Jacques Antoine

Author, Jaques Antoine, sent me a copy of his YA martial arts novel Girl Takes Up Her Sword and the continuing short story, The High Road to the Mountain Gods. These are book 3 and 4 of the Emily Kane Adventures. I reviewed books 1 and 2, Girl Fights Back and Girl Punches Out (previously titled Go No Sen and Sen No Sen), last year and they can be found here. I also notice that book 1 is currently free on Amazon and, though not currently free, I’ve seen book 2 on the free list too.

Description from Goodreads:
High school graduation was never so dangerous as it turns out to be for Emily Kane. Defending herself against foreign agents is one thing, but when the threat comes from within Emily’s own family the violence rises to a new level, and the need to reconcile herself with her inner demons has never been so urgent.

Review:
Girl Takes up Her Sword is book 3 of The Emily Kane Adventures and I honestly think it’s the best yet. Emily has found her confidence and though she’s still trying to give the occasional kick against Granny’s fate she has largely accepted her place in the cosmos. And oh, what a place it is!

Emily is a strong, independent, self-assured heroine. So often in YA fiction authors present mixed messages on this front. A girl might have mad skills or some super power, but she doesn’t have the heart to really do what needs to be done. (The implicit message being that she is too soft or weak to really be strong after all.) There’s often some hero sidekick who actually saves her from dirtying her hands, thereby co-opting her presentation as a truly strong heroine. Antoine has the integrity to let Emily be as strong as she needs to be. Now, I’m not saying she doesn’t regret the things she has to do or even that she isn’t occasionally disgusted about them, but she also doesn’t back down from them or hesitate so long some man takes over for her. (And believe me she is surrounded by plenty of strong, well trained men.) I respect this immensely.

I only have two real qualms with the story and they are related. So it could actually be one multidimensional problem. Either way, I’m gonna sketch it out, but first let me say that I understand why the author wrote it this way. I see the message he’s trying to convey with it. I just thought it was a little too much for me to accept.

First off, despite being a senior in high school Emily is very much in charge in this book. In one way or another black ops soldiers take orders from her. Elite assassins take orders from her. Her sensei takes orders from her. Her mother takes orders from her. Her friends take orders from her. Her friends’ parents take orders from her. The Yakuza take orders from her. Burly biker dudes take orders from her. There is almost no one who has any control over her or even has the backbone to say ‘no’ to her. She is the top dog in all respects. The primary reason people backed down? They saw something in her eyes that made them give up. There are a lot of social dictums that this contradicts. It ignores basic social hierarchies, not to mention martial and military ones. I have a really hard time imagining that she’d succeed in the ‘take orders’ environment of a military academy, or even the military itself.

On a related issue is the fact that, with the exception of David, every single person she encountered gave in to her mysterious charm. ‘Oh yea, I drug your son into a lethal battle and he witness a couple people die.’ Does this mother get angry? Nope. ‘Oh, sorry your son got shot defending me.’ Does this mother get angry? Nope. ‘Oh, I’ve kicked your ass, and your ass, and your ass?’ Do these previously inflated egos get angry? Nope. ‘Oh, 2/3 of your biker gang got blown up for their association with me?’ Here let me make it up to you, you can call me Princess. ‘Oh, you’re a high ranking Yakuza who’s been insulted in public and demand restitution?’ Bow to my noble continence instead. Ok, in every example the circumstances are explained and it is very obvious that Emily is supposed to have an almost paranormal charisma about her (this is a large part of the story), but I don’t think it felt very realistic in the end.

Like the previous books Antoine’s writing is crisp and easy to read. The fight scenes are meticulously detailed and the martial techniques clearly explained. There is a lot of focus on the mystic aspect of training and unlike the previous books this starts to have a concrete effect on the events of the story. If you like strong female protagonists, martial arts, mysticism or just an interesting read. This is worth picking up.

The High Road to the Mountain Gods

Description from Goodreads:
With the help of her “Granny,” Emily Kane had the strength to fight off the black-ops teams hunting her. Now she needs to find some relief from Granny, and to reconcile herself to the violence she had to unleash. She hopes to find spiritual renewal in the crowded pantheon of the Hindus and Buddhists of Nepal. But the spirit of violence is not far behind her.

Review:
The High Road to the Mountain Gods picks up at the end of Girl Takes up Her Swordand sees Emily trying to find some mental peace in the tumultuous circumstances that are her exceptional life. I really enjoyed the picture of Kathmandu that was painted, the way various mystic traditions were allowed to coexist, and the unexpected twist at the end. I think a reader would be able to follow it even if they hadn’t read the previous books, but would certainly get more out of it if they had.

I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to read Jacques Antoine’s Go No Sen as well as its sequel, Sen No Sen.

Go No Sen starts with the idyllic home life of martial arts protégée Emily Kane. She may be the chauffeur’s daughter, but she is as much a part of the family as anyone else. She loves her father and sensei and they love her. Training is a game, a comfortable way of live, and something she is very very good at. Unfortunately, just as she is starting to emerge from her familial alcove and venture into society (going on her first date, making friends for the first time) her tranquillity is shattered. I don’t want to give anything else away, but suffice it to say she put all of the that training to good use.

Go No Sen will appeal to anyone with an interest in martial arts or eastern meditative practices. There is a lot of fighting action, but it is interspersed with quite a bit of careful technical detail and martial theory – just as the title Go No Sen would suggest. Emily is ultimately a good girl who tried to always do the right thing and I appreciated this about her. She did seem just a little too perfect though. She is pretty, becoming popular, polite, parents like her, boys think she is cool, and she is the BEST fighter anyone has ever seen. If she lost a fight or had a few character flaws she would have been more believable. Though, the plot does hint that there might be a reason for her superiority. It is, in fact, the central premise of the novel.

Sen No Sen is the sequel to Go No Sen and follows Emily as she continues to try and maintain a normal life despite being hunted by a number of international covert operatives. It is apparent from the very beginning that Emily is struggling with how to balance her own strengths with both the life she wishes to lead and the dangers she can’t seem to escape. Her difficulties are easy to relate to as is her love for those around her.

Antoine’s writing is comfortable. It flows smoothly from the violence Emily is forced to inhabit to the peace she is trying to protect, effectively mimicking the very internal dilemma is facing. I particularly liked the pacing and writing style.

Like Go No Sen, Sen No Sen includes quite a lot of martial arts theory. It is as much about the proper mind set of a fight as the proper physical conditioning. It wasn’t quite as heavy as in the first book and I found it enjoyable. As I appreciated the little bit of Japanese mythology that comes in at the end of the book.

Anyone who is interested in martial arts will likely like these book, as will those who like strong female YA characters.