What is your opinion?
Wow! 😳
"I'm surprised that I reached the end of this story and looking forward to the sequel; I could use some pointers in writing."
In familiar grounds, but also feels fresh
"If you like prose, you will love this book. Clark can paint scenes with words that you just cannot avoid by imagine in long paragraphs. The words flow and pan out like the silver screen. The book is filled with metaphors that take inspiration from cultural context. Samurai and feudal Japan are some of the more popular settings for fiction made by non-Japanese as far as I've observed, but even though Fushi No Shokuzai feels familiar and plays into tropes already expected of the genre, it offers a fresh feel too. Honor is at the center of the story---a virtue almost always a focus when it comes to samurai culture fiction---but the book feels like it does not completely romanticize it. Honor is indeed important to the trope, but it feels like it also shows how Hisashi, the main character, has his idea of honor that we already know of, compared to how others view honor and what being samurai in their era (at least in the book's world) is. His infamy centers around it, and is encircled by culture and superstition that fall like dominoes outward, into legend. This book is not for the faint of heart. If you're not into big metaphorical proses, you might find it difficult to appreciate this book."
Atonement For Immortality and eternal damnation!
"Fushi No Shokuzai. I had no idea what it meant when I started reading this book. Then I asked the author and he informed me that it meant "Atonement for Immortality". And that's what I expected this story to be about in a nutshell. Echoes of madness, deafening screams, and eternal damnation. But it turned out to be so much more. Full of surreal imagery, rich descriptive prose that puts the reader right in the middle of the scene, and a plot that comprises equal parts of history and fantasy, this novel has a sustained atmosphere of deep dread and relentless foreboding that permeates every sentence, paragraph and chapter, and penetrates deep into your skin. The world build-up is fascinating, taking the reader back in time by 500 years, with a mindboggling amount of details of traditions and customs as followed in medieval Japan. This could not have been possible without painstaking research and a genuine love for meticulous details. My vocabulary of Japanese words has increased manifold since I started reading this book. My knowledge of Japanese culture and traditions of the Middle Ages --- which was limited to the Bushido and seppuku only --- has also improved dramatically. But above all, my delight at having discovered a world far beyond my imagination is the icing on the cake. This book is history, fantasy, epic adventure and a spiritual journey all rolled into one. Wish the paragraphs were shorter with fewer complex and compound sentences, making it easier for the average reader to immerse themselves in the spectacular world created by the author. But, I guess, these were necessary to maintain the purity of the narration and quality of prose. A glossary of a translation of Japanese words / terms used frequently in the book would have also helped. That being said, let me also add that this is a highly ambitious story with a truly remarkable plot. A purist's delight! "
Beautifully Written!
"I really liked your story. Amazing work!"
