Harsh Cry of the Heron - Lian Hearn

The fourth and final book (except for the fifth - a prequel!) in the Tales of the Otori epic saga. While this is yet another amazing installment in what has been one of the most satisfying series I have ever read, one thing became clear as I finished the book: Hearn is an incredibly skilled writer and her prose is totally consistent in style, pace, and timbre. From the first pages of Across the Nightingale Floor to the conclusion of Harsh Cry, the series reads as one long story that never dissapoints.

Reading the series feels like a literature of the highest quality disguised as a guilty pleasure. Really, I can't recommend these books enough. A delight to read and very good storytelling throughout.

Pirate's Passage - William Gilkerson

A couple of years ago my brother passed me a copy Gilkerson's first novel, Ultimate Voyage, which you could accuse of being a young adult novel intended for an adult audience. How's that? Well, the story wasn't especially challenging to read, but it was peppered with some interesting metaphors and themes that many younger readers likely would not have perceived or payed much attention to. Or to put it another way, the story had a depth more akin to The Hobbit than Harry Potter.

Pirate's passage is essentially a coming of age story. Jim is a young lad who lives with his mother in a quiet sea-side village where they struggle to keep the family inn afloat. Sound familiar? Being a pirate story there are quite a few nods to Stevenson's classic Treasure Island. A mysterious and weather-beaten sea captain is blown ashore one afternoon and takes up residence in the inn. The old sailor soon makes himself useful by turning the Inn's fortunes around and taking young Jim under his wing. Jim embarks on a detailed course in pirate history, which ultimately culminates in a practical application of Jim's, as well as his teacher's, accumulated knowledge.

Gilkerson, who has had a long career in non-fiction writing, has spun a good yarn here, and has injected it with a wealth of fascinating maritime lore. I would say there is slightly less meat here for not-so-young adults to mull over than Ultimate Voyage although it will definitely keep fans of pirate stories happy.