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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great world building, delightfully written original story with an interesting magic system. Would definitely recommend.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really loved this. I don't quite even know what I'd compare it to in order to recommend it, but I just...it was such a solidly good book. Pleasant to read, you know? It helped that the audiobook was narrated by Emily Woo Zeller who is amazing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Vomit
Got off to a good start but halfway through I realized that I just didn't really care what happened. The writing was nowhere near as complex or interesting as the Machineries of Empire series, and I had to check if it was intended for a Y/A audience (apparently not).
Intriguing setting but not enough to earn my limited reading time these days, I'm afraid.
Intriguing setting but not enough to earn my limited reading time these days, I'm afraid.
This book was painfully incredible. I first found Yoon Ha Lee through his Nine Fox Gambit series (if you haven't read it, you should), and was looking forward to this book as soon as I found out it existed. Unlike the previous series, this isn't hard sci-fi; it merges automatons and magic in a fantasy world that seems to draw its inspiration from east Asian cultures. (I love non-European fantasy even if nothing else is going on!). The main character of the book, Jebi, is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. If there's literally nothing else to say about this book, it demonstrates that you can write about sex with non-binary characters without explaining what's between their legs - and do it very, very well.
Jebi is a painter, and the story digs into the idea of paintings and art as magic that can be made physical and used to animate and direct otherwise inert mechanical creatures. The concepts are as cool as their execution. There's a strong romantic throughline to the book, though I'd stop long before calling it a romance. It does touch on some of the military resistance concepts that came up in Nine Fox Gambit and its sequels but presents them in a fresh light. It is emotionally challenging to read a book where it is very clear that people like you are the oppressors, but it's also good to be challenged.
This book appears to have an ending that is complete, so I'm not sure if sequels are planned; I'd love to read more books set in this world, however, even if they are not specifically about Jebi.
Jebi is a painter, and the story digs into the idea of paintings and art as magic that can be made physical and used to animate and direct otherwise inert mechanical creatures. The concepts are as cool as their execution. There's a strong romantic throughline to the book, though I'd stop long before calling it a romance. It does touch on some of the military resistance concepts that came up in Nine Fox Gambit and its sequels but presents them in a fresh light. It is emotionally challenging to read a book where it is very clear that people like you are the oppressors, but it's also good to be challenged.
This book appears to have an ending that is complete, so I'm not sure if sequels are planned; I'd love to read more books set in this world, however, even if they are not specifically about Jebi.
This was such a wonderful surprise! I had gotten the impression from covers and reviews of this author's other works that I could expect the work to be more military and sci-fi leaning. Just as well for me I like high fantasy. I love the painting pigments with automatons system of "magic". It brings in all kinds of interesting themes, such as art, robotics/consciousness, empire etc and brings them together in a way I hadn't seen before. I also like the characters who feel complete even minor cameos. The entire thing was a pleasant, fascinating, vivid experience. I think I'll start considering more by this author now. I also want to buy myself a copy since I got this one from the library.
Tremendous gratitude to @rebellionpublishing and @netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of one of my most anticipated 2020 releases, Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee!
Phoenix Extravagant is a stand-alone fantasy novel set in a magical version of Korea during the Japanese occupation. The story follows Gyen Jebi, a nonbinary Hwagugin painter who’s swept into a struggle for revolution against the Razanei Empire alongside an unlikely ally, a delightfully earnest pacifist dragon automoton named Arazi.
I loved reading this book, especially because I instantly resonated with Jebi, through all their flaws and strength. Many fantasy epics center the stories of heroes or revolutionaries, and Lee subverts that expectation in this novel by giving it life through the eyes of a conflict-shy painter. Jebi feels so real in their limited grasp of the large-scale power struggles playing out beyond their purview, and in their interrogation of the role they can/want to play. Arazi’s charming personality adds humor and levity to the story, a dash of buddy-cop vibes in an otherwise often somber tale of colonization and the untidy cost of revolution.
Readers familiar with Lee’s Machineries of Empires trilogy will likely find the world building of Phoenix Extravagant much more straightforward. Ninefox Gambit is one of my all time favorite books but it asks a lot of the reader in understanding complex politics and fantastic magical technologies. The political machinations here are largely off-screen in this novel as Jebi skirts the sidelines of the conflict rather than frontlining it, and the magic is easily digestible, and furthermore completely genius in how Lee calls to account real practices of colonizers throughout human history.
I hope this book finds a wide and well deserved readership. I'd recommend it to fans of epic fantasy, dragons, robots, dragons that are robots, worlds effortlessly populated with queer characters, and maybe even lovers of historical fiction or art history. Mark your calendars for October, 2020!
Phoenix Extravagant is a stand-alone fantasy novel set in a magical version of Korea during the Japanese occupation. The story follows Gyen Jebi, a nonbinary Hwagugin painter who’s swept into a struggle for revolution against the Razanei Empire alongside an unlikely ally, a delightfully earnest pacifist dragon automoton named Arazi.
I loved reading this book, especially because I instantly resonated with Jebi, through all their flaws and strength. Many fantasy epics center the stories of heroes or revolutionaries, and Lee subverts that expectation in this novel by giving it life through the eyes of a conflict-shy painter. Jebi feels so real in their limited grasp of the large-scale power struggles playing out beyond their purview, and in their interrogation of the role they can/want to play. Arazi’s charming personality adds humor and levity to the story, a dash of buddy-cop vibes in an otherwise often somber tale of colonization and the untidy cost of revolution.
Readers familiar with Lee’s Machineries of Empires trilogy will likely find the world building of Phoenix Extravagant much more straightforward. Ninefox Gambit is one of my all time favorite books but it asks a lot of the reader in understanding complex politics and fantastic magical technologies. The political machinations here are largely off-screen in this novel as Jebi skirts the sidelines of the conflict rather than frontlining it, and the magic is easily digestible, and furthermore completely genius in how Lee calls to account real practices of colonizers throughout human history.
I hope this book finds a wide and well deserved readership. I'd recommend it to fans of epic fantasy, dragons, robots, dragons that are robots, worlds effortlessly populated with queer characters, and maybe even lovers of historical fiction or art history. Mark your calendars for October, 2020!
I felt like the plot was a solid three but there are a lot of aspects that make this a four star. The fantasy retelling of Japans colonization of Korea is super interesting and Lee brings in more open family and gender dynamics well.
CW: torture (although not sexual or described in detail), colonialism / destruction of cultural heritage, war, death, violence
This is a very different book/feel from Ninefox Gambit, but I still enjoyed it. I wasn't always sure about it, especially towards the middle/beginning, but in the end I was happy with the story and the characters. It kept me guessing and the plot kept moving, so it never felt stale or predictable. I really loved how many cultural elements there were to it. I'm white, so I don't have this background, but even having lived in Asia for a few years, the story felt homey to me. I won't presume what it will be like for others, but that was my experience. Also, when Jebi and Vei saw the ninefox, I got chills. I thought many parts of the story were creative and thought-provoking, although our first introduction to Arazi had me scratching my head a bit, in the end I enjoyed the character greatly. If you want detailed descriptions/explanations of -how- everything works, this probably isn't for you.
This is a very different book/feel from Ninefox Gambit, but I still enjoyed it. I wasn't always sure about it, especially towards the middle/beginning, but in the end I was happy with the story and the characters. It kept me guessing and the plot kept moving, so it never felt stale or predictable. I really loved how many cultural elements there were to it. I'm white, so I don't have this background, but even having lived in Asia for a few years, the story felt homey to me. I won't presume what it will be like for others, but that was my experience. Also, when
A unique and thrilling fantasy. Phoenix Extravagant is like nothing else I have read before. I really like how unique the magic system is and I love his use of fantasy elements in the book. However, I just felt that the characters weren't developed enough and the world building was lacking. The climax was fantastic and I did like the ending, but for being marketed as a standalone and not a series the ending frustrates me because I just want more. I would definitely recommend this to someone who enjoys fantasy and has a love for asian culture. Don't let this review fool you. This is definitely worth reading.
I like the idea for this one a lot, but the execution felt kind of meh to me. Usually Yoon Ha Lee has better sentences, and really takes every original idea to the ends of the earth. This felt like a more standard young adult fantasy. It felt ~normal.~ Also all the characters kind of sucked as people, and the main character was whiny and passive and seemed just along for the ride. The choices the characters made didn't seem believable or well motivated to me. I'll probably still try anything Yoon Ha Lee writes but this was a disappointment.