Not all heroes go to Heaven.
Blood Subaru is dead. His final request: His brothers sneak his soul into Heaven.
There’s just a few problems; the trail is infested with opportunistic bandits, haunted by vengeful spirits, and guarded by the Gods of Death.
All in a days work for the legendary Brothers Blood. Or at least, it would have been in their prime.
Pulled out of cosy retirement, Blood Ichiro must summon the courage and the strength to climb the Heaven’s Trail for a second time in his life. He doesn’t want to go, but some quests can’t be refused.
Anything for a fallen brother.
This is a novella that manages to contain more than plenty of long novels do.
It is the story of three men, so close they considered each other brothers. But things happened and life separated them. Now two of them meet after a long time, to carry their dead brother up a mountain, to fulfil his last wish.
This story handles grief and loss in a raw and powerful way. It’s both quiet and subtle and yet also deep and profound. I have no idea how, but this book just is so relatable and while I haven’t met Asian spirits, it still feels realistic.
I loved how with each page I turned, I learned a little bit of what happened to drive these men apart, and how hard it is to now have lost a brother you never managed to heal the rift with. And now it is too late.
There is action, banter, mythology, spirits, demons and everything to make this a fun and quick read, however the topic of death is also so well handled, it leaves you thinking about it long after you finished reading.
For me it was the perfect balance between introspection and entertainment, and the way up the mountain and through their feelings was as soothing as it was heart breaking.
Like that feeling when you have hot water running over your ice cold feet. It stings, but it is a good and relieving pain.
I’m sure I will reread this when life gets hard.
