Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Black Tides of Heaven

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang

10 reviews

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-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? No

3.75

More time skips than I expected. Underwhelming ending. Engaging during some parts though, so it felt like it had potential. [spoilered parts are complaints about specific scenes]

Why did he keep kissing his sister's boyfriend and later husband tho??? Those parts were so random. Apart from that, the part where apparently to choose not to kill his mother would truly free him could have more setup because it was just confusing.

Content Warnings

lonelylooper's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This is the most recent iteration of the "read out loud together before bed" tradition that my partner and I began a few years ago and have been surprisingly consistent with. This is the first time we have read something totally new to us both that also doesn't have another related fandom/media with it. So kind of a new experience. We chose it like this: I listed the "owned" fantasy/scifi I haven't read yet and he picked the one that sounded the best to him. I have the four-novellas-in-one publication of the series, so we'll be reading all of them. But since I haven't read these yet before, I wanted to do my normal review-per-book situation.

Akeha and Mokoya are twins, born to The Protector, the mother who rules the Protectorate with a heavy hand, and traded to the Grand Monastery to pay back a favor. As they grow, Mokoya realizes she has the gift of prophecy, while Akeha pulls into the background, watching the pieces of their world move around them. The twins choose different paths moving into adulthood, they reach, from their individual perspectives, the same conclusions about the poison that is their mother's reign. Mokoya from within and Akeha from the outskirts, they each support the rebel Machinist movement, while simultaneously trying to maintain their close connection to the other.

This got off to a very intriguing start. I always appreciate when a new magic system and world can be introduced in a way that is not too much explanation/exposition (dropped right in), yet still has enough paced unfolding that you don’t feel completely lost/overwhelmed. The relationship between Mokoya and Akeha was really well developed, considering the length. There was a lot of nuance to the way they grew so intertwined and yet so separate (in everything from their personalities to their genders to the role(s) they play in the larger world). I felt like the rest of the characters were fairly flat, the affairs of the world very background, while Moko and Keha did hold the central role through all their years and growth and separation and individual/parental trauma and rebellion. Although they ended very much back where it started, a potential commentary on the cyclical patterns of life (though perhaps not clear enough to be fully successful), I wonder if the next books will cover their "second chance" to choose their paths forwards and if different choices will be made or the same circular paths followed.

A side note on gender/sexuality, I did love the use of neutral pronouns until a person is old enough (as defined by themselves) to choose gender for themselves, but a little disappointed when it was mostly presented as a binary choice (unless I missed something...but I can’t find any indication remaining outside the binary in some way was an option.) Related, I liked the "complication" of the twins choosing different gender paths but having feelings for the same person (who clearly feels connected to them both in return, though it's never specified how exactly). It introduced a lot of wonderful nebulous sexuality complexity and representation.

I was otherwise super invested as the story unfolded, as I am used to these short novellas having a real "punch" in the end (like Binti and The Empress of Salt and Fortune), but this one didn't deliver in quite the same way. I mean, there was a nuclear turn, and a tragic death, but in both cases, I wasn't really fully sold by the plot point or, for whatever reason, not invested enough the care the way I think I was supposed to. Plus, the ending felt a bit hanging, like, unfinished. I can get behind a well done open-ended ending, but this one felt less complete, more unfulfilling, as opposed to purposefully open to interpretation. I'm here to give the series the benefit of the doubt, because the world and magic systems feel well fleshed out, and there's still a promise for the greater story. But I think in part that's because I have the rest of the series already at hand - if I didn't already have it, or if I was waiting for the rest to be published, I don't think I'd be invested enough to continue.

I do have to say, to end on a big positive note, that the writing was really special. The short descriptions and turns of phrase are lyrical and gorgeously evocative, and really smart in vocabulary. I pulled a couple examples, but honestly the whole thing really brought you along with its flow. Here are some highlights though: “…an ocean of missed opportunities and wasted futures roiling between them.” and “…their lips issuing a commandment of desire, playing a symphony of desperation.” and “So great was the appetite of empire that it would not even spit out the bones.” I mean, what poeticism.

Overall, not as stunning as I had hoped. Though the language and world-building and magic, as well as the twins primary relationship with each other, met expectations, I was left wanting something more from the story itself. Here's to hoping the next novellas add enough plot and depth to redeem this opening.

“In the monastery, [...] they taught us that fortune is both intractable and impartial. That when bad things happen, it's the result of an incomprehensible and inhuman universe working as it does. The mountain shrugs, but thinks nothing of the houses crushed in the avalanche. That was not it’s purpose.”

“Legends form around grains of truth.”

"The saying goes, 'The black tides of heaven direct the courses of human lives.' To which a wise teacher said, 'But as with all waters, one can swim against the tide.'"

“Because he had always known, even as a child, that he was the lightning, while she was the fire in the core of planets. And the world needed both. Revolutions needed both. Someone had to wield the knives, but someone also had to write the treaties.”

“With all the horrors in the world, it was easy to forget there were wonders too.”

Content Warnings

starship_olympus's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I could’ve spent 100 more years with this book. I think on a re-read I’ll give it 5 stars. I wish I had been able to read it in one sitting, the pacing is quick and the writing style is beautiful. It’s a book to be savored or devoured - as long as it is with love and with intention.
I’m excited to read more of Neon Yang’s work!
————
OKAY I JUST LOOKED UP NEON YANGS DISCOGRAPHY THERE ARE MORE OMG OMG OMG

Content Warnings

lilmor's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Couldn’t put it down. Yang writes with a deftness that reads so fluidly and leaves a reader clamoring for more without being sparse.

Content Warnings

lain_darko's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

wayward_sara's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Beautiful story, I loved the writing and the time jumps. Also finally the ə in the italian language as a way to introduce neutral pronouns! Can't wait to read the other books.

Content Warnings

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful 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

4.5

I LOVED THIS A LOT!!!

In this dystopian fantasy world, the Protector rules the land. When she makes a deal with the Grand Monastery, she ends up giving them her twins. At the age of 6, Mokoya and Akeha are sent to live and train with the monks. In the monastery the twins develop different gifts: Mokoya gets visions of the future and Akeha can see strings that move people to action. Years later they are sent back to their mother and the two become aware of unrest in the Protectorate.

This silkpunk world was so freaking cool. I loved the magic system, but my favorite thing was the way gender worked. All children are assigned gender neutral pronouns (they) at birth. As the kids age, once they're old enough they choose their gender. While our twins do eventually pick genders, i wondered if there were any characters who chose to stay nonbinary.

I loved the bond between Mokoya and Akeha, seeing them grow apart after they left the monastery made me so sad! The ending was pretty wild and I really am excited to see where this will go. Both twins have very clearly sided with the rebellion and I do love a good rebellion story. There is a bit of romance in this for each twin, and I enjoyed it while it also broke my heart a little!

Content Warnings

victorianrogue's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

More...