Japan-Inspired Fantasy Novels

My novel that's coming out soon has a very diverse cast, some of which have come from my world's version of Asia. I did this, not because I felt the need to check off a box, but because I love reading stories that take place outside of Canada and usual medieval fantasy locations. Not-Medieval-Europe is a great location to place your stories, but there are other world locations that you can draw on. Of those other locations, Asia (and its fantasy equivalent, Not-Asia) is my favourite. I love the culture, the stories, the myths and I'm always hungry for more. 

That said, when I found this article from World Weaver Press called 8 Japan-Inspired Fantasy Books by Non-Japanese Writers who mostly get it Right I had to check it out. I figured I would know a few, but knew that I would find other books on it to read. I ended up knowing five of the eight, which was awesome and disappointing. After all, knowing them makes me well-read. On the other hand, it also means less new books to check out. Overall, I agreed with the books on the list that I knew, barring one which I read, but never got into. 

But I wanted to talk about more books than just the ones in this list, so I decided to make a few blog posts highlighting my favourite Asian inspired novels. Today, I'll talk about the ones on this list that I've read and why I think you'll like them, but I plan to have at least one more post talking about my other favourites. 

The first one up is Across the Nightingale Floor. I read this book way back in May of 2014, but despite its popularity, it never clicked with me. Its been years, but I remember that the book relied too heavily on tropes. Add that to the fact that I hated both of the main characters and it just didn't jive with me. Still, I know that a lot of people liked it, including one of my favourite authors, Jay Kristoff, so it clearly had somethings going for it. 

I read Daughter of the Sword in June of 2017 and loved it. The story follows a police detective in modern day Japan. When a priceless sword is nearly stolen, she gets assigned to the case. This story was great for taking you into modern day and historic Japan and keeping you interested and invested the entire time. I loved Mariko and the other characters. If you're looking for an urban fantasy set somewhere other than the USA, then travel to Tokyo with this book. 

I picked up Ink in August of 2015 after meeting the author at When Words Collide. I held off on reading the book for months worried about having to tell a friend that I didn't enjoy their book. Finally, I couldn't put it off any longer. And I couldn't believe I had been so worried. This urban fantasy is about a girl whose mother dies and she's sent to Japan to live with her great aunt. She meets a boy in school who can manipulate and create things out ink! The story comes across very naturally and I loved the voice of this book. It was a brilliant book and within days of ordering it, I had put in a pre-order with Indigo for the unreleased sequel. Plus, look at that cover. You can't go wrong with something that pretty. 

Every year, I pick up one book on based on nothing but "that cover is gorgeous and I don't know the author". This was the first one that I did it with, and probably why I continued with the practice. Stormdancer drags you through the mud in a steampunk-inspired medieval Japan and just when you think your heart can't take anymore, it yanks it out and squeezes until it bursts in front of your eyes. I loved every minute of it and eagerly picked up every new installment as it came out. It was amazing. Grab it!

I found Kitsune-Tsuki at When Words Collide a few years ago and eagerly squealed. When the polite girl behind the counter asked me where I'd seen the book before I admitted that I had found them on Goodreads and had been disappointed to not find them in my local bookstore, but I hadn't gotten a chance to buy them online yet. Laura was that store owner, and I'm pretty sure that I said I'd pick them up tomorrow, got about two tables down before I convinced myself that I didn't want to arrive tomorrow and have them all sold already, and picked them up that night. While the whole series rocks, I found the first book the weakest, probably since I'm less fond of the conceit of the book perspective. Despite that, the characters, plot and themes of the book resonated and I loved it. That said, I loved the second one, Kitsune-Mochi, even more, since it didn't have that particular writing style. I still heartily suggest reading both. Laura Vanarondonk Baugh is a master of her craft and her writing pulls you into the story hard and fast, immersing you in a gorgeous world of humans and oni that always feels too short when you invariably finish reading it.

Have you read any of these books? What about any of the others from the original article? What did you think of them? Personally, I'm looking forward to picking up the Tiger Lily story.