Kaoru Kurimoto, The Guin Saga Book One: The Leopard Mask
(Vertical Inc., 2003)
The Leopard Mask marks the first of 100 planned volumes (with approximately 90 already in print) in Kurimoto’s heroic fantasy series The Guin Saga. Originally published in Japanese, the series is being translated and published by Vertical, a small New York publishing house focused solely on bringing contemporary Japanese literature to English-speaking readers. Vertical plans to release the first five volumes, which apparently comprise a self-contained story arc. The first four are currently available, with the fifth due in the fall of 2005.
Kurimoto packs a lot of action into a slim volume, covering perhaps two days in just over 200 pages. The book opens with the warrior Guin awakening from a deep sleep or coma, everything forgotten save his name and the word “Aurra,” which has no meaning to him. In all ways, Guin is a marvelous physical specimen of a warrior . . . save that a mysterious leopard mask, which cannot be removed, covers his face, baring only his eyes.
In the same mysterious forest, not far away, hide twins Rinda and Remus, the lone royal survivors of the land of Parros, having fled the destruction of their homeland at the hands of Mongaul soldiers. Remus is heir to the lost throne, but the twins’ true power lies in Rinda, who has the gift of prophecy (a fact that stirs jealousy in the otherwise virtuous Remus’ heart). Through happenstance – or, more likely, the hand of fate – Guin saves the twins from a Mongaul patrol, escaping with them deeper into the haunted woods. An effort that proves fruitless, as the three end up captured by a different patrol and are taken to Stafolos Keep, home to The Black Count of Mongaul, Vanon.
Vanon is rumoured to suffer from a contagious disease that wastes his flesh, forcing him to cloak himself completely in armor and cloth, so that he will not infect the men who serve him. Thrilled to hold the twins of Parros hostage, Vanon turns his attention to the oddity that is Guin. While the children are locked away in separate cells, he forces the leopard man to fight a savage beast, providing Guin an excellent opportunity to demonstrate his skills, though he returns to Remus’ cell bloodied and exhausted.
That night, the hand of fate reaches for the twins again, and keep is attacked by an apelike people, the Sem, who despise the Mongaul. In the ensuing destructive battle, the twins reunite, joining Guin in an attempt to flee the stronghold. Caught up in their wake is a young Sem girl, Suni, who had been locked away with Rinda. They discover, to their horror, that the Count is no longer himself, but is possessed by an unknown evil . . . and that there are things more fearsome than disease.
The book closes with the group leaping from the keep’s tallest tower into the river below, hoping their gods will keep them safe and alive.
Although Kurimoto is Japanese, her fantasy setting and characters will ring familiar to Western readers. Perhaps a bit too familiar. We’ve seen Rinda and Remus – or their equivalent – in any number of fantasy stories, lost children, saviour of their land. So too Guin, to an extent, at least in his role as warrior, though the mystery surrounding his existence, and the mask, raises him above the mundane. There are also a few discrepancies and inconsistencies to the characters’ behaviour or circumstances, though it’s hard to say if that’s inherent in the text, or a product of translation.
Which is not to say that The Leopard Mask doesn’t work at all, or isn’t a good read. There’s promise in the groundwork Kurimoto has set down. Who is Guin? Who – or what – usurped Vanon’s existence? What comes next for the deposed twins? These questions demand to be answered, and will bring readers back for book two. Although it’s not listed as such, this series seems ideal for younger readers (those old enough to comprehend and not be scared by the violence), more so than adults. They will likely appreciate the setting and characters more.
