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| The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song |
The Night Ends with Fire is a Mulan retelling set in a secondary world that resembles ancient China. It takes the premise of Mulan and the name of the main character, Hai Meilin (once even using the alias Mulan), and sets her on a more fantastical and less heroic path.
A war is about to break between three warlords, and all men are drafted. Meilin’s father is a violent opium addict and he has no intention to serve. Meilin is forced to marry an old, violent man, and to escape her fate, she disguises herself as a man and joins the war.
She soon discovers that it’s not easy to be a soldier. But she has help. Prince Sky takes interest in her solitary training and starts to train with her. But more importantly, she’s possessed by an ancient spirit of a dragon that offers her help when she needs.
But it’s not a noble dragon, and the help comes with a price. She doesn’t mind. She’s not a noble person either. She’s greedy and selfish, and willing to do anything to survive.
She’s not the only person in possession of a powerful spirit. The enemy army has one too, and she and her dragon make it their business to destroy the other spirit. It’s not an easy or straightforward path to a victory. And she’s not the only one after the other spirit.
This was a good story. It avoids the most clichéd YA tropes, although the narrative and the main character are a bit childish. There’s a hint of romance, even a triangle drama, but it doesn’t dominate the story or serve as the driving force of Meilin’s actions. She’s not a good, moral, or noble person, and the dragon spirit makes the most of her greed to bend her to his will, but it was easy to sympathise with her need to be free from the fate chosen for her as a woman. Incidentally, the book is very western in its philosophy, emphasisng freedom and individual choice over family and duty (unlike in Mulan). If you’re looking for an Asian take on Mulan, this isn’t it.
The love interests weren’t good or noble men either, and it was difficult to choose between them. One was bland and the other came across as a boylove MC, and I was surprised to find out he wasn’t gay. The magic took a heavy toll, and it wasn’t an all-powerful force that she could use at will, which was good.
The book was a bit too long and complicated though. The plot kept twisting and turning, bringing new players in the game, and making life unnecessary difficult for Meilin. Regardless, I found myself slightly bored with the middle part of the book, and it was difficult to care for the story or the people. The adversary wasn’t interesting enough, despite his destructive power, and the hunt was oddly secondary, with other people doing the work behind the scenes. In the end, he was a rather pitiful creature and his demise didn’t feel a triumphant victory.
The biggest twist was saved for the end. The world is stacked against Meilin, and it finally catches up with her. But she’s not about to give up. How she will survive is the story for the next book. I’d be interested in reading more.
I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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