So Many Books... - 120 Hour Challenge(let), Day 2

08:16 pm - 120 Hour Challenge(let), Day 2

Okay, so this time there should really be a few words on Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix, as promised.  Though yesterday's words would probably have been much better, given tonight's headache and the fact that I've managed to lose the start of a post already...

I'm not putting a picture of the book, because I really disliked the cover - to the extent that I'd blipped over reviews as not my kind of book, until sartorias  gave it a great write-up.  The trailer she links to is much more aesthetically appealing to my taste than the lurid pink satin on the cover.  Anyway, before saying more about the book itself, I just wanted to pass on one comment on a new/upcoming book cover I saw on a comm a while ago, which I thought was decidedly odd. Very short blurblettes, and the top one said 'This one's set in *Ireland*'.  So Ireland is the new Exotic?

The connection, of course, is how much I, like sartorias , enjoyed all the beautiful, sumptuous details about clothes, decoration, hair-styles - and let's not forget the food! (The heroine's decided interest in food being one of the things I liked about her.) [Big break here, during which I checked email, booked a flight for my elderly next-door neighbour, printed out and delivered the confirmation email and upped the headache-brain-deadness factor several times.  Read on at your own risk.] 

All those rich details of life in this almost (but not quite, according to the author) historical ancient China were wonderful, and it was nice to read them without having the least worry about cultural appropriation of any sort.  The story was a little lighter in the 'The immortals have FATED Ai Ling' and 'Now Chen Long's FATE is intertwined with hers, inescapably' than the trailer suggests, which is a good thing.  There was enough humour to keep it from being too fatalistic for my taste.  That said, the part of Ai Ling's quest which led them to the otherworld to meet the odd Immortal face-to-face, were very well done and enjoyable, I thought, and the many supernatural beings she has to contend with pretty unique, and sometimes terrifying.

It did take a bit for me to get into the book - the narrative seemed a little less sure at first, and I found the transition from Ai Ling as dutiful, respectful daughter who is relegated to the women's quarters because that's how it is, to super-independent Ai Ling setting off all on her own to travel a great distance, with no companion and very little experience at taking care of herself, far too abrupt.  The first had been set up too well for the second to read very credibly, I thought. But once she was on the road and had met up with her companion, all went much more smoothly.  There were occasional jarring notes from time to time, as frex, when the generally quipping, light-hearted Li Rong says that reading someone's thoughts would be 'spiritual rape'.  But much good, so these were only minor distractions.  I'll definitely be looking forward to the sequel.