Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Review of Stormdancer

Title & Author:
Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
Publisher:
Thomas Dunne Books
Publication Date:
September 18, 2012
Pages:
336
Source:
ARC from Publisher

A DYING LAND
The Shima Imperium verges on the brink of environmental collapse; an island nation once rich in tradition and myth, now decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshipers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, the land is choked with toxic pollution, and the great spirit animals that once roamed its wilds have departed forever.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of Shima’s imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary creature, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows the beasts have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a talent that if discovered, would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire. – Goodreads

If you’re a love of legit fantasy, go pick up Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. Stormdancer starts off with not one, but TWO maps, and oh yeah, it has a glossary. Some people might be overwhelmed with a book that merits its own glossary, but this just got me really excited for Stormdancer.

And Stormdancer totally lived up to my expectations! I was a little confused for a bit of the beginning because Jay Kristoff doesn’t really baby the reader into anything. The story begins and you’ve got characters left and right with similar names and all kinds of crazy customs, and this is where the glossary really came in handy for me at the beginning. So yes, Stormdancer was a bit overwhelming for me at first and it took me a bit of time to get through the beginning of Stormdancer, but I was hooked anyway.

I loved Yukiko. She is exactly the kind of protagonist a legit fantasy like Stormdancer needs. She’s strong and even though she’s set in feudal Japan, I could easily find myself relating to her.

I freaking loved the storyline of Stormdancer. It was action-y and adventure-y and totally kept me on my toes. The world Jay Kristoff builds up in Stormdancer is astounding. There’s so much culture and customs and all these details and while it takes a bit of time to get used to it, it doesn’t bog down the story at all. Yukiko leads us through an exciting world that I can’t wait to revisit.

Stormdancer is the kind of book I can’t wait to reread to find all the bits I missed the first time around.

Basically, if you are a die-hard fantasy fan, Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff is a book you cannot miss. Absolutely do not miss it. And if you haven’t read much fantasy before, I still recommend trying Stormdancer, and pushing through any issues you might have at the beginning, because Stormdancer will seriously wow you.

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