The JAPAN TIMES reviews FIRES OF THE GODS.

[I. J. Parker]

"The Fires of the Gods," the eighth installment of I.J. Parker's saga of Heian Period official Sugawara Akitada, begins as a study in the abuses of power. The protagonist is removed from his position in the justice ministry by an incompetent appointee with connections to Kiyowara Kane, a powerful minister.


Akitada, whose wife Tamako is expecting, can ill afford to lose his job. But when he goes to the official's mansion to ask that his dismissal be reconsidered, Kiyowara is found dead and Akitada — who indeed had a motive for killing him — falls under suspicion. This defines the rest of the plot as investigator Akitada finds himself obliged to prove his own innocence, all the while under the scrutiny of those who want to put him away.
This situation severely tests Akitada's heretofore cordial relationship with Kobe, the Kyoto police superintendent who had collaborated with Akitada on several previous cases.
In addition to Parker's usual cast of characters, including Akitada's outspoken wife Tamako, elderly retainer Seikei, feisty deputy Tora and Gemba, a hulking ex-wrestler, "The Fires of the Gods" introduces the dark side of the Kyoto underclass, characters who would have done justice to one of the old black-and-white Kurosawa epics, who range from venal clergymen and a gang of thugs running a protection racket to ruthless merchants determined to enrich themselves by the misfortunes of others.
Akitada is not so much a detective as what traditional Asian literature terms a "righteous official." Those familiar with Robert van Gulik's still-popular "Judge Dee" series set in 8th century Tang Dynasty China (published in the 1950s and '60s) will enjoy Parker's works set in 11th century Heian Japan (794-1185), both for the similarities and the contrasts.