What to do when a trilogy comes to its natural conclusion? Write a prequel, of course. That is exactly what Hearn, author of the popular Tales of the Otori series, has done. For fans who have wondered about Lord Shigeru's formative years, this is the book that fills in all the gaps. Here we meet Shigeru as a young warrior and learn all about the various treacheries that forced him into exile. Besieged by political enemies from rival kingdoms and even more nefarious enemies from within his own family, Shigeru suffers a mighty defeat at the battle of Yaeghara. Still, those who have read the other books in the cycle know that the mystically gifted Shigeru rises triumphant from the ashes in order to train Takeo, the Tribes' last, best hope. Hearn conducts another magical mystery tour through medieval Japan that will appeal to both fans of the genre and the series.

Set in a brutal and breathtaking feudal Japan, this lyrical and moving prequel to Hearn’s Tales of the Otori and also the fifth and final entry in this epic chronicle of ruthless warlords and ill-fated love (after 2006’s <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Harsh Cry of the Heron), focuses on the early life of Otori Shigeru, the young heir to the Otori clan. Raised in a strictly hierarchical society that reveres loyalty and honor, the adolescent Shigeru witnesses firsthand how treachery and duplicity play an integral role in the deaths of thousands of Otori warriors, the bloody annihilation of his family and, inevitably, his complete and utter degradation. As a dispossessed heir, Shigeru finds strength and retributive inspiration in the teachings of his former mentor, warrior-monk Matsuda Shingen, and in his illicit relationship with the resourceful Lady Maruyama, whose life has also been devastated by the Tohan. Equal parts historical fiction, high fantasy and revelatory Taoist fable, the now complete Tales of the Otori is a saga to be treasured.<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC""> (July)

<p>As impressive an ending as it is a beginning.</p>