Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame
Neon Yang
A new Queer, Asian-inspired fantasy novella about a renowned dragon slayer who never takes her armor off in public, Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame reads like She Who Became the Sun meets The Mandalorian, with dragons!The fiercely independent nation of Quanbao is isolated, reclusive, and something of a mystery to the rest of the world. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper but instead loved and worshiped.Yeva is perhaps a strange emissary to these people. Not only because their face has never been seen in public, but because they are a hero born to a birthright that makes them suited for their task—hunting dragons.And so the dragon hunter must woo Quanbao's queen—the Lady Sookhee—to understand what secrets she is hiding. A woman reasonably suspicious of Yeva's intentions, and the imperial might of the throne she represents, Sookhee bears the burden of the safety of her entire people. How can she trust this stranger newly arrived to her court, a weapon forged in blood and fire, to understand what her people need and how best to safeguard their future?At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Publication Year: 2025
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
"You have the strength of the earth in you," she used to tell her daughters. "The rains can come and the ploughs can carve through you and still you will remain." Thank you to NetGalley, Neon Yang, and Tor Publishing Group for the E-ARC! This is the legend of the guildknight Yeva. Famed as a dragon slayer, identity known by few and hidden behind a mask, her story is one she keeps close to her chest. If you're found wanting to know more about this warrior, all you have to do is open her stories pages. When I heard that this book was a Fantasy likened to The Mandalorian, I knew I had to pick it up. This comparison is perfect for this story and it's hard to explain why (but I'll try my best). It felt as if I was watching a tv show or movie, which is largely helped through the narration, but also by the fact that the book is so character driven. The reader is being guided through a story that has since passed, one filled with a rich world, an FMC who has lost herself to her duties, and a Queen whose confidence is radiant. If you're looking for a quick Fantasy read that also has good world building and amazing characters, I would highly recommend picking this up!
0~~Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for the ARC!~~
It really is hard to write a fantasy novella, because the worldbuilding and pacing suffers at the hands of the story's shortened page count. It's a shame, really, because the political landscape and mythology in this world feels so interesting, and I wish the book was novel-length so it could delve deeper into it.
The story itself was enjoyable, at least. I found the storyteller angle to the prose to be charming, and Yeva's image as the terrifying knight slayer contrasting against her anxious, awkward personality was clever. The main romance between her and Sookhee had its sweet romance but a lot of the development was explained away, the passage of time shortened to a handful of pages, rather than shown because, again, of the limited page count.
I also saw the twist/climax miles away. While this in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, nothing else was done by the end that amazed me or anything.
All in all, this was good, but it left me wanting so much more.
0short version: this was a fast, rather lovely little fantasy novella with some nice character work and a plot that was, if treading somewhat familiar ground, doing a nice job of it.
0
© 2024 Pagebound