#22: Cindy Pon, _Silver Phoenix_
#22: Cindy Pon, Silver Phoenix
Ai Ling is supposed to be getting married, as a good daughter should. But at the dinner that's meant to seal her betrothal, her prospective mother-in-law publicly rejects her, ruining her chances for a good marriage. In order to escape a bad one, Ai Ling journeys to the Emperor's court at the Palace of Fragrant Dreams to seek her father. Along the way, she meets Chen Yong, who is on a quest of his own. Their quests are made more challenging by the new and mysterious power emerging within Ai Ling and by the evil forces which seek to destroy her and Chen Yong.
I loved Ai Ling's rich world: the Chinese gods and creatures, the delicious food, the sights and sounds and colors and textures, all beautifully described. The plot is fast-paced but meanders a little; Ai Ling's encounters are so fascinating, though, that I didn't mind the meandering much. Ai Ling is a wonderfully real heroine, neither beautiful nor always brave, but always fighting for what she wants. She has a temper and she doesn't always make the right choices, especially when it comes to using her strange mind control powers. Chen Yong and other male characters support her and help her, but when it comes down to the climax of the book, she fights her own battle and wins, though at a cost. I wasn't entirely satisfied by the ending, which was oddly open-ended as regards the book's romance, but I've heard (I hope correctly) that Pon is working on a sequel, which I hope will be as much fun as this book was.
I originally got this from the library, but in the interests of encouraging the publisher to publish the sequel (or whatever else Pon writes), I bought a copy after reading it. Oh, and I'd also like to note that the lovely cover features an Asian girl, so good for Harper Collins for buying the book in the first place (after Pon had been told that "Asian fantasy doesn't sell") and for not whitewashing the cover.
Ai Ling is supposed to be getting married, as a good daughter should. But at the dinner that's meant to seal her betrothal, her prospective mother-in-law publicly rejects her, ruining her chances for a good marriage. In order to escape a bad one, Ai Ling journeys to the Emperor's court at the Palace of Fragrant Dreams to seek her father. Along the way, she meets Chen Yong, who is on a quest of his own. Their quests are made more challenging by the new and mysterious power emerging within Ai Ling and by the evil forces which seek to destroy her and Chen Yong.
I loved Ai Ling's rich world: the Chinese gods and creatures, the delicious food, the sights and sounds and colors and textures, all beautifully described. The plot is fast-paced but meanders a little; Ai Ling's encounters are so fascinating, though, that I didn't mind the meandering much. Ai Ling is a wonderfully real heroine, neither beautiful nor always brave, but always fighting for what she wants. She has a temper and she doesn't always make the right choices, especially when it comes to using her strange mind control powers. Chen Yong and other male characters support her and help her, but when it comes down to the climax of the book, she fights her own battle and wins, though at a cost. I wasn't entirely satisfied by the ending, which was oddly open-ended as regards the book's romance, but I've heard (I hope correctly) that Pon is working on a sequel, which I hope will be as much fun as this book was.
I originally got this from the library, but in the interests of encouraging the publisher to publish the sequel (or whatever else Pon writes), I bought a copy after reading it. Oh, and I'd also like to note that the lovely cover features an Asian girl, so good for Harper Collins for buying the book in the first place (after Pon had been told that "Asian fantasy doesn't sell") and for not whitewashing the cover.