Review: If you like martial arts this book is for you.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2012
I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to read Go No Sen as well as its sequel,Sen No Sen (Emily Kane Stories). 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.All-in-all Go No Sen is well worth picking up, especially if you like martial arts or strong female protagonists.