Little Dragon

 

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water


Tordotcom
Fiction, Fantasy
Themes: Diversity, Girl Power, Religious Themes, Thieves, Witches
***+

Description

When the handsome-faced bandit walked into the small coffeehouse, one of many nondescript coffeehouses in a nation slowly being crushed by the heavy boot of a foreign Protectorate, trouble was almost inevitable... especially when that bandit intervenes in a rude customer's ill treatment of the waitress. That should've been the beginning and end of it, a brief incident and crossing of paths - until the waitress, fired by the coffeehouse, tracks down the bandit and insists on joining his small crew. They are reluctant, naturally; not only is she a woman, but she has the shaven head of a former nun of the Order of the Pure Moon, and there are rumors about them dabbling in forbidden magics. But Guet Imm is persistent, and the bandits may turn out to be very much in need of her assistance, as their latest scheme is about to go horribly awry.

Review

Set in an Asian-inspired world where outsiders have turned the nation against itself as soldiers target the heart of the culture and bandits, once the heart of the resistance, degenerate into infighting and thuggery, this novella had many ingredients that were intriguing, though for some reason I never quite found they clicked together as they should have. The characters are all scarred to varying degrees by what's happening to their country; Guet Imm was a nun in seclusion for many years before emerging to find the rest of her Order slaughtered, and is still a bit of an innocent in the ways of the wider world, while the bandits - particularly the jaded second-in-command Tet Sang - have given up their own former idealism to some degree; while they are trying in their own way to preserve what they can of their nation's heritage, doing so requires compromises that largely undermine whatever integrity they try to preserve, and more and more it's about the money rather than the honor. Tet Sang hides further secrets that are endangered by the presence of the former nun, which come out as their scheme is revealed and unravels before their eyes. Despite the terrible things that have happened, Guet Imm remains a devout follower of the Lady, insisting that the goddess still protects Her people and Her faithful and punishes their enemies, all evidence to the contrary... claims which might have a grain of truth behind them as events proceed. For some reason, I never really felt I was drawn into the story, kept a little at arm's length from the world and the people, making the resolution feel less cathartic and satisfactory than it should have been.

 

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Sorcerer to the Crown

The Sorcerer to the Crown series, Book 1

Ace
Fiction, Fantasy/Humor
Themes: Alternate Earths, Diversity, Dragons, Faeries, Familiars, Ghosts, Girl Power, Magic Workers, Retro Tales, Urban Tales, Vampires
***+

Description

For centuries, the thaumaturges of England's prestigious Royal Society of Unnatural Philosophers have defended the land against rival sorcerers and unnatural attacks. In recent times, though, the flow of magic from the Fairy realm has slowed to a trickle; no familiar has even passed the border for decades. With the country once more on the brink of war, it will take a truly great Sorcerer to the Crown to keep the Society's weaknesses hidden and answer the government's needs. But, much to the shock and scandal of most of the Society, the staff chose a most unsuitable candidate: dark-skinned young Zacharias Wythe, ward and apprentice of the late Royal Sorcerer Sir Stephen - whom the boy probably killed himself to get the position.
Zacharias never wanted to be the most powerful sorcerer in England. He was much happier taking notes and pursuing magical theory in a quiet study. But when Sir Stephen died, he was obligated to take up the staff - and the staff, once it has chosen a master, does not choose another save on death. The mages of the Society never agreed with Stephen's eccentric ways in teaching magic to a mere African boy, inherent talent meaning nothing beside the color of his skin. It's only a matter of time before the others organize a coup to oust him - but, in the meantime, he has a duty to England and to magic itself, to figure out why the Fairy Queen stopped magic from flowing to England. His efforts to uncover the truth are complicated by a foreign witch, a persistent assassin, and a singularly stubborn, and singularly talented, half-caste young woman, Prunella Gentleman.

Review

This book left me with mixed feelings, as reflected by the rating. On the one hand, I can see why people praise this book. Cho does an excellent job emulating the style of elder-day English novels, the dialog and class divisions and text that both understates and over-embellishes the narrative, particularly when characters dance around that ultimate Taboo of upper-class English culture: personal feelings. There are some very nice ideas and images, and the whole makes for a style both unique and familiar. On the other hand, some of what aggravates me in those elder-day novels was also faithfully replicated, and even magnified for comic effect. The upper class in particular was exceptionally sexist, racist, and xenophobic in those days, wallowing in their own manufactured superiority and refusing to see a reality in which they might be wrong about anything. After a while, it went beyond atmosphere to tooth-grindingly overbearing, especially given characters that tend to be thin caricatures at best; even the leads sometimes feel hollowed out to become mouthpieces for the attitudes of their day... again and again and - yes, in case the reader didn't get it the last ten or fifteen times - yet again. Zacharias and Prunella also lost IQ points at some critical junctures to accommodate the need to reiterate the prejudices of the day and how they were not immune to them, despite being so directly targeted by nature of their very existence. This is why it ultimately took so long to read the book: I kept putting it down and finding myself reluctant to pick it back up.
There are some fun moments and some nice moments and some moments very much worth reading. The world and story could easily support a series, which seems to be what Cho has in mind (though it was a standalone when I bought it.) The whole, unfortunately, just wasn't my cup of cocoa. And perhaps that, right there, is part of why this book didn't click for me: I'm ultimately too American to even like tea.

 

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