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sakeriver's review against another edition
I loved the setting of this novelette, and the fable-ish quality of the prose. The ending felt a little abrupt, but the whole journey getting there was just lovely.
metaphorosis's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars, Metaphorosis Reviews
Summary:
The lilies that provide a lifesaving nectar are in decline, ravaged by hungry invading cranes. The last, reluctant priestess of the goddess is unsure what to do, but a mysterious visitor claims he may have a solution.
Review:
This is a biased review.
I’ve published a couple of Vanessa Fogg’s stories and loved them. I generally don’t post reviews of Metaphorosis authors’ work. In fact, I don’t think I’ve published any up until now, in part because of the awkwardness inherent if I don’t like the work. Happily, I don’t have that problem here. Nor is there any authorial pressure; Ms. Fogg didn’t ask for a review – this’ll be the first she’s heard of it. Simply put, I like her writing and I thought the story sounded interesting, so I went out and bought it. With all of those caveats and disclosures out of the way…
The Lilies of the Dawn is beautifully written. That’s the main thing, and one of the best things I can ever say about a story. The imagery is rich, the metaphors apt and incisive; what’s more, they support the story, contribute to it, rather than distracting. On top of that, there’s a rich emotional vein and a appealing, engaging characters. The ending hits all the right notes, and fords a stream of sentimentality that was getting perilously deep. What’s not to like?
There’s always something, of course. But here, my caveats are relatively small.
First, there’s that sentimentality. I’m all for it, but I did wonder whether the story was heading for a current it couldn’t get out of. Instead, the ending pulls off a mostly satisfying resolution. It’s not quite perfect, but it’s very good.
Second, the story, even for a novella, is on the slight side. The skeleton of the plot is a very familiar one, and we’ve seen some of the closing elements before, in a slightly different form. The beauty of Fogg’s writing is that it doesn’t really matter. Up until near the end, the setting is fresh and interesting, and I was caught up enough by the prose and the characters that the cognates didn’t intrude. It wasn’t until the ending that things began to feel a little mundane.
Third – I keep mentioning the ending. All the elements are right, the emotional balance works, the character choices fit. It’s a good ending, so what’s missing? In brief, some of the infrastructure. Bits of the backstory come too late, and I didn’t really buy into them. They could have worked if they’d been either toned down or (preferably) more fully developed. As it is, in the last few pages of the book I fell out of the “Wow, this is great” mood that had carried me through, and fell to “This is good; I hope she pulls it off.” As noted, the actual ending and closing were well done; I just wish that those penultimate 10 pages had gotten the attention they deserved, and that the rest of the story did.
Overall, this is a great read, and well deserving of your time and money. I look forward to more (and longer) work from Ms. Fogg, and you will too.
Summary:
The lilies that provide a lifesaving nectar are in decline, ravaged by hungry invading cranes. The last, reluctant priestess of the goddess is unsure what to do, but a mysterious visitor claims he may have a solution.
Review:
This is a biased review.
I’ve published a couple of Vanessa Fogg’s stories and loved them. I generally don’t post reviews of Metaphorosis authors’ work. In fact, I don’t think I’ve published any up until now, in part because of the awkwardness inherent if I don’t like the work. Happily, I don’t have that problem here. Nor is there any authorial pressure; Ms. Fogg didn’t ask for a review – this’ll be the first she’s heard of it. Simply put, I like her writing and I thought the story sounded interesting, so I went out and bought it. With all of those caveats and disclosures out of the way…
The Lilies of the Dawn is beautifully written. That’s the main thing, and one of the best things I can ever say about a story. The imagery is rich, the metaphors apt and incisive; what’s more, they support the story, contribute to it, rather than distracting. On top of that, there’s a rich emotional vein and a appealing, engaging characters. The ending hits all the right notes, and fords a stream of sentimentality that was getting perilously deep. What’s not to like?
There’s always something, of course. But here, my caveats are relatively small.
First, there’s that sentimentality. I’m all for it, but I did wonder whether the story was heading for a current it couldn’t get out of. Instead, the ending pulls off a mostly satisfying resolution. It’s not quite perfect, but it’s very good.
Second, the story, even for a novella, is on the slight side. The skeleton of the plot is a very familiar one, and we’ve seen some of the closing elements before, in a slightly different form. The beauty of Fogg’s writing is that it doesn’t really matter. Up until near the end, the setting is fresh and interesting, and I was caught up enough by the prose and the characters that the cognates didn’t intrude. It wasn’t until the ending that things began to feel a little mundane.
Third – I keep mentioning the ending. All the elements are right, the emotional balance works, the character choices fit. It’s a good ending, so what’s missing? In brief, some of the infrastructure. Bits of the backstory come too late, and I didn’t really buy into them. They could have worked if they’d been either toned down or (preferably) more fully developed. As it is, in the last few pages of the book I fell out of the “Wow, this is great” mood that had carried me through, and fell to “This is good; I hope she pulls it off.” As noted, the actual ending and closing were well done; I just wish that those penultimate 10 pages had gotten the attention they deserved, and that the rest of the story did.
Overall, this is a great read, and well deserving of your time and money. I look forward to more (and longer) work from Ms. Fogg, and you will too.
naturalistnatalie's review against another edition
5.0
This story feels like a fantastical fairy tale with Oriental undertones. I’m not sure it is part of any extant mythology, but I could totally see it fitting into a traditional book of fairy tales. It has all the required elements: a village touched by the Goddess, but currently visited by a curse, a young girl trying to find the cure, a handsome young stranger, and a bittersweet ending. Fogg is able to fill her world with gorgeous details without any boring infodumps. You have to pay attention, though, because she packs quite a few details into a few pages. Overall, a delightful story.
hstone's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mariahaskins's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve read and loved Vanessa Fogg’s short fiction, and just like her short stories, this novella is a well-crafted gem. Fogg’s prose is brilliantly clear and vivid as she tells this fairytale / fantasy-tale of Kai, the beautiful dawn lilies she harvests, and the strange cranes that come to ravage the flowers every year as they bloom.
Fogg brings the world of the story to life with all its sounds and smells and colours, making it feel close and real, and then expertly weaves the fairytale-element into that world. There’s an under-current of sadness and loss, of longing and regret, running beneath the beautiful landscape of ‘The Lilies of Dawn’ that makes me think of the movie ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’. In that story, as in this one, there are deep and bruising consequences when the world of the divine touches our world “below”: in the end, humans, deities, and, yes, enchanted cranes, are all affected.
Another thing I really like about ‘The Lilies of Dawn’ is how the story ties together the fantasy – the origin and fate of the demon cranes – with Kai’s very real and human journey of discovering her own strengths and weaknesses, and understanding what place she wants to claim in the world.
Highly recommended!
Fogg brings the world of the story to life with all its sounds and smells and colours, making it feel close and real, and then expertly weaves the fairytale-element into that world. There’s an under-current of sadness and loss, of longing and regret, running beneath the beautiful landscape of ‘The Lilies of Dawn’ that makes me think of the movie ‘The Tale of Princess Kaguya’. In that story, as in this one, there are deep and bruising consequences when the world of the divine touches our world “below”: in the end, humans, deities, and, yes, enchanted cranes, are all affected.
Another thing I really like about ‘The Lilies of Dawn’ is how the story ties together the fantasy – the origin and fate of the demon cranes – with Kai’s very real and human journey of discovering her own strengths and weaknesses, and understanding what place she wants to claim in the world.
Highly recommended!
daisyh's review
4.0
★★★★ (4) stars
- quite beautiful
- lush, myth-like feel
- the worldbuilding was gorgeous
- i really connected to kai. her loneliness, her sense of duty, and her perseverance
- the ending. the ending. the ending. bittersweet and wow
- i wish there was more
- quite beautiful
- lush, myth-like feel
- the worldbuilding was gorgeous
- i really connected to kai. her loneliness, her sense of duty, and her perseverance
- the ending. the ending. the ending. bittersweet and wow
- i wish there was more
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