Heaven's Net is Wide

'A beautifully realized setting, action and romance played out across a couple of generations, a high-class voyage to the long ago and far away – Lian Hearn has written a saga that will continue to give pleasure to many.' – Ursula K. Le GuinThe Middle Country, home of the Otori clan is ruled by a benign but weak leader while in the East, the warrior-like Tohan are gathering power. On the plain of Yaegahara the clans clash in a bloody battle that leaves Otori Shigeru desperate for vengeance. Meanwhile, in a remote mountain village, a boy is born gifted with the supernatural skills of his father, once the deadliest assassin of the Tribe. Set in the years before the beginning of Across the Nightingale Floor, Heaven's Net is Wide by Lian Hearn is the first and last Tale, which both closes the circle and introduces new readers to the fantastical, beautiful and thrilling world of the Otori. It is an epic story of betrayal, revenge, magic and love.

A beautifully realized setting, action and romance played out across a couple of generations, a high-class voyage to the long ago and far away – Lian Hearn has written a saga that will continue to give pleasure to many., An indispensable introduction to a remarkable saga. I was spurred into re-reading the whole thing. It was pure pleasure. The setting is beautiful and beautifully described, the story clicks into place perfectly., Scenes of exquisite beauty and tension, aided by the mesh of Hearn's meticulous and convincing imagined world., A thrilling story of violent combat, legend and passion.

Lian Hearn studied modern languages at Oxford University and worked as a film critic and arts editor in London before settling in Australia. A lifelong interest in Japan led to the study of the Japanese language, many trips to Japan, and culminated in the writing of the Tales of the Otori series.Hearn is also the author of a two-volume prequel series to the Tales of the Otori, The Tale of Shikanoko, consisting of Emperor of the Eight Islands and Lord of the Darkwood.