Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1)

Holy epicness Batman. Stormdancer is, perhaps, the most talked about book of this summer, and, having now finished, I can tell you that all of that anticipation and expectation is well-deserved. However, Stormdancer is also not what I was expecting. Not at ALL. Partly, this was my fault, but partly this was because of the way books are marketed.

What I didn't find in Stormdancer was the sort of Joss Whedon-esque humor that I was anticipating from communicating with Jay on Twitter and Goodreads. There is humor of a sort, but that's not a driving force by any means. That was my incorrect expectation. I was also expecting, from the way this book was marketed, a young adult dystopia about Yukiko. Well, sorry, guys, but that's not what this book is.

Jay Kristoff actually wrote an incredibly insightful post that got me thinking about the distinctions between young adult fiction and adult fiction, and how, much of the time, the lines are entirely arbitrary. In fact, there have been several books recently that I never would have guessed were 'young adult, and this most definitely falls into that category. I wonder whether some readers will be disappointed and dislike this book because it's so unlike most of the other novels published under that unclear heading.

Although Yukiko is undoubtedly the heroine of our piece, Stormdancer is definitively not just about her. Told in third person, the narrative does not even follow her alone. Many important characters left their teens behind years before. This book does not tackle issues that face a teenage girl. The scope of Stormdancer is broad, and I think that, were this not a dystopia and were YA not so popular, this book would be marketed as epic fantasy, where I personally feel it belongs (if we feel the need to push labels onto our books).

Moving on from that rant, let's actually talk about Stormdancer. You may have noticed that this book (or at least the ARC version) is but 313 pages. Don't let this fool you. Stormdancer is not a short book. The ARC is larger than a traditional trade paperback, the font is not large, and the margins are small. Published in an ordinary fashion, Stormdancer would probably be somewhere from 500-700 pages. If published the same way Divergent was, it would be IMMENSE.

All of those words to read are not a struggle, though, or were not for me. Jay Kristoff can write. His language is ornate and complex, with some of the best diction I've seen from a modern writer, yet all quite natural. Seriously, this man is a genius.

The best part of the book, most definitely, is the world building. Jay Kristoff has built a truly epic world, a steampunk Japan full of demons and fantastic creatures. A young, merciless shogun, Yoritomo, rules as tyrant over Shima, allowing the country to fall to ruin. In this steampunk world, machines run on lotus (think opium...only with the ability to power machinery and to pollute the environment). The mass of the populace is dying from the lotus, breathing the smoke of the polluted air into their lungs. Shima's soldiers (Iron Samurai) and priests (The Guild) are encased in metalwork, safe from the environment.

Set within this dying world, addicted, one way or another, to lotus, Masaru, Yoritomo's master hunter, receives orders to capture and deliver to the shogun an arashitora, a thunder tiger (half eagle, half tiger, as seen on the cover). Though they are believed to be extinct, Masaru and his crew, including Yukiko, set out on the fruitless search. What could, in a lesser book, be the whole of the first volume, this quest takes only the first third or so of the novel. Once they find the arashitora, Buruu, that is when the book really (pardon the pun...or, actually, don't) took off.

At first, I was appreciating the language and the mastery of the world building, but I wasn't particularly involved yet. This is a big part of why I would call this epic fantasy: good epic fantasy takes some time, because there's so much that has to be set up since the world is so different. Once Yukiko and Buruu began to bond, I really became attached to their characters and caught up in their fates. Yukiko is, as the cover promises, a BADASS, with the all-caps completely necessary to convey the degree of her ability to be awesome. However, Buruu totally stole the show from her, I thought. He is definitely my favorite character, because he's funny and loyal and A FRACKING THUNDER TIGER! It does not get more hardcore than that.

The other characters are also fascinating, interesting in how unclear they are. I really don't know how to feel about most of them, unable to figure out whether they're trustworthy or not. Pretty much by the time you figure that out, it's too late. This is not a world where good and evil are always bathed in black and white, and both are generally bathed in red, either from blood or from lotus.

So yeah, Stormdancer is just as crazy cool and full of action and steampunkery (like chainkatanas...think chainsaw + katana and accept the fact that Kay Kristoff is better than you) as you could possibly want. I advise you not to get to hung up on what Stormdancer is, and just to sit back and enjoy the ride through the storms.

Thank you Netgalley and Cassandra Galante for providing me an eARC of this book for review purposes.

Ladies and gentlemen,I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that this book will most probably be international bestseller.I mean,just look at it.It's got an average rating of 4.41 stars,and that's before it's even out in stores!!And to think that I have held it off for so long.Even though I've finished reading this,the book's still on my wishlist.And it will still be until I have every single edition of this book,whether it be paperback,hardcover,U.S or U.K. And to my fellow reviewers,those who have this book neglected in your kindle or shelf,I am asking you not to repeat my mistake and start reading this today.If you don't heed my advice,I can assure you that you will regret this later on.

A pure shot of adrenaline,right from the start to the finish,and absolutely unpredictable,Stormdancer is a YA dystopian novel which is a fusion of Japanese myths and steampunk.Yes people,I know what you're thinking,is that even possible?Well let me tell you that it is.I didn't think of the possibility of it either,until I read Stormdancer that is.But then again,if you think of it in that aspect,maybe it is the perfect choice,considering the fact that right now,Japan is the most technically advanced country in the world,so why not?I bet that writing this book took a lot of brainstorming,so obviously if mister Kristoff did not have such an awesome imagination,this book would not have come to existence.And let's not forget the about-to-be love triangles.Dang!Somehow I was expecting those.Another extravagant work of the author.The way he wrote the entire story,it was as if you knew what was going to happen,smirking at yourself for being able to predict the book so well,and then bam!!The last thing you ever expected happens.You stare in shock,and curse mister Kristoff for defying your predictability,which is like your sixth sense when it comes to reading books.Believe me,I am not exaggerating about a thing.I'll even pinky swear!!!It's been such a long time since I've read something so....awesome!Good,maybe but awesome,um,not so much.In fact,I bet I forgot what it was like to read books like these,you know,the ones which makes your adrenaline rush right from the starting to the end.It's like a really long roller coaster ride.

I'd recommend this to every single person on this planet,that is as long you're into thrillers and stuff.If you're not and only read chick-lits and contemporary stuff,I'd ask you to stay away please.But then again,you can always try something new.If not,then your loss. :P