Book Review: Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

Rating:

Genre: Young Adult > Fantasy | Steampunk

(The Lotus War #1)

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.

*****

Whatever you heard about Stormdancer, it’s true.

Kristoff was too descriptive; too many words. Truth.
Stormdancer is a whole new level of awesome. Truth.

Even when Kristoff got it on with his ubiquitous observations of Shima, I still didn’t mind much. As long as the Yukiko’s story is spellbinding, i can forgive anything. Stormdancer is one stunning book.

Every page gave me the giggles; every chapter, a delight! It was entertainment to a T. I am so thankful that I find immense pleasure reading fantasy books. Steampunk + Thunder Tigers + Hunters of the Empire: Goodness, Stormdancer is a certified bookgasm.

Plot: Compact, Mesmerizing
Story Flow: Uninterrupted, Fast-paced
Characters: Well-defined, True to form, Intense

Masaru is praiseworthy. He has the true mark of a loving father. Yukiko is kick-*ss. but Buruu is my ultimate favorite! His characterization was fantastic. Funny, sarcastic, sacrificial. Buruu’s relationship with Yukiko was heartrending. I would read Stormdancer again and again for their bantering and loving/hating gestures. *applauding*

The origin of the Blood Lotus is horrifying.

Stormdancer has a beginning that will be hard to like if you yield to frustration with Kristoff’s abundant words that are unnecessary. Me? I loved it from the start!

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Imprint: Thomas Dunne Books

Pub Date: 09/18/2012

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting my galley request.