ARC Review The Soul of Iuchiban by Evan Dicken
Introduction
I was given an arc copy to review by Aconyte Books and Netgalley. My reviews are always honest and all opinions are my own. I will always try to avoid spoilers in all reviews as well. #TheSoulofIuchiban #LegendoftheFiveRingsNovel #EvanDicken #AconyteBooks #L5R #ARCReview #AD #BookReview

Review
I adore Japanese and Asian myths and legends and when I get time I love to play Legend of the Five Rings so I have, of course, been enjoying the L5F tie in novels by Aconyte Books and their talented authors. The Soul of Iuchiban sees Evan Dicken return to form with a wonderful second novel in his ‘Iuchiban Trilogy’. I say that in quotations because I am not 100% if we will get a third book but judging by the end of the novel I can hope and it would make sense to tie into the newest Tomb of Iuchiban scenario becoming available for The Legend of the Five Rings…just don’t quote me on it!

Now as always you know I avoid spoilers in my reviews but I feel this isn’t one. You really should read The Heart of Iuchiban before picking up this. One, it’s a brilliant novel and two, it will make understanding some of what is happening a lot easier. Yes you could go in blind but some of the bits and pieces won’t fully make sense right away. With that out the way what does The Soul of Iuchiban offer? Well the Emerald Empire is on the brink of distruction. The Dark sorcerer Iuchiban has escaped his tomb and as most dark sorcerers do he desires dominion over all. Enter the Unicorn samurai Iuchi Qadan who has been welcomed home a hero for her part in destroy the blood-speaker rebellion. But Iuchi is not herself, possessed by Iuchiban she can do nothing but watch as the undying lord draws tight the noose he has wrapped around the throat of the empire and hope someone notices she is not who she seems before it is too late. But the few who survived Iuchiban’s tomb are speechless due to the horrors they have witnessed. To stop the dark sorcerer new alliances between old enemies must be formed. These alliances will be untested, marred with mistrust and brittle but if they fail there may be no Rokugan left.

I have to say the second novel by Dicken does not disappoint. We have a mixture of action, points of view, intrigue, political elements and of course the undead/dark sorcerers what more could you want? As with the Heart of Iuchiban the detail is amazing. I don’t just mean descriptions of the land and locations but also the characteristics and characters are perfectly presented and each main clan gets a chance to shine once more. It is clear that Dicken knows the source material and knows how to turn that into something new and unique. On top of this he also knows how to build hype for the new reissue of the Tomb of Iuchiban but I digress.

On top of this I adore that it feels a bit like a ‘party’ you might get around the table at a game. The main clans all become invested and while some might find this a bit much and would rather one or two clans I loved that it captured the essence of a game but more than that it also instils the real sense of tension and dread should Iuchiban win and of course each clan wants to have a stake in the future of Rokugan. It also creates a lot of tension and pace for the plot as the characters interact with each other and to risk repeating myself you can’t help but reminisce on sessions you might have had.

It's hard to go into great details without spoiling but if you are a fan of the L5R books or games I am sure you will love this one. It is hard not to see Dicken has a game master in this series and he is a darn good one at that. But I also don’t think you need to be a fan of the lore and series to enjoy these. Fans of fantasy and particularly Asian inspired fantasy or mythology are sure to enjoy this too and if it then encourages them to step further into the world of L5R well that can’t be a bad thing can it?

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Sequel to The Heart of Iuchiban, Soul finds the survivors of the ill-fated attempt to penetrate Iuchiban's tomb struggling to figure out their next steps. Masahiro and Naoki are in the Imperial City, but their stories of horror are dismissed. Qadan is possessed and controlled by Iuchiban's spirit but finds herself gaining respect and status rapidly, undermining efforts by her clan to root out Bloodspeakers and cultists. Newcomers from the Lion, Crab, and Phoenix clans begin to pull together the threads of the great spider's web engulfing Rokugan, but without working together they are unlikely to succeed. Bloody, brilliant, and filled with lore, Soul of Iuchiban let's its heroes face their own weaknesses and rise above them, culminating in a tense resolution that made me cheer.

I’d not come across this franchise until the Daidoji Shin mysteries (which I enjoyed) so requested to read this one as well. The author has an engaging, fast paced writing style to get you quickly into the story. I’d not read the first novel but it turns out this is the second in a series. There are a number of quick summaries throughout the book bring you up to speed (ish) with what had already happened.

There are lots of characters, many of whom are related so have similar names. It’s a multi-perspectival story so you’ll need the headspace to keep 4-5 plot lines running simultaneously in your head as we’re introduced to all the major players - it’s not clear that there’s a definite main character which means you need to trust that all these disparate threads will eventually come together.,
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I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love indie author, but what I love more is a novel unlike anything you’ve read before. You want a fresh story, here it is.

Every new L5R novel release is a gift for the fans, and being a fan of this RPG franchise, I was delighted to be able to read the Soul of Iuchiban. It is a direct sequel to the novel released last year, titled The Heart of Iuchiban, and it indeed requires the reader to be familiar to the events described in the previous book.

The structure also follows the same logic as The Heart of Iuchiban - the characters involved represent the seven Great Clans of Rokugan, it starts like one chapter for each clan character, until the story paths crosses and characters became "parties". I see an improvement over the previous book, the pacing is definitely better, and the new characters introduced are more likeable and less stereotypical RPG characters, which is a plus.

As it was expected based on the ending of the Heart of Iuchiban, the stakes are higher here - Iuchiban, a former prince of the ruling Hantei clan and the leader of the Bloodspeaker cult, has been released, and he is still longing after the throne of Rokugan. Undead armies from the Shadowlands are attacking the Crab lands. And if this would not be enough, the Empire is still in a bad shape due to other circumstances - the emperor has been dying, each clan is pushing their own agenda about the succession of the throne.

The above setting promised a good mixture of action, fights, political machinations, magic, and it indeed delivered everything, albeit to a differing portion. I still believe that similar to the first book, this one could have been a lot better if it would not try to force all of the seven great clans again in the main overarching story, but I understand the reason behind it now. Both this book and the previous one are seen as tie-ins for the upcoming Tomb of Iuchiban campaign for the Adventures of Rokugan RPG, and thus it was important to appeal for the widest pool of fans. Clan loyalty is definitely a major thing in the L5R community, so I understand it might upset certain players if their clan would be missing from the tie-in books.

Based on the open-ended last chapter, there will definitely be a third book at least, and it may even be a part of a much longer series.

For those who read the Heart of Iuchiban, this will definitely another enjoyable read. With respect to the Iuchiban saga (let's call it like this), I can recommend it for everyone who loves reading about the deeper lore of L5R, a fantasy in an Asian setting. I would even say it is a must read for all fellow Game Masters of Adventures in Rokugan who would like to host a Tomb of Iuchiban session for their RPG group, this has a lot of nice details that can be used in the game.

I went into this book blind not even reading the blurb. Unfortunately I soon found out that this is part of a series and this book is somewhere in the middle. It was very confusing as they kept talking about things that had already happened and characters who were no more. It took me a while to get into this book but it did get better.. All in all a good read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc in return for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read in the Legend of the Five Rings series, and I really enjoyed it. The characters were well developed, and the story kept me engaged. I really enjoyed and look forward t reading more from this author. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Aconyte Books for an advance copy of a fantasy story featuring brave samurai, evil villains all set in the Legends of Five Rings game.

Dark signs fill the skies and the rumors are growing about the troubles that are coming to the people of Rokugan. The Emperor is dying slowly, allowing clans to gather power and supporters in a bid for the throne. For the winner power, for the loser dishonor or even civil war. The dead walk the hills, attacking travellers and far outposts, with no sign of stopping. Blood-speakers whisper dark rituals, raising the dead, and increasing their supporters all who lurk in the dark, waiting. Assassins escape death, though the long for it, and even the most trusted have been tainted down to their soul. These are only a few of the threats the Emerald Empire is facing, the largest being the actions of the undying wizard Iuchiban, who is closer to the throne and its heirs than anyone knows. The Soul of Iuchiban: A Legend of the Five Rings Novel is the second in the series by Evan Dicken, about the dark forces working in the shadows that will destroy everything for power.

Iuchi Qadan is fêted by her clan the Unicorns for her actions in surviving against the undying sorcerer Iuchiban, a battle that only she survived and still is recovering from. What her clan, friends and family don't know is that Qadan is trapped in her own body, a prisoner of Iuchiban who is using her to further his dark plans of domination. At the same time the dead are moving attacking far keeps deep in Clan lands. In one of these raids in Crab territory a man is chosen to take the fight to the dark ones, and soon he finds others to join with. Amidst the capital and its magical guards a assassin who has been denied death is eliminating the powerful and others close to the throne for reasons even he does not know. Iuchiban has been planning his moves for hundreds of years, moving pieces and setting people in place for this time. Only a group, a mishmash of priests, magic users, samurais, magistrates, possessed and couriers can stop Iuchiban from destroying everything they know and love.

This is a sequel to an earlier book and while I recommend reading it for it is also good, and will make some of the story clearer, it is not necessary. This is another excellent story set in the world of the Legends of Five Rings which draws on the the game, but really expands on the possibilities. I understand there is an adventure coming out for this too, and that will probably be a lot of fun also. The characters are well-written, and though there are quite a few very distinctive. Everyone gets a chance to shine, from combat to etiquette, poems and magic use. This is the kind of book where the pages fly by as one gets lost in the story. I say this quite alot about the Aconyte line, these books are very good. I have read a lot of tie-in novels over the years, but I have not read one from any author in this series that didn't keep me interested and excited to see where things were going. Dicken has a real gift balancing both story and ideas that generally don't appear in much genre fiction. I really enjoyed this, and can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

Recommended for fantasy readers and game players of course. Also for readers of manga or anime fans, I think they would get quite a lot out of this.