Song of the Six Realms

 

My Thoughts:

I think there is a whole club of Asian American female authors, like Judy I. Lin, Xiran Jay Zhao, Joan He and Elizabeth Lim,  who are able to tap into the mythology and classic stories of their culture to then create YA fantasy/romance/adventure stories with strong female protagonists. This book is definitely another book to add to that girl power book club. Following Lin’s successful duology, A Magic Steeped in Poison  and A Venom Dark and Sweet about young tea maker Ning, we are introduced to another artisan, Xue who is a musical prodigy of the qin. Although she is orphaned and her family name has been stricken from the books, she is well cared for by her uncle who makes sure she continues her playing. She is accepted into an entertainment house where she meets a mysterious patron who takes her back to his estate. She goes through trials, disappointments, mysteries, demonic attacks, jealousy, distrust. . .all the hurdles and nail biting for a true heroine. In addition, there is her patron/duke who seems like he needs to be saved by Xue. His weakness and his timing for saving her and then overexerting himself into illness is kind of charming. He is very different from the usual strong hero of the western tropes. It is refreshing and perhaps a trope for the Asian American fantasy books? 

Finally, what makes this stand out is that there are so many mysteries that are left open and weaving through this standalone novel. I’m not sure all the questions were answered. I will need to read this again. 

From the Publisher:

Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.

With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. For a young man of nobility, he is strangely kind and awkward, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.

Publication Information:

Author: Judy I. Lin

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (April 23, 2024)

Print length: 400 pages