Regular marked price: $15.00Discount Price: $10.20
Cost Savings: $4.80 (32%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9781594482571
ISBN number: 1594482578
Label: Riverhead Trade
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 592
Printing Date: June 05, 2007
Publishing house: Riverhead Trade
Sale Popularity Level: 56531
Studio: Riverhead Trade
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
The epic conclusion to the bestselling Tales of the Otori-'one of the most thrilling new series of our time.'*
The Harsh Cry of the Heron is the rich and stirring finale to a series whose imaginative vision has enthralled millions of readers worldwide, and an extraordinary novel that stands as a thrilling achievement in its own right.
A dazzling epic of warfare and sacrifice, passionate revenge, treacherous betrayal, and unconquerable love, The Harsh Cry of the Heron takes the storytelling achievement of Hearn's fantastic medieval Japanese world to startling new heights of drama and action. Fifteen years of peace and prosperity under the rule of Lord Otori Takeo and his wife Kaede is threatened by a rogue network of assassins, the resurgence of old rivalries, the arrival of foreigners bearing new weapons and religion, and an unfulfilled prophecy that Lord Takeo will die at the hand of a member of his own family.
The Harsh Cry of the Heron is the ultimate conclusion to the Tales of the Otori series that both completes the characters' lives and brilliantly illuminates unexpected aspects of the entire Otori saga.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
I loved this book. Had a hard time putting it down! The characters were developed so richly, it's a shame this seems to be the last one in the series for these characters. I oved the battle scenes, and the ending, was characteristically tragic.
Rated by buyers 
-
First things first- I have NO problems with the content of the ending.
The details of how the characters met their ends are fitting and just as depressing as any real Japanese epic story.
But the astonishing lack of craft in the writing of the ending of the book is what turns this mostly masterfully written novel into a flaming trainwreck.
I half-expected there to be an afterword explaining that Hearn had died and the novel was finished by her favorite cat.
The depth and detail that practically dripped off the previous pages was wrapped up in a neat little package with the climax of the entire series provided in the form of a letter.
I think Hearn's editor should shoulder a good portion of the blame.
A re-write could have saved it.
Heck, a re-write COULD still save it.
If they reissued the book with a new ending(like how Podkayne of Mars was eventually released with its original ending included) I'd give it another chance.
Because the story was fantastic.
It was the writing at the end that ruined the entire experience of reading the novel.
Rated by buyers -
Let me start off by saying that the Otori series by Lian Hearn are now some of my favorite novels. I cannot speak highly enough for the quality of these stories and the beauty of the author's writing. Having lived in Japan myself, no other author I have encountered has captured the traditional beauty, spirit and essence of that country and culture in fictionalized form as well as Ms. Hearn.
However, for me, the Otori series will always begin with the marvelous prequel Heaven's Net is Wide (Book 5-the "last" book of the series) and end with the final book of the original extraordinary trilogy Brilliance of the Moon (Book 3). These four books - Heaven's Net is Wide, Across the Nightingale Floor, Grass For His Pillow, Brilliance of the Moon - form a beautiful cohesive story, with each book flowing into the subsequent in narrative, character, tone and feeling.
However, in my opinion, this sequel novel to the original trilogy, Harsh Cry of the Heron, is extremely disappointing and for a variety of reasons does not belong in the same company as the other books of the series. In many ways this book almost feels like it was written by an entirely different author. For what it is worth, my suggestion would be to forego this volume and enjoy the others. The series truly ends splendidly with grace and poetic foreshadowing in Brilliance of the Moon.
Do yourself a favor and pick-up Heaven's Net is Wide or Across the Nightingale Floor (one can start or end the series with the prequel), and enjoy these wonderful books.
Rated by buyers -
What in the world happend? Did the real person behind the pseudonym "Lian Hearn" die after the 3rd book and someone else wrote the Book 4? How could a series that was so incredibly well-imagined and executed go downhill in a such stunning manner? It seems that the author was singularly obsessed with completing Kaeda's curse, i.e. every man who loves her dies. To deliver on this premise, the author flushed the beauty and power of all 4 books down the toilet. I'm positively fuming about this cheap bit of literary sucker punch - there's nothing honorable about how this remarkable series ended in such ignomious and pathetic manner. Had Jato been in my hand, it'll be demanding that Hearn be brought to justice live in front of all the heartbroken readers around the world.
Ok.... Ohmmmmm.... [deep breath]... All that said, Otori series is a great read, impossible to put down and unforgettable. God, I'm still so mad about that stupid ending.
Rated by buyers -
First, let me say the the trilogy was SUPERB! What made the series was how strong, smart, and honorable the characters were. The characters developed throughout the series, and to much credit to the author, managed to make me love them still amidst their shortcomings. The POWER and passion between our Romeo and Juliet glued my eyes to the pages because it was written in a way that made be hope and hope and hope that they would find each other in the end. While the trilogy put our beloved characters in a world that oppressed their love so that the turn of events that drove the story and built conflict were much against them, such bad luck never felt heavy handed as it did in this book, where everything they fought for began to unwind. The problem with this book wasn't with the unwinding process but how it was done. The pacing of this book was noticeably different from the trilogy as well. It starts real slow, getting to know new faces and setting things up for the BIG, FAST end. It was so abrupt that it was off putting; like "WTF?!?" See, in the trilogy, everything was ACTION PACKED, fast paced and ingeniously executed, which made the read really addicting; but in this book, that only happens 3/4th into it and then the "resolution" gets vomited out on a platter, like "here ya go!" During the read, I had high hopes, expecting an awesome tragedy but instead saw everything I loved about this series fall apart. The ending was ok, but the material had SOOO much more potential that it was such a let down. Seriously, this one book tarnished my love for the series. Luckily for me, I bought Heaven's Net is Wide with this book and I'm happy to say I'll be reading it soon, over the summer break. My most favorite characters are Shigeru and Jato so HOPEFULLY that story will make everything right again.
Oh and by the way, yes, Kaeda was terrible in this book. Everything I loved about her diminished as she became so STUPID and selfish. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She was the major contributing factor for the stories conflicts which was another reason why I felt the story came in heavy handedly. I didn't get the sense that she evolved that way due to the turn of events, although it was explained in a way that made sense, but instead felt she was out of character; and not just her, others did some stupid things as well. So unlike in the trilogy, where people were trying to outwit each other, everyone in this book was trying to undo someone else stupidness because that's where a lot of the conflicts come from. To me, that's kind of cheap. One main conflict that people haven't mentioned is Maya. Man, F**K HER! That damn girl ruined everything so much that her "retribution" in the end added to the insult because it wasn't enough to make up for the crap that she put everyone through. I hated all the chapters dedicated to her. She was a nuisance to read about. Her vast amounts of training did nothing for her. Her skills only made things worse. Her attitude was immature, even for her age. But all her shortcomings can be linked right back to Kaeda's crappy parenting.
There's a lot problems, ultimately. But an end's an end. The read was mediocre though, sometimes a drag to read, sometimes a joy. So, three stars is my verdict. Hope I didn't spoil anything for ya.
Find other books like this one:
