Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
The pacing and development was hard to follow at times. I loved the creativity but the sex scene felt out of place as well.
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I wanted it to be great and it started out great. I loved the worldbuilding, universe and initial plot : an artist ends up working for the colonising army and gets dragged up into a revolution. The first third of the story really had me hooked, it was a real page-turner and then we got the dragon and I loved Arazi! The magic system was so cool.
I've seen people praise Jebi being an ordinary person thrown into this conflict but their lack of spine gets old really fast. They have some feelings of things being wrong or things that greatly upset them but never do anything ever about them. That happens multiple time and I thought that they would be some growth to their apathy but no, not really.
Also that romance was just plain bad. Rushed feelings and the end up in bed before they even share a close scene together and honestly the feelings came out of nowhere. A friends with benefits situation would have made more sense initially, like play up the lust and tone down Jebi thinking "I have feelings about her" out of nowhere. i understand that a romance between those two characters would have been interesting but I wished it had a better execution because I was just bittter everytime they interacted as "lovers"
I've seen people praise Jebi being an ordinary person thrown into this conflict but their lack of spine gets old really fast. They have some feelings of things being wrong or things that greatly upset them but never do anything ever about them. That happens multiple time and I thought that they would be some growth to their apathy but no, not really.
Also that romance was just plain bad. Rushed feelings and the end up in bed before they even share a close scene together and honestly the feelings came out of nowhere. A friends with benefits situation would have made more sense initially, like play up the lust and tone down Jebi thinking "I have feelings about her" out of nowhere. i understand that a romance between those two characters would have been interesting but I wished it had a better execution because I was just bittter everytime they interacted as "lovers"
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Oddly paced, wished the world building was more fleshed out. Same with the magic system: interesting but barely touched on. Not super into war, like that this was a perspective of a pacifist character, and loved the inclusion of the art theory and history. Just felt disjointed
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
gentle giant character types are always the best and there's one in this book. Also very good characters and very innovative setting.
adventurous
reflective
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
PHOENIX EXTRAVAGANT is thoughtful and deliberate, featuring a character who gradually finds themselves as part of a revolution. Not through some showy event, but through a conviction that a particular thing cannot be allowed to stand, that it pains them at their core, and hurts their community now and into the future. It's emotionally complex, leaving room for different people to have different hurts and allegiances in a world where not everyone oppressed is on the side of the oppressed. Also there's a mechanical dragon, which is great.
The worldbuilding is very focused on what Jebi thinks about and specifically what affects them. This means there are a lot of discussions of their interpersonal ties, and what they think about art in the context of occupation and conquest. I like the tight focus, it means that whatever's brought up is detailed, well-constructed, and either emotionally or factually important to the narrative. What Jebi thinks is important enough to explain tells as much about their world as what they slowly realize they'd never thought of before.
The romantic relationship is well-conveyed, fitting naturally into the narrative and then slowly forming a new emotional goal, as Jebi moves from simply trying to have enough money to survive, to having a person they want to live with and for. Arazi fills some of this emotional space, but its ties to Jebi are of a very different (but very important) nature.
I wish there were a sequel in this world (the ending certainly leaves just enough room for it), but it does feel complete enough to be a stopping point.
The worldbuilding is very focused on what Jebi thinks about and specifically what affects them. This means there are a lot of discussions of their interpersonal ties, and what they think about art in the context of occupation and conquest. I like the tight focus, it means that whatever's brought up is detailed, well-constructed, and either emotionally or factually important to the narrative. What Jebi thinks is important enough to explain tells as much about their world as what they slowly realize they'd never thought of before.
The romantic relationship is well-conveyed, fitting naturally into the narrative and then slowly forming a new emotional goal, as Jebi moves from simply trying to have enough money to survive, to having a person they want to live with and for. Arazi fills some of this emotional space, but its ties to Jebi are of a very different (but very important) nature.
I wish there were a sequel in this world (the ending certainly leaves just enough room for it), but it does feel complete enough to be a stopping point.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Medical content, Colonisation
Yoon Ha Lee is an author that I just like- their characters are extremely unusual for traditional fantasy, and I loved, loved, loved Jebi. They were just so normal! No superpowers, scared of normal scary things, loveable and conflicted. The plot and pacing did leave a bit to be desired, but overall Phoenix Extravagant was a fun, quick read- and I really wish there would be a sequel...
4.5 stars! Soooo stunning and sapphic and wonderful exploration of colonialism and art and magic
Yoon Ha Lee is one of my favorite authors, but I'm sorry to say this book didn't do it for me. Perhaps this is because I tend to enjoy science fiction more than fantasy.
I appreciated the non-European setting, the thematic concerns, and the society's accepting attitudes on a wide range of topics related to gender and sexuality.
Unfortunately, these positives were outweighed for me by a protagonist whose consistent ineptitude and naiveté proved grating. Writing such a protagonist was a bold choice, and I wish I could reward this risk by discussing how such originality enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. I'm sad to say that it did not.
Furthermore, I never believed the primary romantic relationship in the book. The pairing doesn't make much logical sense, and it unfolded so abruptly that I never got much of an idea as to why the characters were so drawn to each other.
I similarly felt under-invested in the character of Arazi, the dragon who appears on the novel's cover. While I liked Arazi, I didn't have enough time with it to develop a deep attachment. This was unfortunate, as Arazi is clearly meant to be a key part of the novel's emotional core.
On these last two points, I feel things would have been better had the book been longer. This would have provided a bit more space for both the relationship and for Arazi's character to play out.
Finally this novel didn't have the same emotional resonance for me as much of Yoon Ha Lee's work does, nor was it lighthearted enough to be read purely as a romp. Maybe upon further consideration I'll come to better understand the tone, but for now it feels stuck somewhere in between poignant/emotional and light/fun.
I'll likely pass on further works in this universe, but I'll still happily pick up any other work from Yoon Ha Lee.
I appreciated the non-European setting, the thematic concerns, and the society's accepting attitudes on a wide range of topics related to gender and sexuality.
Unfortunately, these positives were outweighed for me by a protagonist whose consistent ineptitude and naiveté proved grating. Writing such a protagonist was a bold choice, and I wish I could reward this risk by discussing how such originality enhanced my enjoyment of the novel. I'm sad to say that it did not.
Furthermore, I never believed the primary romantic relationship in the book. The pairing doesn't make much logical sense, and it unfolded so abruptly that I never got much of an idea as to why the characters were so drawn to each other.
I similarly felt under-invested in the character of Arazi, the dragon who appears on the novel's cover. While I liked Arazi, I didn't have enough time with it to develop a deep attachment. This was unfortunate, as Arazi is clearly meant to be a key part of the novel's emotional core.
On these last two points, I feel things would have been better had the book been longer. This would have provided a bit more space for both the relationship and for Arazi's character to play out.
Finally this novel didn't have the same emotional resonance for me as much of Yoon Ha Lee's work does, nor was it lighthearted enough to be read purely as a romp. Maybe upon further consideration I'll come to better understand the tone, but for now it feels stuck somewhere in between poignant/emotional and light/fun.
I'll likely pass on further works in this universe, but I'll still happily pick up any other work from Yoon Ha Lee.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Here’s my jumble of thoughts upon finishing Phoenix Extravagant: I was really excited about the concept of this book but I hit a point about two thirds of the way through where I started to dread the direction of the story. The ending turned out unsatisfying and for some reason I did not really enjoy where the message and conclusion landed. I felt the magic system was quite shallow even though I really liked the setting and the focus on art. The pacing was also quite shaky and the plot moved a lot faster than I anticipated. At the same time, I often felt some included scenes were unnecessary while other pivotal moments were glossed over in favor of somewhat distracted passages that diverted my attention from a throughline. I was also confused by the main character’s internal monologue and could not get a handle on their convictions and values, or their approach and ideology in their life. There were times they seemed to use humor but this didn’t feel consistent throughout the narration. I feel as if the author could have thought more about the pacing and overall tone of the novel as it came off as scattered and uneven.
Overall I found the non-Western-centric culture and history of Hwaguk and Razan as well as the main characters’ profiles to be interesting and a breath of fresh air in contemporary fantasy. I also appreciated how integrated queer characters and relationships were in the story although, since so much else of the world in the book reflected our current society—namely some conventions that characters held about love, ancestry, and family—I wondered whether it was appropriate to have such a lack of in-universe discrimination towards LGBT characters. I still like the book for the representation it offered but there were too many things that did not sit right with me for me to rave about the reading experience.
Overall I found the non-Western-centric culture and history of Hwaguk and Razan as well as the main characters’ profiles to be interesting and a breath of fresh air in contemporary fantasy. I also appreciated how integrated queer characters and relationships were in the story although, since so much else of the world in the book reflected our current society—namely some conventions that characters held about love, ancestry, and family—I wondered whether it was appropriate to have such a lack of in-universe discrimination towards LGBT characters. I still like the book for the representation it offered but there were too many things that did not sit right with me for me to rave about the reading experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, War
Minor: Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail