Set in an imagined medieval Japan, Book Three is a thrilling-and surprising-follow-up to the previous adventures of Takeo and Kaede. Taking us deeper into the complexities of the loyalties that bind the novel's characters at birth-the fates from which they cannot escape-Brilliance of the Moon goes beyond its transcendent storytelling in demonstrating how we are shaped by forces outside of our control and yet must forge our own destinies all the same. A thoroughly gripping read, Brilliance of the Moon is also the most powerful novel in the series-a beautiful, haunting evocation of a time and a place just beyond the reach of an outside world.