enne📚 reviewed Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame by Neon Yang
Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame
3 stars
A folk tale style story about an armored dragon slaying knight, using her mirrored armor as a mask for her gender and her family's origin. Yeva is tasked to go search out the truth around the rumors of a dragon for a greedy emperor.
There's a lot of good stuff here. I do appreciate how Lady Sookhee literally and metaphorically disrobes Yeva's protective armor. I like the tension of Yeva feeling like a foreigner in a land that she is airquotes from.
It's not that a plot needs to surprise me, but I also think there's a point where when I know all the story beats that are coming (and feel like I've read that kind of story before) that I need something else to make the story feel fresh. Even the queer relationship here isn't quite enough to make this novella really stand out for me.
A folk tale style story about an armored dragon slaying knight, using her mirrored armor as a mask for her gender and her family's origin. Yeva is tasked to go search out the truth around the rumors of a dragon for a greedy emperor.
There's a lot of good stuff here. I do appreciate how Lady Sookhee literally and metaphorically disrobes Yeva's protective armor. I like the tension of Yeva feeling like a foreigner in a land that she is airquotes from.
It's not that a plot needs to surprise me, but I also think there's a point where when I know all the story beats that are coming (and feel like I've read that kind of story before) that I need something else to make the story feel fresh. Even the queer relationship here isn't quite enough to make this novella really stand out for me.