Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff (review)

In this follow-up to the Japanese-inflected adventure fantasy Stormdancer (BCCB 10/12), Yukiko’s assassination of the Shōgun has emboldened the people to rise up against the evil empire, whose dependence on energy derived from the blood lotus plant has destroyed their environment and kept them in a constant state of war to provide the human fertilizer needed to grow the deadly flowers. Her gift for hearing the thoughts of animals, which has enabled her to form a bond with Buruu, her thunder tiger, is intensifying to dangerous levels due to her rage, however, giving her debilitating headaches and causing destructive environmental anomalies. Meanwhile, Kin, the former guildsman who has joined Yukiko, begins to turn against the rebels’ project and toward one of his own; Hiro, whom Yukiko thought was dead, has been revived by the Lotus Guild and is trying to claim the Shōgun’s throne and plot deadly revenge against Yukiko herself. Beginning with a “character refresher” list of the key players introduced in Stormdancer, this action-packed sequel plunges headlong into the machinations involved in the lead-up to a complex civil war while further exploring Buruu’s past, wherein he somehow earned the name Kinslayer. The hostility of a female thunder tiger toward Buruu piques Yukiko’s curiosity, but the pressures of surviving an attack from a newly revealed enemy while staging a rebellion to defeat Hiro’s plans put that mystery on hold, presumably until the next book. Teeming with sex and secrets, torture and gore, intense loyalties and crushing betrayals, this is an expansive tale constructed on a complex, fully realized world; it requires and rewards complete immersion.