The Sword of Kaigen is the finest example of standalone fantasy fiction I have read in years. M.L. Wang has given us an impressive, epic story that focuses above all else on characters. To call this a character story would not be incorrect, though that can sometimes imply that plot and setting take a back seat, which isn’t the case at all with Wang’s impressive epic. Wang pulls no punches here, crafting an at times dark, at times painful, at times exultant story that connects emotionally.

Frankly, I’m not sure where I should begin singing the praises of The Sword of Kaigen. The setting is immersive. Wang has crafted a truly believable secondary world fantasy with a technology level roughly equal to our own modern world. Yet the main characters, those living on the titular Sword of Kaigen, hail from an area that is technologically backward. They maintain similar warrior codes to what we might find in Tokugawa Japan. The world building that Wang manages is equal to what I’ve come to expect in a Sanderson novel—a high standard indeed! The plot is similarly immersive, gripping you from the first chapters. But what truly shines, what is simply incandescent, are the characters. Each of the main characters are well crafted. We immediately care about them and their struggles. There are moments in this story when I cried—which happens only rarely when I read. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve cried when reading a book. I have to feel incredibly connected to the characters and their struggles. Wang crafts that connection and then exploits it for the good of the story. This novel uses a non-standard structure where a climactic battle takes place near the midway point. But Wang uses this midpoint climax as a brilliant setup for the growth of her characters in the second half of the novel. What she achieves is one-of-a-kind character development. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention that fun and interesting elemental magic system that Wang has crafted here. We have ice/water mage Samurai (think water benders, from Avatar: The Last Airbender) that are just awesome, as well as other elemental mages that we see less of but are still pretty cool. There’s a lot of room left to explore the magic system and I’d love to see more epic fantasy written by Wang in this world that does that.

There isn’t much for me to criticize in The Sword of Kaigen. While Wang gives us impressive world building, she also uses non-standard words for time measurement, which I found distracting. That’s a very minor criticism, however. I also felt like the book reached a natural stopping point around 85% of the way in, the final chapter or two being devoted to tying the book into some characters who appear in Wang’s other novels.

In The Sword of Kaigen, Wang has given us a spectacular epic with amazing characters and character arcs and development that are simply out of this world. The world building is immersive, we have truly cinematic battle scenes, a unique and fascinating magic system, and a plot that pays off with huge emotional impact. If you haven’t picked this one up yet, what are you waiting for?

4.75/5 stars

5 – I loved this, couldn’t put it down, move it to the top of your TBR pile
4 – I really enjoyed this, add it to the TBR pile
3 – It was ok, depending on your preferences it may be worth your time
2 – I didn’t like this book, it has significant flaws and I can’t recommend it
1 – I loathe this book with a most loathsome loathing