The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho is a standalone novella set in an asian fantasy world with, I think, Malaysian and Chinese influences. It is a delight, like most of Zen Cho's work.

Zen Cho returns with a found family wuxia fantasy that combines the vibrancy of old school martial arts movies with characters drawn from the margins of history.

A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

This story is about a disenfranchised nun joining a group of bandits on a smuggling job. Amusing hijinks ensue, as is to be expected from Zen Cho. I'm not sure I can say much more about the plot without spoilers, but it includes secrets, temples and a background war.

The characters are particularly excellent, with the nun forcing her way into the team of bandits and the bandits coming around to her presence in their own different ways. This is a novella that successfully has a detailed plot and strong characterisation.

I enjoyed it very much. I laughed and was delighted and it was exactly what I needed to lift my mood during pandemic lockdown times. I highly recommend it to all fantasy fans, especially readers who enjoy a bit of humour in their stories. Fans of Zen Cho should not hesitate to pick this one up and I hope it will make more readers into fans.

5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2020, Tor.com
Series: No
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

#ReadShortStories 101 - 105

In this batch I finish off Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee (but you'll have to wait for my next post to see my full review of the novella, "Glass Cannon") and read a couple of other stories, including a Hugo shortlisted novelette by Zen Cho.


Vacation by Yoon Ha Lee — Different characters take a trip to the zoo in this flash piece. Source: Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

Gamer’s End by Yoon Ha Lee — A second person short story about an advanced trainee sitting a test under Jedao. It’s one of the longer stories in this collection and is not so much filling in past anecdotes as telling a self-contained story set in the same world. And the second person narration adds some interesting flavour. Source: Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

If at First You Don't Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho — A wonderful story about an imugi trying to ascend to a heavenly dragon form. It takes a long time and learns many things along the way. Both about the Way and, eventually, about humans. A very enjoyable story with an emotional and bittersweet ending. Source: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed-try-try-again-by-zen-cho/

The Letter by Emma Newman — A short piece about someone who wasn’t chosen to go on the Atlas spaceship with the pathfinder, and her coping with that. An encouraging read. Source: Emma Newman’s newsletter

Glass Cannon by Yoon Ha Lee — This is a novella (well and truly; it takes up the entire second half of Hexarchate Stories) set after Revenant Gun. It contains a lot of spoilers for the end of the Machineries of Empire series and I definitely don’t recommend reading it without having read the series. Not only will it be confusing, but it will also spoil some of the surprises and enjoyment of the books. In fact, a proper review of it is spoileriffic, so I will restrict it to my full review of Hexarchate Stories. Source: Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

The True Queen by Zen Cho

The True Queen by Zen Cho is set after the events of Sorcerer to the Crown, but is not a direct sequel since it follows a different group of characters. I enjoyed Sorcerer to the Crown and generally recommend starting there to get a delightful introduction to the world, but if you can't get your hands on it, I don't see a problem with starting with The True Queen (especially if you don't mind being spoiled for the end state of Sorcerer to the Crown).

Fairyland’s future lies in doubt

The enchanted island of Janda Baik, in the Malay Archipelago, has long been home to witches. And Muna and her sister Sakti wake on its shores under a curse, which has quite stolen away their memories. Their only hope of salvation lies in distant Britain, where the Sorceress Royal runs a controversial academy for female magicians. But the pair travel via the formidable Fairy Queen’s realm, where Sakti simply disappears.

To save her sister, Muna must learn to navigate Regency London’s high society and trick the English into believing she’s a magical prodigy. But when the Sorceress Royal’s friends become accidentally embroiled in a plot – involving the Fairy Queen’s contentious succession – Muna is drawn right in. She must also find Sakti, break their curse and somehow stay out of trouble. But if fairyland’s true queen does finally return, trouble may find her first . . .

This was an excellent read. I had put off starting it for a little while because I wanted to finish other books I was part way through first. But (eventually) putting them aside and starting The True Queen was an excellent decision. I remember enjoying Sorcerer to the Crown very much when I read it, but that was a few years ago and in audiobook form, so my memory of it was hazier than I would have liked. I need not have worried, though since The True Queen follows a new character and gives us a good grounding in the world — and the Malaysian side of the world, at that — before introducing us to most of the recurring characters.

Muna starts off the book with no memory of who she is or why she washed up on a beach. She and her sister are taken in by a powerful local witch and, when little progress is made in curing them of the mysterious curse, they are sent to England to find out more. That's where things go wrong and also where the main connection to the earlier book lies.

I really enjoyed The True Queen. It made me laugh with its incidental humour and told an intriguing story which was captivating even though we, the reader, were given more than enough information to make connections that the protagonist overlooked for perfectly understandable reasons. And through the second most prominent character, Henrietta, we got a closer look at English society, the ways in which Prunella — the first Sorceress Royal — had changed society and the ways in which she hadn't.

I highly recommend The True Queen to anyone who enjoys fantasy with a dollop of humour or regcency-ish settings or Malaysian settings, for that matter. I continue to adore Zen Cho's writing (have you read her short stories?) and I will avidly read anything else of hers that I come across.

5 / 5 stars

First published: March 2019, Macmillan
Series: Sorcerer Royal, book 2 of 2 (so far)
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Short Stories 26 to 30

This batch of stories brought to you by me being really into the Velveteen vs series by Seanan McGuire and also thinking that I had a short wait at the physio which turned out to be long enough for three flash stories PLUS their mini reviews. Oh well.



Velveteen vs the Eternal Halloween by Seanan McGuire — A story set entirely during Velveteen’s teenage years and featuring a Groundhog Day-like Halloween and the world of Halloween. A solid story. It inadvertently had me wondering how the world of Halloween would fit in with the Wayward Children, but this story was, of course, written much earlier. It was also kind of more fun (less cynical) than adult Velveteen. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs6.php

Velveteen vs the Ordinary Day by Seanan McGuire — Another chapter in adult Velveteen’s life. Having made it to Oregon, Velma reunites with some friends. An entertaining read. Source: http://seananmcguire.com/velvs7.php

Kai Ling's Tree by Joyce Chng — A short vignette of a story, illustrating a piece of life on a Mars being terraformed. It was a nice glimpse into a possible future. Source: https://jolantru.dreamwidth.org/16009.html

Unterminator by Zen Cho — A touching flash piece about a robot sent from the future to avert an apocalypse. (Also, just first thought was that the title referred to the night/day divide kind of terminator, so, um, that was briefly confusing.) Source: http://zencho.org/unterminator/

See DANGEROUS EARTH-POSSIBLES! by Tina Connolly — A short/flash story about travelling to parallel universes where fighting monsters can be more appealing than what’s happening at home. A solid read. Source: http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/see-dangerous-earth-possibles/

Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho

Spirits Abroad by Zen Cho is a collection of short fiction by the author of Sorcerer to the Crown and several other works of fiction that I've enjoyed. I bought the book some time ago, when I read Cho's other work, but only just got around to reading it, mostly thanks to challenging myself to read more short stories. I'm a bit disappointed in myself for putting it off for so long.

"If you live near the jungle, you will realise that what is real and what is not real is not always clear. In the forest there is not a big gap between the two."

A Datin recalls her romance with an orang bunian. A teenage pontianak struggles to balance homework, bossy aunties, first love, and eating people. An earth spirit gets entangled in protracted negotiations with an annoying landlord, and Chang E spins off into outer space, the ultimate metaphor for the Chinese diaspora.

The ebook edition of Campbell-nominated author Zen Cho's short story collection SPIRITS ABROAD features 15 speculative short stories, author commentary, and an ebook-only cover by artist Likhain (likhain.net).

Overall, I loved this book. Of course, I didn't love every single story, but I thought most of them were great and there were only a few stories that didn't click with me. The collection is divided into three sections: Here, There, Elsewhere, and Going Back, which is an interesting thematic grouping of stories. The "Here" stories were mostly set in Malaysia, the "There" stories were mostly set in the UK, the "Elsewhere" stories were either set in non-Earthly or non-specific locations, and the "Going Back" stories were mostly set in Malaysia but perhaps not quite. All the stories had some sort of fantasy element to them. For the most part this structure worked well. Out of fifteen stories, there were only four I didn't love, which is a pretty good hit rate. I also liked how the stories had author's notes which could be read after the story or skipped entirely and the ebook was set up with handy links to take you between story and notes and back to the next story with minimal effort.

The stories all (I think?) have some Malaysian elements to them, which Cho does not shy away from. We are treated to Manglish and mythology/folklore and a good dose of humour (although I should note that not all of the stories are funny — some are a bit depressing). There were a few stories that were linked by being about some of the same people, including two set in a contemporary version of the Sorcerer to the Crown world, which I would love to read more of.

If you've been following my short story reading challenge, you will have seen some of my comments on the individual stories in this collection. I am still including my usual story-by-story commentary, but it might feel a bit repetitive. Sorry about that.

~

Here

The First Witch of Damansara — A delightful story about a Malaysian woman living in the West who goes home to KL for her grandmother’s funeral. An excellent and very entertaining read that reminded me how much I love Cho’s writing.

First National Forum on the Position of Minorities in Malaysia — This story had a bit of a slow start before the spec fic element came to the fore. It was interesting, but it was a bit sad and less inherently amusing by its nature. 

House of Aunts — a longer story about a teenage girl with a surfeit of aunts, all of them undead. Being sixteen and undead is not so bad when you have so many aunts looking after you, but not being allowed to have friends at your new school is a bit harder. An excellent story on the longer side (novelette range by Hugo definitions) that’s slightly gory (people are eaten) but otherwise a fun read. 

There

One-Day Travelcard for Fairyland — Malaysian (and other nationalities) girls at an English boarding school in the present-day countryside come up against fairies, the malicious kind. An amusing and quick read.

起狮，行礼 (Rising Lion — The Lion Bows) — A lovely story about a lion dance troupe and the ghost they’re paid to get rid of. 

七星鼓 (Seven Star Drum) — Another lion dance story which, I was delighted to learn, has some crossover characters with the previous story. It also conveyed the main character’s love for the lion very well. 

The Mystery of the Suet Swain — A story about boys being creepy and a stalker and female friendship, set at university.

Prudence and the Dragon — A hilarious story set in a present day version of the Sorcerer to the Crown London. I think the most I’ve laughed in this collection so far and there were heaps of delightful background/worldbuilding details that really made the story.

The Perseverance of Angela's Past Life — Sort of a sequel/companion story to the previous, focussing on Prudence’s best friend Angela. Unlike Prudence, Angela is very sensitive to magic and close proximity to a dragon caused some of her issues to physically manifest. Another amusing story. I would be more than happy to read a novel set in this time period of this world.

Elsewhere

The Earth Spirit’s Favourite Anecdote — the story of finding a hole in the forest and dealing with a forest spirit, told by an earth spirit. Not my favourite story in this collection.

Liyana — a depressing but really fascinating story. A class of folklore idea that I don’t think I’ve come across before. But also, more than metaphorically about women’s sacrifice for the family.

The Four Generations of Chang E — A story about being the child of immigrants and fitting in or not. Also aliens on the moon. And from the authors notes, some mythological subtext that went over my head.

Going Back

The Many Deaths is Hang Jebat — was a bit confusing and I was a bit lost as to where it was going until I read the author’s notes and saw that it was based on mythology I had no knowledge of. The summary in the author’s notes made yet a bit clearer and I can now see what the author was trying to do, but the story doesn’t work that well on its own.

The Fish Bowl — a dawning horror story about the pressure to do well in school and a concerning bargain with a magic fish. Harrowing. I quite liked the story, but I wanted a bit more from the end than we got, I think.

Balik Kampung — a story about a ghost returning to earth for the Hungry Ghost Festival and, in the course of events, finding out how she died. A good story to end the collection on. Some humour, some sadness.

~

In general, I want to read more of Cho's writing and look forward to getting my hands on the short stories not included in Spirits Abroad while I wait for the sequel to Sorcerer to the Crown to come out. I highly recommend Spirits Abroad to fans of short fiction and spec fic. There's a lot to like about this collection and I think more people should experience it.

5 / 5 stars

First published: 2014, Buku Fixi
Series: No (except two stories were set in the Sorcerer to the Crown world, I think)
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from Smashwords

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho is the author's first full-length novel and the first book in a trilogy. You may recall my recent reviews of Cho's novellas, which I quite enjoyed. I started listening to Sorcerer to the Crown as an audiobook shortly after reading those. The nature of audiobooks meant that it took me a while to clock up enough driving time to get through it all.

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large… Less

Sorcerer to the Crown follows two characters in Regency England: the Sorcerer Royal, Zacharias Wythe, and Prunella Gentleman, an orphaned young lady who starts off the story as the ward of the mistress of a magical school for girls. The school does not concern itself with teaching girls magic, however, rather it teaches them how to suppress it so that the proper magic users of the world — i.e. men — can get on with the proper magical work. The two characters' path's cross when Zacharias is strong-armed into visiting the school to give a talk.

There was much hilarity in this book. I found myself laughing out loud several times. A lot of the humour comes from manner-punk interactions, which put me in mind of Gail Carriger's books, as did Cho's novellas. This novel is actually more similar to Carriger's work since there is magic (but not werewolves in society or anything like that), more humour, and a strongly English setting.

I enjoyed reading the interactions between Prunella and Zacharias — and the other characters, but especially those two — very much. They were both excellent characters. Prunella sewed mayhem wherever she went — other than social situations in which that would be inappropriate! — while Zacharias was an interesting character to read for other reasons. He is tightly constrained by his position, by societal expectations and by the fact that he is black and has to live with never ending microaggressions. He is always painfully aware of what is appropriate and what people might think, whereas Prunella is less concerned with that, especially in magical situations. Their conflicting interplay lead to much amusement.

I really enjoyed this book. I suspect I would've enjoyed it even more if I read it with my eyes rather than my ears, but that only really affected how long it took me to get into the story at the start. That said, it mostly worked well as an audiobook. I think I would prefer to read the sequel with my eyes, but mainly so that I could get through it faster. I cannot wait until the next book is released and am a bit disappointed that I have to wait until next year! I strongly recommend this to all fans of fantasy, humorous fantasy and manner punk. I loved it.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2015, Ace
Series: Sorcerer Royal book 1 of 3
Format read: audiobook
Source: Audible

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho

The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo by Zen Cho is a novella about a Chinese-Malaysian writer set in 1920s London (mostly).

For writer Jade Yeo, the Roaring Twenties are coming in with more of a purr — until she pillories London's best-known author in a scathing review. Sebastian Hardie is tall, dark and handsome, and more intrigued than annoyed. But if Jade succumbs to temptation, she risks losing her hard-won freedom — and her best chance for love.

This novella was another delightful read from Zen Cho. It's written as diary entires, for the most part, from Jade, who is living in London, far from most of her family. The only family she has nearby is an intolerable rich aunt who Jade would rather avoid. Jade is making a living in London by writing articles for magazines and journals. The story really begins when she writes a scathing review of a well-known author's book.

As far as problems (and perils) go, Jade's seem to be mostly born out of her desire for adventure and new experiences. And mostly they are more inconvenient than insurmountable. Either way, Jade's attitude towards them and her turn of phrase make this a delightful read. I have seen Zen Cho's writing compared to Gail Carriger's and, while it is is of course not quite the same, I agree that Cho's work would appeal to fans of Carriger's.

I enjoyed The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo a lot. In fact, shortly after finishing it, I started listening to Cho's novel, Sorcerer to the Crown, and bought her short story collection, Spirits Abroad. That's how much I want to read as much of her stuff as I can. I highly recommend Cho's work to all fans of historical fantasy. In the specific case of The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo, I recommend the novella to fans of historical fiction, particularly set in the 1920s. I'm not sure I'd call this a capital-R-romance, but it does have a romantic storyline and I think it would appeal to readers who also enjoy that genre. It's not spec fic — which is what I usually read — but I didn't even notice until I was tagging it after I'd finished. Make of that what you will.

5 / 5 stars

First published: 2012, self-published
Series: Not yet
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from iBooks

The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho

The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho is a novella set in the afterlife. Or a novelette, actually, now that I've checked the author's website. Or perhaps, looking at the word count, a short novella. Either way, a not-especially-long ebook.

A tale of first love, bad theology and robot reincarnation in the Chinese afterlife.

In the tenth court of hell, spirits wealthy enough to bribe the bureaucrats of the underworld can avoid both the torments of hell and the irreversible change of reincarnation.

It's a comfortable undeath … even for Siew Tsin. She didn't choose to be married to the richest man in hell, but she's reconciled. Until her husband brings home a new bride.

Yonghua is an artificial woman crafted from terracotta. What she is may change hell for good. Who she is will transform Siew Tsin. And as they grow closer, the mystery of Yonghua's creation will draw Siew Tsin into a conspiracy where the stakes are eternal life – or a very final death. 

I actually started reading The Terracotta Bride on a whim. Of course I had been meaning to read it since I bought it, but when I found myself at a bit of a loose end as to what to read, I opened it up because it happened to appear on my bookshelf screen in iBooks. This was not a turn of events that I in any way regret. The Terracotta Bride is a delightful story that hooked me quickly. Even though it's not exactly a cheerful story, it has made me quite keen to read more of Cho's work, possibly starting with Sorcerer to the Crown, which is waiting in my audio TBR.

Siew Tsin died when she was young and did not have many skills for navigating the afterlife successfully. After her great-uncle sold her as a bride, she was more or less stuck in her husband's household. But things started to change when her husband brought home the titular terracotta bride as his third wife. I'm not sure that I can say much more without spoilers, but suffice to note that the story does not progress with any tired clichés of female rivalry.

I really enjoyed The Terracotta Bride and I am definitely interested in reading more of Cho's work because of it. I highly recommend it to anyone with a passing interest in Chinese mythology (though I should note that the main character is Malay) and afterlife fantasy generally. I will definitely be reading more of Cho's work.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: March 2016, self-published
Series: No? Not really sure.
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased (on SmashWords, I think) close to launch (partly motivated by the introductory discount...)