Series: The Beast Player #2
Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) on July 28, 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 448
Format: eBook, ARC
Source: Publisher
I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
With my own hands, let me break sunder the chains that Jeh and my mother’s people made to bind the beasts. With my own eyes, let me find the truth that was hidden.
A decade after the events of book one, Elin lives a peaceful life with her husband (Ialu) and son (Jesse). She wants nothing more to do with the power struggles of humankind. Because of her skill as a “Beast Handler” (put in quotes because Elin loathes that title), however, her kingdom (Lyoza) calls her to fight once more. With dangers looming over her family and over her people, Elin looks back at history, to her past in the Toda villages and to her country’s origins for answers. Her discoveries lead her to question whether her pursuit of knowledge will cause history to repeat itself—and result in the destruction of her people.
Since her childhood, Elin has sought knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The Beast Player (book 1) offered hope through knowledge. Now that Elin has grown up, we can see that her hope in book 1 comes from a younger, more innocent perspective. Older, wiser, and a bit more pessimistic, Elin has learned that others desire to exploit, or silence, knowledge to further their political goals. For example, she changed the procedure for raising the Royal Beasts to give them freedom, but her resulting bond with them has turned them into a potential weapon of war.
With her country on the brink of war, Elin must now face the consequences of her pursuit of knowledge and her application of that knowledge. Seimiya and Shunan had hoped that their marriage would unify the country, but the leaders are more divided than before. Although, like Elin, they desire to safeguard the next generation, they differ in beliefs on how best to serve their country. Their actions force Elin and Ialu to assume the identities they thought they had put behind them, so that they can protect their family.
Elin’s conflicts explore the question of whether there exists knowledge we shouldn’t pursue, or whether knowledge should be revealed at the risk of others using it for wrong purposes. Through Elin’s story, Uehashi shows the consequences of the decisions made by two generations (the founders of Lyoza and Elin) and offers another perspective (though Elin’s son, Jesse), but without showing the results of Jesse’s interpretation of events. Instead, she ends the book by leaving the reader to contemplate over Elin’s story.
I enjoyed the exploration of family in this book. Elin continues to struggle with the decision that her mother made in book one to protect her. Yet, she too makes decisions to protect Jesse that cause him grief. So, while Jesse is proud of his mother’s work and wishes to emulate her, he also has many memories of being left behind by the mother he loves.
Uehashi also examines what drives people to war and the grim realities of war: the years that go into preparing for and waging war, what it means for the common people, and how it divides family.
We will never find an alternative to war until every one of us—nobles, commoners, and even warriors—is convinced that bloodshed must be avoided at all costs.
Themes include human greed, family and duty, man versus nature, the motivations behind and realities of war, and how politics and power change people.
Anime Fans
If you love anime, you may enjoy The Beast Player series. The Beast Warrior concludes the English adaptation of the series, originally published in Japan in four books, as a duology.
The first book (books 1 and 2 in Japanese), The Beast Player, has been adapted into an anime: The Beast Player Erin (獣の奏者エリン Kemono no Sōja Erin). If you’ve watched and enjoyed it, and you want to see more from the world and characters, I recommend picking up The Beast Warrior. If you haven’t watched the anime, but think this series might be up your alley, you can check out my review of book one (which includes an arc on raising magical creatures in a fantasy world).
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