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stephxsu's review
3.0
SILVER PHOENIX is first and foremost a nonstop tale of fantastical adventure. Demons and mythical places pop out of the pages nonstop, and so there is an almost constant stream of butt-kicking, done by an extremely appealing heroine. Ai Ling is an enviable protagonist, with her neverending arsenal of abilities. Even with all the unwanted problems that destiny has placed upon her shoulders, she forges on, not relying on others to do what she needs to get done.
The heavy reliance on evil creatures to move the plot along, however, is also what disappointed me about the story. The strength of the book lies in the imagined details, but not in the overarching story line. Characters fall flat in the face of such physical adversaries; almost all of the challenges that Ai Ling and Chen Yong face can be overcome with physical actions, leaving very little psychology and mental study in the story.
Despite the distance I felt from the characters, however, I know that SILVER PHOENIX will appeal to the tomboy who wants a different heroine and setting than the norm.
The heavy reliance on evil creatures to move the plot along, however, is also what disappointed me about the story. The strength of the book lies in the imagined details, but not in the overarching story line. Characters fall flat in the face of such physical adversaries; almost all of the challenges that Ai Ling and Chen Yong face can be overcome with physical actions, leaving very little psychology and mental study in the story.
Despite the distance I felt from the characters, however, I know that SILVER PHOENIX will appeal to the tomboy who wants a different heroine and setting than the norm.
ptothelo's review
2.0
I thought it was fine and I liked recognizing some of the references from the books I read when I was young. But I kept expecting to ramp up and go to another level.
I am curious to see where she takes it next
I am curious to see where she takes it next
eletricjb's review
3.0
I always enjoy getting to read stories based on non-western mythology, but this one didn't quite grab me.
nicholeb84's review
2.0
Silver Phoenix is a novel that has been sitting on my bookcase for several years. I’ll admit I bought it right around the time of the cover change; mostly because I wanted the original cover. The story was secondary to why I bought it. Though, it did sound like a fun and exciting read.
This novel read like it didn’t know what it wanted to be in life. Was it a straight adventure wuxia? A paranormal romance? A supernatural action story? All of the above? Maybe. But, it didn’t feel like a mix of all these things. It felt like a mixed bag; like a soup made out of odds and ends.
The characters were also an issue for me. They were all nice and no one bothered me. However, I didn’t really care about any of them. They were just sort of there – being what the story needed them to be when the narrative required it.
In a lot of ways this story felt like a second or third draft, and not the finished story. 2/5 stars.
This novel read like it didn’t know what it wanted to be in life. Was it a straight adventure wuxia? A paranormal romance? A supernatural action story? All of the above? Maybe. But, it didn’t feel like a mix of all these things. It felt like a mixed bag; like a soup made out of odds and ends.
The characters were also an issue for me. They were all nice and no one bothered me. However, I didn’t really care about any of them. They were just sort of there – being what the story needed them to be when the narrative required it.
In a lot of ways this story felt like a second or third draft, and not the finished story. 2/5 stars.
reddyrat's review
4.0
It is rare that a YA fantasy novel strays from the familiar set of Western mythologies and legends. Silver Phoenix is a refreshing change. Drawing heavily on Chinese folk tales, history, and culture, Silver Phoenix is an adventure story full of evil spirits with a good dose of friendship and a little romance thrown in.
Ai Ling is the daughter of a doting father, a former scholar in the emperor's court. Her father leaves to go to the palace and gives her a jade pendant upon his departure. He is gone longer than expected and a nasty, predatory businessman tries to force Ai Ling to marry him to pay off her father's supposed debts. Rather than subject herself to such horrors, Ai Ling sets off to find her father.
She quickly finds a young man, Chen Yong, who is also searching for his father. Chen Yong is handsome, thoughtful, and strong, but also has a shell that is hard to break through. He and Ai Ling both attract and repel on another. They are shortly joined by Chen Yong's younger brother who is a breath of fresh air. Always ready with a joke (usually bordering on being distasteful), Li Rong is easy to like and is a welcome relief from the more serious Ai Ling and Chen Yong.
The three characters have to battle multiple evil spirits on their way to find their fathers. I thought this was the weakest part of the book, despite being the major plot line. Some of the evil spirits were sexual in a way that felt weird. Mostly, my problem with the evil spirit part was that I didn't get it. The book didn't establish the world well enough for me to understand what was going on until I was significantly into the book. By that point, it was too late for me to form an emotional attachment to the story.
On a brighter note, I very much liked the characters. I liked Ai Ling's strength and determination. She managed to be a kick-butt heroine, while still maintaining her femininity. She was stubborn in fighting. She also cared deeply about her family, Chen Yong, and Li Ron. I liked seeing how fiercely she loved. Chen Yong was a great love interest. I like the strong, silent type. He challenged Ai Ling and was frustrating at times, but I loved his devotion to his family and his inner strength. Li Rong was just fun. I don't really go for the joker types, but he played off the other two character well.
The highlight of this book was the food. Ai Ling sure loves her food. The author took care to describe every meal and snack in great detail. As someone who has spent time in Taiwan and Japan and loves authentic Asian food, this book made me drool continuously for hours. I'd recommend it for that reason alone.
Silver Phoenix is an odd book where I didn't love the main plot line, but I did love the characters and food descriptions. I'd still say it's worth reading.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Ai Ling is the daughter of a doting father, a former scholar in the emperor's court. Her father leaves to go to the palace and gives her a jade pendant upon his departure. He is gone longer than expected and a nasty, predatory businessman tries to force Ai Ling to marry him to pay off her father's supposed debts. Rather than subject herself to such horrors, Ai Ling sets off to find her father.
She quickly finds a young man, Chen Yong, who is also searching for his father. Chen Yong is handsome, thoughtful, and strong, but also has a shell that is hard to break through. He and Ai Ling both attract and repel on another. They are shortly joined by Chen Yong's younger brother who is a breath of fresh air. Always ready with a joke (usually bordering on being distasteful), Li Rong is easy to like and is a welcome relief from the more serious Ai Ling and Chen Yong.
The three characters have to battle multiple evil spirits on their way to find their fathers. I thought this was the weakest part of the book, despite being the major plot line. Some of the evil spirits were sexual in a way that felt weird. Mostly, my problem with the evil spirit part was that I didn't get it. The book didn't establish the world well enough for me to understand what was going on until I was significantly into the book. By that point, it was too late for me to form an emotional attachment to the story.
On a brighter note, I very much liked the characters. I liked Ai Ling's strength and determination. She managed to be a kick-butt heroine, while still maintaining her femininity. She was stubborn in fighting. She also cared deeply about her family, Chen Yong, and Li Ron. I liked seeing how fiercely she loved. Chen Yong was a great love interest. I like the strong, silent type. He challenged Ai Ling and was frustrating at times, but I loved his devotion to his family and his inner strength. Li Rong was just fun. I don't really go for the joker types, but he played off the other two character well.
The highlight of this book was the food. Ai Ling sure loves her food. The author took care to describe every meal and snack in great detail. As someone who has spent time in Taiwan and Japan and loves authentic Asian food, this book made me drool continuously for hours. I'd recommend it for that reason alone.
Silver Phoenix is an odd book where I didn't love the main plot line, but I did love the characters and food descriptions. I'd still say it's worth reading.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
hollybg's review
5.0
So I actually love this cover, it tells me exactly what this book is about. Fierce Chinese girl being all magical and shizz? That is a cover that is made of awesome. It is not, however, the cover I had on my copy. A cover so woefully inadequate and it had next to nothing to say about the story inside and that I am frankly too ashamed to feature it at all. But if you would like to see the terrible cookie cutter emo version please take a look and perhaps you can explain to me why anyone would choose to replace the gloriously pink one here with that vague wishy washy disaster.
Light Bites
Ai Ling seems to be un-marriageable, a succession of weak willed boy suitors have turned her down and it seems to have something to do with the rumor that her beloved father was once cast out of the Imperial palace in shame many decades ago. Then one fateful day he is suddenly summoned to return to the palace, months pass and there is no word. While her mother and Ai Ling try to make ends meet an elderly and gruesome merchant attempts to claims Ai Ling as his fourth wife. Rather than face a life squeezing out his children she runs away to find her father and bring him back. But, unbeknown to Ai Ling, her journey will be fraught with dangers straight out of the books of demons and ghosts her father always tried to stop her from reading as a child. And help joins her along the way in the form of the honorable and mysterious Chen Yong and his amusing brother Li Rong.
Cheery O-So Good To Eat
I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It's one of those wonderful old fashioned adventure stories that are so hard to find these days amongst all the high school weregoats and sexy vampire tax collectors. Ms Pon has created this rich and fragrant world filled with a vibrancy that bursts into your brain like a hot spring roll. I could see every character, no matter how small or inconsequential to the story, and she manages this with only a few choice words.
The demons Ai Ling, Chen Yong and Li Rong encounter were genuinely scary, a few times I found myself physically recoiling from the descriptions of their appearances and appetites. Maybe not a book to read in public cos you'll certainly find yourself gasping and cheering out loud through the fight scenes. And DEFINITELY not a book to read if you're hungry, Ms Pon knows how to write food and make you want that food immediately! I will also be eternally grateful to her for including her mother's recipe for Vegetarian Mapo Tofu in the extras at the back, which I will definitely attempt one day!
"It was a feast more then a midday meal. Master Tan must have asked his chef to prepare the best. Ai Ling could not recall a time that she had indulged in dishes this extravagant: roasted pheasant, tender spring vegetables, hand pulled longevity noodles, spotted porcelain river crabs, and emperor lobsters, named for their large size - dish after dish was brought to the table.
At the end of the meal, Master Tan stood to give a toast.
'Ai Ling, we wanted to send you off with a full stomach. May you never go hungry, even during your travels.'"
And she most certainly doesn't, I do love a character that enjoys food. In fact I love Ai Ling for a whole host of reasons, she's smart, she's curious (which does get her into trouble more then once but nothing ventured...) she's tough and she certainly holds her own in a fight regardless of the two strapping lads who accompany her. And speaking of which, Chen Yong is a sword wielding gentleman made of swoon, all serious and brooding one minute and lighthearted and tender the next. Ai Ling's affections, understandably, swing to him like he's magnetic north but she never moons over him which I liked, she just nurtures her feelings quietly which was rather classy. I also had big love for Li Rong, the hilariously amorous little brother of Chen Yong. Li Rong is a total ladies man (or he thinks he is anyway) and his big mouth lets fly some classic lines that had me snickering like a little kid hearing the words poo and boobies in the same sentence.
As soon as I finished this book I wanted to run out into the streets and press it in to the hands of the first person I saw, urging them to read it too. This book really had everything I wanted from a story and the best part is that the next installment Fury of the Phoenix is already out!
Light Bites
Ai Ling seems to be un-marriageable, a succession of weak willed boy suitors have turned her down and it seems to have something to do with the rumor that her beloved father was once cast out of the Imperial palace in shame many decades ago. Then one fateful day he is suddenly summoned to return to the palace, months pass and there is no word. While her mother and Ai Ling try to make ends meet an elderly and gruesome merchant attempts to claims Ai Ling as his fourth wife. Rather than face a life squeezing out his children she runs away to find her father and bring him back. But, unbeknown to Ai Ling, her journey will be fraught with dangers straight out of the books of demons and ghosts her father always tried to stop her from reading as a child. And help joins her along the way in the form of the honorable and mysterious Chen Yong and his amusing brother Li Rong.
Cheery O-So Good To Eat
I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It's one of those wonderful old fashioned adventure stories that are so hard to find these days amongst all the high school weregoats and sexy vampire tax collectors. Ms Pon has created this rich and fragrant world filled with a vibrancy that bursts into your brain like a hot spring roll. I could see every character, no matter how small or inconsequential to the story, and she manages this with only a few choice words.
The demons Ai Ling, Chen Yong and Li Rong encounter were genuinely scary, a few times I found myself physically recoiling from the descriptions of their appearances and appetites. Maybe not a book to read in public cos you'll certainly find yourself gasping and cheering out loud through the fight scenes. And DEFINITELY not a book to read if you're hungry, Ms Pon knows how to write food and make you want that food immediately! I will also be eternally grateful to her for including her mother's recipe for Vegetarian Mapo Tofu in the extras at the back, which I will definitely attempt one day!
"It was a feast more then a midday meal. Master Tan must have asked his chef to prepare the best. Ai Ling could not recall a time that she had indulged in dishes this extravagant: roasted pheasant, tender spring vegetables, hand pulled longevity noodles, spotted porcelain river crabs, and emperor lobsters, named for their large size - dish after dish was brought to the table.
At the end of the meal, Master Tan stood to give a toast.
'Ai Ling, we wanted to send you off with a full stomach. May you never go hungry, even during your travels.'"
And she most certainly doesn't, I do love a character that enjoys food. In fact I love Ai Ling for a whole host of reasons, she's smart, she's curious (which does get her into trouble more then once but nothing ventured...) she's tough and she certainly holds her own in a fight regardless of the two strapping lads who accompany her. And speaking of which, Chen Yong is a sword wielding gentleman made of swoon, all serious and brooding one minute and lighthearted and tender the next. Ai Ling's affections, understandably, swing to him like he's magnetic north but she never moons over him which I liked, she just nurtures her feelings quietly which was rather classy. I also had big love for Li Rong, the hilariously amorous little brother of Chen Yong. Li Rong is a total ladies man (or he thinks he is anyway) and his big mouth lets fly some classic lines that had me snickering like a little kid hearing the words poo and boobies in the same sentence.
As soon as I finished this book I wanted to run out into the streets and press it in to the hands of the first person I saw, urging them to read it too. This book really had everything I wanted from a story and the best part is that the next installment Fury of the Phoenix is already out!
mamap's review
1.0
I think it was in the wrong section - should be considered an adult book, not young adult. I feel so much discussion of naked parts and nearly sex is inappropriate for teens.
The character lack depth and veracity. The main character just bumbled from one situation/world to another without direction or purpose. Her demise of the bad guy was well done, but the ending was too annoying to be enjoyed.
The character lack depth and veracity. The main character just bumbled from one situation/world to another without direction or purpose. Her demise of the bad guy was well done, but the ending was too annoying to be enjoyed.
heidenkind's review against another edition
1.0
The beginning of this book was really, really excellent, but I felt like it started to turn episodic and there was a lack of character development once the "plot" made an appearance. Would probably be a great read for MG readers, but I don't care enough to continue.
Read the review on Truth Beauty Freedom and Books>>>
Read the review on Truth Beauty Freedom and Books>>>
tangreda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
violinknitter's review
4.0
Excellent plot & characters, stuffed full of Chinese culture. Loved it! Highly recommended.