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therainbowshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.0
I was hesitant to read this because of how dark the last Yoon Ha Lee book I read was, but I’m glad I did because I loved it. The paint magic system was alarming and awesome, and the unexpected connections were interesting throughout. Loved the tie-ins with Korean folklore and the non-binary rep. I wish things with Hawk had been a little more developed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gun violence, Genocide, Physical abuse, War, Confinement, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Blood
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, and Torture
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-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? No
4.25
The central theme of this book was colonisation, being an allusion, I believe, to Japan’s colonisation of Korea, and also Western colonisation. Lee specifically focusses on how colonisation leads to the destruction of indigenous art and therefore culture, empowering the colonisers and disempowering the colonised. In this book this is shown in a literal, direct way that really draws attention to the concept.
Lee also explores how different people navigate being colonised depending on personal circumstance and values. It was especially striking reading about Arazi, the dragon automaton, trying to reconcile their morals with real-life situations. Jebi, the MC, also undergoes character development in relation to this theme, beginning the book not really seeing the issue with Razanei occupation, and adding to and changing this opinion as the story progresses. (In terms of craft, I think this development could have flowed better.) And these are just two perspectives on the topic of a wide range that are presented by Lee.
Jebi was a great MC. They were funny and sort of played into the “reluctant hero” trope which is one that I enjoy. Their insights into art were so thoughtful and informative, too. Their relationship with their sister Bongsunga was so complex; I really appreciated the nuance there. With regards to their romance with Vei, I still don’t know how I feel given some background information. However, I totally got their romantic and sexual chemistry (although more work could have gone into the emotional side of things).
The plot was engaging with fairly good pacing, and I appreciated that it wasn’t trying to cover the entire revolution but only a part of it. It was grounded in some interesting world-building, with the interplay of fantasy and sci-fi elements emerging especially in how art and engineering combined to give shape to the automata. This particular concept was harrowing, and truly tied into the motif of the power of art, a motif which I loved. I generally loved the detail given regarding the art and artistic practice of Jebi’s world.
I will end on a quote I found quite thought-provoking:
“’If standing on principle means that you lose the people those principles are meant to protect,’ it said, ‘what’s the point?’”
Rep: Korean nonbinary MC, Japanese/Korean queer LI, Korean sapphic SC, Japanese SC who is a cane user, polyamorous throuple side relationship (nonbinary Korean SC, queer Korean SC, queer Japanese SC who is a crutch user), queer nonbinary SC, Korean and Japanese minor characters of different abilities and orientations
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Death, and War
Minor: Fatphobia, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Medical content, Ableism, Animal death, Gore, Alcohol, and Police brutality
Moderate: imprisonment, earthquake Minor: police corruption, loss of a loved one, capital punishment, gambling, racism directed at biracial individualschalkletters's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
One of the things I like about Fantasy Book Club is how many different types of fantasy book we read. I don’t think I’ve ever run across one where the main character was an artist before, and I probably wouldn’t have picked up Phoenix Extravagant just from the blurb if I didn’t have the extra incentive of a discussion to look forward to.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel Yoon Ha Lee completely delivered on the promise of Jebi as an artist. Painting was certainly an activity that they did on multiple occasions, and once or twice it was mentioned that they doodled even when they weren’t ‘on the clock’, but I never really felt that Jebi had any great passion for art, even though they went to some lengths to make it their profession. This was a symptom of a larger problem with Phoenix Extravagantin that there was too much telling and not enough showing. As a reader, I was told that Jebi loved art, or that they were sad or afraid or passionate, but I was never really made to feel it.
What Phoenix Extravagant did do well, however, was world building. Ironically, this isn’t something I’m usually as interested in as other book club members, but I really liked the detail Yoon Ha Lee worked into this novel. His take on dragons was particularly cool, fusing elements that I’ve previously encountered in The Bone Shard Daughter and Witchsign into something new and different. That said, the more celestial side of things didn’t gel with me to the same degree.
Although it was only okay, I’m still glad that I read Phoenix Extravagant, especially because Arazi might be my favourite individual fantasy dragon in recent years!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, and War
lookingforlittlelibraries's review
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
nikolas_fox's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.5
This book was so great for so many reasons. All the characters felt SO real and I can't say I ever expected to fall in love with a mechanical dragon, but here we are. This book explored the realities of war in a very real way while looking through a viewpoint not of a soldier, but an artist. The representation in here was also amazing and not a plot point, but just was. And that was amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, and Torture
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Xenophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent
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