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A review by sreddous
Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Lori M. Lee
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Overall, this is a super interesting fantasy story! The stakes are constantly high, and all of the different monsters and spirits are so interesting in different ways. The way Pahua and Zhong both learn how to re-examine their problem-solving approaches is SO satisfying, and while I personally wish they were less mean to each other a litttttttle sooner in the story, it's still realistic how they grow to work together more.
I LOVE the way this ends. Without spoiling too much, it's WONDERFUL to see how all the different lessons Pahua learns about strength come together in her decisions regarding the Bridge Spirit in the end. It's beautiful, and well-built-up, and very very satisfying. I'm definitely cheering for Pahua to keep growing as a shaman!!
There are a few little things that IMO stop this from being a total masterpiece. The pop-culture references got a bit much for me -- there's quite a few times where if you aren't familiar with things like Star Wars or Sailor Moon, the narration and dialogue won't make any sense. But that's just my personal preference, that I am annoyed by pop culture references.
Also, while I think the monsters are super interesting and the descriptions of scenery are nice, the plot is just maybe a tiny bit slow for my taste. Overall this isn't MUCH of a problem, as the lessons Pahua learns about bravery and solving problems in her own way feel earned and feel well-built-up-to, so on that note I'm glad the pacing isn't TOO fast. It needs to be a little slow. But there's a slightly weird balance here -- sometimes things are REALLY fast and it feels info-dump-y and rant-y how we get some information, and then the pendulum swings the other way and sometimes it feels like we go back-and-forth a bit too often in the spiritual realm. So maybe things could have been condensed juuuust a tiny bit to keep everything more focused.
But those are pretty nitpicky opinions. Overall this is well-developed and detail-oriented, and is a super cool lens into myths and stories from a culture that doesn't get a ton of 'screentime' in media in the USA. I'm super excited to read more from this series!
I LOVE the way this ends. Without spoiling too much, it's WONDERFUL to see how all the different lessons Pahua learns about strength come together in her decisions regarding the Bridge Spirit in the end. It's beautiful, and well-built-up, and very very satisfying. I'm definitely cheering for Pahua to keep growing as a shaman!!
There are a few little things that IMO stop this from being a total masterpiece. The pop-culture references got a bit much for me -- there's quite a few times where if you aren't familiar with things like Star Wars or Sailor Moon, the narration and dialogue won't make any sense. But that's just my personal preference, that I am annoyed by pop culture references.
Also, while I think the monsters are super interesting and the descriptions of scenery are nice, the plot is just maybe a tiny bit slow for my taste. Overall this isn't MUCH of a problem, as the lessons Pahua learns about bravery and solving problems in her own way feel earned and feel well-built-up-to, so on that note I'm glad the pacing isn't TOO fast. It needs to be a little slow. But there's a slightly weird balance here -- sometimes things are REALLY fast and it feels info-dump-y and rant-y how we get some information, and then the pendulum swings the other way and sometimes it feels like we go back-and-forth a bit too often in the spiritual realm. So maybe things could have been condensed juuuust a tiny bit to keep everything more focused.
But those are pretty nitpicky opinions. Overall this is well-developed and detail-oriented, and is a super cool lens into myths and stories from a culture that doesn't get a ton of 'screentime' in media in the USA. I'm super excited to read more from this series!