"I have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the
year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuang's] name will be up
there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin." -- Booknest
A Library Journal, Paste Magazine, Vulture, BookBub, and ENTROPY
Best Books pick!
Washington Post "5 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel" pick!
A Bustle "30 Best Fiction Books" pick!
A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic
historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China's
twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition
of Ken Liu's Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy.
When Rin aced the Keju--the Empire-wide test to find the most talented
youth to learn at the Academies--it was a shock to everyone: to the test
officials, who couldn't believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could
pass without cheating; to Rin's guardians, who believed they'd finally
be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to
Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and
despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into
Sinegard--the most elite military school in Nikan--was even more
surprising.
But surprises aren't always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy
thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her
color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal,
unearthly power--an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism.
Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane
teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought
dead are very much alive--and that mastering control over those powers
could mean more than just surviving school.
For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still
lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied
Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the
continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to
go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a
spark away . . .
Rin's shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she
finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix,
she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it
may already be too late.
