[Mithfânion]

Has anyone read this book and any of its sequels, by Sean Russell? It has a setting which very much resembles that of medieval Japan, like Clavell's Shogun.

[Radone]

I read it a long time ago. I got it because the cover art was so cool (by Michael Whelan). The second book isn't nearly as strong (and neither is the cover art - not done by Whelan this time). It's set in a pseudo-China more than Japan. It's about monks who are essentially Shaolin and their attempts to walk the same path as the founder of their religion - the Perfect Master. There is a legend that a monk will come along who will become the equal of the Perfect Master and show the monks where they went wrong in their teachings. The main character may be the second coming of the Perfect Master.
Meanwhile, there is all sorts of court intrigue as the current Emperor belongs to the family that overthrew the previous dynasty just one generation ago. His hold on the imperial throne is weak, and unfortunately, the barbarian tribesmen to the north also have a prophecy that they will be united and conquer the empire. That person may also have arrived, and the greatest general of the Empire is charged with stopping him.

[estranghero]

Got it in one, Radone. :)

Also feel the same with the second book. Keep mentioning this before, Michael Whelan is a good indicator whether a book is good or not. I once read somewhere that he has to have a good idea of the book he's doing a cover for and if he doesn't like the book, he doesn't do the cover. Don't know if this is really how I remembered it but considering I found the 1st book of Initiate great but the 2nd so-so, I feel I can give credence to it. :cool:

[chocky]

I found the first book to be allright. Not good enough to read the second book though. I really liked the asian angle. I waish there was more in fantasy.

[Mithfânion]

Well, try Feist's Empire trilogy or Hughart's Bridge of Birds :)

Or Shogun, The Last Shogun or Taiko, all historical fiction.

[estranghero]

Geez, looking at my prior post, I wonder if I was half-asleep when I wrote that... :o

What I meant was that Michael Whelan did the cover of the 1st book but not the 2nd book of the "Initiate Brother", giving credence to the dazzling debut of Russell and the perceived weakness of his follow-up.


edited to add: Looking at the mistakes in this post, I wonder why the hell I'm so distracted... :rolleyes: