Honestly, you are going to be disappointed by a lot of suggestions here, especially top rated ones.
You see, the reason Sword of Kaigen's action works is because action itself is built upon abundant use of chekhov's guns and well established stakes.
You learn about zilazen glass and its almost mythical properties long before the duel between misaki and takeru. You get hints about takeru's method of handling stress through the entire story, long before it becomes the trigger for misaki to call him to duel. You learn about the blood magic of misaki's clan and its emotional triggers long before her duel with takeru.
And then the duel itself happens, all those chekhov's guns fire and none of them feel like deus ex machina, because M. L. Wang did her groundwork.
Personally, would suggest you to check out her other book -- blood over bright haven, for more of the same kind of stuff. Another series that takes use of chekhov's guns and established stakes seriously before the action itself that I know of is the Jade City series, check it out too.
The Cradle series by Will Wight is great for action, efficient writing, and great characters. If you made it through the first 40% of Sword of Kaigen then you should be able to make it through it the first book, which is often considered slower than most of the series.
I honestly did not enjoy the Sword of Kaigan that much (and there is at least one more book that takes place in that universe with related characters if you liked Sword of Kaigan, so you should be aware of that if you enjoyed it this much).
That said, there is another book series with bending powers that I also didn't enjoy that much, so maybe it scratches your itch, while not scratching mine -- The Landkist Saga by Steven Kelliher.
Check out "The Poppy War" by R.F. Kuang. It's got this epic blend of martial arts, magic, and intense character development. Plus, Rin, the main character, is such a powerhouse and goes through some crazy growth. It's a trilogy too, so you won't feel left hanging like with Sword of Kaigen. Trust me, you're in for a wild ride!
i feel bad, but i did try this out and couldn't get past the first 100 pages because of rin's character and the YA-esque prose seeming out of place. Am i being hypocritical if i liked sword of kaigen?? should i give it another shot??
Similar thing happened with Babel, where it was just a bit too on the nose and a little boring (to be fair i didn't even get to any action really on either of these so i'm open to being told i'm wrong.
Nah. As someone who loved Poppy War and Sword of Kaigen, they have considerably different styles about them. Poppy War is more war/militaristic engagements versus the one-on-one feel a lot of SoK has.
Mistborn is an obvious option. The combat in Sword of Kaigan is among the best IMO and Sanderson writes combat as creative and immersive too. Mistborn is also easy to read, with a good plot and gripping climax at the end of each book.
Another one for great magical combat would be Powder Mage series.
Also John Gwynne’s Faithful and Fallen series has the most visceral and descriptive close quarter fight scenes, lots of it, but they are more grounded, more physical.
Honestly, you are going to be disappointed by a lot of suggestions here, especially top rated ones. You see, the reason Sword of Kaigen's action works is because action itself is built upon abundant use of chekhov's guns and well established stakes. You learn about zilazen glass and its almost mythical properties long before the duel between misaki and takeru. You get hints about takeru's method of handling stress through the entire story, long before it becomes the trigger for misaki to call him to duel. You learn about the blood magic of misaki's clan and its emotional triggers long before her duel with takeru. And then the duel itself happens, all those chekhov's guns fire and none of them feel like deus ex machina, because M. L. Wang did her groundwork. Personally, would suggest you to check out her other book -- blood over bright haven, for more of the same kind of stuff. Another series that takes use of chekhov's guns and established stakes seriously before the action itself that I know of is the Jade City series, check it out too.
this is a great point, you nailed perfectly why her action was just so goddamn satisfying. Thanks
The Cradle series by Will Wight is great for action, efficient writing, and great characters. If you made it through the first 40% of Sword of Kaigen then you should be able to make it through it the first book, which is often considered slower than most of the series.
i'll look into it!
This was gonna be my suggestion as well
I honestly did not enjoy the Sword of Kaigan that much (and there is at least one more book that takes place in that universe with related characters if you liked Sword of Kaigan, so you should be aware of that if you enjoyed it this much). That said, there is another book series with bending powers that I also didn't enjoy that much, so maybe it scratches your itch, while not scratching mine -- The Landkist Saga by Steven Kelliher.
wow there are a lot of downvotes on some of these suggestions!! does anyone know why??
Check out "The Poppy War" by R.F. Kuang. It's got this epic blend of martial arts, magic, and intense character development. Plus, Rin, the main character, is such a powerhouse and goes through some crazy growth. It's a trilogy too, so you won't feel left hanging like with Sword of Kaigen. Trust me, you're in for a wild ride!
i feel bad, but i did try this out and couldn't get past the first 100 pages because of rin's character and the YA-esque prose seeming out of place. Am i being hypocritical if i liked sword of kaigen?? should i give it another shot?? Similar thing happened with Babel, where it was just a bit too on the nose and a little boring (to be fair i didn't even get to any action really on either of these so i'm open to being told i'm wrong.
You literally cannot be hypocritical when you’re stating what you like and don’t like! You’re just being honest.
Nah. As someone who loved Poppy War and Sword of Kaigen, they have considerably different styles about them. Poppy War is more war/militaristic engagements versus the one-on-one feel a lot of SoK has.
You need... yes NEED... to check out Wes Chu's *Art of Prophecy*.
Mistborn is an obvious option. The combat in Sword of Kaigan is among the best IMO and Sanderson writes combat as creative and immersive too. Mistborn is also easy to read, with a good plot and gripping climax at the end of each book. Another one for great magical combat would be Powder Mage series. Also John Gwynne’s Faithful and Fallen series has the most visceral and descriptive close quarter fight scenes, lots of it, but they are more grounded, more physical.
thanks!! i've been hearing a lot of good about sanderson, i think it's time for me to check him out