Once in a great while a new novelist comes along who dazzles us
with rare eloquence and humanity, with flawless storytelling and a
unique understanding of another place and time. Takashi Matsuoka is
just such a writer.
His magnificent new novel, set amid the violence and beauty of
nineteenth-century Japan, takes us beyond the epic tradition of
James Clavell's Shogun and into a majestic realm of samurai and
geishas, ninjas and Zen masters. Brilliantly imagined, gloriously
written, Cloud of Sparrows is at once a sweeping historical
adventure and a love story of almost unbearable poignancy. It is
storytelling on the grand scale from a novelist of astounding depth
and grace.
Cloud of Sparrows
It is the dawn of the New Year, 1861. After two centuries of
isolation, Japan has been forced to open its doors to the West,
igniting a clash of cultures and generations. And as foreign ships
threaten to rain destruction on the Shogun's castle in Edo, a small
group of American missionaries has chosen this time to spread the
word of their God. Among them, Emily Gibson, a woman seeking
redemption from a tormented past, and Matthew Stark, a cold-eyed
killer with one more death on his mind.
Neither realizes that their future in Japan has already been
foreseen. For a young nobleman, Lord Genji, has dreamt that his
life will be saved by an outsider in the New Year. Widely reviled
as a dilettante, Lord Genji has one weapon with which to inspire
awe. In his family, one in every generation is said to have the
gift of prophecy. And what Lord Genji sees has struck fear in many
around him. As the Shogun's secret police chief plots Genji's
death--and the utter destruction of his entire clan--the young and
untried lord must prove that he is more than the handsome womanizer
of legend, famed lover of Edo's most celebrated geisha, Lady Heiko,
and that his prophetic powers are no mere fairy tale.
Forced to escape from Edo and flee to his ancestral stronghold, the
spectacular Cloud of Sparrows Castle, Genji joins his fate with
Emily and Stark, unaware of the dark forces that drive them.
Together with Genji's uncle, Lord Shigeru, a legendary swordsman
knee-deep in the blood of his own kin, and the enigmatic Lady
Heiko, the unlikely band embarks on a harrowing journey through a
landscape bristling with danger--to prepare for a final battle.
Here, on a snowscape stained with blood, horror will mix with
wonder, secrets will unravel, and love will duel with vengeance--as
East and West, flesh and spirit, past and future, collide in ways
no one--least of all Genji--could have imagined.
"From the Hardcover edition."
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