The Night Itself –
Book Review
Zoe Marriott
YA Urban Fantasy
Book #1 in the Name
of the Blade Series
Synopsis:
When Mio steals te family’s Katana – a priceless ancestral sword – from
her parents attic, she just wants to spice up a fancy dress costume. But the
Katana is much more than some dusty
antique and her actions unleash a terrible, ancient evil onto the streets of
unsuspecting London.
Soon Shinobu, a fearless warrior boy, appears to protect Mio – and
threatens to steal her heart. With the Gods and Monsters of Japanese myth
stalking her and her friends, Mio realises that if she cannot keep the sword
safe, and learn to control its legendary powers, she will lose not only her own
life… but the love of a lifetime.
Review:
I am a big fan of Zoe Marriott’s and while I have enjoyed
each and everyone one of her previous books, none of them wowed me in quite the
same way the ‘The Night Itself’ has
managed. This is a truly spectacular novel! Packed with action, intrigue and
Japanese folklore, the story gripped me from beginning to end.
The story begins with fifteen year old Mio, a British born
girl of Japanese heritage. Creeping into the attic, she steals her family’s
ancestral sword from its dust covered case– telling herself it’s just the thing
she needs to complete her Halloween costume. But the truth is, Mio’s been
dreaming of the sword for years. Ever since the day her grandfather revealed it
to her, with the promise that one day, it would belong to her.
Yet by taking the sword from its hiding place, Mio
unknowingly unleashes a terrible creature upon the streets of London. Now with
only her best friend Jack, a fox spirit and a seemingly immortal, 500 year old
Japanese warrior – she must battle back the darkness and learn the secrets of
her family’s sword before it’s too late. Otherwise should the Katana fall into
the wrong hands, the world as Mio knows it, will be over… and the creatures of
the underworld will overwhelm the earth.
The plot and pacing of this book are amazing. Not once did
the story drag. What with the characters being thrown from one terrible thing
to another, I felt like the action never stopped. With the backstory told
through Mio’s memories with her grandfather, and the romance squeezed in
between each (slightly less) life threatening scene, this was a book I found
very hard to put down.
Each character is beautifully written and adds something
special to the story. Mio is a particularly strong heroine and while she lacks
confidence in both herself and her
abilities, I liked seeing the impact each new event had on her. You could
literally see her growing both stronger and surer in herself as the story progressed.
Shinobu is also a very worthy love interest for her. With
secrets and problems of his own, it was easy to fall in love with him. Both he
and Mio make such as nice couple and despite the short time they've known each
other, nothing about their romance feels forced. Instead it reads like two
strangers, thrown into a war against evil and with each brush with death, find themselves more strongly bonded together. I’m looking forward to seeing how
their relationship will develop in the next book.
Yet the secondary characters are also kick ass. I absolutely
love Jack – Mio’s feisty, sarcastic and lesbian best friend. She brings a lot
of humor to the story. However I can’t help but feel sorry for Hikaru – the
gorgeous male fox spirit who is completely smitten with her. If only he could
be a woman…
As for the Nekomata and dark Goddess, they are wonderful
villains. The myth and legends based around the Goddess vengeful vendetta to
kill humans makes the story read so well. And through using so much myth and
mythology I feel like the story just flows seamlessly with no hiccups, no
breaks, and no pauses while you try to wonder what if…
So overall, a five star read! And one I would recommend to
anyone who is a fan of fantasy fiction and all things Japanese, especially as I
think this story would make an excellent anime! Great stuff!
