I don’t think we’ve ever had an Asian fantasy, and not just any fantasy, but a combat fantasy. The «Sketches of Steel» trilogy, which includes the novels «Red Lotus», «Lady Silence», and «Battle of the Immortals», is exactly that, but the main thing is different. It was written by a young Polish writer Arkadiusz Saulski, who previously worked as a game journalist. And the whole thing is published in Ukraine by BookChef publishing house. If you think that a Pole cannot write well about Japan, you are mistaken because these books prove the opposite.
Pluses:
a revenge story that works because it is flavored with ambiguous actions of the protagonist and his humanity; powerful action and many vivid fights, battle scenes, etc.; books are written in a cinematic way and even have vibes of popular video games; vivid characters; three-dimensional realistic and lively Asian world
Minuses:
if you don't like violence and explicit scenes, then these books will not work for you; the protagonist's openly selfish actions often cause outrage
«Sketches of steel» / Bitwa Nieśmiertelnych
Author Arkady Saulsky
Publisher BookChef
Language Ukrainian
Number of pages 384, 352,360
Cover Solid
Year of publication 2022, 2022, 2023
Size 128×200 mm
Website bookchef.ua
So, meet the cruel world so similar to our Asia, but with magic, heroes, monsters and villains. There is no Good and Evil here, but there is a huge army of Mandukes (Mongols) invaders who want to take over the whole world, and the last unconquered territory is the land of Nippon (Japan). The invaders will be confronted by a spirit named Kentaro, an immortal warrior who failed to save his mistress and now embarked on a path of revenge. Will he have the strength and skills to destroy everyone who deserves it? But the Gods brought him back from the oblivion of death for a reason.
As mentioned above, Arkady Saulsky was a game journalist, so these books turned out to be not only very cinematic, but also inspired by video games. We have a hero, in this case, an immortal, who has superweapons and a certain number of enemies, or bosses, to defeat. The hero’s henchmen also stand in the way of his enemies, and in the end we have a spectacular battle with a powerful enemy. Often even more than one.
It reminds me a lot of both the structure and aesthetics of Sekiro’s popular hits: Shadows Die Twice, Ghost of Tsushima, andRise of the Rōnin. But the first game stands out because the plot there is also as if the hero was killed and betrayed, and he rose from the dead and now has to take revenge. And then there’s the recent TV hit «Shogun», for which we have review. You can also watch the animated series «Blue-Eyed Samurai» on Netflix before reading.
The «Sketches of Steel» — trilogy is much more than a series inspired by games and movies about Japan. It is a straightforward but powerful, interestingly written and deep story about honor and victory, friendship and love, loss, the power of hope and love for the Motherland. The latter aspect is given a lot of attention in general, but it is revealed most powerfully in the final third volume.
Arkady Saulsky’s trilogy is full of «Witcher» and George Martin’s works. There is a lot of violence, various characters die constantly, there is sex, there is no classic Good and Evil, and everyone has their own truth. All this makes the books realistic and partially belongs to the category of dark fantasy.
The main character — the superwarrior Kentaro, who is called the Spirit here, also attracts attention. He is actually a superhuman who has been trained since childhood using magic and potions, which makes him faster, more skillful, and deadlier. Spirits hardly need to sleep, they have supernatural hearing and sight. But they are still human, so the protagonist makes mistakes and often listens only to his ego. This leads to extremely negative consequences for the whole of Nippon.
Kentaro’s series of mistakes and selfish actions portray his authenticity to the fullest extent possible and accurately add volume to the character, as well as evoke a variety of emotions in the reader. This definitely works to create a connection and empathy, but not all of these feelings will be positive for the reader. Apart from Kentaro, other characters are also memorable. Although they always stand outside of him, they are still three-dimensional and realistically written, you believe their actions, and most importantly, you empathize with them.
The «Sketches of Steel» trilogy is full of Asian aesthetics, inspired by Japan, Korea, China, Mongolia, etc. But this is not a pseudo-historical fantasy, but a dark combat fantasy. And the books have nothing in common with our history except for some general borrowings.
For example, here the Mandukes (Mongols) captured almost all of Nippon (Japan), but in reality they had a very unsuccessful attempt to do so and it failed miserably. Read the details on other websites and in other books.
I would also like to emphasize the author’s lively and simple language and high-quality translation. The books are written in a bright and cinematic way. There is a lot of action, they are easy and enjoyable to read. And the very format of the novels (350-380 pages) suggests a relatively quick read.
The quality of the publication is good. BookChef did not reinvent the wheel and used original Polish covers. And they definitely attract attention and immediately hint at their genre and focus. The latter is often lacking in books by other Ukrainian publishers, so it’s good that it’s realized here. The font is easy to read and adequate in size, the paper is yellow, and there are no gussets, as well as no color cuts that are fashionable now.
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