Review: Zhao’s Chinese fantasy novel “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” is every bit as epic as it is lyrical! 

 

“Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” alternates between the perspectives of Lan, a songgirl, and Zen, one of the few surviving practitioners of the Last Kingdom. The two are brought together by fate at a teahouse in Haak’gong, a city colonized by the Elantian regime. Lan discovers that Zen is the only one that is able to see the mark on her arm left by her mother before she was killed—the mark of practitioner with a powerful ability that the Elantians seek to destroy. With danger lurking everywhere, Lan and Zen escape to the only remaining school of practitioning in hopes of finding the answers they seek to the secrets buried within. 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the origin of Lan and Zen’s secrets whilst occupying their minds. Their distinct voices and their flaws made them all the more compelling and contributed to my love for the relationship that bloomed between them. 

 

Another aspect of the novel I appreciated is Zhao’s world-building. It is absolutely phenomenal! She immerses the reader in her world by providing rich descriptions of the land, detailing important elements of Hin culture, and dedicating an entire section of the preface to the history of the Last Kingdom leading up to the Elantian conquest. 

 

Zhao’s complex magic system compliments the world she establishes. She draws from the mythology and folklore of ancient China to inspire the way of the practitioners (magicians in a sense). In her fictional tale, practitioners draw qi from the natural world and channel it into Seals that have certain functions, which I found fascinating. The most skilled practitioners draw from both yīn and yáng energies, the two halves of all qi, to stay balanced. Demonic practitioners, however, wield qi consisting largely of yīn energies and bind demons to themselves to borrow their power. 

 

The Elantians have magic of their own that matches that of the practitioners and make them formidable foes. They are able to harness the power of metal to create their magic. Bronzes and Coppers have the ability to wield only a single metal to do their bidding whereas Alloys have the ability to work multiple metals. 

 

The end of “Song of Silver, Flame Like Night” is devastating and powerful in equal measure. I cannot wait to see where Zhao takes her readers in book two of this magical duology!