What We're Reading: Shadow of the Fox (Lauricia)

Yumeko is a kitsune. Okay, technically she’s only half-kitsune, but even that’s more than enough to get her into trouble. Although her jokes and pranks exasperate most of the monks that she lives with, her trickster nature could be the only thing that enables her to stay one step ahead of those who pursue her; those who covet what she carries.

Tatsumi is a shadow warrior trained to hunt and kill yokai when instructed to do so by his clan. Equipped with a sword that imprisons a demon, Tatsumi is an unstoppable force – as long as he feels no emotion. Why, then, after a lifetime of training, does the presence of one girl stir up so much feeling? The more he comes to care for her, the more likely it is that he will be overtaken by the demon, but this girl’s draw is irresistible. Even so, he must focus and stay on task until he finds the thing he has been sent to retrieve.

Once every age, the great Kami Dragon grants the fulfillment of one wish to the bearer of The Scroll of a Thousand Prayers. For the safety of the land of Iwagoto, the scroll was torn into three pieces and hidden in four remote monasteries, to be guarded against the possibility of the Dragon’s wish being fulfilled for evil. Now a new age is beginning, and the Kami Dragon will soon rise once more. There are many who long to see their greatest wish come true, and they will do whatever it takes to retrieve the four pieces of the scroll.

Rich in Japanese folklore, Shadow of the Fox is a fantasy novel written by Julie Kagawa. I first learned of this author when I read her Iron Fey series, a collection of novels in which the author takes common fairy tale elements and twists them in a way that is both unique and refreshing. Julie Kagawa then went on to do the same thing with the Christian myth of Saint George the dragon slayer in her Talon series. Shadow of the Fox, the first book in a series by the same name, is rich in a manga/anime flare and weaves a spellbinding tapestry lush with the mythology of the Japanese culture. Fans of Howl’s Moving Castle, Bleach, or Sword Art Online will be thrilled with Shadow of the Fox and the soon-to-be-released sequel, Soul of the Sword.