Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee: review

5/5 stars on Goodreads

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

First up: if you’re expecting unique sci-fi like Yoon Ha Lee’s brilliant The Machineries of Empire series, this is not it. It’s not sci-fi at all, but historical fantasy that is perfect for the fans of R. F. Kuang’s The Poppy War series. However, even if you’re a diehard sci-fi fan, I recommend you give this book a chance. If for nothing else, to see how an author can pull off such a different genre and writing style so brilliantly. I received a free review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Phoenix Extravagant is set in a country that resembles turn of the twentieth-century Korea; mostly sticking to its traditions, but with cars and electric light. It has been invaded a decade earlier by a country with different but similar traditions (i.e. Japan) and has since settled into an uneasy relationship with the conqueror that consist of conforming and rebelling.

Gyen Jebi is the sole point of view character. They are an artist and they only want to paint, even if it means working for the invaders. They are ready to conform in other ways too; they have learned the invaders’ language and officially changed their name to fit in better—a decision that causes a break-up with their sister. But when it turns out that what they paint directly helps the enemy to not only oppress their people but to destroy the country’s cultural heritage too, they start having second thoughts. Their journey from an observer to an active agent is fairly fast, but the outcome isn’t entirely what they expected.

Jebi is an interesting character. They don’t identify as a man or a woman but as not gendered. No attention is drawn to this, apart from the pronoun ‘they’ with which Jebi is referred to. There are other people like Jebi and people recognise them for what they are without them having to ever mention it. It doesn’t cause them any grief, nor is it something they have to think about. The author doesn’t tease readers with hints of what they may have started as and there is no explanation given to why such choice was made—or if it was a choice at all. I would’ve liked to know if this stems from actual Korean tradition or if it’s something the author created for this book, but all in all, it worked well, even if it was an unnecessary detail in the character’s development and how the story played out.

The world-building is great. The traditional Korean culture comes alive in small details that are treated as natural facets of Jebi’s life without unnecessary explanations—though they are explained better than the alien cultures in the Machines of the Empire series, making it easier to understand. The fantasy elements are fairly light and woven into the narrative so seamlessly that the reader doesn’t necessarily even notice them. There are automatons, mechanical humanoids that are given life with magic. There is a huge dragon automaton too, the key to the story, as Jebi is tasked with creating the correct magical sentence structure that would operate it. In the end, Jebi learns this magic so well that they become instrumental in a rebellion against the invader. And the poetic ending brings home for good that we’re not dealing with reality after all.

The pace of the narrative is fairly fast. Since this a stand-alone novel and not the first in trilogy, it takes no time at all before Jebi finds themself trying to rebel against the invaders. The story is easy to follow—again, much unlike the Machines of the Empire—and interesting. There’s drama and tragedy, but good and sweet moments too. All in all, it’s excellent historical fantasy.

 

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Dragon Republic by R. F. Kuang

 

The Dragon Republic is the second book in Kuang’s The Poppy War trilogy. The first book ended with such a bang that it was difficult to see how the second could possibly continue from there, and in part, it didn’t quite pick up with the intensity of the first.

The war against the Federation is over, thanks to Rin. Without it, she and her group of shamans are adrift. Her opium addiction doesn’t help, but she is haunted by her actions in the war and can’t function without it. Things pick up when the Dragon Warlord gives them a purpose: kill the Empress and join his quest to replace the empire with a republic. But the Empress is a powerful shaman, so the assassination doesn’t go as planned and Rin ends up having her abilities bound.

The first half of the book is an endless military campaign where Rin is once again a regular soldier, and despite the constant action, it gets rather boring. It isn’t until at the latter half of the book that the story becomes more interesting, and the pace improves. Rin gets access to her powers, but only with the help of her oldest friend from the military academy, to whom she is now bound. Together they win the war against the Empress, only to find out that it wasn’t the war they should have been fighting.

For this second book, Kuang broadens the world the people inhabit (ancient China) by adding a western force that is very obviously Christian Europe. They come with airships and firearms, and with promises of military aid if the primitive people of the East show they are capable of progress. They preach the word of one true god and are intend on purging the heresy of shamanism. That means endless tests done to Rin to figure out her abilities, and if that fails, killing her and her kind. And, of course, in the end, their promises prove false: they are there to colonise, not to help. Rin discovers this too late.

Rin isn’t a very intelligent character when it comes to deciphering the motivations of people around her. She’s constantly looking for stronger persons to rely on whom she could respect and who would give their approval to her. I think it stems from her being an orphan, as she tends to latch onto father-figures. This leads her to place her trust on anyone who is willing to lead her. And time and again, she is let down by these people.

Because of her need for approval and a father-figure, Rin remains a surprisingly immature character despite all the horrors of war she has witnessed and inflicted. She doesn't really create romantic feelings for the many men around her, even if she occasionally mistakes her feelings for it. She's twenty and hasn't even been kissed, so the men don't see her romantically either. Her friendships don't really flourish. She manages to anger or alienate most of her friends in turn, though some of them do come back too. At least the constant change in friends and allies keep things interesting.

At the end of the book Rin finally comes to a conclusion that she is the strongest person there is and the only one worth relying on. Hopefully she’ll stop seeking for validation from the wrong people in the last book. Likely though, it will lead her to use her powers in more destructive manner than before. And another war is inevitable. The setting for the last book is perfect.

Book 2/65

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

The first book I read this year is The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang, the first book in The Poppy War Trilogy. It’s a great fantasy debut set in a culture that greatly resembles ancient China, with an enemy empire across the sea on a bow shaped island that is obviously Japan.

The premise seems like a run-of-the-mill chosen-one story: an orphan is accepted to a prestigious military academy where she excels against the odds, studies arts no one else does, and discovers she has powers unlike anyone else, so that when a war breaks out, she has the ability to save the nation.

However, the Chinese culture brings a twist to the story. Rin, the heroine, works hard to be accepted to the military school (as opposed to being accepted on a whim/by command of king etc.), works hard to impress her masters, shows respect to her elders, and when her master tells her she cannot use the power of gods, she obeys. When the war breaks out, she is sent to help a besieged town, where she is miserable and frightened, and unable to use her powers because she is afraid of the consequences. Until the moment she isn’t.

During the course of the book, Rin discovers her heritage as a member of people annihilated in the previous Poppy War. Only one other person has survived and he is driven by rage and need for vengeance. She moulds herself after him, with grim consequences. At the climax of the story, she makes a choice out of rage. Unlike in western fantasy, where the hero saves the day in a morally sustainable fashion, Rin chooses differently. When she tries to reason with herself to ease her guilt, she comes to a conclusion that there are no chosen ones; only the choices we make ourselves. The book ends at the point where she has to come to terms with her actions.

Rin is a complex character who struggles with anger issues and insecurity, her low background among the offspring of warlords, and her need for power and revenge. Drugs (opium mostly) play a heavy role in her ability to communicate with gods, which in turn leads to addiction. Side characters are similarly torn by many issues, especially the addiction, which makes them difficult to root for.

The narrative style is slightly distancing, so apart from Rin, I didn’t form a deep connection with other characters. The plot progresses in a steady pace, with no slag (two years in the school is covered in a couple of chapters), and the world comes to life effortlessly with no unnecessary exposition. The point of view is strictly Rin’s, with one exception to show readers who is the true enemy, so that it doesn’t feel like it comes out of the blue when Rin learns of it. The Poppy War was an easy and compelling read that rose far above its premise. And for once, I have no idea how the second book in the trilogy will turn out to be.

Book 1/65

By Fire Above by Robyn Bennis: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

By Fire Above by Robyn Bennis

Last week, I reviewed the first Signal Airship book, The Guns Above, which I absolutely loved. The second book, By Fire Above, begins right where the first book ends, from the very same scene even. The last battle has left Mistral badly damaged and in need of urgent repairs. But the war has been brutal and spare parts aren’t easily available. There’s no fast return for Mistral and her crew to the war, much to Captain Josette Dupre’s chagrin.

Mistral is sent to the capital of the kingdom for the winter, both for repairs and to rouse the interest of the people for the continuous and distant war. For the first half of the book, the story slows down considerably from the constant action of the first book. The most exciting event is a bad storm, which damages Mistral again and badly injures Bernat. Josette and Bernat end up spending the winter at the King’s court, the latter trying to guide the first through the minefield that is the court politics. His task would be easier, though, if his older brother Roland wasn’t trying to court Josette at the same time. She’s not uninterested, but as she is practically unable to express finer emotions, the courtship is pretty one-sided.

In the end, Josette gets what she wants: an order to go and liberate her home town Durum from the Vin occupation. However, as she manages to aggravate the aristocrats in the process, the price is going out with a barely repaired ship and no proper flying gas. Bernat gets what he wants too, sort of: Roland is left behind, and he has a chance to free Josette’s mother Elise, with whom he has fallen in love, much to Josette’s annoyance.

The second half of the book is constant action, but there are no air battles like in the first book. Instead, Josette and Bernat sneak into Durum to rouse the townspeople to rebel against the occupying force. It’s not easy, as they are no proper soldiers and barely any weapons. Josette, resourceful as ever, devices a plan that works perfectly up until everything goes wrong, starting with Mistral being a no-show as an air support. She and Bernat almost get killed several times during the brutal battle, which, like in the first book, spares no one and is described fairly vividly.

On Mistral, we follow Ensign Kemper from the first book. She’s having trouble with the new first officer left in charge of Mistral in Josette’s absence, because he’s both incompetent and incapable of working with a woman. He takes Mistral on an airship hunt against Josette’s orders, inciting a mutiny on board, which puts Kemper in a difficult position that has no easy solutions. She turned out to be an interesting character and I hope we’ll see more of her in coming books.

All in all, the second book was very different from the first. Whereas the first was all about air battles and technical manoeuvres, the second was more about the characters, their emotions and backstories. Josette especially was put through the wringer with her mother. However, she remained a fairly unemotional character, so it was left to Bernat to express all the emotions we don’t get from Josette. Of the two, the still-foppish aristocrat is by far the more emotional. It’s therefore a bit of a puzzle why he sees himself as a black-hearted monster—and why Josette agrees with him.

The friendship between the two doesn’t really evolve during the book. They’ve reached a point where they understand each other perfectly, faults and all. They continue to work well together, though the book saw Bernat manage some action on his own too, without Josette constantly saving him. They express their understanding of each other’s characters at the end of the book with their customary snark that gave the reader to understand that they know they’ve become each other’s most important persons. I really hope there’s going to be more books, because it would be shame not to follow the pair to new adventures.

The second book was slightly less exciting than the first, hence only four stars—though it could be because it didn’t blow my mind like the first. But while the first half was a bit slow, the second half more than made up for it. The writing style was excellent, sparse and to the point, and kept the story going even when nothing much seemed to happen. I’m truly looking forward to reading more Signal Airship books.