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For some reason I would like to read a fantasy book set in a sort of feudal Asian type of world. Sort of like a mix between the movies Princess Mononoke and Big Trouble in Little China (in the underground areas at least). I'd like an Eastern kind of culture blended with spirits, magic, mining, and maybe a little conflict of Eastern tradition vs Western progress.

Are there any books like this?

Hi there Ryan. You should give the "Tales of the Otori" books by Lian Hearn a try. Just about everything you mention is included in these books. There are five now. They started as a trilogy, then came a fourth, and then a prequel. Google them and see what you think.

I bought them I guess. I'll tell you what I think when I am done.

It is hard for me to judge a book at all without reading it. I am reading the Green Mile right now and the back of the book says "Wecome back to E block, the deadliest place this side of the electric chair..." It makes me laugh because I totally do not get that from reading the book. I try to understand books from their short descriptions, but I always end up getting the wrong idea it seems.

Gannon wrote:Hi there Ryan. You should give the "Tales of the Otori" books by Lian Hearn a try. Just about everything you mention is included in these books. There are five now. They started as a trilogy, then came a fourth, and then a prequel. Google them and see what you think.

I picked up the prequel on clearance and absolutely loved it. I just bought the first book and have it in my giant stack of stuff I need to read.

Other feudal Japan books I'd recommend (but aren't fantasy):
Shogun by James Clavell
Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa

About Tales of the Otori - In what order should I read the books? Should I read the prequel, Heaven's Net Is Wide first or later? I found this recommendation on Yahoo Answers:

Quote from Yahoo Answers poster, Angelik-
"I would really suggest reading them in order, as the storyline may get a bit confusing if you don't. This is the order of the books:

Tales of the Otori
1. Across the Nightingale Floor (2002)
2. Grass for His Pillow (2003)
3. Brilliance of the Moon (2004)
4. The Harsh Cry of the Heron (2006)
5. Heaven's Net is Wide (2007)"

[quote="ryan"]About Tales of the Otori - In what order should I read the books? Should I read the prequel, Heaven's Net Is Wide first or later?

Read them in that order. I really love these books. I have read the whole series twice and if I get some time I will read them again.

Awesome. I really want to start. The first of the five just arrived today, Heaven's Net is Wide. I'll just have to stay patient reading this other Clive Barker book while Across the Nightingale Floor wanders its way to my house.

ryan wrote:Awesome. I really want to start. The first of the five just arrived today, Heaven's Net is Wide. I'll just have to stay patient reading this other Clive Barker book while Across the Nightingale Floor wanders its way to my house.

Hahaha, don't you hate that. Stay strong Ryan it is worth the wait.

While waiting for the Otori books to arrive I had decided to begin reading Musashi. I have just now finished reading Musashi and I think it is one of the best books I have ever read. I loved it immensely.

Now I begin reading Across the Nightingale Floor.

ryan wrote:While waiting for the Otori books to arrive I had decided to begin reading Musashi. I have just now finished reading Musashi and I think it is one of the best books I have ever read. I loved it immensely.

Now I begin reading Across the Nightingale Floor.

Awesome! I am so glad you liked it!

ryan wrote:While waiting for the Otori books to arrive I had decided to begin reading Musashi. I have just now finished reading Musashi and I think it is one of the best books I have ever read. I loved it immensely.

Now I begin reading Across the Nightingale Floor.

I had not heard of this book, thanks for the post, I am going to add it to my TRL.

Across the Nightingale Floor is brilliant. Short but brilliant.

I have just finished reading all five Otori books. They were great! I honestly liked Musashi more, but the Otori books had a lot to do with what I was looking for. I am going to begin reading Shogun in a day or so, but I would like to know if anyone has any more ideas for books that I could read that fit into this category. If I am ordering them over the internet again, it would be nice to get a head start before I finish reading Shogun and don't go crazy with impatience.

One book that I have always been meaning to take a peek at is Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As a kid growing up, the video games based on the book had fanned my interest for this kind of culture. This isn't really why I am interested in feudal Asia necessarily, but I was thinking maybe a divergence from a Japanese setting into a Chinese setting would give more variety and diversity to this theme.

You might try Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa since you liked Musashi. I haven't heard anything about it but it has a really high rating on Amazon.com.

I don't have any other suggestions. Good luck finding what you're looking for though!