But at the core of this story is the concept of family and all its joys and burdens and expectations, and about finding one's place in the world and striking a balance between an individual sense of self, and the weight of familial legacy and obligation. The story is also heavily influenced by tropes and elements found in wuxia (martial arts heroes) and xianxia (immortal heroes) stories/films/television shows, and the cultural mythology I grew up with in Singapore.Īs someone who was raised in a former colony, I also wanted to explore the genesis of what we call “history”: how it may be twisted by colonizers and victors and how it could be rewritten to suit the purpose of oppressors and those in power. Much of it is driven by my own experience and inner struggle with traditional beliefs in Chinese culture and Confucian tenets such as filial piety, honor, sacrificing for the greater good vs having a healthy sense of individualism. JADE FIRE GOLD is a story born from the confluence of culture and diaspora nostalgia. so i will be keeping my eyes open for that! Overall, a very exciting debut and, although theres nothing to confirm this, the epilogue definitely suggests a sequel is coming. the side characters also provide amazing support and are very likeable, so much so that i wanted more of them and wished this has been written with more than two POVs. I also liked that the ahn and altan were able to stand well on their own and had their own interesting journeys, but i thought they especially lit up the page when they were together. this isnt as graphic or severe as ‘the poppy war,’ but there are a lot of elements in this that kept reminding me of that. ive read books in the genre before, but i had no idea that chinese fantasy stories inspired by chinese mythology, medicine, and martial arts had a name.
I really appreciate how this introduced me to xianxia. but fans of reliable fantasy tropes should enjoy this. I had a lot of fun with this one! is it the most original book out there? no, probably not.
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