The Beast Player is a recently translated older Japanese series by Nahoko Uehashi. There is also apparently an anime based on this story called Erin but I sadly can’t find any way to get a hold of it at the moment (I hope this changes and it will become available again).

Elin looses her father, then her mother at a young age, and the latter of which in a very traumatic way by wild Toda, giant dragon like creatures. Her mother had loved and cared for the “tamed” war Toda of her village, and yet when something happens to some of them, she is accused and led to this awful fate. But looking back on these final moments with her mother combined with what she has learned in the past and continues to learn in the present, Elin begins to uncover secrets about her mother’s people, the giant beasts called Toda and the Royal Beasts, and how the kingdom is manipulating beasts for political agendas. Elin is able to interact with the beasts in ways that no one has seen before and therefore unwittingly gains the interest of the rulers of the kingdom. While she doesn’t want to get tangled up in politics and just wants to be able to learn more about the beasts and grow her bond with them, she may not have much of a choice.

I saw someone make a comparison of this storyline to Studio Ghibli movies and I could agree with that, it is very focused on humans’ interaction with our land and the other living creatures who inhabit it and how we are similar to and differ from these creatures. Of course, when looking at such a connection, we see both the dark and light sides and there is a lot about the selfishness and blind ambition of humanity but also about those humans that stand against that darkness no matter what. I could see Elin being a main character in a Ghibli movie. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in The Beast Player duology. I borrowed this on audiobook from the library.

Thoughts: I really loved this and thought it was incredibly well written. I enjoyed the characters, the world, and, of course, the Royal Beasts. I am eager to start the second book in this duology.

The book mainly follows Elin. Initially, Elin lives with her mother in a small town where her mother is responsible for caring for the serpent-like beasts (Toda) that they raise there. When disaster strikes, and Elin's mom is sentenced to death, Elin's mother saves Elin by sending her off on the back of a serpent. Suddenly Elin is all alone and left to fend for herself. Luckily, she finds a kind old teacher who helps raise her and helps her realize her talent, with not only the serpents, but also the Royal Beasts. As the world discovers Elin's talent for communicating with all of these "beasts" she quickly gets drawn into dangerous politics.

I really loved this book a lot. I especially loved the beginning where Elin is living with the teacher and learning all about nature and wildlife. I didn't enjoy the end as much, as Elin gets drawn into the politics of the world. The Royal Beasts are definitely front and center and are one of the things I adored most about this book. My only complaint is I had trouble picturing what both them (the Royal Beasts) and the Toda look like. The Toda are serpent-like creatures. I pictured the Royal Beasts more like griffins or dragons but looking at the cover of the book now it seems like maybe they are something else completely.

I loved the characters in this book. Elin is a quiet but stubborn and patient girl who looks at the world through very different eyes than most people do. This allows her to do things and communicate with the Royal Beasts in ways that other people can't imagine. I loved watching her learn and loved that she found people who were willing to take a chance on her and work to understand her points of view.

The writing is beautifully done and has a very peaceful, tranquil quality to it (at least for the beginning of the book). The settings are well described and the characters are very engaging. I loved all we learnt about beekeeping in the beginning and really enjoyed watching Elin apply those lessons to the Royal Beasts.

I listened to this on audiobook and really enjoyed it. I would definitely recommend reading this on audiobook if you enjoy audiobooks. The narration was very well done.

Just a caution that this does end at a low point and pretty much right in the middle of the story. So make sure you have "The Beast Warrior" on hand if you don't like cliffhangers.

My Summary (4.5/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book. It's an intriguing world, with wonderful characters, some adventure and of course amazing beasts. If you enjoy reading about things like dragons or other animals you will probably enjoy this. It is beautifully written and very thoughtful and I really enjoyed it. I am definitely planning on picking up the final book in this duology "The Beast Warrior" soon. ( )

The first few pages, I thought something was familiar about this book--but the more I read, the more it solidified. I had watched the anime based on this book, Kemono no Sōja Elin, or "Erin," first in the 2000s and remember walking away from that anime heartbroken, mended, joyful, saddened, touched, and a little older. I am glad to see that the anime captured the emotions in the book effortlessly for one of the rare times.

I am so glad to have discovered this in English. Lovely, lovely book and series. ( )

Elin is the daughter of an outcast; her mother is a foreigner who was loved by the prince of the people they now live among, loathed yet needed by them for her special ability to care for and train the water beasts -the Toda - that they use as weapons. But when one of the beasts dies, she is sentenced to death. She leaves Elin saved yet orphaned, carried on the back of one of the warrior beasts to another life, but one in which she will return to the skills of her ancestors, possibly dooming the kingdom with the discovery of her birthright abilities to communicate with Toda and Royal Beasts alike.
Hm. It's...okay. The story is fine: it's fairly interesting if not wholly original - it's so much in the vein of the How to Train Your Dragon movies (*not* the books) in concept (and minus the humor) that it's difficult to believe either that Uehashi was heavily influenced by the movies or that both have been influenced by another, older work (which seems more likely, really). The dialogue is stilted in places, although I'm not sure whether that's an issue with the original text or a product of the translation. Overall, I enjoyed this one fine, although I'm not invested enough to read the second volume. ( )

Actual Rating: 4.25 stars

It was a struggle to get into this book. Translated works are usually pretty iffy for me - tone is an important part of a novel for me, and sometimes translations end up feeling robotic. This was the case a little for The Beast Player, but it’s still one of the better translated books I’ve ever read. And the plot more than made up for the slightly stilted dialogue.

This book dealt with ethics, I guess you could say. What animals are capable of, what rights they have in terms of interacting with humans, and to what extent we as people should exert our control over them. We all know how I feel about animal behavior, so I genuinely loved that aspect of the book. It’s easy for us to try to humanize our pets and it doesn’t always end well. This book was very careful to remind the reader that animals are animals - they have different motivations and understandings of the world around them than we do.

And of course it dealt with more than that too. There was some political drama too. And on that front, I gotta say: uh the book just kind of ends? Like right smack dab in the middle of something?

So heads up on that. ( )