Reviews

I liked the idea of it and Siew Tsin's last scene reminded me of the end of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" so I'm sure to remember it. Short and interesting, but ultimately maybe too short for me to connect with it in any way.

laurareads87's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

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

4.0

With a tagline like this -- "A tale of first love, bad theology and robot reincarnation in the Chinese afterlife." -- I knew I'd like this novelette. In The Terracotta Bride, Siew Tsin resides in the tenth court of hell with a husband her elder uncle married her off to; here, unlike in the other courts of hell, the dead have enough wealth (in the form of offerings made by their living relatives) to bribe demons to (mostly) leave them alone. Many seek to stay here, avoiding reincarnation into their next life, so as to maintain their personality and memories. When Siew Tsin's husband brings home a third wife made of terracotta, Siew Tsin must navigate their relationship as well as a dangerous new threat.

The world-building in this story is fantastic, and I really appreciated Siew Tsin as a protagonist. Cho has included a lot of themes thoughtfully for such a short work. Definitely recommend.

Content warnings: violence, death, sexism, misogyny, mention of a car crash causing death (not graphic)

mbenzz's review against another edition

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5.0

Finding this story was quite a challenge. It's not on Amazon, nor is it available on Kindle via Libby, so I had to read the pdf on my phone from the New York Public Library on the Libby app itself.

This is a very quick story about one woman's journey of self-discovery and self-worth in the afterlife. I thought it was well done and very concise in its message. Even though it was a pain to find, I'm very glad I read it.

vyhurz's review against another edition

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3.0

I read this book rather quickly, which was easy since it's so short. The ebook (from Google Play) was about 20 pages. Because it was short, there wasn't a lot of room to flesh out the details. I kept wanting to know more - about the main character, Siew Tsin, and about how this fantastical world worked. It's the Chinese version of hell, and I honestly know nothing about this. I probably missed a lot of symbolic messages here. How is terracotta significant? How long do people spend in hell? How do they get to heaven instead of hell? I had a lot of questions, which is both on me and on the story. I think if there was more space, this story could have detailed how everything worked. (Since it was not only a foreign subject to me, but also a fantastical story, I wasn't sure what was traditional Chinese myth and what was invented by the author.) With all that said, I did enjoy the story. I was pulled in and interested. I just wanted more. The writing at times was lyrical and moving, and yet at other times it was a bit basic - just telling the reader what we need to know. I would have loved this story if it had been expanded and developed more.

These are just my quick thoughts after just completing the book. A more comprehensive review will be coming on my YouTube channel (youtube.com/allisontheresa) and on my blog (allisontheresa7.wordpress.com).

sunwaves's review against another edition

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4.0

3.75 stars

rosatulipan's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved it. I can't wait to read more of Zen Cho's work.

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