There's plenty of adventure in the book, enough gore, battles and blood. It is excellently written, in simple language which flows nicely.

The story never let's go, author is keeping the story very well together, not letting it fall apart, or get boring. Pace never slows down. The plot is full of surprises, and twists.

Anyway, if you have enjoyed the first two books as i have, then you'll love The Crane. It's written in the smooth style, depicting the spirit of the samurai and at the same time time creating an invisible magical atmosphere, without which the book wouldn't be so interesting.

I loved it, i read it in about four days while in the subway, and believe me, it really made the time fly.


An Extraordinary Tale   December 1, 2000
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

The Crane, the third book in the Legend of the Five Rings series, came out in early November. I picked it up on Thanksgiving weekend, and I began reading it by the end of November.

I waited too long.

Those of you who are familiar with the world of Rokugan will find that, among the familiar characters, there is a whole new depth to this story that hadn't been there before. The relationships between the characters are told with such emotion that you feel deeply for characters you've probably not though much about before. The portrayal of Rokugani society seems just right, and the whole book makes you look at the two bywords of the Crane - Honor and Perfection - in a new light.

For people who aren't already familiar with the world of Rokugan, this can still be an excellent book. While some of the subtleties of the story may be lost, on the whole it would still rank five stars. I would, however, recommend reading the two books previous in the series (The Scorpion and The Unicorn) first. Without at least that much background, you may become a little lost (Those books, however, are worth reading on their own merits as well.). Passing that barrier, I would still say this book is a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the world of Legend of the Five Rings.

All in all, I would say that this is the best game related novel I've ever read, and ranks among the best books of any type I've ever read. This whole series is good, and this book is truly something special. I highly recommend it.


final part written in a big hurry   December 16, 2000
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

the good: In the beginning of the book the author does a good job describing the customs and ways of thinking in a 'medieval fantasy Japan' setting.

the bad: I've read quite a few books in my life. This is the first one that succeded in confusing me about who is who. There is a large cast with very similar names.

the ugly: The final part of the book was slapped together in a big hurry. The hero ends up in a hopeless situation at about 3/4 of the book. (He gets inprisoned in a dungeon without anybody knowing that he's there. In addition there is a double of him running around.) After the double causing all kinds of troubles the hero suddenly, completely unexplained he gets rescued. How did the rescuers find out that he is there? Who are these rescuers who didn't even show up in the earlier part of the book? Then after his rescue in about 15-20 pages he solves all problems and complications by winning a single battle on open ground against overwhelming oposition (10x plus necromancers and monsters). Riiiiight. Talk about suspension of disbelief.


This could have been better.   January 5, 2001
 1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I loved the first book the Scorpion. very east to follow very well written. But from that point on there has been absolutly no consistency. An amazing plot possibility at the end of the Scorpion was utterly ignored for the Unicorn as it jumped ahead a couple of years. Now the Crane book is set at roughly the same period as the Unicorn.

Instead of a well laid out plot that follows on from each other, they are starting to jump around and not seem very thought out.

Good points: The authors writing style is good, and most of the characters are well described.

the action is good and fast paced. A good insight into the Crane, especially the Daidoji family.

Bad points: A saved by deity style ending and a little bit cliche.

At times asks for a little too much suspension of disbelif. Even in a fantasy novel you can go too far with the lone hero saving the day. That has become almost patheticly cliche in all these books. As each one so far has ended by a lone hero against over-whelming odds. GIVE IT A REST ALREADY! There are far more creative ways to end each book. They are getting very close to becoming the same book just the characters have different names.

These books are still fun to read. I just feel they could be so much better and if the writers would give us the readers some credit and put just that little bit extra effort in, then these books would really be something to talk about.