Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2006
192 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
The Last Tale of the Otori is a truly epic novel. It is the rich and satisfying conclusion to the Tales of the Otori series that both completes the characters' lives - prophesied and otherwise - and brilliantly illuminates unexpected aspects of the entire Otori saga ..... Hearn delivers in full ninja vs. samurai fashion the kinetic, simultaneously heartbreaking and uplifting resolution that the Otori's hundreds of thousands of fans richly deserve - whose epic satisfaction will surely draw even more readers into the fold.
"The Otori saga gets better with each book, and this is the most absorbing entry in the series, complete with intrigue, magic, romance, and action." - Booklist.
"Hearn seamlessly fuses fact and fantasy to create a sprawling, bewitching realm of magic." - PW.
"Only near the end of this overlong narrative do the gears begin to catch. Nonetheless, a good finish to the series." - Kirkus.
This information about The Harsh Cry of the Heron was first featured
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lian Hearn is a pseudonym for Gillian Rubinstein, a well-known Australian writer of children's books and plays. She chose not to publish Tales of the Otori, (the series originally consisted of three books but she later added two more books) under her own name so as to have her first adult book judged in its own right and not compared to her previous writing for children. She chose her name by combining her childhood nickname (the last letters of Gillian) and the surname of Lafcadio Hearn, an Irish writer who lived in Japan at the end of the 19th century.
In June 2002, some time after the book had been sold on its own merits to publishers in multiple countries, and optioned for film writes, Rubinstein admitted that she was the author, saying "I think there is a strong tendency among the...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Lian Hearn's Website
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