Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
(Rise of the Empress #1)
by Julie C. Dao
Speak | September 11, 2018 (paperback)
Source: won from a giveaway
An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.
Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?
Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.
Hooray for Asian representation! I felt nostalgic reading this book because it reminded me of the Historical Chinese Dramas I grew up watching; I use to adore them so much I pierced my ears to be like my favorite character at three years old... This book was historically accurate. It captures the lonely concubines in the palace currying favor from the king quite well, the social stratification (in an out the palace,) and the harem; the court drama was also immensely entertaining.
There have been countless Snow White and Evil Queen retellings and adaptations, but the Evil Queen endures. You can't help but love villains, whether or not you read their backstories, because they are the most dynamic characters in works. What made them become a villain? Were they ever good? Are they really a villain?
I loved the Evil Queen/Xifeng in this retelling; it's similar to Snow White and the Huntsman and Game of Thrones. She has the ruthlessness of Ravenna, and she has Varys to guide her through the complicated court politics—she's Cersei and Daenerys. Although she grows into a vicious and formidable adversary, she was not always like that.
I found her incredibly weak and annoying in the first half of the book, probably because she was preoccupied with Wei; once he was out of the story, I enjoyed it much more. Another reason I found her annoying was her inner-conflict: Destiny vs. Free Will. I wasn't mad at her for "denying her destiny," in fact, I would've been madder if she accepted it point blank; my qualm is it took more than half of the book for her to decide, which created such a dragged out plot and a boring reading experience. Once she made a choice, the story took a dark, pleasant turn, all thanks to the Serpent God. (I wish he had more screentime. What are his plans? I need to know because I do not plan on reading the sequel, on the account that I dislike Snow White/I know she won't be as exciting as Xifeng.)
Anyway... Xifeng became more comfortable in her skin and conniving. She knows what she wants and will do anything to get it. She's intelligent, beautiful, and charming. Apparently, you're supposed to hate her because she's "the villain/antiheroine," but I loved her; I haven't seen a great villain in a while!
As I mentioned before, it takes a while for the plot to pick up. The writing is superb, beautiful! Lush descriptions that sink their claws into you so you cannot escape. It took me forever to finish it, but it was worth it because it's refreshing: the character, the setting, the story, the representation, the dark magic element, and the mythology. Definitely something worth picking up!
I loved the Evil Queen/Xifeng in this retelling; it's similar to Snow White and the Huntsman and Game of Thrones. She has the ruthlessness of Ravenna, and she has Varys to guide her through the complicated court politics—she's Cersei and Daenerys. Although she grows into a vicious and formidable adversary, she was not always like that.
I found her incredibly weak and annoying in the first half of the book, probably because she was preoccupied with Wei; once he was out of the story, I enjoyed it much more. Another reason I found her annoying was her inner-conflict: Destiny vs. Free Will. I wasn't mad at her for "denying her destiny," in fact, I would've been madder if she accepted it point blank; my qualm is it took more than half of the book for her to decide, which created such a dragged out plot and a boring reading experience. Once she made a choice, the story took a dark, pleasant turn, all thanks to the Serpent God. (I wish he had more screentime. What are his plans? I need to know because I do not plan on reading the sequel, on the account that I dislike Snow White/I know she won't be as exciting as Xifeng.)
Anyway... Xifeng became more comfortable in her skin and conniving. She knows what she wants and will do anything to get it. She's intelligent, beautiful, and charming. Apparently, you're supposed to hate her because she's "the villain/antiheroine," but I loved her; I haven't seen a great villain in a while!
As I mentioned before, it takes a while for the plot to pick up. The writing is superb, beautiful! Lush descriptions that sink their claws into you so you cannot escape. It took me forever to finish it, but it was worth it because it's refreshing: the character, the setting, the story, the representation, the dark magic element, and the mythology. Definitely something worth picking up!
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