By Ryu Zhong
Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Age category: Middle Grade/ Young Adult
Release Date: 6 August 2023
Blurb:
Whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from clever exploits to a god-given mission.
A stone marten, in pursuit of the sun, climbs to the very Heavens and causes quite a commotion. Both the stubborn gods and the ordinary people have a hard time when weredemons break free. Even the Lord of the Underworld turns out to be powerless.
But sometimes even a mouse can be stronger than an elephant, as the old proverb says. The fate of the world ends up in the hands of Takuan — a young trickster, who deceives the greedy, angry, and ignorant people across the country of Chinayindu. On his journey, he meets the wandering warrior Zhu Leizu, a temple monk named Soliang, the clumsy sorcerer Bricabrac, and many others.
Our story begins with a village boy setting off to a monastery to become a demon-hunting monk, only to find out how truly dull monastic life can be.
Or does our story begin with the birth of the stone marten Ta Guan? To learn about what happened in the Heavens, the incredible adventures of Takuan, and what was the end of all of it, read the book ‘Takuan of Koto’ by Ryū Zhong.
Links:
– Goodreads
– Bookbub
– Amazon
Ryu Zhong has spent the last fifteen years in multinational corporations doing future research and developing novel tech. Today, Ryu writes fantasy and science fiction based on his experience. In his novels, he highlights the phenomena that humanity may face in just a few hundred years.
Ryū Zhong were lucky to be born and grow in Asia. Now they live in Amsterdam, study Dutch, and adapt their writings to English and other languages.
Author links:
– Website
– Blog
– Goodreads
– Amazon
Rating: 4.5/5 Penguins (rounded down)
Quick Reasons: super cute, light-hearted read set in an alternate, medieval Pan-Asia; Takuan the Trickster is an intriguing, though often impulsive, character; the trickster fox was the PERFECT addition; entertaining, fast-paced, reads as if it were being spoken aloud
HUGE thanks to Ryu Zhong, Anno Ruini Books, and Lola’s Blog Tours for the title! My review is voluntarily written and in no way altered or impacted by this gesture.
This read was super cute, fast-paced, and filled to the absolute BRIM with history. Ryu Zhong pulled upon various mythologies, origin stories, and bedtime tales to weave a narrative of adventure, coming-of-age, and trickery fun. The juxtaposition between the stone marten seeking to capture the sun, and Takuan the Trickster coming into his own, was well-balanced and entertaining. Set in a (slightly) alternate universe, magic is rooted into the corners of every page of this read, really bringing the feel of the mysterious and the mystical to life.
This is a very long read, but that is due to this actually being 3 “books” all combined into one binding. On top of this, this tale is written in a way that reads as if it were being spoken aloud, with all of the chapters closing by “breaking the fourth wall” so to speak and nodding to the reader in an effort to convince them to continue reading. Sprinkled throughout, the narrator breaks the story telling to provide context, foreboding, and (in some instances) foretelling secrets. This helped to really set the stage for this being meant to be an ORAL narrative…but also helps to “break up” the story and make it more approachable for readers, in my opinion.
I definitely recommend this to lovers of historical mythologies/origin stories, fantasies set in a slightly alternate world where magic reigns free, and those who enjoy a good amount of trickery humor with their journeys. This is an entertaining, fast-paced, hefty read of coming into your own and finding your way, and I had a ton of fun following along with our characters. Are you ready for an adventure, Penguins?
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