The Black Tides of Heaven

I really wanted to like this: I am a big fan of what Aliette de Bodard does with traditional Vietnamese influences both in her Xuya Universe and her Dominion of the Fallen series, so this one, with its Wǔxíng based magic system (Chinese, not Vietnamese version) looked great, and challenging Western binary gender representation is a bonus. One of my students recently did her graduation film on queer identity in a German-Vietnamese context, queer reclaimed Guanyin and all, so you could say this ticked boxes.

Unluckily, the novel is hamstrung by a meandering plot, shallow characterisation and haphazard world-building, with a magic-reinforced version of Imperial Chinese authority sitting smack in the middle of an otherwise unexplained technological revolution. As a piece of fantastic literature, this is simply not that interesting, I’m sorry to say (how good a novel of queer identity it is, I can’t tell, being as a heterosexual cis guy not qualified to judge; it certainly seems to resonate with some people).

It's actually a 3,5 atm.

Imagine you would take an epic fantasy book and strip it to the bare necessities. Or you try and write and epic fantasy as a drama play, that can be performed on stage.
This is was this Novella felt like.
You can actually read this book. You understand what is happening (if you pay better attention then me). Remember all those gruesome dragging parts in those fantasy tomes, that you have to slouch through? Imagine them gone. You are just breezing through. No need for tension filled action scenes, when you can just sum it up in the next chapter in a conversation.
It does work. It feels weird and you have to focus extremely hard so you don't miss anything, but it does work.
I missed a lot in the beginning, because I did not understand how this book works, and I was often confused, but it grew on me. When I stood before the decision to dnf or keep going, something in me liked the book enough to keep going. I even want to read the next part and see how it completes the first book.

I like radical experiments. I think the detachment from the story, created through all those missing scenes felt good, it was a comfortable to read and something I have not experienced before.

I especially liked the gender idea, we need more or those.

To make a real decision and decide about this book I will need another reread I guess and more time.