen has left me thinking about what we owe to ourselves, to our families, and to each other. I look forward to what else M.L. Wang has to offer. If this was what she had to offer as her debut novel, I have no doubt we’ll have many great fantasies to come. Now please excuse me as I go cry again because this book still has me in its chokehold.

“Yes, my son. I’m proud of you.” “I’m not sure I’m worthy of your pride,” Mamoru said with a smile, “but I will be. Just wait.”