There is a ‘Booktok’ table in the library that I most frequently visit. (As a clueless millennial!) I believe that it refers to the books that are popular on Tiktok. There, I saw a book titled Six Crimson Cranes, and I wanted to give it a shot. There is magic, dragons, and traditions in the book. Elements that I most often like:)
These days, I go to the coffee corner in the church to read. Yes, some churches in the Netherlands are repurposed as apartments, cafes, even hotels and restaurants.
They have a great coffee costing 2.80 Euros (cheaper than regular cafes that I came across here). No, I am not advertising. I just really enjoy the silence, or sometimes low-volume classical music in the background as they played, and the beauty of the place, particularly when accompanied by a tasty cup of coffee.
Okay, enough about the surroundings.
Let us dive into the books!
Six Crimson Cranes was written from a first-person perspective, and as you turn the pages, you become Shiori’anma, the princess of Kiata, experiencing her story firsthand. The theme – things may not be what they seem to be – was woven beautifully with the unfolding truths of the stepmother, Takkan, and Seryu. I simply could not drop the book. When I found out about the second book, The Dragon’s Promise, I went back to the library, only to find out it was already checked out by someone else. Luckily, it was available in the other libraries, which are part of the same chain. I reserved it and got it the next day, victory!
At the end of the first book, the first chapter of the second book was already added and I devoured it before I started the second book!
The second book was titled The Dragon’s Promise. Despite having already read Chapter 1, I did not mind reading it again:)
Unfortunately, my sentiment changed completely as I progressed through the remaining chapters.
SPOILER ALERT:
The theme – keeping promises at all costs (sadly with near 0 preparation) – repeated itself with different plots each time: Shiori gives her word and puts herself and others at risk to be true to her word with almost no serious loss (except for the last part). The story was stretched and the pace was painfully slow.
In the end, Shiori would be dead half a year and alive the other half so long as Takkan lived. It was written that Shiori could even bear a child. I could not understand how, given her situation (there was no explanation)? Human babies need 9 months – while she would be alive for only 6. I think the story was dragged to the point that nothing made sense. I wish that the second book were a thin book without these stretches…
Cheers!