The Harsh Cry of the Heron
The Harsh Cry of the Heron is the sequel to Lian Hearn's popular Tales of the Otori trilogy, first published on March 7, 2006.Takeo's vassal Arai Zenko and his wife Hana (Kaede's sister) have approached Saga Hideki, a warlord who has conquered most of the Eight Islands under the Emperor's mandate.Meanwhile, Muto Kenji, at the end of his years, attempts in vain to negotiate with Akio (the Kikuta Master) to see his grandson, Hisao.Zenko has also converted to Christianity in order to gain military support from Portuguese missionaries who Takeo has restricted to the port of Hofu.Maya, whose Tribe talents are rather volatile, absorbs the spirit of a cat and struggles to control it, becoming increasingly erratic and dangerous.Maya escapes aided by Miki, and they attempt to return to Hagi (the Otori capital) to reveal Zenko's treachery.Shigeko wins, and Takeo departs in glory, leaving behind an exotic animal, a Kirin (likely a giraffe or an okapi), as a gift for the Emperor.Maya, influenced by Yuki, slips into her parents' house and accidentally kills her infant brother with the Kikuta gaze; horrified, she flees.Furious, Kaede orders Shigeru's house burned to the ground, then leaves with Hana and her sons as Zenko's men destroy Hagi.Akio grabs the pistol, but Maya (trapped in her cat form) interferes, causing the gun to explode and kill them both.Takeo and Kaede practice benevolent and enlightened rule, rigidly controlling foreign trade and focusing on agriculture rather than conquest.Having been raised among the Hidden, the Tribe and the warrior class, Takeo is careful to follow no particular religion in order to prevent religious persecution.He has three daughters, Shigeko, Maya, and Miki, and one illegitimate son: Kikuta Hisao, conceived by Muto Yuki, a past lover.However, at the end of the novel, she becomes betrothed to Saga Hideki, the Emperor's commander, and inherits control the Three Countries and Takeo's sword, Jato.She is mortally wounded by Akio at the end of the book in an attempt to protect her father; Miki then mercy-kills her to prevent her being a cat spirit forever.He is by nature gentle and loves animals, which Akio cruelly punishes him for, and is innately talented at constructing tools, even if it is as complex as a gun.When Maya's abilities become too uncontrollable, she is entrusted to Taku and his companion (and lover) Sada, who train her to control the cat's spirit and take on its form.Most members of the Tribe feel that Taku should have been the Muto Master instead of Shizuka and his death at the hands of Akio is a heavy loss for Takeo.Zenko conspires to overthrow Takeo by several means: converting to Christianity in order to gain military support from foreign traders, allying with Akio, and declaring himself head of the Muto family after Kenji's death.Like her older sister, Hana is unusually beautiful, which resulted in a rivalry between Zenko, Taku, and Hiroshi as to who would marry her in their youth.Having been declared the Emperor's general, he has conquered nearly all the rest of the "Eight Islands" on behalf of his powerless overlord, effectively making him shōgun.Yuki later appears to Maya and Miki as "Yusetsu" and becomes a surrogate mother to them as they try to return to Kaede and warn her of Hana and Zenko's treachery.[1] A Publishers Weekly review stated "Hearn seamlessly fuses fact and fantasy to create a sprawling, bewitching realm of magic.