A review by bingsoojung
The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg

adventurous funny lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the ARC.

Fuck, I love being Thai. This book is all the beautiful wonderful and frankly annoying parts about being Thai. The little low magics that we all deny doing, the stories that our parents tell us to scare us shitless, the best fruit ever — mangkut, and the royal family who I will say nothing about in fear of lese majeste. 

This book was a joyful rumpus read about Hunter Ex, a young Phi Hunter, and perhaps the last of his kind, as he tries to become not just a phi hunter, but a true demon slayer. Along the path he meets a krasue — Narissa, who’s trying to become a human with the help of the deva Indrajit, and a consort to the crown prince — Aryina., who’s trying to give birth without her daughter being killed. Basically if you read the Witcher and went ‘you know I think this could stand to be Thai’ then this is the book for you.

Things I thought the author did incredibly well were:

1. Plot Juggling Salinee does a fantastic job of layering a number of characters and disconnected plotlines on top of one another and never making any of them feel bland or dejected or even unimportant. Instead each is given enough time and energy, all while adding something in to the main plot despite them not inherently being connected to it. 
2. The Tone The book is the right amount of light-hearted, fast-paced, and tense to make you want to continue reading. It’s completely irreverent and funny, but at the same time it manages to discuss the idea of progress and legacy and industrialization with such a caring tone that I was honestly blown away by. Salinee clearly has thoughts about whether ‘progress’ is actually progress, or if it’s just a facade that abusive men have taken on to allow them to consume even more in their never-ending quest for power.
3. Characterization While I think some of the characterization could’ve used some work, as the characters could’ve stood to all be fleshed out a bit more, I really liked all the characters. They were all flawed but funny and distinct, and I understood where they were coming from, and their fears. Every single one of them was a delight to read, even the ones I hated.
4. Did I mention it’s Thai? Literally just that. I’m Thai, this book is Thai, the author’s Thai. Do you know how often I get to read a book with a Thai main character? The answer’s never, this is the first book I’ve ever read with a Thai MC. Let alone a whole cast of Thai characters! I’m very excited. This was very exciting.

If there is one eensy weensy problem I had with this book, it’s that just a single book doesn’t feel like enough. The Last Phi Hunter suggests at a wider cosmology of Devas and phi and a mystery beyond that of the novel, yet it stops short of fully expanding upon it, leaving the story feeling unfinished. The epilogue certainly doesn’t help with that sensation either. This isn’t enough to actually deduct from the rating, but the lack of a planned second book does leave it feeling ultimately unfinished.

TLDR; Thai people are awesome, Thai mythology is awesome. The idea of  Salinee Goldenberg is awesome. You should read this book because it’s awesome.