alex_golub 's review for:

The Tangleroot Palace by Marjorie M. Liu

3.0

dark reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Liu's speciality in this volume is supernaturally powerful female characters who heroically bear emotional burdens, often enduring sacrifice after sacrifice to create a bright future for others which they themselves often do not get to enjoy. Apparently she is a lawyer so I suspect she does a lot of pro bono work! I found "The Briar and the Rose" to be heartbreakingly beautiful. The other pieces are often good, but sometimes Liu struggles to gracefully fit all the backstory and exposition into a narrative as it unfolds. Also, a lot of these stories are more in the horror genre, which is personally not my thing. YMMV.