The Tengu's Game of Go

The Tale of Shikanoko #4

by Lian Hearn

The rightful emperor is lost to the world, farther from the throne than ever before . . . The lord of the usurper clan has fallen ill, and further unrest looms . . . Shikanoko has withdrawn to the furthest reaches of the country, leaving his allies stranded and the Spider Tribe unchecked . . . Lakes are drying up, rivers receding-have the powers of Heaven abandoned the Eight Islands? The Tale of Shikanoko began with an unusual game of Go, as young Shikanoko's father sat down to an ill-advised match against a tengu. Now, in the last chapter of The Tale of Shikanoko, the stones are arrayed in their final positions on the board. In The Tengu's Game of Go, all are forced to confront the missteps of the past, as the wrath of Heaven weaves tight around its mortal players. Hidden identities are revealed, loyalties are put to their ultimate test, and death appears around every corner. Throughout The Tale of Shikanoko, Lian Hearn has masterfully captured the thrilling danger and beauty of the medieval and magical. In the final installment, Shikanoko risks everything for fate and justice-an exhilarating ending to an unforgettable adventure.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Japan, Historical, Adventure, Asia

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Lian Hearn's beloved Tales of the Otori series, set in an imagined feudal Japan, has sold more than four million copies worldwide and has been translated into nearly forty languages. It is comprised of five volumes: ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR, GRASS FOR HIS PILLOW, BRILLIANCE OF THE MOON, THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON and HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE. The series was followed by two standalone novels, BLOSSOMS AND SHADOWS and THE STORYTELLER AND HIS THREE DAUGHTERS, also set in Japan.

Hearn's forthcoming series: The Tale of Shikanoko will be published by FSG in 4 volumes in 2016. Book 1 will be EMPEROR OF EIGHT ISLANDS out in late-April 2016, followed by book 2: AUTUMN PRINCESS, DRAGON CHILD (June), book 3: LORD OF THE DARKWOOD (August), and the final book (#4) THE TENGU'S GAME OF GO (late-Sept. 2016).

Lian has made many trips to Japan and has studied Japanese. She read Modern Languages at Oxford and worked as an editor and film critic in England before immigrating to Australia.

Reviews

[Algernon (Darth Anyan) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mu was thinking of the vision he had seen when he flew above the land, as if it had been a scroll or a Go board. All the pieces were in their positions, and flames were charring the edges. It was time to act. It was his turn now to be a player and all his training had prepared him for this. The tengu had already told him what he had to do: Join forces with your brother, find Shikanoko, and offer him these forces so the Emperor might be restored and Heaven placated.

The final episode of the "Tale of Shikanoko" reaps the benefits of all the hard work Lian Hearn had done previously :

- setting up the gameboard - a historically pretty accurate recreation of medieval Japan, including political forces, social classes, economy and, most importantly, mythology.

- placing the black and the white stones in the key positions on the board, ready for the final confrontation

- getting the reader to care about the fate of these stones that are actually people, not so clear cut into black or white, not so clearly aligned with one side or the other; fallible, vulnerable, yet heroic in their dedication to either a loved one or a higher principle.

As can be easily deduced from the title, the story revolves around one of these particular markers : Shikanoko, a no longer young orphan from the warrior / landlord class, a man who has paid dearly for acquiring almost godlike magical powers from the deer mask he has now worn for almost two decades. At the start of the last episode, Shikanoko must be enticed to come back to the world from his hideout in the Darkwood, the place he retreated to when his magic spells destroyed the woman he loved, the mother of his lost child. The second chance to redeem himself and help restore the rightful emperor to his throne in the capital is a collective effort, involving his forest companions, a selfless maiden whose pure love might lift the curse from his deer mask, his unruly demonic children, his wayward human son, a band of itinerant acrobats and musicians, house spirits, a blind wise man and the mysterious flying creatures called 'tengu'.

The novel is well written and fast paced and strikes a good balance between the horrors of war and the hopes of a better future. It is a bit predictable and rushed for my own personal taste, but I have always had this problem with my epic fantasies, enjoying the beginnings, the exploration of new worlds and the meeting of new people more than the endings, where most writers take the easy way out and slap a happy ending after heaping impossible odds against the underdogs. Hearn is not the only fantasy writer to do this, and I actually prefer some of my favorite heroes to survive and rebuild their lives in peace instead of gazing over desolate landscapes filled with grimdark bastards ready for the next war.

The main attraction of the Shikanoko series remains the careful study of the historical sources from Japanese literature, allowing the author to build a vivid and convincing backdrop for her story, and the elegant prose, delicate touch in conveying strong passions in the characters. I also enjoyed the fact that the four books were published in quick sequence over less than half year, putting the whole story into the hands of the readers instead of making them wait years for the conclusion.

Recommended, but start with the first episode, "Emperor of the Eight Islands" , and not with the conclusion.

Bonus, for fans of the author at the end, there is a revelation about the connection with the other Japanese-themed epic written by Hearn, "Tales of the Otori", making the present epic a prequel.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last book of the Shikanoko series, as everybody's machinations hit the endgame, and the tengu's game becomes even more complicated.

This is a great series.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Hearn's writing style is SO dry, but once I got about 20% into the book, I couldn't put it down. I did feel emotionally detached from the characters because of the narrative style. Since this was the 4th book in the series, it was irritating when I couldn't remember who someone was or events from previous volumes, and there were few hints to help me remember. Two hated characters met their deserved ends, and the conclusion of the overall storyline was satisfying.

[Monte Desai · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE TALE OF SHIKONAKO BOOK 4:
THIS IS THE FINAL BOOK OF THE 4 BOOKS EPIC SERIES...
CAN'T ASK FOR A BETTER ENDING THAN WHAT I WITNESSED IN THIS BOOK...
IT HAS BLOOD, SUSPENSE, ACTION, ADVENTURE, LOVE , BETRAYAL , TWISTS... YOU NAME IT...
CAN SHIKONAKO RESTORE THE REALM WITH PEACE AND HAPPINESS?
WILL THE RIGHTFUL EMPEROR SIT ON THE THRONE?
WILL THE GOOD WIN OVER EVIL?
I CALL THIS SERIES "JAPANESE GAME OF THRONES "...
DON'T MISS OUT FOLKS ENJOY IT..

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimately these books all need to be read together - I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on when too much time passed between readings. Part of the problem was that these books just didn't grip me. Perhaps it was a stylistic dislike; the prose sounded like it was translated even though it was written in English. While I'm sure that was a deliberate choice and supposed to invoke old Japanese legends, it became tiresome after awhile. Taken altogether, these books are almost a thousand pages and by the end I was ready for the story to be done.

[Dawn F · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Wow! I *loved* how all of these four books patiently and masterfully gather all the threads that lead up to Tales of the Otori 😍 How Jato came to be, what the Otori and Muto clans and the other families originated from, and so many other characters and events I won't mention so you won't be spoiled of the surprise. There were literally names that were only finally revealed to you during the last chapter of this book. Absolutely brilliant! I'm so glad I've discovered Hearn. There are two more books in this universe, and then I'm honestly not sure what to do with myself when they're done 🥲

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Reading Reality

In a way, I’m sorry that this series had to end. The story is utterly marvelous, and the world it creates is fascinating, deadly and beautiful, often all at the same time. But all good things must come to an end, and I’m very glad to see how it all turned out.

In my mind, there are multiple interpretations of this story. One is about the lengths that fate will go through to bring about what is meant to be after it is knocked out of its intended path by chaos. Another is about paying back and paying forward; one tengu upsets the balance, and another moves the heavens to restore the balance. And then there’s a third possibility; that our mortal lives are merely counters on a vast game of Go played by higher, or at least more powerful, beings. In other words, that we are all nothing more than pawns on something else’s chessboard.

None of these are comfortable thoughts, but they certainly make for an enthralling story.

At the beginning, all the way back in The Emperor of the Eight Islands, Shikanoko’s father loses a game of Go to a tengu, and forfeits his life. It’s not what should have happened, but because it did, Shika is exiled and supplanted as his father’s heir, and his father’s enemies stage a coup and overthrow the rightful emperor. After that all seems to descend into chaos. While the new, rightful child emperor is lost, the kingdom founders as heaven withdraws its blessings. The natural order has been overturned, and with it the seasons and finally the kingdom.

But the years pass. Shika becomes a man and in some ways, a sorcerer. The child emperor grows up and becomes a monkey-boy acrobat. And the kingdom descends further into despair, as the land rots and the crops fail.

In The Tengu’s Game of Go, that long ago game is set right. The tengu cheated, and won unfairly. So another tengu sets himself to thwart his rival, moving his chess pieces to bring Shika out of exile, to provide the hidden emperor with powerful allies, and to force fate back into its intended course.

But the emperor would rather be a monkey-boy.

Escape Rating A: If you have not yet read The Tale of Shikanoko, I envy you the journey. Especially since you will have the opportunity to read it all in one fell swoop, and not have to wait for each volume to appear from the mists of time and myth.

Although The Tale of Shikanoko seems to be classified as either fantasy or historical fantasy, I’m not quite sure that’s right. While there is magic and mysterious beings, it feels more like a myth. As though this is a story that never quite was, to illustrate problems that reflect in reality. So it is a story about time, fate, chance and the balance between order and chaos. The characters in the story represent forces as much as they do individual character arcs. Which does not for one moment lessen the reader’s happiness at seeing them triumph and find their rightful endings, whether good or evil.

I do wish that this had been published as a single volume. These don’t feel like separate stories at all, more like chapters in a single book. Also, this is a very densely packed story, there are a lot of moving parts, a lot happens, and there is a large cast. It took me a couple of chapters each time to get back into this world. It is definitely worth the effort, but I would have preferred the longer, deeper dive.

The end of The Tengu’s Game of Go teases at a link between Shikanoko and the author’s first book, Across the Nightingale Floor. It has me looking forward to another marvelous journey in this mythic world.

[Ana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just as disappointing as I was expecting it to be. The only thing I found to be well written was Tama's character. Damn, I loved that woman. She was steel. I liked how Masachika finally got punished for being a traitorous, cheating bastard. I hated shit like "There had been so many women but he could only remember Tama's face." Like, is that supposed to be romantic? Cause to me it sounds just like every other jerk out there mad his shit caught up to him. Asago's whole character is being a pretty receptacle for penis and then dying. She barely has three lines. Kai gets screwed over and given over to Take who she had no feelings for and no duty towards. But Take suddenly gets boners for her so I guess she must be given over. And it is hinted he's cheating on her with Kinpoge. Kinpoge, whom Take was supposed to have been loving for a couple of years and who was loved by her as well. But nope. Well, at least these books have beautiful covers.

[sanaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a befitting ending to the series. I need to think more about the structure of the story and how it relates to traditional epics and how it deviates like a modern narrative. There was enough of ancient and modern to satisfy the hard to please reader like me. The series also triggered this interesting question of how can you write about a foreign culture and if you blend it so much with fantasy, are you free to take any culture as the source and background of your story? Can you invent a Japanese culture that is so in debt to the real culture but does not follow the actual history?

[Clarabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rappel des tomes précédents : L'Enfant du Cerf ; La Princesse de l'Automne et L'Empereur Invisible

Dans cet épisode, les derniers pions vont trouver leur place sur l'échiquier. L'heure des retrouvailles va donc sonner entre les amis et ennemis d'hier. En tête, Shikanoko est un personnage brisé mais porté par un destin incroyable. Jamais il ne reculera devant ses responsabilités et acceptera son sort avec dignité. D'autres vont également se distinguer... en bien, en mal. De toute façon, il règne une ambiance particulière dans ce roman. Comme un souffle d'espoir et de nostalgie qui chante sur les dernières pages.

Et pourtant, les sacrifices ne manquent pas. Lian Hearn a un certain penchant pour les amours impossibles et brode son histoire en mettant l'accent sur les drames... Mais c'est tout à fait supportable car très lyrique et riche en émotions. D'ailleurs une belle surprise finale vous attend car cette série introduit délicatement un autre monument littéraire (Le clan des Otori).

[Valkyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I loved this book over the third book i began to trudge through this. It wasn't a bad book or poorly written however I felt like this was a long journey. This amazing serious could have been easily one book. I'm just glad I finished this!

[Cindy V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Can’t believe I’m done with the entire series. What a wonderful series and Book 4 doesn’t disappoint!

[2TReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfactory end to an enjoyable series.

More thoughts to come.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was so good!!! It was even better than Otori!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like that this wrapped up neatly but not TOO neatly-I mean I guess things pretty much work out how you expect them to but on the other hand many people are unhappy at the conclusion of this story which...realistic. Anyway, again, very heavily influenced by traditional Japanese epics but still a very fun read! I liked this quartet a lot.

[Kasey Cocoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before you pick up this fourth book, read the first three. Hearn does an excellent job of keeping the various plot threads woven nicely throughout the four books, bringing them through to the conclusion of the tale and fourth book. I like that there are multiple characters and not just one hero. This makes for a much more satisfying read overall. The writing continues to be solid and well edited. I feel the conclusion is satisfying, especially for the style this is written in. I like the sizes (lengths) of each book as it makes it easier to carry one with you to read as there is time, unlike trying to carry a huge thousand page novel around. I like the Japanese myth feel to the whole story. I like the majority of the characters and how they are manipulated. Overall, this is an enjoyable series with a well thought through story line. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my opinion.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic and quite beautiful tale. The saga wraps up nicely, but almost TOO nicely. Maybe I'm a stickler who craves ambiguous endings, maybe I just don't fully understand this game of Go, or maybe (just maybe) the ending is just a tad bit lackluster. Yet, despite my personal reservations, this series stands out. It is a unique journey that spans generations, with an ideal setting and a fully fleshed and diverse cast of characters. Very few of these characters ever feel minor by the end and while I had difficulty learning and memorizing names at first, Hearn makes it easy for us by embroiling each of her well-wrought puppets in a very personal and one of a kind destiny. Sesshin, Yoshimori, Takayoshi, Akahime, Kiyoyori, Hina, Ibara, Mu, The burnt twins, and of course Shikanoko, the Deer's child. I will miss them all in the coming weeks.

Reviewed with honesty for NetGalley

[Scot Eaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brings the series full circle. I don't know that I would recommend the series. It is very dark, with murder, suicide, mutilation, rape, prostitution, homosexuality, pacts with spirits, blood magic, possession, and just for good measure, adultery. It is most definitely not for kids, and may not be for some adults either. That being said, it deals with all of these themes well, never glorifying the acts. It also never narrates any of them; Hearn lets the reader know what happened, then skips to the end.

Was the story worth it? ... Meh? It was okay, but I've read far better. The last chapter revealed this book for what it was: an origin story to the world of Tales of the Otori. I don't regret reading this, but if I ever wanted to read Hearn again, I'd just re-read Tales of the Otori. This series, while competent, just lacked the spark.

[Pearse Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hearn's writing really confuses me. Not only how much information and summary comes at me, but why she skims over certain sections but not others. The action scenes in this book were really bad. To build up certain things for so long only to shut them down kills me, disappoints me. But then to add other strange paragraphs about mostly meaningless histories or names of unnecessary characters creates a contrast I don't like. If I had to do it over, would I listen to the entire Tale of Shikanoku? I don't know. And that's telling in itself. I expected more. Although there were some great moments, I was never too excited to listen to this audiobook epic.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

All of the characters try to fix their broken vows to Akihime and Yoshimori, but ultimately fail. They restore the realm to peace, but destroy pretty much everything else. I know it's not fair to rate this book so low based on an emotional opinion, but I really hated this entire last volume as far as plot goes. The lead up to this one was disappointing too, but really this made me feel like I never want to read another series again. All of my favorite characters suffer and/or die and all of the ones I hate or don't care for at all get unrealistic happy endings. I never expected a happy ending, but this was just depressing.

[Hanyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story by Lian Hearn as usual. I loved this series (maybe even more than the Otori one but maybe I should read them again). The last pages left a smile on my face and a feeling of being home. As usual again, her depiction of ancestral Japan is just, detailed and full of wonders. Beautifully written ♡

[Kiwi Carlisle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seemed weaker and less compelling than its predecessors, and I found it harder to finish. It's still original and fascinating, but a heavier read.

[November · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really an easy read and not slow paced unlike the third book. I really loved Hina she is a wonderful character. Tama's death was tragic, she was a really brave woman married to a bastard. Masachika got the death he deserved.

Ok I got three stars because of some decisions of the author that I disliked :

why do we get too many POV ? In the first two books it was easier to navigate between the point of view of different characters but in the third and fourth it wasn't. Also Shikanoko who was the main character in the first two books, got less and less pov in the third and fourth books. I know the other characters contributed to the development of the story but if Shikanoko is the main character aren't we supposed to see his pov more?

how the hell didn't we get a more emotional connection between Shikanoko and Hina in this book. He liked her deep down and she removed the deer's mask from his face. I understand this is a tragic and epic tale but compared to the Otori saga this one has less romance. It's was really dry the way this connection was described and I didn't feel the chemistry between them. I wished the relashionship between these two has evolved in a more romantic way and not just a two page description towards the end implying they were going to be together. Because it was obvious that Hina loved him however I did feel Shikanoko was playing hot and cold with Hina.
I felt more chemistry between Akihime and Shikanoko because of the many years of grief Shikanoko went through when she died. And for Aki, while she was alive, she hoped and dreaded to see him again. Yes the lack of romance in this saga is depressing (in terms of romance in the Otori saga we got Takeo x Kaede chemistry so I kinda expected this saga to have a romance as great).

Also Yoshimori,the true emporor, who lost all his family in the first book (who wanted no more than a simple life with Kai) got restored to the throne and he's all mighty yet couldn't even choose Kai the woman he loved as his spouse ??? It sounds bogus to me. The best position was for her to be a concubine...because of the weird shape of her ears...yeah... She was handed to Take at the end and I thought it was fucked up. Yoshi and Kai deserved a better ending. They were the most lovely couple in the saga imo.

And by the way in the last chapter we know what happened to Kiku and Mu and also Kuro and Ku who were close to Kiku I guess the both of them stayed in Katakami but why didn't we get a few words about Ima...I mean he was a secondary yet very important character.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This final (?) tale of Shikanoko finally wound down to completion. The fate of the true Emperor Yoshi and of Shikanoko himself, his son, the Spider Tribe, Masachika, all of them, is revealed in this book. There is a lot leading up to the end, but it moves steadily forward. I found it interesting that the young emperor decided to change Shikanoko's son Take's tribal name to 'Otori'. I have read 3 of the 5 books "Tales of the Otori", so maybe I'll reread them and pick up the last two.

In any case, these books are filled with romance, and some fleeting magic, magical weapons and animals and even a lord reincarnated into a horse. There is not really any evil, just the usual power-hungry villians, and the true emperor hiding among traveling acrobats. There's an old sorceror and some vengeful spirits; the Spider Tribe which have many human fathers, but are not really human at all; and of course, the Tengu who is a type of demon playing a never-ending game of Go with his fellows. That seems to be part of the background of the whole thing, these creatures playing a game with the people of the Eight Islands. It was written plainly, and does take a bit of getting used to, because of the culture. But all in all, a good read.

[Bradley Kallhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn about this rating. It's a close to what I consider a wonderful series. I really loved Hearn's writing. I believe my problem lies with the title of this series and the expectations it holds. When reading the first book, I thought for a while that the book was called The Tale of Skikanoko but the series was called The Emperor of the Eight Islands. That feels more apt.

Shikanoko is just a piece in the game. Surely the most interesting piece, but we don't get to hear much of his tale. You end up feeling let down that you don't hear more of it. He only has three chapters in this book, and the last one isn't much of one.

I will say, the third book showed me that I could be pulled in with other characters taking the lead. It was my favorite book of the series due to Mu! But Masachika is not it. Half the book follows him, and he's the same scumbag we saw in the first book. I could have been done with him since he was stung by bees.

[Tim Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A satisfactory end to the series. But I'm glad it's over, because it was starting to drag.

Even after four books I was still getting bogged down in Yoshisumo and Sushiyaka and the I-don't-know-how-many characters who changed names halfway, and the named spirits and birds and horses. Even the character list didn't always help, what with the renaming and the informal partial names and the linkage between names and places.

This whole book carried a bit of an air of gotta-tie-up-all-the-threads. OK, I wanted them tied, but there were perhaps too many of them.

The main thing is that the resolutions were all reasonably plausible in light of all that we had been shown earlier - and that's all you can ask of a story.

Now back to a world where swords and birds don't talk, and people aren't reincarnated in horses, and there are no sentient eyeballs. How dull.

[Stephanie Fleming]

Don't know if I can rate this series... I think you need to review hthe series as a whole, since each book really builds to this final one.

I had a hard time finishing these books, and I think it comes down to finding the style dry. It feels like a translation of a myth, which as this is based on some traditional Japanese stories, would make it successful. However, it also means that the characters can also be flat and I found it hard to connect to them. The first book and final books are fairly tightly written, but in between meanders a lot. In retrospect, I don't know what purpose the burned twins had, or the monster children. They were intriguing on introduction, but didn't really go anywhere throughout the plot.

Beautiful books though. I think I may go back to them at some point to see if my opinion changes.

[Laethir · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars from me, because Clan of the Otori somehow even better.

I found the ending went quite quickly, felt almost a little rushed. It all made sense, but somehow I would have expected a more elaborate way towards the final result.
In the end it did become clear, that this is indeed a pre-story to Clan of the Otori, which I suspected earlier already. However, until the end, I was not sure, whether the author was simply reusing ideas from Clan of the Otori, or leading towards this series being a prequel.

Great series of novels, I enjoyed reading them. Much of that might be because of the authors style of story-telling, which I seem to like. I am looking forward to any other works she might write in the future.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not even sure I can put into words how much I loved this series. It felt like it was written for me, personally, and filled with everything I love. The last few pages were gripping and for a moment, I wasn’t sure it would resolve at all...but it did so beautifully.

One little sentence completely blew my mind, as it revealed a connection between this series and the Tales of the Otori series I hadn’t grasped before.

As for this book specifically, I enjoyed that it was both a culmination of the previous books’ plot lines and insightful about the very beginning of the story. Moments of triumph turned to ash, and vice versa, in a way that kept me guessing but didn’t feel cheap or manufactured.

[Siona Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great finale. All of the characters’ stories were wrapped up in a satisfying way for me. There was a slight bit of Dues ex machina at the climax, but I think given the way the story had worked leading up to it, it isn’t an issue.

This is definitely connected to her other series, but I’m not sure if I ever will read those books. Partly because I’m just not that interested, but also I can never seem to find them all in similar covers that I like, or in some cases at all. I guess the series is so old it’s out of print now.

Regardless, I think this is a really great Japanese fantasy, and would recommend it highly.