Shadow Wars
The Secret War
In Sherrilyn Kenyon, Hinako Hishinuma, and Madaug Hishinuma’s thrilling novel The Secret War, a boy learns the true fate of his family while facing great evil.
Ryuichi grew up feeling ignored and invisible despite the lineage of his father, a warrior. A fateful encounter with yokai, Japanese spirits, leads to Ryuichi’s recruitment into a secretive school for warriors. He and his peers are trained to fight alongside benevolent yokai. Ryuichi is swept into spiritual realms connected to his own alongside a drunken teacher, a shapeshifting fox guardian, and his soul-bound yokai. He becomes an important element in a shadow lord’s plans to escape his prison realm and enslave all humans.
With striking images, as of lightning splitting the sky, this is a cinematic story that uses brief lines to mirror Ryuichi’s inner turmoil and elaborate descriptions to flesh out the fantastical world. Some of the book’s Japanese terms are contextualized, but not all, leading to some distance. Still, the book holds attention as Ryuichi and his allies learn how to manipulate shadow gates and travel between realms. Maturity is thrust upon Ryuichi as he’s dragged into a conflict he’s ill-prepared for, but he rises to heroic status despite his mistakes and failures.
The narrative maintains urgency as Ryuichi contends with shadow minions and malevolent demons on a near-constant basis. Throughout, he is centered by his desire to know his family and feel like he belongs somewhere. His gleeful, malevolent yokai, Masaru, softens around him, becoming paternal in his affections.
In the affecting adventure novel The Secret War, an abandoned boy comes of age in the midst of war, reshaping himself into a capable warrior to face the shadow lord and define his own destiny.
Reviewed by
John M. Murray
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the publisher for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
