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'Arashitoras are supposed to be extinct. So when Yukiko and her warrior father Masaru are sent to capture one for the Shõgun, they fear that their lives are over – everyone knows what happens to those who fail the Lord of the Shima Isles. But the mission proves less impossible and more deadly than anyone expects. Soon Yukiko finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in her country's last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled arashitora for company. Although she can hear his thoughts, and saved his life, all she knows for certain is he'd rather see her dead than help her. Yet trapped together in the forest, Yukiko and the beast soon discover a bond that neither of them expected.
Meanwhile, the country around them verges on collapse. A toxic fuel is choking the land, the machine-powered Lotus Guild is publicly burning those they deem Impure, and the Shõgun cares for nothing but his own dominion. Authority has always made Yukiko, but her world changes when she meets Kin, a young man with secrets, and the rebel Kagé cabal. She learns the horrifying extent of the Shõgun's crimes, both against her country and her family.
Returning to the city, Yukiko is determined to make the Shõgun pay – but what can one girl and a flightless arashitora do against the might of an empire?'
Source : Publisher's Blurb
Notes
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Steampunk Note: Though the novels in this series do not engage heavily with steampunk's primary cultural locus (nineteenth century English society), and the Japanese-inspired setting would often associate it with related but separate styles, such as silkpunk, we would nevertheless categorise it as steampunk. Attention should be given to the setting of a tyrannical society in which clockwork-based mechanical invention combines with pollution and disease to create a unique dystopia, remeniscent of steampunk conventions established with Gibson and Sterling's The Difference Engine.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also sound recording.
Works about this Work
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The Field
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , May no. 89 2015; (p. 58-94)
— Review of The Griffith Review no. 42 2013 periodical issue ; The Hunt for Pierre Jnr 2013 single work novel ; The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014 2015 anthology short story ; Stormdancer 2012 single work novel ; Winter Be My Shield 2012 single work novel ; Dreaming of Zhou Gong 2013 single work novel ; Vengeance 2011 single work novel ; Rebellion 2012 single work novel ; Scarlet in the Snow 2013 single work novel -
Let Imaginations Run Wild
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 November 2012; (p. 26)
— Review of Winter Be My Shield 2012 single work novel ; The Shadow's Heir 2012 single work novel ; Stormdancer 2012 single work novel ; Vengeance 2011 single work novel ; Rebellion 2012 single work novel -
Shifting Borders
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 8 - 9 September 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of Stormdancer 2012 single work novel
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Shifting Borders
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 8 - 9 September 2012; (p. 20)
— Review of Stormdancer 2012 single work novel -
Let Imaginations Run Wild
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 November 2012; (p. 26)
— Review of Winter Be My Shield 2012 single work novel ; The Shadow's Heir 2012 single work novel ; Stormdancer 2012 single work novel ; Vengeance 2011 single work novel ; Rebellion 2012 single work novel -
The Field
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: SF Commentary : The Independent Magazine About Science Fiction , May no. 89 2015; (p. 58-94)
— Review of The Griffith Review no. 42 2013 periodical issue ; The Hunt for Pierre Jnr 2013 single work novel ; The Year's Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014 2015 anthology short story ; Stormdancer 2012 single work novel ; Winter Be My Shield 2012 single work novel ; Dreaming of Zhou Gong 2013 single work novel ; Vengeance 2011 single work novel ; Rebellion 2012 single work novel ; Scarlet in the Snow 2013 single work novel
Awards
- 2012 shortlisted Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction — Fantasy Division — Best Novel