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Heaven's Net Is Wide (The Tales of the Otori Series) | 
 enlarge | Author: Lian Hearn
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $26.95
Buy New: $7.99
You Save: $18.96 (70%)
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Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 22324
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 496
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.7
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.914
ASIN: B0015VT2H0
Publication Date: August 16, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
The new beginning and the grand finale of the celebrated Tales of the Otori is rivetingly elegant (Washington Post).
Heaven s Net Is Wide is the prequel that reveals the full story of Lord Otori Shigeru the figure who has presided in both life and death over the entire series, the man who represents the true spirit of the Otori Clan. The first and the last tale, it introduces readers to the strange and beautiful world of the Otori and closes the circle where it opened in Across the Nightingale Floor. Set in a mythical, medieval Japan, this epic historical fantasy of revenge and betrayal, honor and loyalty, beauty, passion, and the overwhelming power of love, has enthralled millions of readers the world over and now, with the cycle complete, its audience will only continue to grow.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
Wonderful Novel September 8, 2007
Avid Reader (Willow Springs, MO United States)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
After what I thought was a disappointing "last" tale of the Otori, The Harsh Cry of the Heron, Heaven's Net Is Wide turned out to be a truly wonderful novel. It reminded my why I first became so engrossed with the Across the Nightingale Floor and eagerly awaited the released of the final two books in the original trilogy.
The plot is rather straight-forward. It tells the story of Otori Shigeru, his early life and training, his loves and losses, his first meeting with Lady Maruyama, the treachery of his uncles, and why Iida Sadamu despises him so much. Even though we know how it will end, it's getting there that is so thrilling and so engrossing. Lian Hearn once again returns to the wonderful storytelling that made the first three books so great and like them I was sad when it finally came to an end.
 decent, but not great, prequel August 27, 2007
David W. Straight (knoxville, tennessee United States)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
This is book 0 in the series--it ends just where Across the Nightingale Floor starts. In quality, it's comparable to Nightingale Floor, and certainly better than books 2, 3, and 4. You'll meet many of the Nightingale characters here, many of whom play a much more significant role in Nightingale Floor. You'll find the training in the martial arts, the court life, etc, that made Shigeru who he was. There are battles, heroic deeds, sacrifice.
One of the things I didn't like is that there's too much drawn in black and white. Shigeru has no visible flaws. Most of the "good" people have some fatal weaknesses, such as impetuosity. Shigeru's father, the head of the clan, seems impossibly weak. Shigeru's uncles are among the "bad" people, and I cannot recall any of the bad people who has any kind of redeeming good fault. There's no need to make this kind of delineation in a novel. Tony Soprano and Flashman are much more appealing and interesting because of their character flaws. Mother Teresa, recently in the news, had a serious crisis of faith--and she's more human for it. Bad people need not be 100% evil to be good villains. Shigeru is the top swordsman in the Three Countries--it wouldn't have hurt to have made him good, but not number 1--then the problem for him would have been how to deal with swordsmen better than he was. That would have made things a lot more interesting.
So--for those who liked Across the Nightingale Floor, a decent prequel.
superb historical fantasy August 28, 2007
Harriet Klausner
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Otori Shigeru is the young heir to the powerful ruthless Otori clan. Yet in spite of growing up in an authoritarian pyramidal hierarchy, he understands that greater Japanese society and especially his clan venerate loyalty.
However, his lessons were also tempered as an adolescent when he observed how dishonorable some behaved; seditious backstabbing by his uncles and an assault from the Iida family to gain power. The culmination occurs when his uncles' perfidy and the Iida betrayal lead to the deaths of thousands of Otori warriors at Yaeahara and the eradication of his family. He lives, but is heir to nothing as the Otori clan was exterminated. Although those who murdered his family want him dead so he symbolizes nothing, Shigeru survives with an inner fortitude made stronger with what he saw enhanced by a desire for retribution. He turns to his former mentor warrior-monk Matsuda Shingen for guidance and patience, and meets Lady Maruyama who keeps him human and more as she knows what he is going through as the Tohan destroyed much of what she held sacred. However, the hope for retribution might begin in a mountainous village ...
The fifth Tales of the Otori is a brilliant novel that brings the beginning and the end to this great saga of Medieval Japan. The story line is a superb historical fantasy as the audience learns much of how Otori got to where he ends. Fans of the series will fully appreciate this great finish that is also the beginning as HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE completes this non-linear epic saga with a sweeping winner.
Harriet Klausner
Amazing Prequel September 9, 2007
Naisarg Lakhia (Austin, TX)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I've been reading this series since Across the Nightingale Floor premeried. Once, again this book is a worthy addition to the series. Whether you read it before the trilogy or not doesn't matter. The writing is consistent and eloquent. Probably one of the best written series in a long time.
My favorite book in series sets perfect, melancholy tone January 24, 2008
Scott Schiefelbein (Portland, Oregon United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Prequels are always a dangerous thing. We know where the story is going to go, and in many ways there is no suspense because we know whether certain characters will survive or perish. But the lure for authors (and publishers) is undeniable despite the fact that it is the rare prequel that enhances a series rather than merely rides on its coattails.
Lian Hearn's "Heaven's Net is Wide" defies that generalization. Hearn has written a novel of strength and beauty, loss and betrayal, love and hope. This novel lays the foundation for her enjoyable "Tales of the Otori" series.
The greatest strength of this novel is that it focuses on Lord Shigeru, young heir of the noble house of Otori. Lord Shigeru is the man who discovers young Takeo, the hero of the later novels, but while Shigeru casts a large shadow over the later books, he's not much of a direct actor (for obvious reasons). So this novel focuses on this valiant, tortured, stoic young man as he struggles to save his house and his realm from destruction.
It is also a novel about love, as the poignant affair between Lord Shigeru and the beautiful Lady Naomi of Murayama blossoms into full-fledged adoration.
Readers of the Otori series will have probably already read this book. If you haven't yet picked up this series, this novel is an excellent place to start, as Hearn lays a terrific foundation for her later work.
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