Heaven's Net is Wide
 |
|
| Author | Lian Hearn |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Series | Tales of the Otori |
| Genre | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Hachette Australia (Aus) and Pan Macmillan (UK) |
|
Publication date
|
2007 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 641pp |
| ISBN | (Aus) (UK) |
| OCLC | 174100617 |
| Followed by | Across the Nightingale Floor |
Heaven’s Net is Wide is a prequel to Lian Hearn's popular Tales of the Otori series. It recounts the life of Lord Shigeru from the age of 12 (the year in which Takeo is born). It begins with the murder of Kikuta Isamu, Takeo's father, and includes Shigeru's training with Matsuda Shingen, the battle of Yaegahara, the role of Muto Shizuka, the meeting with Lady Maruyama, and other events foreshadowing Across the Nightingale Floor. It concludes with Shigeru and Takeo's meeting which begins the series.
The following divisions are not so marked in the novel, but are included below to separate the logical sections of the plot.
Kikuta Isamu has embraced the religion of The Hidden, and made a new life in Mino, a secret village. He is tracked down by his cousin Kotaro, who tells him he is sentenced to death for leaving The Tribe. Isamu leads him on a chase, but when finally cornered, refuses to defend himself. Kotaro kills him, but is later haunted by Isamu's words of forgiveness, and wonders if the man had left a child.
12 year old Shigeru visits his mother's house in Hagi when Endo Akira runs up, saying that Shigeru's brother Takeshi and Mori Yuta had fallen in the river and not resurfaced. Shigeru dives in with an unknown girl (later revealed as Akane), and they manage to save Takeshi, but Yuta is dead. After the funeral, Yuta's father offers to kill himself in exchange. Shigeru's step-uncles believe the whole family should be put to death, and their property confiscated. Shigemori, who is Lord Otori and Shigeru's father, agrees with Shigeru that the proposed punishment is excessive, and the sons enter their service instead. From this day, Shigeru mistrusts his uncles.
When aged 15, he and his best friend are caught sleeping with a maid, and he is warned by his father of the dangers of illegitimate children vying for inheritance. Indeed, over 30 years ago, Shigemori fell into the same trap with a woman from the Tribe, and ever since he has feared his child's reappearance. He sends Shigeru to Matsuda Shingen, former warrior and now priest at Terayama, for instruction. On the way, events lead Shigeru to suspect Lord Noguchi, an Otori ally, of treachery. War with the Tohan seems inevitable.
He arrives at Terayama, and there is treated the same as any other novice. He is on the point of leaving in frustration when Matsuda takes him into the wilderness for training of the mind, and later, of the body. A houou bird visits and leaves a feather, an omen of peace, though the stain of blood suggests that Shigeru's death will be in the cause of justice. Later, in a training fight, Shigeru knocks Matsuda unconscious, and runs for help. He encounters a member of the Tribe, known as The Fox, who can make himself invisible, and who gives him some herbs that speed Matsuda's recovery. When Matsuda wakes he warns Shigeru that, from the Tribe, the herbs could just as easily been poison.
...
Wikipedia