By Samantha Pak
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Eyes of Kings
By Chloe Gong
S&S/Saga Press, 2026
War is coming to the kingdom of Talin. On one side sits Calla Tuoleimi and Anton Makusa, and on the other, the recently dethroned August Shenzhi and Calla’s predecessor Sinoa Tuoleimi. Neither side will rest until the opposition is buried.
For Calla, who now wears the divine crown after a violent coup, she assumed victory would be easy. But when there are rumblings about the return of the old gods, all bets are off. Meanwhile, Anton thought he had chosen the winning side as Calla’s general. But he’s worried that with the crown, Calla is no longer herself and is returning to who she used to be.
As for August, he would sacrifice anything to win. He’s waited a lifetime for the throne and is not going to give up so easily—he just has to be careful about who he trusts.
As the conclusion to her Flesh & False Gods trilogy, Gong packs a lot into one book. Admittedly, it can be a bit much to keep track of—especially for someone who hasn’t read the first two in a while. But it was easy to get caught back up. It was fun to see how things pan out for each of the characters, both major and minor, as the story jumps from various points of view. I appreciated this as it helped paint a better picture of everything happening in the kingdom, and how the actions of those in charge (or trying to be) would affect everyday citizens.
This was also a fairly political story, which isn’t always my favorite genre. But I did enjoy how Gong included more of the kingdom’s history, its ties to the heavens and gods, and how that has led to things being the way they are in the present day.
Based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Antony and Cleopatra,” there is quite a lot of death in the story—which is to be expected. So be forewarned that your favorite characters may not survive. And even though I knew it was coming, I admit that I still wished certain characters made it to the end.
The Ashfire King
By Chelsea Abdullah
Orbit, 2025
After fleeing a patricidal prince, legendary merchant Loulie al-Nazari and banished prince Mazin bin Malik have made it to the realm of jinn. But rather than a sanctuary, they learn that the world is on the verge of collapse.
Long sheltered beneath the Sandsea by the magic of its kings, the jinn cities are now sinking. All the while, political alliances begin to form, and a rebellion is just around the corner. When Loulie agrees to help a dissenter—one of her bodyguard’s old comrades—she finds herself in the middle of a centuries-old war, wielding a magic that doesn’t belong to her.
Picking up right where “The Stardust Thief” left off, “The Ashfire King” is the second installment in Abdullah’s Sandsea Trilogy.
While trying to save a sinking kingdom is no joke, Abdullah does a great job of balancing the heavy task with humor and lightness in Loulie’s and Mazin’s interactions with the jinn they meet, as well as with each other. I especially enjoyed how one of the jinn constantly commented on Loulie’s size and how small she was—much to the latter’s annoyance. And the payoff of those comments is very satisfying.
Told from Loulie’s, Mazin’s, as well as former thief Aisha bint Louas’s points of view, it was also satisfying to see how each of the protagonists grows throughout the story. From learning how to let others get close, to gaining confidence in who they are, to being able to accept help from others, it was great to see how they eventually became more sure of themselves.
I also enjoyed learning about the jinn’s history and lore, and how they tied into the human characters’ lives and stories. This is a fantasy adventure story, so it’s no surprise that characters and events are connected in some kind of way. But it is fun to see how they’re connected.
And as this is a trilogy, the story unsurprisingly ended on a cliffhanger. But that just makes me more excited to see what happens in the last book and how it all ends.
The Hurricane Wars
By Thea Guanzon
Harper Voyager, 2023
Talasyn has never known a life without the Hurricane Wars. Growing up as an orphan in a country under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, she has found her family among her fellow soldiers as they fight side by side for freedom. But Talasyn is also hiding a deadly secret: She is possibly the last person in the country with light magic running through her veins—which puts a target right on her back, with the Night Empire’s shadows hunting her.
Meanwhile Prince Alaric has been raised as a weapon for his father, the Night Emperor, and is sworn to obliterate any threats to the Night Empire’s rule and the mighty shadow magic.
When Talasyn and Alaric meet on the battlefield, so begins a deadly dance of warring empires that neither can seemingly win—until their light and dark magics clash and merge to create a strange new force. And of course there’s also the growing force of their mutual attraction. But with a possibly even greater danger coming, Talasyn and Alaric have to decide whether they can work together to save the world or end up destroying each other.
“The Hurricane Wars” is a true enemy-to-lovers story, with our protagonists being on actual opposite sides of a war (instead of just being rivals or antagonists)—complete with Alaric and his morally gray tendencies. I loved the interactions between Talasyn and Alaric, especially when their mutual animosity supersedes any type of danger they might be in together. It was also fun to see how complicated their feelings for each other grow as the story progresses.
I also really appreciated the world-building in this story. Set in a Southeast Asian-inspired world, Guanzon has come up with an interesting magic system and history of all the empires and nations in this universe. This also came with the occasional plot twist (some I could see coming, and others were more of a surprise), which I thoroughly enjoyed and has me excited for the next two installments of this trilogy.
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