Review of The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K. S. Villoso
Dec
16
2021
The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng
by K. S. Villoso
640pp (Trade Paperback)
My Rating: 10/10
Amazon Rating: 4.6/5
LibraryThing Rating: 4.5/5
Goodreads Rating: 4.44/5
 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Note: Since I hope that this series will be discovered by more readers who will also appreciate it, I did my best to keep this review spoiler-free for all three books in the series.

The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng concludes K. S. Villoso’s Chronicles of the Bitch Queen trilogy (sometimes called Chronicles of the Wolf Queen). It’s a stunning finale, simultaneously gripping with its many twists and turns and thoughtful in continuing the series’ examination of themes like identity, legacy, and power and privilege.

Now that I’ve read all three books, I even more firmly believe what I wrote in my review of the previous volume: this series is complex, character-driven epic fantasy at its very best. I absolutely loved it.

This trilogy is one big overarching story that grows vastly more complicated in each book with the final installment masterfully pulling everything together. The Wolf of Oren-Yaro, the smallest-scale of the three novels, introduces Queen Talyien (or Tali), an infamous warlord’s sole surviving heir. Shortly after her birth, she was betrothed to the son of the woman her father fought against as a peace agreement between the two foes, and she and her husband were to rule their nation together one day. But their marriage didn’t exactly go well, and the first line of Tali’s narration begins: “They called me the Bitch Queen, the she-wolf, because I murdered a man and exiled my king the night before they crowned me.”

The main events of Tali’s tale start five years later when she travels across the sea to meet with her estranged husband, hoping to bring him home to their son. Their reunion goes about as well as the aforementioned murder/exile incident—their dinner is filled with barbed comments and accusations about whose father started a war and whose uncle released a mad dragon into their land, and then assassins attacked—and Tali is separated from the rest of her party in all the chaos. Much of this book focuses on her struggles to survive in an unfamiliar country while reflecting on her past, particularly her upbringing as the future Dragonlord and her relationship with her husband. As it nears the end, it also introduces more of the epic and fantastic, and Tali learns new information about her father that sets her on the path to reevaluating her entire life, shattering her view of her world and her role in it—and her very identity.

The following novel, The Ikessar Falcon, ramps up the complexity as it delves more into the characters and world, both the fantasy aspects like magic and dragons and the political aspects like the various warlords and factions wielding power. The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng continues in this vein, taking some interesting turns and dropping some large revelations as Tali learns more of the truth about her father—who remains a major player, despite the fact that he’s been dead and gone for 16 years. Warlord Yeshin was such a force that he still has schemes coming to fruition, and this last novel shows the rather impressive extent of his influence and planning.

The way this new knowledge unfolds is skillfully executed, as is this entire trilogy. Each novel builds on the last with the final installment showing a clearer picture of the characters and how things came to be as they are. The mistakes that people like Tali’s father and her husband Rayyel’s mother made and passed down to their children is a tragedy, and though it’s hopeful to see a generation of people who want to break the cycle they began, it’s also devastating to realize what could have been. If Tali and Rayyel had just managed to open up to each other from the start (a situation made more difficult by their own parents’ history and manipulations), they could have been a great pair. Their different personalities would have complemented each other in many ways, especially since they did share common values like a sense of duty and both proved to be people capable of growth and change.

Everything is wonderfully complicated, from political conflicts to personal relationships to the characters themselves. The last book especially tackles the various individuals with nuance. People sometimes have different outlooks on the other characters, but all their views have the ring of truth. Sometimes that’s because multiple things can be true depending on context or perspective, sometimes that’s because the characters are fleshed out as people who were at different places at different points in their lives, sometimes that’s because these are characters capable of both good and bad even if they lean further toward one extreme or the other—and sometimes it’s a combination of factors, because these characters do live and breathe.

Each seems like an individual by the end, with most seeming far more developed than mere words on a page. The only character who is outright awful was always cruel but also in part made into a villain since he was an emperor’s beloved son and therefore did not face consequences for his actions. Although he certainly was not likable or sympathetic, it was also understandable how he came to be the way he was and why he had certain emotional hang-ups.

K. S. Villoso developed her characters so well that I even came to like Rayyel, who became my favorite character after Tali by the end of the series. Like her, he has changed and matured a lot since the early days of their marriage, and I thought he was the best developed character other than her and really enjoyed reading their scenes together in the last book. Plus, the more that was revealed about his background, the worse I felt for him. Both Tali’s father and his mother used their children as pawns in their conflict, but Tali at least seems to have some affectionate memories of her father amidst the cacophony of mixed emotions she feels about the man who raised her. However, Rayyel has no illusions that his mother ever cared one whit for him as an actual person rather than as a means to an end.

And Rayyel’s infamous mother actually makes some appearances in this book, showing the ruthlessness that made her such a strong opponent for Tali’s father. I particularly appreciated that this book had more focus on some of the women who had been mentioned in the first two novels, including but not limited to Rayyel’s mother, and how they faced their world. Some were hardened and rebellious, some just tried to survive, but each had her own sort of steel and was fascinating in her own way.

But the real highlight is Tali herself—her distinctly vivid voice that grabbed me from the first sentence, her amazing growth between the first and third books, and the depth that made her seem real in a way that’s rare for fictional characters. Her messiness and contradictions fit together in a way that makes sense for this specific person, and even when she made decisions I found intensely frustrating, I felt they were so very Tali.

She has changed a lot by the end of the third book, but her development is natural and earned as it stems from her experiences and the people around her—and because of who she is. In the final installment, I was especially struck by her courage, a bravery that goes beyond the ease with which she jumps into fighting monsters and dragons. These books are written as her chronicles, narrated by her personally, and they show someone who is grappling with a lot—not just the upheaval in her land, but her roles as a queen, a mother, her father’s daughter. So much of her identity came from her father’s vision of who she was and would be, and as she learns more, she becomes more self-aware and evaluates who she wants to be, deciding to try to do better instead of ignoring the problems around her. Her story shows all sides of herself, her best and her worst, someone human and vulnerable who doesn’t always have the right answers—and she unflinchingly faces herself, acknowledging her imperfections and vulnerabilities as she lays them bare on the page, and keeps striving.

This review has grown into a lot of words, but it still does not convey the depth of Tali and her story, which are far too complex to condense into any semblance of simple terms. It’s as Tali mused on page 270:

 

“Another fallacy of history books, this: the idea that who we are can be reduced to a few words. He was a hero. She was a villain. He was a good man. She was a whore. As if we don’t, at the very least, change a little with every shift of the wind, molding ourselves to what was done to us.”

These books were nearly impossible to put down, they made me want to know more of the world and its mysteries, they delighted me with banter between characters, they made me pause to consider Tali’s reflections on humanity and the world around her, they ripped my heart out. They were everything I want from an epic fantasy series, and I think they’re among the very best of the genre—they are certainly now among my own favorites.

My Rating: 10/10

Where I got my reading copy: Finished copy from the publisher.

Read an Excerpt from The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng

Reviews of Other Books in The Chronicles of the Bitch Queen:

  1. The Wolf of Oren-Yaro
  2. The Ikessar Falcon

Read K. S. Villoso’s Women in SF&F Month Essay on Queen Talyien

The Leaning Pile of Books
Dec
12
2021

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. Book images are affiliate links to Bookshop, and I earn from qualifying purchases.

A couple of books I preordered and am very excited to read arrived last week!

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong Box Set

These Violent Delights Duet by Chloe Gong

This lovely hardcover box set contains the New York Times bestselling novels These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends. This duet was just released last week, following the second book’s publication last month.

The publisher’s website has excerpts from both books in this set:

This series is complete, but Chloe Gong is also writing a spinoff duology set during the 1930s. The first of these books, Foul Lady Fortune, is scheduled for release in fall 2022.

And if you missed it in April, Chloe Gong also wrote a Women in SF&F Month guest post about “Mary Sues” in YA SFF, “The Mary Sue Club Is Still Taking Applicants.”

 

A hardcover boxed set of Chloe Gong’s New York Times bestselling These Violent Delights and its sequel, Our Violent Ends—the lush fantasy duology reimagining Romeo and Juliet in 1920s Shanghai.

The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery.

A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal.

But something is brewing in the shadows, and as the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule.

This heart-stopping hardcover boxed set includes:
These Violent Delights
Our Violent Ends

The Leaning Pile of Books
Nov
21
2021

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. Book covers are affiliate links to Bookshop, and I earn from qualifying purchases.

There’s one new ARC to highlight this week, and I’m very excited about this one—it sounds fantastic!

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye - Book Cover

Blood Scion (Blood Scion #1) by Deborah Falaye

This YA epic fantasy debut novel is scheduled for release on March 8, 2022 (hardcover, ebook, audiobook).

Deborah Falaye discussed her inspirations for Blood Scion in a Q&A accompanying the cover reveal at Frolic:

Blood Scion began as a celebration of my Yoruba culture. Growing up in Nigeria, I was constantly surrounded by traditions and folklore—from the Yoruba language I woke up to every morning, to the Orisha stories my grandmother told at night. So naturally, when I started writing Blood Scion in 2012, I knew immediately I wanted to ground it in that same history and mythology. I asked myself what would happen if a young girl was forced to grow up with little knowledge of her culture except for this magic she inherited from the gods? How would that shape her identity? These sparked the first idea for Blood Scion, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the story became fully formed.

She also shared how her first novel was further shaped by reading about the 276 Nigerian girls whose abduction led to the #BringBackOurGirls campaign and child soldiers, her thoughts on the cover art, and more about what to expect from this story in the interview.

 

“Equal parts soaring fantasy, heart-pounding action, and bloody social commentary, Blood Scion is a triumph of a book.” —Roseanne A. Brown, New York Times bestselling author of A Song of Wraiths and Ruin

This is what they deserve.

They wanted me to be a monster.

I will be the worst monster they ever created.

Fifteen-year-old Sloane can incinerate an enemy at will—she is a Scion, a descendant of the ancient Orisha gods.

Under the Lucis’ brutal rule, her identity means her death if her powers are discovered. But when she is forcibly conscripted into the Lucis army on her fifteenth birthday, Sloane sees a new opportunity: to overcome the bloody challenges of Lucis training, and destroy them from within.

Following one girl’s journey of magic, injustice, power, and revenge, Deborah Falaye’s debut novel, inspired by Yoruba-Nigerian mythology, is a magnetic combination of Children of Blood and Bone and An Ember in the Ashes.

The Leaning Pile of Books
Nov
14
2021

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. Book covers and some titles are affiliate links to Bookshop, and I earn from qualifying purchases.

Since dealing with moving, I have been behind on these features (and everything else), but one ARC showed up a couple of weeks ago, and I purchased three more books:

All of these were covered in 30 Anticipated 2021 Speculative Fiction Releases if you’re looking for more information on them in one place.

In case you missed it, a new review was also posted last week:

On to the new ARC, which sounds amazing!

Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James - Book Cover

Moon Witch, Spider King (The Dark Star Trilogy #2) by Marlon James

Moon Witch, Spider King will be released on February 15 (hardcover, ebook, and audiobook; large print paperback scheduled for March 15).

The Dark Star trilogy is not a linear series, and each novel explores the same story from a different perspective with the second book focusing on the titular Moon Witch. Marlon James discussed why he did this in a fantastic interview with io9:

In several traditional African and diaspora stories, there is no authentic version, no director’s cut, no one truth to rule them all, which is very much a western thing to do, but also a reductive thing to do.

Then there is this—in a lot of African folk tales, the trickster is the one telling you the story, or it’s about him, which ties you to his perspective, his world view, even his biases and prejudices. Sometimes you are told different versions of the same story each night. The burden of truth is not on the tale itself, but in what you discern truth to be. I’ve always been interested in how two people seeing the same thing can come to very different conclusions— I can walk into a room and see somebody gobbling a bag of chips and think he’s starving, while you’ll think he’s greedy. It’s also pretty topical of the moment we’re in—even though I didn’t set out to be—where people really do think truth is a choice, and that choice is up for grabs. So in that spirit, I will never tell the reader which character or story to believe. I’m leaving the burden of truth up to the reader, so it will be interesting when this trilogy is done, seeing whose story they count as true.

He also mentioned that it’s not necessary to read the first published book before the second because of this structure. However, if you want to check out the book that’s already out, the publisher’s website has an excerpt from Black Leopard, Red Wolf—which was a New York Times bestseller, an LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize winner, and a National Book Award finalist.

 

From Marlon James, author of the bestselling National Book Award finalist Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the second book in the Dark Star trilogy, his African Game of Thrones.

In Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Sogolon the Moon Witch proved a worthy adversary to Tracker as they clashed across a mythical African landscape in search of a mysterious boy who disappeared. In Moon Witch, Spider King, Sogolon takes center stage and gives her own account of what happened to the boy, and how she plotted and fought, triumphed and failed as she looked for him. It’s also the story of a century-long feud—seen through the eyes of a 177-year-old witch—that Sogolon had with the Aesi, chancellor to the king. It is said that Aesi works so closely with the king that together they are like the eight limbs of one spider. Aesi’s power is considerable—and deadly. It takes brains and courage to challenge him, which Sogolon does for reasons of her own.

Both a brilliant narrative device—seeing the story told in Black Leopard, Red Wolf from the perspective of an adversary and a woman—as well as a fascinating battle between different versions of empire, Moon Witch, Spider King delves into Sogolon’s world as she fights to tell her own story. Part adventure tale, part chronicle of an indomitable woman who bows to no man, it is a fascinating novel that explores power, personality, and the places where they overlap.

Review of Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani
Nov
12
2021
Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales
by Soman Chainani
336pp (Hardcover)
My Rating: 6/10
Amazon Rating: 4.3/5
LibraryThing Rating: 3/5
Goodreads Rating: 3.93/5
 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Beasts and Beauty: Dangerous Tales is a collection of twelve reimagined fairy tales written by New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani and illustrated by Julia Iredale. As stated in an interview, the author wanted these stories resonate with both younger readers and adults, and it’s published as being for ages 10+ in the US and adult readers in the UK.

This book contains the following stories:

  • Red Riding Hood
  • Snow White
  • Sleeping Beauty
  • Rapunzel
  • Jack and the Beanstalk
  • Hansel and Gretel
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Bluebeard
  • Cinderella
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Rumpelstiltskin
  • Peter Pan

I read Beasts and Beauty because I love fairy tales and their retellings—and although I know I shouldn’t judge books by such things, also because of the gorgeous cover by illustrator Julia Iredale. But as fitting as that picture is for Little Red Riding Hood’s story, the book as a whole did not leave as much of an impression on me as its jacket design. That is to say, it was perfectly readable with aspects I appreciated, but few of these twelve stories remained memorable after turning the final page.

Though it definitely enhanced the reading experience, I felt similarly about the interior art. There were certainly images I liked and many of them added character to the stories (that disdain and skepticism emanating from Rapunzel when the prince tries to convince her she’d enjoy being his wife!). However, none of the art struck the same beautifully haunting chord for me as the cover or made me want to flip through the pages to revisit it later.

At first, I thought these retellings didn’t especially stand out to me because I’ve read a lot of subverted fairy tales. That could be part of it, but some of these stories are different enough that I no longer believe that’s the main reason. I now think it’s more likely due to my preference for poetic prose and darkly atmospheric tales. Although these stories do contain disturbing elements just like the stories they stem from, they didn’t seem all that dark to me given the straightforward prose and storytelling style that didn’t dwell on the horrific. (Plus, most of these tales do have some sort of happy ending that makes them seem less grim than they may have otherwise.)

These stories all have something in common with the original premise, but just how much they diverge from that varies. The bones of “Rumpelstiltskin” are not changed much at all: it’s still basically the same story with a maiden desperate to discover the name of the one who spins straw into gold for her, but some of the details are different. “Sleeping Beauty” is hardly recognizable as that particular story: it tells of a prince who discovers something has been feasting on his blood in the middle of the night and falls for another boy instead of the princess, and it hardly has anything in common with its namesake although it is reminiscent of fairy tales in general.

The other stories do not hew as closely to the usual as the former but keep more of the standard elements than the latter. My favorites all struck a balance between familiarity and newness, and there were three I found particularly notable: “Hansel and Gretel,” “Cinderella,” and “Beauty and the Beast.” (“Red Riding Hood” also stood out to me as one of the better stories and probably would have been one of my favorites as well if I hadn’t already read a couple of similar stories.)

In “Hansel and Gretel,” the children’s mother is a gifted baker of rosewater ladoos and other delicious sweets—but when she becomes so successful that people only want to purchase her baked goods, the people accuse her of witchcraft, poke out her eyes, and send her into the forest. Though it includes some of what’s expected, such as having a trail of breadcrumbs and baking someone alive, it’s a very different story overall.

“Cinderella” is a cute story about friendship focusing on the titular character and her mouse companion, who was human until the prince’s betrothed transformed her for the crime of catching the eye of her affianced. Though the mouse was often irritated by Cinderella’s long-suffering attitude and refusal to stand up to her stepmother and stepsisters, she discovered her to be “the only girl in Spain who enjoyed the company of rodents” and their lifelong relationship grew from there.

In “Beauty and the Beast,” the Beast was not cursed for his cruelty but for rejecting a fairy’s marriage proposal, and Beauty does not agree to the Beast’s arrangement because she’s a good, virtuous daughter (although Lieu Wei, her father, believes that to be exactly the case). She’s willing to live with the Beast because she rather likes the idea of an isolated castle with a library and garden—and killing that pesky Beast so she can have it all to herself. This is one of the two stories with a sad ending, but it has a hint of sweet mixed in with the bitter and some loveliness related to sharing stories.

Though those were the main ones that stood out to me, many of the others challenged common tropes and explored intriguing questions. What if Snow White were the daughter of a Black woman, spurned by her husband once he saw his kingdom’s reaction to his new queen? What if the sea witch told the mermaid just how horrifying it was to drastically change herself for a man she’d never even spoken to before? What if Wendy fell in love with a pirate as she grew older and Peter Pan became increasingly bored with her? What if some princesses are also witches, and what if the heroine doesn’t want to marry the first handsome prince to enter the picture? (Curiously, one trope that wasn’t subverted is that of the wicked stepmother: “Snow White,” “Cinderella,” and “Hansel and Gretel” all have one.)

Beasts and Beauty is a decent book overall that does some interesting things in reimagining fairy tales, and I was able to enjoy and appreciate each story to some degree. However, few of the stories were especially memorable to me, and I didn’t find myself pondering most of them or wishing there were more of these tales to read when I reached the end.

My Rating: 6/10

Where I got my reading copy: Finished copy from a publicist.

Read an Excerpt or Listen to an Audio Sample from Beasts and Beauty

The Leaning Pile of Books
Oct
17
2021

The Leaning Pile of Books is a feature in which I highlight books I got over the last week that sound like they may be interesting—old or new, bought or received in the mail for review consideration. Since I hope you will find new books you’re interested in reading in these posts, I try to be as informative as possible. If I can find them, links to excerpts, author’s websites, and places where you can find more information on the book are included, along with series information and the publisher’s book description. Book covers are affiliate links to Bookshop, and I earn from qualifying purchases.

This is a bit late due to moving and related chaos (I still haven’t found all of the parts for my coffeemaker and can’t make coffee), but one book that I’m very excited about showed up shortly before the move.

The Quicksilver Court by Melissa Caruso - Book Cover

The Quicksilver Court (Rooks and Ruin #2) by Melissa Caruso

The Quicksilver Court, the second book in the Rooks and Ruin trilogy, was just released last week (trade paperback, ebook).

The Obsidian Tower, the first book in this series, was one of my favorite books of 2020 with entertaining banter, family drama galore, and mysteries surrounding the titular tower and the main character’s magic—which is completely unlike the rest of her family’s life-sustaining magic, killing all that she touches. I had the best time reading it and am looking forward to continuing the story.

Rooks and Ruin is set about 150 years after events in Melissa Caruso’s other excellent trilogy, Swords and Fire (The Tethered Mage, The Defiant Heir, The Unbound Empire).

 

Loyalties are tested and nations clash in the second novel of a fresh epic fantasy series bursting with adventure, intrigue, ambition, and deadly magic.

Ryxander, the Warden of Gloamingard, has failed. Unsealed by her blood, the Door hidden within the black tower has opened. Now, for the first time since the age of the Graces, demons walk the world.

As tensions grow between nations, all eyes—and daggers—are set on Morgrain, which has fallen under the Demon of Discord’s control. When an artifact with the power to wipe out all life in a domain is stolen, Ryx will do whatever it takes to save her home from destruction. But success may demand a larger sacrifice from Ryx than she could have imagined.