I have had the final Yamada Monogatari on my TBR for a long time. I finally picked it up and it’s what I needed for a couple of snow days in a row the deep South. I’m a native Midwesterner so snow and cold are not new to me, but last night might have been the first time in a decade since I moved that I saw measurable snow stick around more than a few hours (not even going to get into the ice). Work went remote, and there’s only so much I can do off the work network and without some key things in my office. Fun reading it is.
There were a few things I wasn’t quite remembering from the previous volume of this series, but it mostly wasn’t a problem. Yamada is definitely in a different, mostly better place now in a lot of ways, but he still has to deal with supernatural issues, as well as some court politics and personal history. The whole series is a decent historical fiction setting in Japan as the Imperial court is starting to fade, and the samurai, daimyo, etc. are starting to rise. The supernatural detective aspect isn’t quite the focus in the final volume as in earlier ones, but it’s still here. The shift towards the court politics Yamada has always been on the fringes are more front and center, which also leads to the possibility of addressing one of the main personal problems from his past (dealing with some painful memories of said court over a decade before).
Most of the characters were still themselves, Kenji the kind of unpriestly priest, Kanemore the warrior prince, and a few others, but it was mostly the addition of Princess Tagako that kept the story moving. Yes, part of the plot, especially towards the end, revolves around her, but she’s also kind of a fun addition to the Yamada-Kenji duo. She’s a retiring priestess, being recalled to court, and Yamada and co are supposed to escort her, but obviously nothing is that simple. She also happens to provide Yamada with some key information or ideas a couple of times that helps him with the supernatural and political challenges.
Given that this final novel is book 4, you do kind of need to know the rest of the series for it to make the most sense, but you can still get the general mystery and adventure if not. I’m kind of sorry to see the series end, but it’s a good ending for the most part. A few things are underdeveloped, but most all main problems and challenges do get settled.