Black Arrow
by I. J. Parker
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Book Summary Information
Author: I. J. ParkerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-11-28
ISBN: 0143035614
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Book Reviews of Black Arrow
Book Review: A GOOD PERIOD NOVEL - A NOT SO GOOD INVESTIGATING YARN
Summary: 3 Stars
With all due respect to most of the other reviewers, I found the BLACK ARROW barely adequate.
This is the fourth book in the Sugawara Akitada series but it was the first I read - and I do understand this to be an obvious impediment. On the other hand, good novels should be able to shine on their own merit.
Without risking any spoilers, I found both the triggering murder case and the underlying conspiracy to be trivial, the plot predictable and the final solution too easy and precipitating out of thin air. What is worse for any novel, there were hardly any characters to empathize with.
To be fair, I have to mention that the writing does manage to convey both the serenity and the underlying brutality of 11th century Japan; to contrast the refined yet greedy nobles opposite the coarse yet (mostly) honest peasants; and to present both the easy choices of evil and the even easier ones of virtue.
In the end though, it was not enough to make this book raise above mediocrity.
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