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jvan 's review for:
Siren Queen
by Nghi Vo
So very many good ideas, but so little purpose to them. There's great worldbuilding with studio heads as otherworldly entities granting power to stars, a strange faerie realm of weekend fireside rambles, literal stars formed when an actor reaches a supernatural pinnacle. But for all that, none of it amounts to much. There's no rhyme or reason, and the Siren Queen doesn't seem like a destined star in any case--she's making schlocky mermaid movies facing off against Captain Nemo. It's just not what I hoped for, and it shows that it's Vo's first book written.