Scale-bright

98 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 2014

OCLC Number:
890803584

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3 stars (1 review)

"Julienne's aunts are the archer who shot down the suns and the woman who lives on the moon. They teach her that there's more to the city of her birth than meets the eye--that beneath the modern chrome and glass of Hong Kong there are demons, gods, and the seethe of ancient feuds. As a mortal Julienne is to give them wide berth, for unlike her divine aunts she is painfully vulnerable, and choice prey for any demon. Until one day, she comes across a wounded, bleeding woman no one else can see, and is drawn into an old, old story of love, snake women, and the deathless monk who hunts them."--Back cover.

2 editions

shallow but promising

3 stars

this book is short and sweet. it tells the story of julienne, the niece of two immortals, finding cautious love to a serpent within a short adventure to heaven. and while the premise is intriguing, the book falters due to its length: many scenes could have, should have, been given a bit more time to breathe. introductions of characters feel rushed and by the end we are left with what is a story arc about finding courage in love, but just barely. especially disappointing since the wlw dynamic (pretty much everyone in this book is lesbian) is lovely and could've benefitted from some more depth.

the appendices, which consist of three short story that serve as a kind of prequel to the main story, provide context and a lot of verbose language, perhaps due to its rooting in chinese folklore. especially the second one, woman of the sun, woman of …

Subjects

  • Mythology
  • Demonology
  • Fiction