Reviews – Page 7 – Marked for Plot

Breath of the Dragon

I was a little hesitant when I heard Fonda Lee announced she was writing a book with Bruce Lee’s daughter. In part, I’ve put Jade City on a bit of a pedestal, which is always a dangerous proposition. However, I tend to be leery when children pick up the work of their parents (Lord of the Rings, Dune, etc), and this book was advertised as an homage of Bruce, as is most (but not all) of Shannon’s books. I’ll admit this isn’t necessarily rooted in anything particularly logical, and some people do it better than others.

Early reviews were that it was a fun, mindless, YA martial arts story that was a pleasant read. Thus, I picked it up on vacation and shelved it for when I needed something to read without putting too much energy into a book. Cue the week I go on 4 field trips in 6 schooldays, supervise 80 kids making pancakes, and generally don’t get any breaks to do the administrative parts of the teaching job that never end. This book met my expectations, meaning I don’t regret reading it, and probably won’t grab the sequel when it comes out.

Read if Looking For: Fight scenes, tournament arcs, over the top villains, tropes on tropes on tropes

Avoid if Looking For: depth in any aspect of the story

Price of a Thousand Blessings

Price of a Thousand Blessings was one of my most anticipated books coming out this year. Fantasy with a focus of the fantastic, a gay lead who isn’t totally consumed by a romance plotline, and an appealing cover. It didn’t quite hit the heights I was hoping for, but I’ve already purchased the sequel, and this is exactly the type of story I wish traditional publishing were willing to pick up more often.

Read if Looking For: a serious take at a magitech world, reincarnation elements, epic(ish) fantasy with a m/m subplot, secret police pulling the strings

Avoid if You Dislike: slow pacing, characters in denial about their crushes, obvious twists that protagonists refuse to see

The Raven Scholar

Much like Will of the Many last year, The Raven Scholar has taken my little corner of the internet by storm. It’s a mystery, but not a mystery. A tournament arc, but for adults not teenagers. It’s got a scholar main character, but feels as ambitious as epic fantasy! The hype is real, and I’m seeing a lot of people rave about this as their book of the year.

I’m a little bit more pessimistic than most. It’s a good book, and I absolutely intend to pursue the sequels. However, I think there are more issues than a typical review is ready to admit. If you’re willing to commit to the premise and enjoy the ride, I think it’s absolutely worth a read. If you like internal consistency, this book may get under your skin.

Read if Looking For: readable prose, sassy ravens, tournament(ish) arcs, mystery(ish) plots, political maneuvering to set up for an epic fantasy trilogy, tropes executed in fun ways

Avoid if You Dislike: the nagging voice in the back of your head reminding you that the explanations for badass twists don’t make sense if you think very hard about what’s happening, a protagonist whom everyone hates for no discernable reason

The Vessel’s Blood

I was asked to read this book by the author. I did not receive any payment for this review, and the book was purchased with my own money. My review is my honest opinion about the book.

Compared to many readers, my taste in books can verge on the unknown. For others, my reviews are remarkably mainstream. I can say with certainty though, that this is the least-reviewed book I’ve ever read (with the sole exception of a book of poetry retelling the story of Cronus written by a friend). It also happened to have a rather intriguing premise: what would the story of a man whose destiny is to turn into a god, their own soul consumed, when everything goes wrong? Throw in a pair of gay protagonists who don’t immediately fall in love, and it should be right up my alley. In general, I loved the ideas behind this book, but have some large reservations about the writing craft elements that didn’t work for me. Thankfully, craft can be workshopped.

Read if Looking For: non-romantic gay epic fantasy, spoiled brats acting like soiled brats, books that focus on scenework over narration, expansive worldbuilding

Avoid if Looking For: books tackling existential questions, romantasy, breakneck prose

Alien Clay

For someone who reads as much as I do, the fact that I’ve gotten so far through life without reading a single Tchaikovsky novel is astounding. I blame my father in part: he stole Children of Time from me while visiting and never returned it. Alien Clay arrived as part of my never ending processional of Libby Audiobook holds, most of which get shunted back another few months until I have time for it. And I see why Tchaikovsky is so popular. I understand why it was nominated for a Hugo, and why it didn’t win. I liked it, but didn’t love it, and suspect that if I read Tchaikovsky he’ll be a reliably good author when I need a solid page-turner to get me off a reading slump.

Read if Looking For: delightful alien ecology, characters with realistic skillsets, hopeless situations, readable prose

Avoid if Looking For: something new to say about fighting hegemony and fascism, books without bloat

The Rage of Dragons

Recently, my epic fantasy books have been political and social in nature. They’re wonderful, but I’ve been itching for the style of Epic Fantasy featuring big armies and world-ending cataclysms. The Rage of Dragons lived up to that promise admirably. It’s more action-heavy than a traditional epic fantasy, with less emphasis on worldbuilding than is traditional. It lived up to the hype, and while I’m not planning to rush into a sequel, its a series that’s on my list to return to sometime in the next few years.

Read if Looking For: lots of fight scenes, quick pacing, the power of friendship & hard work, African-inspired fantasy settings

Avoid if Looking For: chosen one protagonists, unproblematic romance subplots, dragons as a major part of the story (probably more in sequels though)

Blood over Bright Haven

As one of the few self-published fantasy books to get picked up for a traditionally published reprint, I had high expectations for Blood Over Bright Haven. Its Dark Academia and anti-capitalist themes made me even more excited. It met most of my expectations, and despite wishing it were more avant-garde, I’m happy that I finally got around to this book! Definitely pushes Wang’s other work up on my list. This is a great option for anyone looking to dip their toes into the more political side of genre fiction, as it’s easy to read into parallels with our world. For those already experienced in that type of writing, this won’t blow your mind, but it’s an enjoyable (if standard) entry in that subgenre.

Read if Looking For: stories about racism and sexism, dark academia, conversations about ethics, light romance elements, engaging narrative voice

Avoid if Looking For: unknowable magic, unproblematic characters, books without sexual assault, surprising twists

Two who Live On (Branches of Past and Future #2)

Sequel review here! If you want to learn more about a fun, but perhaps not terribly deep, urban fantasy about a teacher of magic at a high school, see my review of Three Meant to Be. I was a little unsure of where I sat with Book 1. I enjoyed it certainly, but found it wasn’t quite giving me the depth or grittiness I was looking for in an adult magic school story, nor the sense of mystery from magic schools of my childhood, nor even the epic fight scenes of progression fantasy schools. About 50 pages into this book though, I shifted my brain fully into popcorn romance urban fantasy mode, and it really clicked. This series isn’t cracking my all time favorites, but I’m having a really wonderful time.

Read if Looking for: Magic School Teacher protagonist, escapist fantasy, bad puns, romance/fantasy elements balanced well

Avoid if Looking for: deep themes, unpredictable twists, realistic portrayals of teaching

The Jasmine Throne

The Burning Kingdom’s Saga is a great example of what modern Epic Fantasy looks like, and it’s been on my to-read list for several years. There’s quite a few ambitious sapphic fantasy series that have made waves in the 2020s, and this is a great addition to that list. I didn’t love everything about The Jasmine Throne, and am very excited to see where the series heads.

Read if Looking for: creepy plant gods, worldbuilding set up to explore sexism and racism, varied depictions of what female strength can look like, characters making hard (and not always ethical) choices

Avoid if Looking for: epic fight scenes, deep political scheming, instalove romance

Hungerstone

Queerness and vampirism go hand in hand throughout literature. While I’m not well versed in the classics, The Book Eaters and Heart of Stone both showcased how vampire stories can be gripping in both romantic and horror spheres. Hungerstone is essentially a take on Carmilla (which I haven’t read), with a special focus on the main character’s relationship with her own agency. I think fans of gothic horror will love it, and is a good option as a starter to the genre if you like stories with a more internal focus (whereas something like Mexican Gothic or A Botanical Daughter would be better starting points for more plot focused stories). However, its much less vampire-forward than I would have expected.

Read if You Like: melancholy, living in a character’s head, depictions of abusive relationships and the effects of patriarchal structures

Avoid if Looking For: plot focused stories, lead characters who drive the story, a heavy focus on classic elements of vampire stories