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andrew-ashling · 24 days ago

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Witchlore review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, witchy vibes, queer reads, nonbinary characters, stories of grief, mental health

Big thanks to Wednesday Books, Netgalley, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

TW suicidal ideation, mentions of suicide attempt

The book opens on the first day back at college after Lando's very terrible summer break. College was never the easiest, Lando was an outcast already by virtue of the fact that they're a shifter, but now that everyone thinks they killed their girlfriend, it's even worse.

While we don't get the full story of what happened with Elizabeth immediately, it is pretty clear from the get-go that Lando didn't actually kill her, though they feel a lot of guilt over what happened. Combined with the comments of their peers, it makes it hard for Lando to see who's really being judgmental and who just wants to help them in their grief.

This story centers rather firmly around the concept of grief and how different people process and whether it's okay to let go or not. Lando as lost the person they love and is still very stuck in that mental place. They're really struggling with everything, so of course a resurrection spell sounds like a great idea. While the story does center around Lando, we also get to see how other people have handled grief, both related to Elizabeth and not, and the ways that grief can tear people apart.

Bastian is new to Demdike College and is pretty open to forming his own opinions on people, regardless of what he hears about Lando. The two become tentative allies, then friends, with their relationship starting to blossom into something more. Bastian is an interesting character because at times he's very eager and sweet, while other times he holds a lot back and is not exactly being a team player. But like Lando, Bastian has his own ghosts to work through, and he does get better about sharing his ideas prior to executing them.

I was really interested in the worldbuilding and wish we got at least a little more of it in this book. It's clear witches are generally known about, there are several scenes featuring magic use in front of non-magical people, with varying degrees of comment, and there's a magical museum exhibit up that's open to anyone. But I'm curious about how that impacts things. Like, it's made very clear that most witches can only cast temporary spells, but what does that mean for the world at large? There are plenty of instances where a temporary spell could be helpful (beyond latte art), so are there magical jobs for everyday things? Likewise, magical creatures exist and we come face-to-face with a boggart and selkies, which Bastian and Lando are familiar with and know how to handle. But do non-magical people know how to deal with them too? Are there certain precautions in place for things like boggarts or is it just luck? There seems like there's a lot to this world and while I know Lando's story is pretty centered on grief and the resurrection spell, I do wish we got a peek at that wider world.

In terms of the plot, this is a very character-driven novel. Lando and Bastian do have to go on little adventures and risk their lives to get the ingredients for the resurrection spell, but at the same time, the book isn't really about that. It's about handling grief. So we get a pretty deep look at Lando and their journey throughout the novel, and we even get some really good insight into Bastian. There's also a focus on queerness and not fitting cultural/societal expectations and the loneliness associated with that. Part of this plot was...pretty predictable, I'll say. While I appreciated that Hinds brought history into the tale, I don't exactly think it was a surprise the direction this subplot went in, though Lando at least was pretty shocked.

One more thing I will say, I wish we saw more of Kira. I didn't really like her much at first, Lando makes her out to be pretty intolerable, but once she shows up a couple of times, I thought it was clear that Kira was being genuine. The two of them do eventually have a good hear-to-heart, but she seems like such an interesting character, I'd love to see more about her.

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andrew-ashling · 1 month ago

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*dons clown hat* Oh, look at me posting something that might get me arrested. *removes hat* Alright, here we go.

Hot take (from a media nerd): Boys' Love is violently popular (and prosecuted) in the PRC because it is being used as a vehicle for anti-government protest

Top left: Wu So Wei from Chai Jidan's Counter Attack (a.k.a. Revenged Love)

Top right: Wei Wuxian from MXTX's Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (a.k.a. The Untamed)

Bottom Left: Zhou Zishu from Priest's Faraway Wanderer's (a.k.a. Word of Honor)

Bottom Right: Bai Luo Yin from Chai Jidan's Addicted: Heroin

This post was inspired by the insightful and informative conversation between @theside-b and @one-2nd about the meteoric popularity of Revenged Love, how its predecessor Addicted triggered Chinese censors, and why the Chinese audience continues to patronize queer media despite the government's ban (click here to read it, I highly suggest you do). Also, some additional published readings that further illustrate this point, if you want to look into it [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ]

If you've ever had the pleasure of reading any of the webnovels of Chinese author Chai Jidan, you'll notice that many of her main characters are defined by a single trait. Take Wu So Wei, the spunky, firecracker lead of her novel Counter Attack, or Bai Luo Yin, the level-headed genius of Addicted: Heroin. These characters are not defined by the men who pursued them or the love stories that shaped their lives.

Instead they are defined by CRIPPLING, ABJECT POVERTY.

Chai Jidan takes great pains (and many chapters) in explaining to her readers how, despite both So Wei and Luo Yin's brilliance and talent, they are hampered by the circumstances of their environment. So Wei is looked down upon in social circles because of his low education, perceived stupidity, and provincial upbringing, even though in the book he is revealed to be especially cunning, technically-skilled and business-savvy. In fact, during his pursuit of Chi Cheng, So Wei was able to discuss politics and philosophy with his more educated lover just by reading borrowed books. Meanwhile, Bai Luo Yin, valedictorian of his class and a bona fide genius, is studying at a school for low income families, lives paycheck-to-paycheck with his blue-collar father, queus up in the early morning to get government medical aid for his grandmother, and does odd jobs around the community to earn extra money for school.

Because of their upbringings, and the bullying they've experienced, both characters have developed an extreme rejection of the luxurious, socialite lifestyle touted by those around them. Luo Yin hates his mother because she left his father to marry a rich man. And So Wei goes to extreme lengths to take revenge on his former girlfriend, who ridiculed him because he is poor. Even when they entered into relationships with their (disgustingly rich) partners, both So Wei and Luo Yin continued to show aversion towards lavish possessions, often only accepting gifts from their lovers if their families will directly benefit from it in some way.

Gu Hai gifts Luo Yin's family with medical equipment and other necessities

So Wei, out of guilt, even attempts to break off his relationship with Chi Cheng multiple times after fulfilling the plot to separate him from his then girlfriend (and So Wei's ex) Yue Yue. This is done in spite of So Wei potentially losing access to the luxurious lifestyle Chi Cheng provides for him, and his growing love for his partner.

The ambition to earn just enough to provide comfortably for loved ones is actually an Asian-defiant concept.

In a country that values economic dominance, industrial competition, and capitalist sensibilities, and one that urges their workforce to do the same, brilliant people who dream of being "comfortably average" are practically committing a taboo. These are Western, liberal ideologies-- opposing bottomless "need" with "satisfaction", and prioritizing personal feelings over long-term gain. Defiant thoughts.

Speaking of defiance, let's turn to the more outright rebels of modern Chinese fiction, starting with gay martial hero Wei Wuxian--an amalgamation of the Xianxia and Danmei genres:

Wei Wuxian surrenders to Lan Wangji after freeing Wen Clan refugees from the Jin encampment

Chinese novelist Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX) often writes main characters who are pushed into oppression not by birth, but by circumstance. Wei Wuxian, the son of two highly-respected rogue cultivators (magic wielders) who died in an accident, was brought up as the third heir to the mighty Jiang clan by their leader, Jiang Fengmian. The most talented (and unruly) cultivator of his generation, Wei Wuxian develops a technique that harnesses the spirit of the dead instead of inner spiritual energy to generate combat magic-- a method perceived as heresy by the upper clans, but a boon for people born with weak or absent inner spiritual cores. Wei Wuxian's exceptional skill secured victory for the cultivators against tyrant Wen clan leader Wen Ruohan, but he becomes the collective clans' next target after he fights for the freedom of innocent Wen refugees tortured and imprisoned by the Jin clan. Killed and subsequently resurrected sixteen years later by unknown forces, he works with his lover, brother, and best friend to expose the Jin clan's corruption.

In the past, MXTX has openly discussed her story's Wen clan arc as a direct parallel to the real-life atrocities China experienced at the hands of Japanese forces during World War II. She even named the movement against Wen Ruohan as the "Sunshot Campaign", a direct allusion to the sun that features prominently in Japan's national symbols (as the Land of the Rising Sun), and the Wen colors (white and red) a direct reference to the Japanese flag.

However, her actual parallel for the Jin clan, the second oppressor, is more dangerous to discuss by comparison.

In her novels, the Jin clan serves as the cultivator world's economic superpower-- the clan with the largest population, industries, and merchants. Characterized by their golden dragon and peacock motiffs, and with a reverence for the peony flower, the Jin clan is also governed by some of the cultivator world's most ruthless police, who impose their cruel punishments beyond their clan and onto others. Though MXTX has NEVER paralleled the Jins to any government or entity in our current world, she has been constantly persecuted by the Chinese censors (and now the actual police), for allegedly mirroring her second oppressor to... someone closer to home. And by writing a character like Wei Wuxian, who openly defies extreme opulence and corruption, and works to shift power towards the more simplistic and monastic Lan clan, MXTX along with many danmei authors are now being perceived as spurring movements against modern Chinese sensibilities:

And this is not just under the lens of homosexuality and China's aversion to queer existence. Most danmei stories feature main characters actively rebelling against oppressive governmental forces-- ones that impose harsh rules to maintain power, while continuing to subjugate indigents, minorities and marginalized sectors.

Though not explicitly rebellious, these authors often incorporate wordplay, symbols and allusions that point towards a critical commentary of their own government system.

It doesn't help that PRC is plagued by issues like these, which identify top government officials as part of the country's systemic corruption:

Zhou Zishu is tortured after he refuses to rejoin Tian Chuang.

Chinese author Priest is perhaps one of the most explicitly rebellious writers of the genre (her pen name is derived from the idea of a church leader-- someone who stands for righteousness). Priest writes not just for danmei, but for het xianxia and wuxia genres as well, and she LOVES creating outright anti-government characters. Zhou Zishu, her lead in the danmei wuxia novel Faraway Wanderers, is a high-ranking government official and a member of the nobility-- nephew of the ruling emperor and cousin to the prince regent. He is leader of Tian Chuang-- a secret intelligence faction of the royal police who spies on and kills the empire's dissidents. After growing disillusioned with the Prince's corruption, he commits fatal self-flagellation and resigns to a vagrant, nomadic life. Now given mere months to live, he gets a second chance at redemption when he and the nation's most wanted criminal leader--Wen Kexing-- team up to prevent a civil war between martial sects. These leaders are committing the mass genocide of smaller sects (and each other) in search of a secret weapon-- the famed Glazed Armor that would allegedly provide them with the power to subjugate the whole martial world.

For years, and despite the growing commotion both within and outside of China, the PRC has dispelled rumors of a government-controlled spy ring that's apparently monitoring the military operations of countries in territorial dispute with China. With rumors seemingly debunked, and media censorship so brutal even chats are monitored between individuals, talks of these secret factions only persist in literature, but they are ESPECIALLY POPULAR in Danmei. I know of about two other authors besides Priest who write about these organizations: Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou (Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat), and Shui Qian Cheng. This all came to a head last year, when Indonesia and the Philippines arrested alleged Chinese spies occupying sham government posts in their countries, and a former spy himself came forward to expose the country's operations:

The loudest outcry came from within the danmei fandoms, who've been allegedly sounding the alarm on this unconstitutional operation for years. As the rest of the world uncovers more information, and look towards the one media from China that's capable of transcending the censors and going international, it's no wonder PRC has laid down the law against Boys' Love.

Now I am NOT saying that the Danmei genre and its authors are anti-government. THEY ARE NOT ANTI-GOVERNMENT. The genre aims to promote equal rights for a marginalized community, and is serving as a safe space for LGBTQIA+ members who've been deprived of proper representation because of China's crackdown on what is perceived as "morally wrong" behaviors.

I am also not saying that all danmei are considered anti-government propagada. But the content itself IS inherently rebellious. Whether the rebellion stems from the propagation of liberal sensibilities, like in Chai Jidan's work, or the takedown of actual systemic corruption, like for MXTX and Priest, participation in this discourse constitutes freedom of expression for some, and the safest form of protest for many.

This is why PRC media often frames Danmei fandoms as depraved underaged fans fueled by lust -- a method they use to further justify the banning of the genre. They run continuous stories of fans chasing their favorite stars in airports or selling their discarded cups as merch in online stores, and release it onto fandom echo chambers as a "trend", or even as "common fandom behavior".

The Oxford Dictionary defines "echo chambers" as an environment in which a person encounters only beliefs or opinions that coincide with their own, so that their existing views are reinforced and alternative ideas are not considered.

These echo chambers also often construe false information about BL celebrities and danmei authors, and like the worst airborne virus known to mankind, fuel fandom delusion enough to warrant a mass stalking at the nearest mall. Out come the police, who blame a whole community of oppressed individuals for the unruly behavior of some fetishists.

So yes, so long as the censors continue to choke communication channels, and people are in need of a safe space to protest injustice and discrimination, Boys' Love (danmei) shall remain violently popular in the PRC. And its government will not change its mind on the ban, regardless of the money it brings in. This is more than just entertainment-- THIS is political.

*dons clown hat once more* time to go into hiding now. Stay kooky folks.

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