The Sword of Kaigen Book Tag

Hi guys, I hope you are all well. If you’ve been following this blog for a while now, you may have noticed my love for The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang. I love it so much, in fact, that I’ve co-created a tag with the help of three awesome people; M. L. Wang, the fantastic author herself, Petrik Leo over @ Novel Notions and Karina over @ afirepages. Let’s get onto the questions.

 

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The Sword of Kaigen – pick your favourite fantasy standalone or self published book

Obviously The Sword of Kaigen is a clear answer for this question but since this entire tag is about it, I thought I’d talk about different books for my answers. So I’m picking Never Die, which is both a standalone and a self published book. A young boy called Ein is given the task of killing the Emperor of Ten Kings, but he cannot do it alone, so he sets out to find some legendary heroes to help him in his quest. He must bind these heroes to him, but to do so the heroes must first die. 

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Tajaka – since Tajakalu draw power from their emotions, pick a book that was an emotional roller-coaster

I know I said that I was going to use different books for my answers, but this one just has to go with The Sword of Kaigen. I seriously went through so many emotions while reading this book. It is so good. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you really should. It is my favourite book of this year so far.

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Fonyaka – since Fonyakalu control wind and wind is associated with change, pick a book with a fantastic character arc

For this one, I’m picking the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon. The main protagonist, Maerad, has a fantastic character arc through the series and I cannot recommend these books enough. I first read these as a teenager and I have loved them ever since.

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Jijaka – Jiakalu can only use their power when calm, pick a character who you think would stay calm in the face of danger

Maybe Taniel from the Powder Mage and Gods of Blood and Powder trilogies. I feel like at this point he’s been through a lot and would probably stay to calm assess the danger first. Hard to know for sure though :). I cannot wait for the third and final book in the Gods of Blood and Powder trilogy, which is set to be released this December.

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Adyn – pick a protagonist who has to rely on their wits, not on enhanced abilities

For this one, I’m picking Corban from the Banished Land series by John Gwynne. This is one of my all time favourite fantasy series and Corban is a fantastic protagonist. He has no powers or enhanced abilities, so he has to rely on his wits, as well as relying on his friends. 

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Theotypes – pick a book with a unique magic system

The seven nercomantic bells from the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix. The seven bells are used by the Abhorsen to protect against Death. Each bell is named and has a distinct power. The smallest bell is called Ranna (or the sleepbringer) and it causes listeners to fall asleep. Astarael (or the sorrowful), the largest bell, sends all who hear her deep into Death. The magic system is one of my favourite things about this fantastic trilogy.

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Misaki – pick you favourite female sword fighter

I have two answers for this one, who I think are sword fighters, to be honest I can’t quite remember. My picks are Kaguya-hime from Fudoki by Kij Johnson and Wei Song from Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay. I love these books so much and these two female characters are amazing. I need more recommendations of books with female sword fighters – I haven’t read that many.

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Mamoru – pick a character who adapts well after having their life turned upside down

The first one that comes to mind is Elin from The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi. At a young age, her world is turned upside down when her mother is killed. I think she adapts pretty well for one so young and I love her development through this book. This was one of my favourite books I read last year.

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Matsuda House – pick you favourite fictional family/house

I’m going with the Finch family from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Atticus Finch is one of my favourite fictional father figures and I just love their family dynamic. 

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Whispering Blade – favourite fantasy weapon

The subtle knife, also known as Æsahættr, from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. This knife has the power to cut through any materials, even the fabric between worlds. This trilogy is one of my all time favourites so I always take any opportunity to talk about it. While this is probably one of my all time favourite weapons, I don’t think I could handle it myself. All that responsibility would get to me :).

  

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That’s it for today. Thank you to M. L. Wang, Petrik and Karina for creating this tag with me. I am tagging everyone who wants to do this tag – please tag me in your post or on twitter because I’d love to see your answers. Have you guys read this book yet? If you haven’t guessed already, I loved it and would highly recommend checking it out. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

Pippa