By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Immortal Longings
By Chloe Gong
S&S/Saga Press, 2023
Every year, citizens of the kingdom of Talin travel to its capital twin cities of San-Er for a set of games hosted by the palace. It’s a competition to the death, but for those confident enough in their ability to jump between bodies, it’s a chance to win unimaginable riches in a kingdom where poverty runs rampant.
For Princess Calla Tuoleimi, who’s been hiding for five years after killing her parents in a massacre in the palace of Er, this is the opportunity she’s been waiting for. If she wins, she can finish the job of bringing down the monarchy and kill her uncle, the reclusive King Kasa.
For Anton Makusa, an exiled aristocrat, the games are a chance to win money to save his childhood love, who’s been in a coma for years. As one of the best body jumpers in the kingdom, winning the games should be an easy feat.
Calla soon finds herself in an uneasy alliance with Anton—as well as receiving help from Kasa’s adopted son, August, who has his own plans for fixing Talin—where no one really trusts anyone.
A sci-fi retelling of William Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra,” “Immortal Longings” is a story filled with power plays and violence, as well as love and romance. It’s filled with twists and turns and surprises till the end that will keep readers guessing. As with her previous novels, Gong does a great job of adapting The Bard’s work and will have readers reaching for the source material.
Told from various characters’ perspectives, Gong does a great job of painting a picture of the state of Talin, and the stake everyone has in their respective missions and objectives. Calla, Anton, and August are all complicated characters and we can’t help but root for all of them—even if they appear to have differing (and often, opposing) goals.
A Tempest of Tea
By Hafsah Faizal
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024
In White Roaring, criminal mastermind and secret collector Arthie Casimir runs a prestigious tearoom that turns into an illegal bloodhouse at night, catering to the vampires feared by society. In her business, she has created a space where these outcasts of society are able to be themselves.
So when her establishment is threatened by the Ram—the masked ruler of the city—Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an adversary in order to save it. Part of the deal includes infiltrating the vampiric society known as the Athereum. She can’t do it alone, so Arthie puts together a ragtag team of fellow outcasts to get the job done—but not everyone is on her side. And as the true nature of what’s at stake unfolds, Arthie must think twice about who she trusts among her crew.
“Tempest” is a fun heist book, told from various characters’ points of view who have varying motives for getting involved. Readers will be questioning everyone’s reasons for being there, right up until the end. From Arthie and her found brother, Jin, to the privileged Flick and rogue Ram soldier Laith, Faizal’s characters are multifaceted and all have more to them than meets the eye. It’s fun to read and learn more about them—my personal favorite character is Flick as she really grows into herself as the story progresses. There are twists, reveals, and surprises that you’ll likely see coming, only to be taken by surprise by even bigger twists.
In addition to the heist, this is a story about colonialism, immigration, and the impact that has on the colonized. Many of the characters come from outside of White Roaring, having immigrated for different reasons—some more tragic than others—and are just trying to build a life in their new home as best they can, which is something most people from immigrant backgrounds (or anyone who’s ever moved to a new town) can relate to.
An Unreliable Magic
By Rin Chupeco
Sourcebooks Fire, 2022
Six months after the lost city of Avalon was thawed and retaken, Alex is doing the best he can to be a good leader. But he’s not quite sure what he’s doing—which is why he needs all the help he can get, from his best friend Tala and others.
When the Nameless Sword all of a sudden appears in the castle courtyard, it brings with it a whole new set of problems. Anyone is allowed to try and pull the sword out of the stone, but this unfortunately also leaves the kingdom vulnerable to an attack as it attracts people from around the world, and from all walks of life.
And it’s not long before the Snow Queen also makes an appearance and attempts to open a portal to the legendary long-lost country of Buyan, whose life-giving water could make her even more powerful and formidable. So it’s up to Alex, Tala, and their friends to work together to stop her—even after they’re left broken from a major betrayal.
“Unreliable” is the second in Chupeco’s “A Hundred Names for Magic” trilogy, and like its predecessor, “Wicked as You Wish,” it’s not your average fairy tale. With references to Arthurian legend, as well as classics such as “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” and more, Chupeco puts their spin on things—mixing stories that most of us are familiar with, with the modern day.
One thing I enjoyed about “Unreliable” was the fact that it’s a story of what happens after the supposed happily ever after. Just because Alex, Tala, and their friends were able to bring back Avalon doesn’t mean everything’s all good now. It takes a lot to run a kingdom, especially one that had been frozen in time—quite literally—for so long.
This is also a story of a found family. Almost all the characters have experienced some kind of trauma that has left their families a little broken, so it’s beautiful to see them come together and form their own family and be there to support each other.