Rating: 
Summary: Stunning Fantasy with a Japanese Setting
Review: I love books with a Japanese setting, and Hearn's Otori trilogy are some of the best I've read.Her prose is simple, often sparse, but as beautiful as haiku. She evokes the atmosphere of feudal Japan with a minimum of words and with great skill. The best part about Hearn's writing is that it moves so quickly. There are no boring parts! Across the Nightingale Floor gripped me from the first page, not only because it was so beautifully written and interesting but because I really cared about the characters, who are all struggling to to the best they can in a harsh and demanding world. The following two books, Grass for His Pillow and Brilliance of the Moon are just as compelling and well-written as this book. I highly recommend the entire trilogy. If you like reading about traditional Japanese culture, you'll love these books!
Rating:
Summary: I hope she writes another one
Review: I love the 3 books of the tales of the otori. I felt really bad when I finished the last book. My sisters and my aunt also read it and they all loved it. If she writes another book, which I hope she does, I'd definitely buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Glued to my hands
Review: I enjoyed this book, its characters and its setting. I enjoyed the main characters journey through different moral codes and his struggle to satisfy his conscience. I was attached to th characterts and found myself stopping to tell my wife what was going on every time something happened. Its good enough for me to tell my friends to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Could've been better...
Review: Good points:
-writing was engaging
-interesting how one main character was written in first-person and the other in third
Bad points:
-love at first sight was so unbelievable and abrupt that it is distracting and makes the book lose any credibility that it might have had
-the reason it is so unbelievable is because the characterization is so flat.
-inconsistencies in character (especially in the Lady Maruyama's case). It is almost as if the author wrote things just so convenient things would happen for the main characters.
Overall:
-the book was good as a light read, but since I can already predict what will happen and I don't really care about the characters, this is as far as I will go in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Read Shogun instead
Review: I can't recommend this book to anyone. I certainly do not understand all the rave reviews here.
Warning: Some potential spoilers below.
Plodding plot: At least one third of the book seemed to be taken up with characters moving from one part of the country to another without much action or plot development. The rest of the book builds up to an event that doesn't take place. Indeed, when the main character finally crosses the much ballyhooed nightingale floor of the title, you really don't care, because you already know he's not going to be able to do what he's waited the whole book to do.
Dull characters: Paper thin and what development there is of them is blown out of the water by some major inconsistencies. One of the supporting female characters, whom the author initially portrays as steadfast, patient, imminently sensible and controlled, then does something so incredibly rash and stupid that it gets herself, and two children killed. The hero can apparently, with no previous indication he'd be remotely interested in doing so, sleep with another man (who met him only briefly previous to this encounter), only a few days after sleeping with, for the first time ever, the woman he risked his life to save and who is billed to become the love of his life. And the heroine of the story starts out strong, but then spends the rest of the book literally wasting away to nothing, fearing a pending marriage. Then, in spite of being deathly afraid of men and especially male lust, somehow kills her potential rapist, and then gladly gives up her virginity to her would-be rescuer, while soaked in the rapists blood, no less; not long after that she somehow manages to find the physical strength to sword fight out of danger by the hero's side.
The writing itself is okay, but not certainly not as smooth or lyrical as some critics have suggested. Most of the time it seems forced, and some strange turns of phrase jump out at you because they're jarring and even repeated a few times in the space of few pages - something the editors should have caught.
The book is set in a fictional land made to seem like feudal Japan. I can't help thinking, after reading it, that it is written this way because the author didn't want to bother with things like accurate historical detail. The book and the idea had a great deal of potential but came across as a quasi-Japanese remake of Hamlet, or a literary version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon without the benefit of good martial arts choreography. It is aimed at young adults, but teens and other readers would do better reading Shogun by James Clavell.
Rating:
Summary: Tales of the Otori
Review: This book was excellent. The way the story flowed was incredible. I liked the authinticity of the style of the story. The sence of honor, duty, and courage was unbelievably strong. I couldn't put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Elegant Prose coupled with an Excellent Story
Review: Across the Nightingale floor is by far one of the best pieces of literature I have come across. I have read the book three times, and each time I journey back into Hearn's mythical Japan I am awe-inspired by the depth of character, the detailed setting, and the intricate plot design. This is a book for the ages, a true tale of love, loss, and adventure.
Journey with Takeo and Kaede as they survive the harsh realities of their worlds. Bear witness to the various warlords who try to claim Japan as their own. Watch and listen as ruthless assassins kill without a second thought, and find out where love is woven into such a story. Across the Nightingale floor is sure to become an epic for all time.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing story of survival and revenge...
Review: Your whole village has just been massacred and you are the only known survivor. You walk into town and the sounds of screams and the blood running down the road as the rain drops on the mud. This is the image of the opening pages of "Across the Nightingale Floor". Lian Hearn, the author of the book creates an amazingly realistic picture of what is strikingly similar to ancient Japanese history with a twist of mysterious powers. This story is told from two perspectives. One is told from the perspective of the boy whose village was massacred, Takeo, and the other is told from the point of view of a little girl who has been dumped on another family by her father. The first story leads of after his village is massacred. He is chased through the village by three soldiers of Lord Iida's army. Lord Iida is an evil man whose wish is to rid the countryside of all "heathen" people. Takeo is chased up a mountain until he runs into a young man who refuses to hand the boy over to the men. There is an argument and the young man and three soldiers are drawn into a fight. The young man kills two of the soldiers and cuts the arm off the other. They then leave in a hurry. Later on in the book the man that saved Takeo turns out to be a Lord of noble stature, his name is Lord Otori. He takes Takeo as his own and begins to train him, treating him as a son. Later on in the story, Takeo comes to have mysterious powers and with those powers avenges the people of his village by helping to kill Iida. The girl, Keade, is of noble decent but is treated as a peasant. She later becomes more respected and is to marry into a family where Takeo and she are well acquainted. I think this is a great book! I honestly have to admit that I don't usually read much, and when I do I don't normally enjoy the books I read. Honestly I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was amazing. The references to Japan and its ancient Samurai really draw me into it and really add to the plot, making it something I can relate to, to make it seem a little more realistic. However, the only thing that I think deserved a little editing was the "special powers" Takeo seemed to have. I'm partial to a thoroughly accurate and realistic story, but I can understand its appeal to others. That being the only thing I think needed revising I will say once again that this book is awesome. I recommend this book to people seeking a very enjoyable story that includes realistic references to ancient Japan. I would recommend this even if you don't like a book with "special powers". This is because the quality of the book exceeds the "problems" one hundred times over and is very easily dismissed.
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