A Tale of a Singing Floor

Across the Nightingale Floor is the first book in what promises to be an excellent series by Lian Hearn. It is a fascinating fairytale about a young man name Takeo, who is part of a tribe of people who believe in an obscure religion called the Hidden (as opposed to Buddhism). The Hidden have a "Hidden god" that sees everything and punishes the wicked. A lord Iida takes offense at this religion and begins to wipe out the tribes that believe in it.

Plot: Takeo comes home one evening from wandering around the near his home to find his family dead and the temple of the Hidden destroy. A mysterious Lord named Lord Otori rescues him, however. Lord Otori adopts Takeo as his heir and tells people he is the son of a long lost sister or aunt or something. Takeo comes into some special powers as he hits puberty. He can hear everything that is going on in the house and he can divide himself and leave an image in one place while he is in another. These powers mark him as belonging to a tribe of assassins of which his father (long dead) was a member. Honing his new skills Takeo begins to plot the assassination of the Lord Iida who killed his family and continues to prosecute his benefactor, Lord Otori. The challenge becomes getting to Lord Iida in the middle of his protected city and across the nightingale floor, which sings whenever someone walks on it.

I enjoyed this novel for several reasons. First, it is an intriguing fantasy novel set in the background and culture of feudal Japan, which is a culture and time that I love to read about. Secondly, the characters are well written and well developed. We get to watch Takeo mature and change throughout the novel. You come to understand both the motivation of Takeo and Lord Otori. The novel also features an interesting female character, Lady Kaede. Lady Kaede is a well-developed character that features prominently in the book. Hers is also a character that changes and develops throughout the novel. She seems at first to be your typical weak female character but we discover that there is an iron will in her as well.

This author writes a very fine, easy to read story that moves very well and has good character development. I read the book very quickly and was never bored. I greatly enjoyed this novel and can't wait to delve into the next volume. If you like anime or stories based in Japan or involving Japanese culture then you should enjoy this novel.