Book Review: ‘The Clan Wars: A Throne Betrayed’ by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas (A Legend of the Five Rings Novel)
The great clans of Rokugan have never really gotten along. They scheme and squabble amongst themselves but put on a polite face for the Emperor. But then the unthinkable happens: the Emperor is assassinated, his sons are missing, and there’s no one to hold the balance between these mighty powers. They could come together and forge an even stronger empire, but it seems more likely that they will turn against each other and take the entire empire down. See all the drama unfold in The Clan Wars: A Throne Betrayed, the newest Legend of the Five Rings tale from Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas.
[Note: While I am reviewing this novel independently and honestly, it should be noted that it has been provided to me by Aconyte for the purpose of this review. Warning: My review of The Clan Wars: A Throne Betrayed contains some spoilers!]
A Throne Betrayed follows three different story lines
With so many different powers at play in the Legend of the Five Rings series, it’s only fitting that such a big storyline is told from several angles. A Throne Betrayed follows Toturi, the former Emerald Champion who was responsible for keeping the Empire and, more relevantly, the Emperor safe; Hotaru, the Crane Clan champion who is trying to secure peace for her people; and Yakamo, a Crab Clan member who is becoming disillusioned as his people die day after day defending an empire that has forgotten them.
Toturi is a man racked with guilt. It was his duty to protect the Emperor, and he failed. Now he has renounced his position, taken on the guise of a ronin, and is wandering the empire looking for the missing princes. He is convinced that by finding the princes, order will be restored to the empire and his honor, while not restored, will at least be slightly less tarnished. But the farther he travels, the more he sees how very wrong things are in the empire. When he decides to make a stand, he finds that he’s not alone. Toturi begins to think that maybe there is another way to save the empire and restore his honor.
Hotaru has traveled to the capital to try and stop a war before it starts. The Lion clan has been attacking and destroying Crane villages ever since she killed the Lion champion in battle. She knows the Lions are seeking revenge for their champion’s death. But she is not convinced that a war that will kill countless innocent villagers is the right way for them to find that revenge. So she tries to negotiate peace, but she has little hope that she’ll succeed.
Yakamo is a member of the Crab clan. He has spent his life protecting the empire from the monsters that live in the Shadowlands. Now a new threat is growing in the Shadowlands and if the Empire doesn’t send help, the Crab are doubtful they’ll be able to prevail. Yakamo travels to the capital to try and secure help but the clans are too busy fighting to listen to him. Yakamo tries to point out that if the Crab fall, the rest of the Empire will too. But they make it clear the Crab are on their own. Needless to say, the Empire is in deep trouble.
The Clan Wars and a nation falling to infighting
A Throne Betrayed shows a nation in big trouble. Rokugan society is very rigidly segmented. Not only is the society a caste system that doesn’t allow for vertical movement, it is also divided into clans that do not like or trust each other. These groups pretend to get along, but when the Emperor is no longer there to maintain peace, the groups quickly turn on each other, and war begins to break out everywhere.
I couldn’t help but feel like this is a very sad reflection of our current society. We are a very fractured society right now, and we are turning on each other constantly. This is true within America, where I live. Families are being torn apart for being on different sides of political spectrums. And often no amount of talking seems to help. But it also appears to be true in the larger world. Countries all over the world are becoming more insular, more xenophobic.
This fear of the other is what tears Rokugan apart in A Throne Betrayed, and it is what is pushing our world closer to disaster every day. I hope that by the end of The Clan Wars series, Rokugan will be able to forge alliances across clans and come to see all the citizens of the Empire as one big group with common goals instead of being segmented into different clans and classes that are turned against each other. If it can be achieved in fiction, it can be achieved in reality, and seeing such an outcome will give me (and other readers) hope for a brighter future together.
A long book to set up The Clan Wars series
A Throne Betrayed is the first installment in The Clan Wars series. As a first book, it is a long book. There is a lot of setup in A Throne Betrayed. This is to be expected when a story is set in such a complicated society. There are many characters and relationships that need to be laid out, and Rokugan has a very complicated structure. But these multitudes make for very interesting play between the characters. It does make for a lot to keep track of, however. But overall it is worth it.
My rating for this book: 7/10
The Clan Wars: A Throne Betrayed by Julie Kagawa and J.T. Nicholas is now available where books are sold. It’s part of the Legend of the Five Rings novels from Aconyte books.
Also check out: Book Review: The Heart of Iuchiban: A Legend of the Five Rings Novel by Evan Dicken
