When I picked up the first volume, I was a bit disappointed at first. It felt just like a very generic fantasy novel with nothing much interesting. However, after the first third or so of the volume, the more intriguing part of the story and worldbuilding started coming. So at the very least I would suggest finishing the first volume if you want to get into the series. Of course, Guin Saga might have some big expectations to fill – it might not be that famous in west, but in Japan it’s a legendary work and not only because of its length.
Okay, okay, that’s enough of the preface, what is actually good about it? Well, it mixes the classic macho conan-like fantasy elements that are simply cool with high fantasy and intriguing political and warfare plots. The specific point when I realized I actually quite like it would be the realization that almost 3 volumes were spent on description of basically a single battle encounter – and it was done with amazing description and explanation of strategy that was not overcooked enough to feel like overcooked badly written military genius but rather felt like reading the Art of War again. A delightfully written conflict with the proper context given to the motivations and the decisions behind both the tactics and the character motives. A battle that furthered both the plot and the character development. I fell in love.
The characters too are strength of Guin Saga, each with their own goals and personalities, helping the world feel alive rather just being a background to protagonist’s antics. Hell, sometimes you can’t even be sure who is truly the protagonist. The clash of the personalities, goals and methods of approach make for a great conflict and more than just black and white good vs. bad story.
That is also why I yearn for proper translation, as some of the changes the characters go through are so very interesting (well, it is a long series after all), but a text where “Doal” is changed to “doll”, “chapters” become “episodes” and the text can’t decide on genders of the characters it feels more struggling having to read every sentence with extra care to discern the original meaning. It’s better than no translation at all, but I feel like it’s more of a starting point for a quality check by human and in it’s current form it’s only for the most desperate. It’s truly a shame that the English release got axed as I feel that with proper marketing this would be sure to find audience among fans of classic western fantasy novels. But that is info simply for people looking to read this, the quality of translation is not something I take into consideration when giving score to a series.
