Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Fireheart Tiger

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

11 reviews

futurejake's review

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

romie_chat's review

Go to review page

challenging tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

as much as I enjoyed the themes explored in this book (really appreciated the discussion about colonialism), I could not completely connect to Thanh. I simply felt like I didn't know her and did not understand her. I also think one of the relationships evolved too fast to my liking. but that being said, it definitely made me want to pick other works from this author!

Content Warnings

sidofherran's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

this had a promising start, but the development of the themes and premises fell short for me, probably bc of the short novella format. i really liked the vietnamese matriarchal queendom court politics setting, and the main character's tense relationship with her

emotionally abusive controlling mother.

the idea of an

all-women love triangle was also enticing, yet both relationships were not well-developed. i hope that eldris was not meant to be a genuine love interest, as she seemed to not truly love thanh and instead merely feel entitled to her, while thanh seemed to mostly like eldris as eldris was the first person who acted like she had worth and made her feel desired, especially in the context of thanh's mother treating thanh like thanh is worthless. i found myself shocked that thanh agreed to marry a girl she was merely fwbs with for 6 months 8 years ago - that did not look like healthy love to me, and eldris gave me sus vibes.
i was enjoying the beginning of thanh's romance with giang, how they refer to each other with the intimate names "big sis" "lil sis", but it turned out to not be developed enough and their attraction/feelings for each other was sudden. if this book novella longer, it might be an interesting relationship.

the resolution of the political plots also did not make enough sense to me and did not feel satisfatory, which again is another aspect of the novella that suffered due to how short it is.
all in all, i think this had potential and great premise - vietnamese fantasy setting, political/court intrigue, anti colonialism/imperialism theme, exploring the effects of

having an abusive, controlling mother, a lesbian love triangle, a fire elemental that takes the shape of a tiger

- but these were not developed and fell short of the initial premise's promise. if these themes were explored in a full length novel, it would have been more enjoyable.

Content Warnings

tinyjude's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I really liked the writing style, the concept and the world presented, however it felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped, mostly with regards to the romance. I feel like with maybe 50 pages more it would have worked for me better, as the characters and relationships felt too surface-level for me to care. Still, a very enjoyable read of filial obedience and defiance, toxic love, manipulation, political intrigues and emotional strength.

Content Warnings

purplepink951's review against another edition

Go to review page

fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

On twitter one person wrote (and I copy) that "in Vietnamese culture, lil'sis/em is a standard pronoun for a woman who's younger than you and whom you're familiar with. It doesn't mean you see her as a blood sister."

My mistake was that I previously took that relationship as incestuous. Still, my rating doesn't change.

Content Warnings

aconfundityofcrows's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

booksthatburn's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Princess Thanh is trying to reconcile what she wants as the youngest royal child in a small country being pressured by a larger one. She has a strained relationship with her mother, a past romance with one of the royal foreigners, and a strange connection with a girl made of fire. Short and good, this blends interpersonal and political drama as Thanh figures out what she wants and whom she loves.

Content Warnings

memoriast's review

Go to review page

fast-paced

4.75

Content Warnings

bookbrig's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

I love the relationships this author writes. I think I prefer the sci-fi mystery stuff I've read by her, but this was a really satisfying read.

Content Warnings

nmcannon's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

After loving In the Vanishers’ Palace, I pretty much immediately picked up Fireheart Tiger and tucked in.

In magical pre-colonial Vietnam, Thanh is a princess and diplomat haunted. She’s haunted by how her mother the Empress sold her to faraway Ephteria (not-France France) with nary a tear; haunted by how she had to save herself from a great fire that devasted the Ephteria royal palace; and haunted by heartache when parents forcibly split her from crown princess Eldris. Lost and adrift in her mother’s imperial court, Thanh feels she may have finally found her footing when an Ephteria envoy arrives, and she gears up to diplomatically protect her country from these invaders. But any hope is dashed when Eldris arrives with said envoy, and the hauntings from days past burn brighter than ever.

A lot of the reviews mention that the comparison to Howl’s Moving Castle drew them in, and they ultimately were disappointed. I feel like the marketing department goofed once again. Fireheart Tiger is like Howl’s Moving Castle (the Studio Ghibli movie or Diana Wynne Jones’ book) in that it’s a fantasy setting with a fire elemental character and a woman who comes into her power. That’s it. Fireheart Tiger has a love story in it, but it’s not a part of the romance genre. I dunno, it reads more like a sapphic Tortall court intrigue novella than Sophie-and-Howl-Vietnam-AU.

I just…I really liked this story. Thanh is an excellent protagonist in her own right, and in the rights of how different she is from the typical fantasy politics heroine. Polite, thoughtful, and anxious, Thanh nevertheless tackles obstacles with the tools at her disposal. Her triumph is ever so sweet. The world-building was also stellar. After wrapping my head around the non-Euclidean geometry of In the Vanishers’ Palace, the simple colonialization metaphor with the Epherians felt comfortable. It’s a rare delight for a story to explore a toxic relationship that happens to be queer, and Thanh’s promise to explore her new relationship was like champagne right to the brain. Loved it.

Pick up Fireheart Tiger!!

Content Warnings

More...