I think I had a mental meltdown over this book. My whole reading experience with it was pretty unorthodox for me. I usually hold off on talking about anything until I’ve finished reading it or the first volume, but I just couldn’t shut up about this one.
I read the first 280 pages and wrote about the story and the main character, Mouse. I had the full intention to write about Sadao, the secondary lead, and I wanted to do it before I completed the story–the same way I wrote about Mouse. I started on it and got quite a bit out but it just wasn’t coming together. Countless rereads and the better part of a year passed before I realized what the issue was: the story is told from Mouse’s POV, so everything I learned about Sadao was through Mouse. And because of that, even though much of what I wrote made sense, it was basically hearsay and writing approximately 2000 words based on hearsay isn’t what I wanted to do for Sadao.
Having only come to this understanding recently, I was able to look back at quite a bit of time wasted putting off the end of the story. That all came to an end over the last few days. I really thought I was going to cry at the end. I was gripping the book and on the edge of my seat, bracing myself for whatever followed, but I didn’t cry. My shoulders were tense and my heart broke, but I didn’t cry.
Sometimes you reach a point in a story and you look at how many pages are left and you just know it isn’t going to end well. Someone’s going to die or someone’s going to leave, never to return; you just know there aren’t enough pages left to put your heart back together, but you keep reading anyway.
The first 280 or so pages where a whip-bang hot and sexy broken glass paved road that led straight to hell. Since Mouse was dragged under the Orochi banner, he, Sadao and the rest of the clan had been through many things, and while the Orochi had teethed on desperate, soul crushing times, Mouse had never been so fortunate. As if facing death countless times wasn’t enough, the last 100 pages pushed his heart, mind, body, and soul to limits only known in his nightmares.
I really want to talk about it, but everything’s a spoiler, so I’ll just end with this: This story does not reward you for patience and good behavior–it rips your heart out. Mouse and Sadao are a very dynamic couple and I want to see them happy. Well, they were… for the briefest of moments. There’s lots of betrayal–from within the clan, from outsiders, even you, the reader will get betrayed. There’s also lots of sex, conflict, camaraderie, blood, and heartbreak. Orochi no Kishi is a wild ride and you really should experience it for yourself.
I’m looking forward to Orochi no Yaiba, the second volume. I’ve been told that it will be a split P.O.V., so I may get to finish my Sadao piece yet. In the interim, you should pick up a copy and suffer along with me.