Scan barcode
jessicaludden's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
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
4.0
“One star cannot light a galaxy, he’d said as he’d seen on the feather. I’m not a star, I’d countered. I am the universe itself.”
Strike the Zither follows Zephyr, a strategist for one of the three warlordesses in conflict over the land in the realm. Zephyr goes undercover in the enemy camp to tip the scale in her side’s favor. There, she meets challenges in a rival strategist named Crow and otherworldly encounters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for an ARC of this book!
I loved this. Zephyr is such an unapologetic character. She’s arrogant, but for good reason. She’s a very good strategist and I loved being inside her brain throughout this book. I got to hear all her plans and ideas. I love political intrigue and war in a book and this one had plenty of that! I loved her and Crow’s relationship and how it developed from a rivalry to something much more. Their connection was very genuine and intellectual. Joan He always done such an amazing job with plot twists. It’s always something you never see coming and could never possibly guess. Her stories are always so unique and different. The story was rooted in history and possibilities and I enjoyed the journey it took me on.
Strike the Zither follows Zephyr, a strategist for one of the three warlordesses in conflict over the land in the realm. Zephyr goes undercover in the enemy camp to tip the scale in her side’s favor. There, she meets challenges in a rival strategist named Crow and otherworldly encounters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Roaring Book Press for an ARC of this book!
I loved this. Zephyr is such an unapologetic character. She’s arrogant, but for good reason. She’s a very good strategist and I loved being inside her brain throughout this book. I got to hear all her plans and ideas. I love political intrigue and war in a book and this one had plenty of that! I loved her and Crow’s relationship and how it developed from a rivalry to something much more. Their connection was very genuine and intellectual. Joan He always done such an amazing job with plot twists. It’s always something you never see coming and could never possibly guess. Her stories are always so unique and different. The story was rooted in history and possibilities and I enjoyed the journey it took me on.
Content Warnings
Minor: War, Death of parent, Murder, Animal death, Violence, Blood, and Death
graculus's review against another edition
3.0
This is one of those books which left me feeling a bit uncertain what I thought - not because it's particularly thought-provoking but partly because I just kind of couldn't see the point of what was done in it, given how it works out in the book itself.
The basic premise of Strike the Zither is that it's a historical fantasy set in a fictionalised version of China and taking the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is a bit of a sausagefest to say the least, and making all the characters women instead. So far, so good - I've been a longstanding fan of martial arts movies and love me some c-drama, so I was interested to see how this all worked out.
The thing is, it doesn't really seem to make a great deal of difference. This is gender-swapping at its most basic, just female for male but no actual change to anything beyond that as far as I could gauge. There's also an expected departure midway through into real fantasy territory where our protagonist realises/remembers that she's actually a deity, shortly before getting stuck in someone else's body. Unlike another book that this seems to be compared to quite a bit (She Who Became the Sun, in case you're wondering), this is not someone going against the flow of society but a different flow altogether which isn't explored all that well.
I guess I just wanted more. Our main character starts off interesting but soon sidles over to annoying and the body-swap situation didn't help with that. There's a nascent romantic relationship which piqued my interest a little but is doubtless being put on the back burner for later volumes. There's also a lot of clumsy titles like 'prime ministress' and 'lordess' which really irked me pretty much every time I read them.
All in all, while I enjoyed Strike the Zither in a lot of ways, I got the feeling that was mostly because of my love of c-drama bleeding in as much as for the book itself. It takes a really good idea but just doesn't push the boundaries with it - what does it mean to have women that heavily involved in warfare? How does that affect the way things work in everyday life for women? How does inheritance work in this society compared to China of that period? Do men still have multiple wives and concubines? We do get the sudden appearance of the occasional guy (an uncle and his two adopted sons, one of the strategists otherwise it's tricky to have a m-f romance subplot) but basically there's no mention of how they fit into this world which is otherwise apparently 99.5% female.
Then, when it comes to the book itself, there's a lot of hand-wavery going on to make the plot work. At one point early on, our protagonist fakes going over to the enemy so she can defeat them on behalf of her 'lordess' (ugh) but there's no real sense of why she favours one over the other much beyond it being the right thing to do. Ren, her liege lord (damnit, I'm sticking with that) is quite a thinly drawn character too and the degree of fealty being talked about just doesn't seem to stack up with what we seen 'on screen'. I guess though, having grown up in terms of my love of strategists on the likes of Mei Changsu, I was always going to be tough to impress...
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
The basic premise of Strike the Zither is that it's a historical fantasy set in a fictionalised version of China and taking the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is a bit of a sausagefest to say the least, and making all the characters women instead. So far, so good - I've been a longstanding fan of martial arts movies and love me some c-drama, so I was interested to see how this all worked out.
The thing is, it doesn't really seem to make a great deal of difference. This is gender-swapping at its most basic, just female for male but no actual change to anything beyond that as far as I could gauge. There's also an expected departure midway through into real fantasy territory where our protagonist realises/remembers that she's actually a deity, shortly before getting stuck in someone else's body. Unlike another book that this seems to be compared to quite a bit (She Who Became the Sun, in case you're wondering), this is not someone going against the flow of society but a different flow altogether which isn't explored all that well.
I guess I just wanted more. Our main character starts off interesting but soon sidles over to annoying and the body-swap situation didn't help with that. There's a nascent romantic relationship which piqued my interest a little but is doubtless being put on the back burner for later volumes. There's also a lot of clumsy titles like 'prime ministress' and 'lordess' which really irked me pretty much every time I read them.
All in all, while I enjoyed Strike the Zither in a lot of ways, I got the feeling that was mostly because of my love of c-drama bleeding in as much as for the book itself. It takes a really good idea but just doesn't push the boundaries with it - what does it mean to have women that heavily involved in warfare? How does that affect the way things work in everyday life for women? How does inheritance work in this society compared to China of that period? Do men still have multiple wives and concubines? We do get the sudden appearance of the occasional guy (an uncle and his two adopted sons, one of the strategists otherwise it's tricky to have a m-f romance subplot) but basically there's no mention of how they fit into this world which is otherwise apparently 99.5% female.
Then, when it comes to the book itself, there's a lot of hand-wavery going on to make the plot work. At one point early on, our protagonist fakes going over to the enemy so she can defeat them on behalf of her 'lordess' (ugh) but there's no real sense of why she favours one over the other much beyond it being the right thing to do. Ren, her liege lord (damnit, I'm sticking with that) is quite a thinly drawn character too and the degree of fealty being talked about just doesn't seem to stack up with what we seen 'on screen'. I guess though, having grown up in terms of my love of strategists on the likes of Mei Changsu, I was always going to be tough to impress...
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Animal death
marywahlmeierbracciano's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
This book is chock-full of some of the most badass female characters you’ve ever met. A feminist retelling of an ancient Chinese classic, this women-led epic is a wartime story of loyalty, trust, honor, and betrayal—it’s absolutely brutal, at times. The narrator, Zephyr, is a brilliant young strategist who is always three steps ahead, predicting and orchestrating events with pinpoint accuracy, until something unforeseen changes everything. Be prepared to get hooked on this series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, War, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Gore, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Child death, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Confinement, Torture, Stalking, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
lastblossom's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Thanks to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for an advance copy.
tl;dr
A beautifully written book with powerful characters and a rollercoaster ride of plot twists that's nearly impossible to put down.
About
In a land torn by war, three warlordesses fight for control. Zephyr is a brilliant strategist, and she'll do whatever it takes to keep her lordess Xin Ren safe. With armies at their heels and resources thin, Zephyr's only choice is to infiltrate the enemy's ranks and destroy them from within. But when the enemy's strategist Crow appears, has she finally met her match?
Thoughts
I'm already counting down the days to the sequel. The author's notes in the back state that this is her favorite book, and with good reason. It's an excellent book. War stratagems and human complexity clash beautifully and painfully in this retelling of The Three Kingdoms (although no familiarity with the original is necessary to enjoy this). The plot drives the story, but there's plenty of space for human interaction, including very thoughtful portrayals of the many different forms of sisterhood. Zephyr is an absolutely stunning main character. Bold, capable, confident, and utterly unshakeable. As much as I love a story where the MC learns to believe in themselves, getting to read one where they already do is truly exhilarating. Crow is a fantastic foil (and potential love interest?) - clever, moody, and full of secrets. I loved seeing him and Zephyr match wits. Writing is fast-paced, and evocative, with plot twists furling out with increasing urgency. And that ending! Ahhhh!
I'd also like to take the time to appreciate that notes in the back offer insight into the original Three Kingdoms story for curious readers, and there are a handful of gorgeous character illustrations in the front. (I, uh, wouldn't mind one for Crow in the second volume.)
tl;dr
A beautifully written book with powerful characters and a rollercoaster ride of plot twists that's nearly impossible to put down.
About
In a land torn by war, three warlordesses fight for control. Zephyr is a brilliant strategist, and she'll do whatever it takes to keep her lordess Xin Ren safe. With armies at their heels and resources thin, Zephyr's only choice is to infiltrate the enemy's ranks and destroy them from within. But when the enemy's strategist Crow appears, has she finally met her match?
Thoughts
I'm already counting down the days to the sequel. The author's notes in the back state that this is her favorite book, and with good reason. It's an excellent book. War stratagems and human complexity clash beautifully and painfully in this retelling of The Three Kingdoms (although no familiarity with the original is necessary to enjoy this). The plot drives the story, but there's plenty of space for human interaction, including very thoughtful portrayals of the many different forms of sisterhood. Zephyr is an absolutely stunning main character. Bold, capable, confident, and utterly unshakeable. As much as I love a story where the MC learns to believe in themselves, getting to read one where they already do is truly exhilarating. Crow is a fantastic foil (and potential love interest?) - clever, moody, and full of secrets. I loved seeing him and Zephyr match wits. Writing is fast-paced, and evocative, with plot twists furling out with increasing urgency. And that ending! Ahhhh!
I'd also like to take the time to appreciate that notes in the back offer insight into the original Three Kingdoms story for curious readers, and there are a handful of gorgeous character illustrations in the front. (I, uh, wouldn't mind one for Crow in the second volume.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and War
Minor: Alcohol and Animal death
ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
Strike the Zither is the story of Zephyr, a young strategist for the lordess Xin Ren. Taken in as an orphan by Xin Ren, Zephyr follows her out of honor and thinks she has all of the pieces set perfectly in line to help Xin Ren gain back what is rightfully hers. But even Zephyr doesn't know all of the pieces in play.
I flew through this book and will probably read it again and again as I await its sequel.
Having all of these women in powerful positions and using the title of "lordess" instead of lady was so much fun and a detail I highly enjoyed. Having a sworn sisterhood made me so excited and immediately added so much to their relationships and to the way that Zephyr was there, as Xin Ren's strategist and right hand, but still an outsider to the ones closest to Xin Ren.
When I read the table of contents and saw it ended on an Intermezzo I was so excited to find out why and the closer I got to the end, the more I wanted to know how it would go. I absolutely loved this book and I am already eagerly awaiting the next in the series. Zephyr is such an interesting character, the way she is willing to do anything to further her cause, and the changes she goes through as she learns more of the truth of who she was and is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Roaring Brook Press for making this book available in exchange for an honest review.
I flew through this book and will probably read it again and again as I await its sequel.
Having all of these women in powerful positions and using the title of "lordess" instead of lady was so much fun and a detail I highly enjoyed. Having a sworn sisterhood made me so excited and immediately added so much to their relationships and to the way that Zephyr was there, as Xin Ren's strategist and right hand, but still an outsider to the ones closest to Xin Ren.
When I read the table of contents and saw it ended on an Intermezzo I was so excited to find out why and the closer I got to the end, the more I wanted to know how it would go. I absolutely loved this book and I am already eagerly awaiting the next in the series. Zephyr is such an interesting character, the way she is willing to do anything to further her cause, and the changes she goes through as she learns more of the truth of who she was and is.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Roaring Brook Press for making this book available in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, Alcohol, and Child death
More...