#(Phoenix Extravagant)

[transbookoftheday]

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Dragons. Art. Revolution.

Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter, or a subversive. They just want to paint.

One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.

But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.

What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

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Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

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Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint.

One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.

But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.

What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…

Mod opinion: I hadn't heard of this book before, but it sounds interesting and fun.

[smokefalls]

If standing on principle means that you lose the people those principles are meant to protect, what’s the point?

Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant

[saecookie]

My own favourite quotes from Vei (Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee)

[npdclaraoswald]

Another Instagram crosspost! I made a post of my favorite queer books last pride month, so here's some of my recent faves!

ID in alt text and book summaries under the cut.

Borderline by Mishell Baker follows a young woman named Millie recruited into an organization that guards the border between our world and the fae world. Artistic inspiration comes from a mystical tether to a fae and when a fae noble goes missing goes missing, Millie, despite being a new recruit, has to investigate across LA, meeting fae nobles and celebrities who owe their fame to their bond. Bisexual

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger takes place in a fictionalized America where magic is normal. Elatsoe, a young Lipan Apache girl can summon the ghosts of dead animals. One night, she is visited in a dream by her cousin who tells her he has been murdered, though his death has officially been ruled an accident. Elatsoe travels to his town to investigate and encounters magical beings and a town full of secrets. Asexual

The Wicker King by K Ancrum follows a popular boy and a misfit who maintain a close and intense friendship despite their social differences. Jack begins experiencing visions of a parallel world existing alongside their own and demands August's help in fulfilling the prophecy the fantasy world centers around. The two become more and more codependent upon each other as they try to figure out whether Jack is hallucinating and how to fulfill the prophecy if it is real. Mlm- I don't remember if they specify any labels.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant follows multiple perspectives of the crew of a ship going out to investigate the sinking of one of the company's other ships seven years prior. The sunken ship had been out to film a mockumentery on the existence of mermaids, but before they sank, they uploaded incredibly realistic footage of the crew being attacked by mermaids. The new ship is crewed by scientists and media personnel to discover both what happened to the other ship and whether the mermaid attack was real. Main character is bisexual with a lesbian love interest.

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee follows an artist in a fantastical version of Korea during Japanese colonization. Though Jebi has no interest in politics and is perfectly happy to live under colonization as long as they get to paint, their sister hates the colonizers and kicks them out of the house when they apply for an artist's position in the colonial government. While in the government's employ though, Jebi discovers some of the horrors the government regularly commits and resolves to steal the government's dragon automaton and fight back. Nonbinary

The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall takes place in a fantasy world that is divided by colonialism. Evelyn, the daughter of a noble family, is forced onto a ship by her mother to be delivered to her arranged husband. Flora, who has taken on the identity as Florian the pirate, is part of the pirate crew who masquerade as a transport ship before selling the passengers into slavery. Flora is assigned to guard Evelyn during their journey as she will fetch the highest price once sold, but the two begin to bond. Especially when the rest of the crew capture a mermaid that they plan to sell as well. Florian and Evelyn resolve to free the mermaid and escape together. Lesbian and nonbinary.

Our Bloody Pearl by DN Bryn follows Perle, a mute siren who has been captured and tortued by the pirate captain Kian as a prize. When Kian's ship is attacked by another pirate, Dejean, he finds and promises to free Perle, but because they are so injured from Kian's treatment, Dejean must take them back to his island to heal. The two slowly warm to each other as Perle heals and they hide from Kian, who is intent on revenge. Intersex and asexual

Eight Kinky Nights by Xan West follows Jordan, who just got divorced and moved to New York for her new job and is rooming with Leah, her best friend of decades. Because her ex wife wasn't interested in kink, Jordan has no experience with BDSM despite desperately wanting to be part of the community and explore herself as a dom. Since Leah is an experienced sub and works as a sex educator, she introduces Jordan to members of the community and decides that her Haunnuka gift to Jordan will be eight lessons on kink. Lesbian and grey ace

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé follows Devon and Chiamaka, the only two black students at a prestigious private school. Devon is a scholarship student and a loner and Chimaka is rich, popular, and Head Girl. They have nothing in common before they both become the only targets of Aces- an anonymous online bully who starts outing all of their secrets and tormenting them. The two must work together to figure out the mystery behind Aces and why they are being targeted. Gay and sapphic

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett follows Simone, a young HIV+ girl who is starting over at a new school after being forced to leave the old one as a result of serophobic bullying. When she starts crushing on and hanging out with a popular boy in school, she begins receiving anonymous letters threatening to out her as HIV+ if she doesn't leave stop spending time with him. She must decide what to do while attending a support group for other HIV+ teens and learning more about the community. Bisexual

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters follows three people. Ames detransitioned after experiencing a violent hate crime and is now presenting as a man and in a casual relationship with his boss, a straight woman named Katrina. When Katrina becomes pregnant and informs Ames that she does not want to be a single mother and will only keep the baby if Ames enters into a committed relationship with her, Ames realizes he cannot live the rest of his life with someone who sees him as a man. So he invites Reese, another trans woman and his ex who broke up with him when he detransitioned, to co-parent with them since Reese has always wanted to be a mother and he knows Reese understands that though he presents as a man, he is not cisgender. The three try to make their new relationship work as the pregnancy continues. Trans, lesbian, detransition

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker follows a young witch who comes across her childhood crush, a werewolf, fighting a demon in the woods. The two of them investigate the demon and reconnect. Nonbinary

The Tea Dragon Society by K O'Neill follows a young blacksmith learning how to care for Tea Dragons and bonding with the dragons' care takers' young ward. Nonbinary, gay

Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation by Eli Clare is an essay collection centering on disability, class, queer identity, and environmental justice. Author IDed as a lesbian at the time of writing, but recent editions contain a forward clarifying him as trans

Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel by Julian K Jarobe is a short story collection featuring sci fi and fantasy stories. Variety of representation

A Place Called No Homeland by Kai Cheng Thom is a poetry collection centering race, sexuality, gender, and trauma. Trans

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo is a Great Gatsby retelling focusing on Jordan Baker, who in this version is Vietnamese and was adopted into the Baker family. It is also set in a fantastical version of the 1920s where Gatsby's magic is more of his gilded glamour and Jordan's is one more factor in how her peers exoticize her. We follow the events of the original book and her relationship with Daisy while Jordan reflects on being a queer Asian woman who is treated like an exotic attraction by her peers. Bisexual

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland takes place in a world in which during the Civil War, zombies began to rise. The war was quickly ended in order to fight the zombies, but the fighters on the front lines are black and Native people who are forcibly conscripted into service at the age of eleven. Jane is training in both fighting and ettiquite so that she can serve as a bodyguard to upper class women, but when one of her friend's little sister goes missing, she begins investigating the disappearance that leads her to a conspiracy. Bisexual

[kimabutch]

In other Book Adventure News, I'm reading Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee and enjoying it tremendously. The main character is the Dumbass Nonbinary With Unfortunate Taste In Dangerous Women representation that I needed. Also there's a fucking mechanical dragon that speaks in the nonbinary disaster main character's head.

[keplercryptids]

Vei lifted one shoulder, let it fall. "It's your choice," she said, resigned. "I will keep the hostiles from touching you. I will cut down anyone who so much as stirs a hair on your head."

Jebi was torn between saying You are embarrassing me and I am going to take up my brush and make a painting of you that they will talk about for the next 10,000 years. They said neither.

this 👏 is 👏 peak 👏 queer 👏 flirting! 👏

[speculatives]

ah yes. me. my partner. and their 500 ton magical automaton dragon.

[desdasiwrites]

– Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant

[ruinconstellation]

For the rest of their life, they would never be able to look at something so simple as a plot of dirt without envisioning it as mask, a monster, a martyr.

Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant

[wordwiilderness]

Library Haul 📚💳💕

[Image Description: photo of Pheonix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee next to The Me You Love in the Dark by Skottie Young and Jorge Corona]

[smokefalls]

War was beautiful at a distance, when one read about it in the sagas and histories, or illustrated it with an eye to the prettiest vantages or formations. Close up, war reminded Jebi of nothing so much as a fist to the stomach, except one had a better chance of surviving the fist.

Yoon Ha Lee, Phoenix Extravagant

[the-altered-sequence]

Whew, my mind is all over the place lately. I finished my read-throughs of book four and five. I finished a really cool sci-fi book, Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee. And now I get to decide not only what to write (or edit), next, but also what to read. I think I'm picking up Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna but I'm not sure yet. And I'm thinking of busting into my reservoir of short story ideas... a little compendium of events unrelated to a larger plot.

My main conundrum is that I'm so much more writing-brain right now than I am art-brain. And art-brain is the one that I ought to focus my efforts on.

The problem with being self-employed is I'm the boss of me, and that guy runs a real loose ship

[kestrellady]

November 2023 Reading Wrap Up

What happens when you read most of a 20 volume manga series in about 3 days...

Stand Out Books from November Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee This was a really cool concept and really neat world building. The protagonist was someone who was originally just trying to get along and not interested in politics, despite being in a conquered country, which was kind of a refreshing change and did a good job conveying the banality of living through a terrible time.

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff Y'all this was so good! It's a bunch of interconnected short stories, each focusing on a different character, with an overarching plot. It was partly a look at dealing with loving a genre that doesn't love you back and dealing with supernatural crap when everyday life is already hard enough.

What I'm Reading Now I'm finishing up my Abhorsen re-read with Goldenhand, and then I'll turn to some of the short story collections. I've also got the final volume of The Sandman books and just started Overture. I'm also working through El reino del dragón de oro, which is the second book in Isabel Allende's young adult series, and only the second book I've read in Spanish.

What I'm Looking Forward to in December We're already a third of the way through the month (whoops), so I've already read several books, but I'm hoping to get through a few more before the holiday craziness. I've been so much of a mood reader lately that I'm not sure what I'll get into. The next Flavia Albia mystery is finally on hold at the library (I wasn't waiting on other people, it just took 5 weeks to get it moved between branches for some reason), so that's exciting. And a new T. Kingfisher book in the Saint of Steel series just came out, so maybe I'll get that one soon!

Reading Challenges Just one book left for the Book Riot 2023 Read Harder Challenge! It's finish a book you dnf'd, which, lol at that being my last prompt. I'm going to try to finish Wild Women and the Blues, which I got partway through a year or two ago and just wasn't that into, so I didn't renew when it needed to go back to the library. Otherwise, I'm mostly organizing what challenges I want to do next year and what books I want to work on for my multi-year challenges.

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[ilikereadingactually]

Phoenix Extravagant

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

there was so much that i really dug with this book! the premise is very cool: nonbinary artist is manipulated into working for the government that has taken over their country, discovers that they're making pigments in morally difficult ways and using them to magically program war machines, tries to resist, falls in love! delightful. i also really enjoyed the fun mix of science-fictiony elements, like automatons, and magic, like painted glyphs that imbue different qualities and motivations in those automatons, and East Asian folklore, like fox spirits and metal dragons who can fly without propulsion simply because all dragons can fly without explanation. it's a super intriguing mash-up. and a queer relationship between protagonist Jebi and master swordswoman Vei! who doesn't love queer sword-wielding women??

but there were things i found disappointing, too. i wanted the worldbuilding to go a little deeper. i wanted the inventive concepts to be built up more from the beginning, instead of dropped into the story without anything holding up their weight. i wanted the character development to be a little deeper too, though i did really enjoy all of the main players. most of all, i wanted more from the ending--which felt unfinished to me, and almost like it belonged in a different story. the ultimate message of the book about the violence and futility of war and imperialism did come through again in the final moments, but just as a presence--not as anything the main characters seemed to have changed feelings about, or that they might do anything about. i think the ending is meant to raise the stakes, but at the same time it takes the three main characters out of the picture and leaves pretty barren ground, for me anyway, to imagine what they might get up to next.

but as always, ymmv! the concepts here are really cool, and i feel sure that there are plenty of readers out there who will vibe better with this book than i did!

the deets

how i read it: an ebook from the library! thank god for Libby.

try this if you: dig East Asian-inspired fantasy, enjoy political resistance stories, are an artist or have feelings about art, or are a dragon fiend

a line i really liked: this is what being a creative is all about

The triptych spread across all three walls. Jebi had planned the composition so that it struck the viewer with full force from this exact vantage point, not something they had much prior experience with. Going to jail could open up new artistic horizons! Even if they would rather have skipped the being-in-jail part of the experience.