Across the Nightingale Floor (Tales of the Otori) - Hardcover

Across the Nightingale Floor more than lives up to its billing as an exceptional new literary sensation, from the tragic excitement and drama of a sacked village on the opening page, to the later multi-layered court intrigues and tales of family revenge by ancient Japanese dynasties. The engaging story and appealing characters combine incredibly well to produce a highly readable book that should appeal to many different-aged readers.

Takeo is just 16 when he loses his family to the evil Lord Iida and it seems like incredible luck when he is saved from death by the noble Shigeru, rightful heir to the Clan of the Otori. As Takeo travels into new territory and towards a new, unknown life, the tribal rivalries, romances and histories at large in this new world are revealed to him. These are treacherous times. Everyone is at risk, and few can be trusted. Takeo also has a special gift--inherited skills that mark him out as different from other men. He is at once desirable and highly dangerous to those in power. His life is soon in danger.

It's a fascinating landscape and a riveting story; it's genuinely very difficult to put down once you've started it. Unusually for a children's book with so many characters, several with strange-sounding names, the story is easy to follow. The writing is exceptional, with very few words out of place. The author, a pseudonym for Australian writer Gillian Rubinstein, is generous enough to paint the characters and scenery in great detail, yet keeps the writing clipped enough for the plot to move along at a steady pace. Importantly, there are no slow bits.

The book does not flinch from adult content and is certainly a mature read. There are numerous deaths, several beheadings, torture, cruelty and even a little lovemaking. All, however, are within context and not gratuitous. (Age 12 and over.) --John McLay

"[A] page-turner...capturing the feel of that lost world: the elegance, the murderousness, the baffling coexistence of extreme lawlessness and a thousand minute laws of social behavior."

"An engaging alternate Japan, filled with knowing details about the people and the land, mixed with a few fantastic touches of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon type...a world I anticipate returning to with pleasure."

"The most extraordinary novel...The passion and rapture of this story is so compelling that it's almost worth delaying your holiday for."

"[An] epic fantasy...The heat, the rain, the minute sounds of natural and domestic life, the erotic and the violent are all conveyed in vigorous, vivid prose....In a genre as full of traps for the unwary as the nightingale floor itself, Hearn has crossed the first part with honor."

"Takeo's journey of self-discovery, his first great love, and his transformation from confused boy to brave warrior in a chaotic time will keep readers riveted."

"THE MOST COMPELLING NOVEL TO HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED THIS YEAR."

"An original and exquisitely wrought adventure story."

..".WILL KEEP READERS RIVETED. This tale of love, loyalty, and courage is deserving of comparison [to The Lord of the Rings.]"

A ROUSING ADVENTURE REMINISCENT OF ARTHURIAN LEGEND that's told with all the urgency of a modern-day thriller."

The plot is gripping and the writing is beautiful, packed with authentic, atmospheric detail."

"GOOD OLD-FASHIONED STORYTELLING AT ITS BEST."

"An epic fantasy ... Across the Nightingale Floor uses simple words to create an imaginary landscape through which the characters move and suffer, to considerable effect."

"ƯA¨ page-turner... ("Washington Post") ...a world I anticipate returning to with pleasure. (Gerald Jones, "The New York Times") The passion and rapture of this story is so compelling that it's almost worth delaying your holiday for. ("The Independent on Sunday" - UK) A rousing adventure reminiscent of Arthurian legend that's told with all the urgency of a modern-day thriller. ("Book Magazine")

"[A] page-turner... ("Washington Post") ...a world I anticipate returning to with pleasure. (Gerald Jones, "The New York Times") The passion and rapture of this story is so compelling that it's almost worth delaying your holiday for. ("The Independent on Sunday" - UK) A rousing adventure reminiscent of Arthurian legend that's told with all the urgency of a modern-day thriller. ("Book Magazine")

"Satisfyingly rich in incident yet admirably spare in the telling...Hearn has created a world I anticipate returning to with pleasure."—The New York Times Book Review

"The most compelling novel to have been published this year."—The Times (London)

"The most extraordinary novel...The passion and rapture of this story is so compelling that it's almost worth delaying your holiday for."—The Independent on Sunday (UK)

"Complex...fast-paced, arousing adventure reminiscent of Arthurian legend that's told with all the urgency of a modern-day thriller."—Book Magazine

"Across the Nightingale Floor is as exciting a debut as any in recent years—part Shogun, part Lord of the Flies and entirely enchanting."—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel