“When trying to translate from Japanese to English, when reaching out to the English reader across differences in culture and fundamental thought processes, I feel like Elin standing there playing her harp for Leelan, knowing full well that she can never convey even a fraction of what is in her heart, and never fully understand what is in Leelan’s, but still longing to do so, to make that ‘unexpected music.’ There are moments in all Uehashi’s stories that touch on that cord that stir my heart and make me laugh or weep.” —Cathy Hirano, translator of The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi

One girl links beasts with humankind. She has the power to save them both. Or to destroy them.

Elin’s family have an important responsibility: caring for the Toda, the giant lizards that form the core of their kingdom’s army. So when some of the beasts mysteriously die, Elin’s mother is sentenced to death as punishment. With her last breath she manages to send her daughter to safety.

Alone, far from home, Elin soon discovers that she can talk to both the ferocious Toda and the majestic flying beasts that guard her queen. This skill gives her great powers, but it also involves her in deadly plots that could cost her life. Can she save herself and prevent her beloved beasts from being used as tools of war? Or must she face the terrible battles to come?

Excerpt from the Prologue:

Sohyon’s Finger Flute

Elin  woke to the sound of the door opening. It was not yet dawn. In the blackness outside, the rain drummed incessantly on the shingled roof. Elin could vaguely make out the shape of her mother as she washed her hands in the dirt-floored kitchen, then turned and trod softly to the sleeping area. As she slid under the covers, she brought with her the scent of rain and of Toda, the huge water serpents that bore men to battle. Toda Warriors were easily identified by the distinctive musk-like odor of the membrane coating the Toda’s scales. It clung to them wherever they went, and to Elin’s mother, too; a sweet, familiar scent that had surrounded Elin from the moment she was born.

“Mother, was that thunder?”

“It’s a long way off. Don’t worry. The storm’s over the mountains, not here. Now go to sleep.”

With a deep sigh, Elin closed her eyes. The image of her mother’s white hand slowly, cautiously, caressing the Toda hovered in her mind. She loved the stillness of her mother’s face as she gazed at the enormous beasts. Her mother was in charge not of just any Toda, but of the strongest, the Kiba or “fangs.” These formed the vanguard of the Toda forces. Not even the fathers of her best friends, Saju and Chok, were entrusted with the care of the Stone Chambers reserved for the Kiba. Elin’s heart filled with pride when she thought of how highly the Toda Stewards regarded her mother’s skill as a beast doctor.

Nahoko Uehashi is a writer of fantasy titles, whose books have sold more than a million copies in Japan. She has won numerous awards, including the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award, which she received for her contribution to children’s literature throughout her life. She has a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and has studied indigenous peoples in Australia. She lives near Tokyo, Japan.