TW: violence, gore, death, blood magic, necromancy, assassinations, self-harm, swearing
The Red Palace meets Sabriel set in an alt-historical East Asian fantasy where Zilan, a girl who lives with her relatives in an impoverished part of southern China, makes a living by bringing people back from the dead to leave the life she has for a better one as a royal alchemist.
This story is very dark (darker than The Red Palace, and that one's a murder mystery!), with death and murder, corpses, and necromantic alchemy, to the point that it seemed like it was for an older audience (the author says in the acknowledgments page that it was supposed to be an adult fantasy like The Poppy War, but she changed it to YA because there's a prince the MC could hook up with, which is saying something about YA). I would've liked it if this book was adult, without the need for ticking YA boxes. The romance was unnecessary (could've been more slow-burn and saved for later in the series), and the last half of the book was rushed to hint at the next book (some readers will be upset with the ending). I would've preferred to have some of the characters remain dead because it was underwhelming despite the unique magic system and how creating life would also create something evil.
Took off stars for swearing as it didn't fit the fantastical nature of the story, including the modern jargon and English-centered phrasing (e.g., "the coast is clear" when there is no sea), which is my pet peeve in fantasy. Another thing I didn't like is how Zilan kept hammering a feminist mindset, which wouldn't have existed at the time. Also, Uyghurs are Muslim, so they wouldn't be practicing magic unless this form of alchemy isn't magic (but the way it's written in this story is more akin to magic). Just wish this story was written for the Adult category as initially intended rather than YA (or maybe just say it's New Adult?).
I did like the plot twists and how they all seamlessly worked in the story, the world-building, and the many metaphors for death strewn through the story.
If you're not squeamish in the slightest and enjoy East Asian-inspired fantasy or books like The Red Palace and Six Crimson Cranes, then you might like this book. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.
The Red Palace meets Sabriel set in an alt-historical East Asian fantasy where Zilan, a girl who lives with her relatives in an impoverished part of southern China, makes a living by bringing people back from the dead to leave the life she has for a better one as a royal alchemist.
This story is very dark (darker than The Red Palace, and that one's a murder mystery!), with death and murder, corpses, and necromantic alchemy, to the point that it seemed like it was for an older audience (the author says in the acknowledgments page that it was supposed to be an adult fantasy like The Poppy War, but she changed it to YA because there's a prince the MC could hook up with, which is saying something about YA). I would've liked it if this book was adult, without the need for ticking YA boxes. The romance was unnecessary (could've been more slow-burn and saved for later in the series), and the last half of the book was rushed to hint at the next book (some readers will be upset with the ending). I would've preferred to have some of the characters remain dead because it was underwhelming despite the unique magic system and how creating life would also create something evil.
Took off stars for swearing as it didn't fit the fantastical nature of the story, including the modern jargon and English-centered phrasing (e.g., "the coast is clear" when there is no sea), which is my pet peeve in fantasy. Another thing I didn't like is how Zilan kept hammering a feminist mindset, which wouldn't have existed at the time. Also, Uyghurs are Muslim, so they wouldn't be practicing magic unless this form of alchemy isn't magic (but the way it's written in this story is more akin to magic). Just wish this story was written for the Adult category as initially intended rather than YA (or maybe just say it's New Adult?).
I did like the plot twists and how they all seamlessly worked in the story, the world-building, and the many metaphors for death strewn through the story.
If you're not squeamish in the slightest and enjoy East Asian-inspired fantasy or books like The Red Palace and Six Crimson Cranes, then you might like this book. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend it.