My friend and fellow r/fantasy mod serenity-as-ice made a great list of East/Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy books, and since he doesn’t have a blog (yet?) I’ve asked him to guest post it here.

Hi there! It’s a festive day for a fair few Asians around the globe, and I thought it might be nice to have a little chat about what East/Southeast Asian-inspired works by people of that heritage we’ve read and enjoyed in the past. Here’s a small list (and some mini-reviews) of what I’ve read in the past year or so:

Books I’ve Read:

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

The first thing I have to say about this book is — ignore anyone who claims it is wuxia. It isn’t! If anything, it’s more a slice-of-life/comedic sitcom of sorts about a plucky smuggler’s gang set in a fantasy version of Emergency Malaya, and at its core, Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is all about making hard choices in the course of adapting to something that isn’t great, but ultimately necessary. It begins with an unique narrative voice (thanks to Zen Cho’s bold decision in using Malaysian English), and that only grows, over the course of the story — I have to say, props to both Zen Cho and her editors here; I thought that was a great move to slowly ground the reader into the setting. Another aspect of this novel that I appreciated was how little violence there was. Beyond two scenes, there’s not that much fighting (and there’s a magical monk character who can open a can of whoop-ass)! But this felt very true and accurate to Malaysian mentality in general. We’re not really the fighting sort when a lazier and easier more efficient method exists.

Jade City by Fonda Lee

I’m a sucker for settings that deal with colonialism, and Jade City certainly delivered in this regard, with the post-colonial setting of Kekon where magically augmented warriors strapped with jade serve their clans in a bid for supremacy. Jade City’s flashiest aspect are its fights and duels, all of which are incredible show-stealers. But for me, the best part of the book were the family dynamics and character work (for both protagonists and antagonists) — Ayt Mada in particular, is an excellent villain who in another novel, would be the hero and savior. The true conflict though, is the struggle of the native Kekonese to move past their violent roots, that form the cornerstone of their independence and liberation, versus the inevitable march of time and progressive thought. This creates a certain tension within the story itself; time and again, characters are ‘expected’ to do certain things as it’s ‘the way things are done’, even though it might be prudent (and better within the long run) to act differently. In fact, I’d go so far as to call the magic jade of the setting a fantasy opium of sorts, although that’s something to be dissected for another post. For now, it suffices to say that Jade City is one of those works that excels at blending blood-pumping action with nuanced and interesting characters that make you want to read on, even as your heart gets thrown through the wringer.

View Spoiler » I’m not over Lan, goddamnit.  « Hide Spoiler

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Are you a fan of hard magic systems, imaginative settings and magical companions? Then the Stormlight Archive The Bone Shard Daughter is for you! This was one of the best debuts of 2020, IMO. Bone shard magic is probably the highlight of this book — think of it as a form of magical programming that creates necromantic bone constructs who follow your command as dictated within said shards — but that isn’t to say that’s all there is to it. If I had to associate a central theme to this book, it would be connection: Lin, Jovis aynd Phalue all suffer ‘disconnection’ to people and/or causes, and throughout the book learn to reconnect to the world at large, to care about things greater than the self. It’s a story of learning compassion and care, wrapped around some bones, magical otters and floating, migratory islands. More than a good reason to pick it up!

View Spoiler » Or, as Mephi might say, a ‘very good’.  « Hide Spoiler

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

This was an amazing, feminist tale and a reminder of how the simplest, smallest things — and people — can make all the difference in the world. It’s about a historian researching an empress of foreign descent who ascended as tribute from a defeated, Inuit-based country, only to be cast away and exiled by the husband and emperor she did not choose… once she had given him a child. The novella broadly recounts the events behind said empress by framing them around everyday household objects; I found this to be very reminiscent of Dark Souls and Bloodborne, although the storytelling in Empress of Salt and Fortune is a bit more straightforward. Regardless, it was a really neat way to provide the narrative, and those items didn’t just serve as ‘chapters’ of the story, but also added to the worldbuilding of the setting itself. Our FIF Book Club did a readalong of this, which you can find (spoiler alert) here!

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

This is the direct sequel to Empress of Salt and Fortune, and it takes on the form of a folk tale — the historian of the previous novella must now tell a story to three shapeshifting tigers to save their life and avoid being eaten. Where it shines is in the contrast; both the historian and the tigresses know the story, albeit a version biased to their own kind — which revolves around a sapphic pairing of a human woman and a female tiger, and it’s pretty interesting to see how both sides told their version of the story. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I did the previous entry, but it was certainly fascinating to see how bias can potentially take shape even in folklore, and like Empress of Salt and Fortune, it’s a good lesson on the nature of history itself.

Burning Roses by S.L. Huang

This was a rather unique novella! First of all, we have a rare ‘East meets West’ pairing, with a genderbent, middle-aged Hou Yi teaming up with an equally middle-aged Red Riding Hood (who’s a sharpshooter now) to protect the innocent from rampaging monsters. But despite this very asskicking premise, Burning Roses isn’t about asskicking as much as it is about mistakes, inherited trauma and the ability to forgive and do better. Because of that, the novella takes on a very introspective tone at points, with both Hou Yi and ‘Rose’ thinking on the guilt of their past, and whether those mistakes made are mistakes that they can redeem themselves of. I really enjoyed this, for both the uniqueness of the team-up, and also the way S.L. Huang reframes myth and folklore, from Chang Er and Hou Yi to even Goldilocks, plus Beauty and the Beast.

In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard

This was my first foray into Aliette de Bodard’s work, and hopefully the first of many to come! I adored this story, it’s surprisingly deep despite being less than 150 pages long. It revolves around Yên, a scholar abducted by one of the last dragons, Vu Côn as tribute for healing services, and the choices they end up making. While ostensibly being fantasy, In the Vanishers’ Palace is really more sci-fi with the trappings of fantasy, and this is where the worldbuilding shines. You’re never really outright told that, but there’s bits and pieces lying everywhere that indicate the magic of the setting is really just sufficiently advanced technology — right down to the origin of the mythical spirits that inhabit the setting. Beyond the worldbuilding, there’s a certain richness to the story. There’s subtext of the titular Vanishers being colonial masters of a sort, there’s discussion of nurture vs. nature, there’s the struggle for an immortal dragon healer to try and relate to mortals and to be better than her callous, cruel ex-masters. It’s incredibly intriguing, and it’s a shame this wasn’t a full novel, because all those themes deserved to be explored in more depth! Anyway, I really liked this, so go read it and be wowed.

Books I Plan to Read:

So while I cannot say whether I’ll love them just yet, here are some other East/Southeast Asian-inspired books I’ll be reading eventually:

• Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

• She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

• These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

• The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

• Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard

Feel free to chime in as well! What are your favorite works by East/Southeast Asian writers, and why? What are you looking forward to reading next?