This is the second volume of Lian Hearn's Otori trilogy set in an imaginary version of medieval Japan. Across the Nightingale Floor (reviewed in Taipei Times Dec. 8, 2002) was the first, and The Brilliance of the Moon, which we'll review shortly, is the final one.
The story so far. Across the Nightingale Floor presented a spider's web of strife and intrigue between clans and their warlords. Into this maelstrom stumbled Takeo, barely 16, whose mother had been murdered by Iida Sadamu, evil lord of the Tohan clan. Takeo was rescued by a classic father-figure, Lord Otori Shigeru, who effortlessly used his sword to decaptiate Takeo's assailant. As a member of a clan called The Hidden, Takeo now had to suppress his pacifist instincts to fight Iida's forces alongside Shigeru. Takeo's loyalty resulted in Shigeru making him his adopted son.
Alongside his ordinary martial skills, Takeo has supernatural assets -- an uncannily well-developed sense of hearing and an ability to divide himself into two images, ensuring invisibility to opponents. Though his different tribal allegiances at times generate conflicts of loyalties, they also equip him with an armory of strategic strengths.
As part of the terms of Takeo's adoption, Shigeru became betrothed to Lady Shirakawa Kaede, a woman of legendary beauty and of a similar age to Takeo. Because her first suitor died before the marriage could take place, Kaede acquired the reputation of bringing death to all who desired her. While held hostage from the age of nine by the Tohan clan in Noguchi castle, she spent her time fending off the sexual assaults of castle guards and wishing she had fighting skills. So far, in other words, so predictable for the historical-fantasy genre.
Takeo and Kaede's eventual meeting was predictable and each, appropriately, knew they were destined to be one. Shigeru's inevitable assassination left Takeo free to marry Kaede. He had more complex obligations, however. As a member of the Kikuta clan through his natural father, he had to become part of the tribe or else forfeit his life. A harrowing parting with Kaede followed, after which he set off to embark on an unfamiliar life.
Thus ended Across the Nightingale Floor.
Grass For His Pillow begins with Kaede in a deep sleep, a gift the Kikuta can bring about merely by staring into the eyes of their victim. In her sleep she hears the voice of the White Goddess, who counsels her, "Be patient. He will come for you" -- a promise that has to sustain her through many subsequent troubles. Apart from her newly-discovered pregnancy and subsequent loss of the child, she has to face up to the dire condition of her childhood home. With her mother dead and a father in a state of near-dementia after a skirmish with Lord Arai's army, it falls to Kaede to reorganize the household. This foreshadows her resolve to raise an army finally to secure the Otori and Shirakawa territories.
All these are themes common to this kind of fiction -- the setting in order of the ancestral house, love postponed until the quest is finished and the final confrontation of good and evil. But Lian Hearn does bring a new flavor to this old recipe -- not merely the Japanese setting itself, but also a style that's restrained and even a trifle aloof. This, in other words, is upmarket stuff, but still addictive - and not only for adherents of mythic romances.
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