Name: Blood over Bright Haven
ISBN: 9780593873359

M. L. Wang

Blood over Bright Haven

Celina Irena Kuhn

Women are always told to be kind, be forgiving, be nurturing. As far as I know, its never gotten them anywhere. The men of Tiran, who have the real power, wont return the favor when it matters. 

"So, what does that mean?" She demanded of the night. "I have to stay here?" In this utterly unacceptable reality where all good I've ever done - all the good I've ever known - is an evil?

Thomil opened his eyes and knew for certain in his broken heart: This was how the Caldonnae truly died. In pain too great for two small souls to bear without corruption.

A man could get to a very high Level of magic without ever having an original thought.

They did what a man was supposed to do: they revered and obeyed the men above them, pusued greatness in the model of their predecessors, and, in the end, they were rewarded with power, acclaim and dominion over besser beings - a small godhood of their own.

M.L.  Wang

Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost—and the collectors have come calling.

An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.

What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.

Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?

A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)

Blood Over Bright Haven

This was a great read, with nice prose and good character construction. I had two main problems that didn't mar the experience too much: I predicted almost the entirety of the plot by the 20% mark; and some of the anti-colonial and anti-patriarchy speech was too forceful, even though the context is adequate for it. On the other hand, I really liked the ending, it's a brave one to write.

“They just can’t help putting their treasures on the highest floor of the tallest tower, even when more subtle placement might help with functionality.”

“Symbolism?” Sciona shrugged her burning shoulders. “I think it makes them feel like Leon on the Mount, conquering the natural world to touch divinity.”

“Oh.” Carra frowned. “When you said ‘symbolism,’ I thought you were going to say it was a penis thing.”

Sciona let out a snort of laughter and clapped a hand over her mouth as the lift creaked to a halt. “I suppose you’re right. It is a bit of a penis thing.”

Reading this and The Lathe of Heaven together was interesting, they connect at least on one major point, the ethics of the use of overwhelming power and how progress, development and forward thinking can lead to morally wrong considerations about the present suffering or sacrifice. This being one of the pillars of our ever developing dystopia in the real world makes it poignant and that much meaningful. Conceptualizing effectiveness is not apolitical. From here one can also make a play at interpreting Blood over Bright Haven as climate fiction: there's the resource management, the class system, the destruction of life happening elsewhere, where it doesn't have to matter to us, the belief that the next technological progress is going to save us from the disasters we are ourselves creating. I couldn't help but constantly think about "some people" with unjustifiable power over the world having their mansions built in isolated safer places and planning for a future where the others will have to deal with whatever catastrophe happens. 

André Nóbrega

This was a great read, with nice prose and good character construction. I had two main problems that didn't mar the experience too much: I predicted almost the entirety of the plot by the 20% mark; and some of the anti-colonial and anti-patriarchy speech was too forceful, even though the context is adequate for it. On the other hand, I really liked the ending, it's a brave one to write.

“They just can’t help putting their treasures on the highest floor of the tallest tower, even when more subtle placement might help with functionality.”
“Why?” Carra asked.
“Symbolism?” Sciona shrugged her burning shoulders. “I think it makes them feel like Leon on the Mount, conquering the natural world to touch divinity.”
“Oh.” Carra frowned. “When you said ‘symbolism,’ I thought you were going to say it was a penis thing.”
Sciona let out a snort of laughter and clapped a hand over her mouth as the lift creaked to a halt. “I suppose you’re right. It is a bit of a penis thing.”
“You Tiranish have problems”

Reading this and The Lathe of Heaven together was interesting, they connect at least on one major point, the ethics of the use of overwhelming power and how progress, development and forward thinking can lead to morally wrong considerations about the present suffering or sacrifice. This being one of the pillars of our ever developing dystopia in the real world makes it poignant and that much meaningful. Conceptualizing effectiveness is not apolitical. From here one can also make a play at interpreting Blood over Bright Haven as climate fiction: there's the resource management, the class system, the destruction of life happening elsewhere, where it doesn't have to matter to us, the belief that the next technological progress is going to save us from the disasters we are ourselves creating. I couldn't help but constantly think about "some people" with unjustifiable power over the world having their mansions built in isolated safer places and planning for a future where the others will have to deal with whatever catastrophe happens. 

Magic has made the city of Tiran an industrial utopia, but magic has a cost-and the collectors have come calling. An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant. What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran's magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power. Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever-if it doesn't get them killed first.
Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance? A standalone dark academia brimming with mystery, tragedy, and the damning echoes of the past. For fans of Leigh Bardugo, V. E. Schwab, and Fullmetal Alchemist.
(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)

I am a little surprised by how invested I found myself to be in the story; a lot of fantasy nowadays seems to want to hit page counts over telling a story which can make picking a book up discouraging. "Blood Over Bright Haven" has no such issues. It is very clear in what it seeks to explore, in its themes and its allegories; the understanding of the author of colonialism is deep and represented in many of its complexities within the novel. It has been a while since I have seen a book demonstrate so effectively that a colonialism does not end with not killing a colonised people - no, it dehumanises and destroys in the small and in the large scale, and it rots all the way down. It becomes ingrained into a society and its people (even Sciona, until the very end, had forgotten how the Kwen would react to her revelation) and it cannot be cured through one gesture, one generation.

The fact that the above was supported by robust enough world-building helps make the novel feel complete and well-rounded. I liked the idea of a magic system that combines the more esoteric with what we would regard as closer to contemporary technology and what is essentially coding to activate it. I only wish we had gotten to understand Kwen magic better - it is stated that the runes used by Tiran were stolen from the Kwen and that the system is based on their magic system; it seems a little inconsistent with the themes to leave the Kwen system then less clear in its mechanics (as colonial powers tend to exoticise and mysticise its colonised nations) but maybe that is the point - the people who practiced this magic are all dead, there is no one to explain the mechanics of their magic.

I am a little surprised by how invested I found myself to be in the story; a lot of fantasy nowadays seems to want to hit page counts over telling a story which can make picking a book up discouraging. "Blood Over Bright Haven" has no such issues. It is very clear in what it seeks to explore, in its themes and its allegories; the understanding of the author of colonialism is deep and represented in many of its complexities within the novel. It has been a while since I have seen a book demonstrate so effectively that a colonialism does not end with not killing a colonised people - no, it dehumanises and destroys in the small and in the large scale, and it rots all the way down. It becomes ingrained into a society and its people (even Sciona, until the very end, had forgotten how the Kwen would react to her revelation) and it cannot be cured through one gesture, one generation.

The fact that the above was supported by robust enough world-building helps make the novel feel complete and well-rounded. I liked the idea of a magic system that combines the more esoteric with what we would regard as closer to contemporary technology and what is essentially coding to activate it. I only wish we had gotten to understand Kwen magic better - it is stated that the runes used by Tiran were stolen from the Kwen and that the system is based on their magic system; it seems a little inconsistent with the themes to leave the Kwen system then less clear in its mechanics (as colonial powers tend to exoticise and mysticise its colonised nations) but maybe that is the point - the people who practiced this magic are all dead, there is no one to explain the mechanics of their magic.

Holy shit that was good. And emotionally heavy. Some story beats were a bit cliche for my taste, but the main pieces of the bigger plot were perfect. It was kinda hard not to read it as non-fiction, which I’m sure was the point. The tragic ending was heavy but inevitable, and I appreciated that the author was willing to go there. More from M.L. Wang!!

Emilee Keawe Oldroyd

Quite good. Excellent depiction of how gender, race, and class are all intertwined, and how each are affected under white supremacy. 

Sophia 

insanely good. this book is a credit to the dark academia/fantasy genre and everything i wanted babel to be. a letter to the hope that we can break beyond the lies and blood and deciet that plagues every institution we have built. we can change. we can become better (lacpl, libby, 5.5 hrs) 

rin 🐇

I fear an Instagram caption can't fully capture everything this ambitious book is trying to talk about, on top of being a total page-turner. I will always want to read a book about a wonderful magical city being secretly built on the literal blood, bones, and backs of a subjugated/marginalised class. Bright Haven more like Blight Haven am I right? More so than SF dystopian novels, I find adult fantasy of the dark academia subgenre making very loud points about how capitalist society functions—prosperity for a few always relies on the exploitation of many. I’m going to be thinking about this book for a long time.

The story begins with an entire tribe being brutally massacred by something called a Blight along the outskirts of a city protected by and run on magic siphoned from another realm. For all its progress, this city is extremely patriarchal—women are allowed to take the biggest magic exam only once a decade so the upper echelons of government and academia are overwhelmingly men. 

Sciona is a young woman who has spent all her life fighting for recognition, against all odds and double standards and gender-based injustice. After passing the exam and being assigned to a prestigious lab, she still has to endure misogyny from her colleagues. Instead of subjecting a man to the humiliation of being her lab assistant, she is assigned a Kwen janitor with no qualifications to speak of. The Kwen refer to immigrants from outside the barrier and their descendants whose lives are treated as expendable. When Sciona discovers the truth that could unravel her entire reason for existence, she decides to go down in history as having been on the right side of it. At least she got to rip her asshole colleagues a new one while she still could, that was my favourite part.

Consider one man who seeks to do good in the world and, in doing so, only leaves behind a path of pain and destruction. Then, consider another man who acts only in his own self interest but ends up doing good by creating opportunities and saving people from evil. Who is the truly good person? 

It took me almost two days after finishing this book to truly process everything I want to say about this. How could I take on the biggest feat of encapsulating all of my feelings of awe, love, pain, and sorrow into one succinct review that still possibly couldn’t be enough? There was a review I read after finishing that said the religion, sexism, racism, and class themes in this novel are too in your face. Reading that troubled me but also made me laugh because I fear that person missed the entire point of this novel. This novel is meant to showcase that societies find scapegoats to justify their bad decisions. A society who profits off the atrocities of other people but justifies it by saying they are doing so for the good of a community is a society that is playing god. This book is heart wrenching because you can see the world reflected the words she writes. You can see the injustices before they do because they are injustices that we have seen time and time again repeated in our history books and wonder how they could have missed the signs. But how can you say something like that when you yourself have stayed complicit and inherently missed signs of your own? ML Wang, I applaud you. Not what what you have already done but what you are bound to do for literature in the future. Please never stop writing. 

Kaitlyn R

Consider one man who seeks to do good in the world and, in doing so, only leaves behind a path of pain and destruction. Then, consider another man who acts only in his own self interest but ends up doing good by creating opportunities and saving people from evil. Who is the truly good person? 

It took me almost two days after finishing this book to truly process everything I want to say about this. How could I take on the biggest feat of encapsulating all of my feelings of awe, love, pain, and sorrow into one succinct review that still possibly couldn’t be enough? There was a review I read after finishing that said the religion, sexism, racism, and class themes in this novel are too in your face. Reading that troubled me but also made me laugh because I fear that person missed the entire point of this novel. This novel is meant to showcase that societies find scapegoats to justify their bad decisions. A society who profits off the atrocities of other people but justifies it by saying they are doing so for the good of a community is a society that is playing god. This book is heart wrenching because you can see the world reflected the words she writes. You can see the injustices before they do because they are injustices that we have seen time and time again repeated in our history books and wonder how they could have missed the signs. But how can you say something like that when you yourself have stayed complicit and inherently missed signs of your own? ML Wang, I applaud you. Not what what you have already done but what you are bound to do for literature in the future. Please never stop writing. 

Painfully beautiful. Elitism? Racism? This book made me feel (like really FEEL) emotions. I did not sob. No tears were shed while reading, but my heart ached at how the story ended—and began. May I share that it reached the point where I dreamt about the characters, and I would wake up wanting to pick the book back up and continue right where I left off. That is how much of an impact this book had on me. So, Wang has truly gained another fan 🙋‍♀️

Some highlighted notes I want to include here:

• Truth over delusion. Growth over comfort.

• Sick or sound, good or evil, she was still Sciona Freynan. And Sciona Freynan didn't slow down. Sciona Freynan would be remembered.

• Good people will turnmonstrous whenit'sdownto theirsurvivalorsomeone else's.

• With her soul in the spiral on its way to Hell, Sciona's last thought was not of vengeance or legacy. It was of love.

• Sciona was proof that hope didn't have to mean living to the end of the story

• It was the howl of a wolf still calling for a pack that was long gone

Kath

"To hope, Highmage Freynan"

Painfully beautiful. Elitism? Racism? This book made me feel (like really FEEL) emotions. I did not sob. No tears were shed while reading, but my heart ached at how the story ended—and began. May I share that it reached the point where I dreamt about the characters, and I would wake up wanting to pick the book back up and continue right where I left off. That is how much of an impact this book had on me. So, Wang has truly gained another fan 🙋‍♀️

Some highlighted notes I want to include here:

• Truth over delusion. Growth over comfort.

• Sick or sound, good or evil, she was still Sciona Freynan. And Sciona Freynan didn't slow down. Sciona Freynan would be remembered.

• Good people will turnmonstrous whenit'sdownto theirsurvivalorsomeone else's.

• With her soul in the spiral on its way to Hell, Sciona's last thought was not of vengeance or legacy. It was of love.

• Sciona was proof that hope didn't have to mean living to the end of the story

• It was the howl of a wolf still calling for a pack that was long gone

My first book with ML Wang. Definitely not dissapoint! 

Lili Airen

Antes de ler esse livro, tudo que eu sabia sobre era que ele contava a história de uma “mulher tentando fazer magia num mundo onde apenas homens eram permitidos”. Depois de ter lido, essa sinopse foi o maior desserviço pra essa história que alguém poderia pensar. Essa não é uma história com uma mensagem rasa sobre girl power, um feminismo repetido e barato do tipo “mulheres também podem!”. Essa é uma história profunda e dolorosa sobre o que é ser humano em um mundo que faz tudo em seu alcance para te desumanizar. É uma história sobre uma mulher lutando contra um sistema que a trata como insignificante por natureza, sim, mas também é uma história sobre como imigrantes são valorizados apenas pelo valor de seu trabalho, como sistemas criam narrativas perversas como formas de controle e opressão, como pregadores religiosos conseguem distorcer completamente a narrativa de suas próprias religiões para alcançar tudo o que desejam, sobre como o ativismo performático envenena as percepções de alguém, e como ninguém é completamente imune à propaganda e à manipulação. Esse é o segundo livro da autora que eu leio, e o jeito que ela costura pautas extremamente pesadas com histórias empolgantes com maestria devia ser estudado.

Pedro Rodarte

"The worthwhile run is never the short one... You know we're not running from oblivion. We're running toward hope."

Holy shit... holy fucking shit. I am floored. This was an incredible read and I am so, so glad that I picked this book up. WOW. This book tackles some really important topics and themes that are extremely relevant to what is happening in the world at the moment, this is a really poignant, horrifying yet hopeful story and I absolutely loved it. I don't think I was fully prepared for how much this story would get to me, I found myself a massive sobbing mess more than once and I think the shock will take a long time to wear off. There isn't a lot that I can really criticise with this book... ok that's a lie, there is always something... I'm not sure I can really get all my feelings down in adequate words, but I will try, and I am going to make the rest of this review hidden for spoilers, so be warned...

SPOILERS>>>Sciona is a fascinating main character. She is flawed, frustrating and incredibly up herself, she thinks she's "not other girls" but really she's more like them in so many ways, she's just been given the freedom to explore avenues that other women haven't had access to. I loved the way Thomil, and even Sciona eventually, held her accountable for this, it's powerful. She's never excused for being a selfish, power hungry person who steps on the backs of others, even the people who love her, to get where she wants. She is an oppressed woman but complicit in mass murder and oppression too. The intersectionlity of oppression in this book was so well done. It tackles how someone can be not exactly guilty but also not innocent either. Sciona benefitted from the privilege of her ethnicity and the systems that hurt Kwen and other Tiranish women, but she eventually uses that privilege to help the Kwen and that is admirable in some ways. Some people might call that a "white saviour complex" but I disagree. She's still deeply flawed, she still sees the Kwen as below her in until almost the end of the book and her biases never fully leave but her character development is still progress and it shows hope.

"Sciona was just like any other mage in so many critical ways-her fanaticism for her cruel god, her blindness to those beneath her, her arrogance, her davastatingly damaging actions. But in the one way, she was distinct from anyone Thomil had ever known.

The themes in this book do smack you over the head a bit, they're not exactly subtle and I wish they had been handled a little more creatively to be honest. Tiran basically directly mirrors our own world and spells out this dynamic of racism, religion and misogyny in stark detail. I guess this is important for those readers who read just for vibes and say reading isn't political, maybe it will get them to open their eyes to the comparisons, but I also think those readers might not have made it through the first 100 pages of technical world building and jargon and just found this boring, because I know I struggled a bit at the beginning too. The magic system is a lot to take in, but it reminded me of writing queries and logic builders which I do in my tech job, the IF...THEN logic system was really cool, and I think it helped me understant it more quickly. The religion was also a lot of information to take in, but I found it relatively easy to understand just very wordy at times. It resembled Christianity very closely, Leonite is Old Testment, Tirasian is New Testament. Even down to the way bad people often turn to Christianity, for example when they're in prison, and then think that because they've repented they are now going to be admitted into Heaven. I think this was really well done, but also meant the story did feel like it lacked some originality sometimes. I think this book could've almost worked as a dystopia rather than a fantasy. But overall I don't think that detracts from how well written it is and how powerful I found the story.

"Women are always told to be kind, be forgiving, be nurturing... As far as I know, it's never gotten them anywhere. The men of Tiran, who have the real power, won't return the favor when it matters."

The foreshadowing, like in the quote above, was really mastefully handled. It just highlighted how ignorant Sciona was still even toward the end of this book, she had hope for her people being good but forgot that the real people in power don't return the favour most of the time. Whether it's men's power over women, or coloniser's power over the oppressed. I do wish we'd seen more of the Kwen in this book and gotten to know more about other characters aside from Thomil and Carra. I loved Thomil and Carra so much, they challenged Sciona so well even though it was never their responsibilty to educate her. Thomil's POVs were a great addition, especically that amazing first chapter and the ending, what a way to begin and end this story. I wanted a bit more of Thomil's POV though. We know and learn a lot about the Tiranish people and a lot of Sciona's colleagues, mentors, bosses and family but not enough about him and the Kwen. But I did like that Sciona's absent father is just a mere footnote in this story. END SPOILER>>>

Ok spoilers done. Depsite my wishes and slight criticisms this is still a 6 star read for me and has quickly gone straight onto my favourites shelf. I think this is an important novel that everyone should read at some point in their life, and having read some of the more critical reviews I do disagree with some people's opinions on the messaging of this book. I think people calling this a coloniser romance aren't wrong but they aren't fully right either. Since I've ended my spoiler warning I won't give too much away but I really don't think the VERY small element of romance in this book is being understood correctly, they weren't in love, they were just full of emotion during a very tense moment and had found a friend in each other. And wow this book really brought out the emotion in me. An absolutely brilliant read! 10/10 recommended.

"Of course Alba thinks it's about love becase that's how she and Aunt Winny measure the world. They're sweet like that."

"I'm not sweet. The world isn't about love for me. It's about power."

Genevieve 

"The worthwhile run is never the short one... You know we're not running from oblivion. We're running toward hope."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Holy shit... holy fucking shit. I am floored. This was an incredible read and I am so, so glad that I picked this book up. WOW. This book tackles some really important topics and themes that are extremely relevant to what is happening in the world at the moment, this is a really poignant, horrifying yet hopeful story and I absolutely loved it. I don't think I was fully prepared for how much this story would get to me, I found myself a massive sobbing mess more than once and I think the shock will take a long time to wear off. There isn't a lot that I can really criticise with this book... ok that's a lie, there is always something... I'm not sure I can really get all my feelings down in adequate words, but I will try, and I am going to make the rest of this review hidden for spoilers, so be warned...

SPOILERS>>>Sciona is a fascinating main character. She is flawed, frustrating and incredibly up herself, she thinks she's "not other girls" but really she's more like them in so many ways, she's just been given the freedom to explore avenues that other women haven't had access to. I loved the way Thomil, and even Sciona eventually, held her accountable for this, it's powerful. She's never excused for being a selfish, power hungry person who steps on the backs of others, even the people who love her, to get where she wants. She is an oppressed woman but complicit in mass murder and oppression too. The intersectionlity of oppression in this book was so well done. It tackles how someone can be not exactly guilty but also not innocent either. Sciona benefitted from the privilege of her ethnicity and the systems that hurt Kwen and other Tiranish women, but she eventually uses that privilege to help the Kwen and that is admirable in some ways. Some people might call that a "white saviour complex" but I disagree. She's still deeply flawed, she still sees the Kwen as below her in until almost the end of the book and her biases never fully leave but her character development is still progress and it shows hope.

"Sciona was just like any other mage in so many critical ways-her fanaticism for her cruel god, her blindness to those beneath her, her arrogance, her davastatingly damaging actions. But in the one way, she was distinct from anyone Thomil had ever known.
'She's hope'"

The themes in this book do smack you over the head a bit, they're not exactly subtle and I wish they had been handled a little more creatively to be honest. Tiran basically directly mirrors our own world and spells out this dynamic of racism, religion and misogyny in stark detail. I guess this is important for those readers who read just for vibes and say reading isn't political, maybe it will get them to open their eyes to the comparisons, but I also think those readers might not have made it through the first 100 pages of technical world building and jargon and just found this boring, because I know I struggled a bit at the beginning too. The magic system is a lot to take in, but it reminded me of writing queries and logic builders which I do in my tech job, the IF...THEN logic system was really cool, and I think it helped me understant it more quickly. The religion was also a lot of information to take in, but I found it relatively easy to understand just very wordy at times. It resembled Christianity very closely, Leonite is Old Testment, Tirasian is New Testament. Even down to the way bad people often turn to Christianity, for example when they're in prison, and then think that because they've repented they are now going to be admitted into Heaven. I think this was really well done, but also meant the story did feel like it lacked some originality sometimes. I think this book could've almost worked as a dystopia rather than a fantasy. But overall I don't think that detracts from how well written it is and how powerful I found the story.

"Women are always told to be kind, be forgiving, be nurturing... As far as I know, it's never gotten them anywhere. The men of Tiran, who have the real power, won't return the favor when it matters."

The foreshadowing, like in the quote above, was really mastefully handled. It just highlighted how ignorant Sciona was still even toward the end of this book, she had hope for her people being good but forgot that the real people in power don't return the favour most of the time. Whether it's men's power over women, or coloniser's power over the oppressed. I do wish we'd seen more of the Kwen in this book and gotten to know more about other characters aside from Thomil and Carra. I loved Thomil and Carra so much, they challenged Sciona so well even though it was never their responsibilty to educate her. Thomil's POVs were a great addition, especically that amazing first chapter and the ending, what a way to begin and end this story. I wanted a bit more of Thomil's POV though. We know and learn a lot about the Tiranish people and a lot of Sciona's colleagues, mentors, bosses and family but not enough about him and the Kwen. But I did like that Sciona's absent father is just a mere footnote in this story. END SPOILER>>>

Ok spoilers done. Depsite my wishes and slight criticisms this is still a 6 star read for me and has quickly gone straight onto my favourites shelf. I think this is an important novel that everyone should read at some point in their life, and having read some of the more critical reviews I do disagree with some people's opinions on the messaging of this book. I think people calling this a coloniser romance aren't wrong but they aren't fully right either. Since I've ended my spoiler warning I won't give too much away but I really don't think the VERY small element of romance in this book is being understood correctly, they weren't in love, they were just full of emotion during a very tense moment and had found a friend in each other. And wow this book really brought out the emotion in me. An absolutely brilliant read! 10/10 recommended.

"Of course Alba thinks it's about love becase that's how she and Aunt Winny measure the world. They're sweet like that."
"But you?"
"I'm not sweet. The world isn't about love for me. It's about power."

Devastating. Painful. Distroyed me. - in the best possible way. I loved loved loved the worldbuilding. The magic system reminded me of Exel lol but it was very unique. I feel like a lot of Fantasy books that are currently hyped follow the same patterns/plotlines. Not this one though. Very unique world with very real problems. Sometimes it was hard to read because I saw our society in it. Almost every page I was shocked by statement arrogant men were giving. I was filled with rage and would have loved to slap some characters. I do believe that scionas character evolved in her own way and I feel like every conversation, every word was written with Intention and had a purpose. Very much loved that the romance was not rushed and only was a faintly brushed Background in the whole picture. Wang knows her way with words and there were so many strong Highlights.

6/5 

Devastating. Painful. Distroyed me. - in the best possible way. I loved loved loved the worldbuilding. The magic system reminded me of Exel lol but it was very unique. I feel like a lot of Fantasy books that are currently hyped follow the same patterns/plotlines. Not this one though. Very unique world with very real problems. Sometimes it was hard to read because I saw our society in it. Almost every page I was shocked by statement arrogant men were giving. I was filled with rage and would have loved to slap some characters. I do believe that scionas character evolved in her own way and I feel like every conversation, every word was written with Intention and had a purpose. Very much loved that the romance was not rushed and only was a faintly brushed Background in the whole picture. Wang knows her way with words and there were so many strong Highlights.

I love how we never got a Thomil's POV after what happened to his sister and brother-in-law because it made Thomil as a mysterious character in this book. Sciona went from close minded to an open minded character, I love it also. But, the bittersweet ending made me mad and happy at the same time. Thomil deserves the peace and freedom he got (i mean we're not sure abt the freedom part) but I don't think Sciona deserves to die. Well, it's still a good book, well-written characters, the subtle romance between them is amazing but it hurts me that their relationship (or like connection) ends right after starting it. It didnt dissappoint me. 

went from "DANG" to "SOBBING" 

I love how we never got a Thomil's POV after what happened to his sister and brother-in-law because it made Thomil as a mysterious character in this book. Sciona went from close minded to an open minded character, I love it also. But, the bittersweet ending made me mad and happy at the same time. Thomil deserves the peace and freedom he got (i mean we're not sure abt the freedom part) but I don't think Sciona deserves to die. Well, it's still a good book, well-written characters, the subtle romance between them is amazing but it hurts me that their relationship (or like connection) ends right after starting it. It didnt dissappoint me. 

The themes of classism, racism, sexism, corruption, and the weaponization of religion throughout this novel grew quickly tiresome. I felt that instead of acting as interwoven motifs that complimented the storyline, they were instead forced upon the reader as though the author was trying to convince the reader in a very YA fashion their harmful nature. I additionally guessed the first major plot twist within the second chapter which very nearly made this novel a DNF. I however did find the introspection of Sciona, the character development, magic system, and overall world building to be very unique and interesting. This novel would have gotten a 3.5 if it weren't for the ending which was compelling and finally got my pulse racing. Overall I was slightly disappointed with this novel considering I’ve previously read The Sword of Kaigen which was a work of art.

Anna

turtle

Cici Pearson

Extremely captivating through and through. Love the world, the characters, the plot, the twists - an wonderful reading experience that I'll definitely recommend through and through.

Zubi Mendi

There are not enough words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. I want more of it, even though it ended perfectly. It's an incrediblely complex story that just got better and better as I read it.

Paige Leitner

In this fantastical world, it is still ruled by the patriarchy and two schools of a slightly different religious doctrines, who have deemed the Kwen a lesser people. The metaphors are pretty heavy handed and unfortunately this could be about many different regions and peoples historically. A group of people deciding they are better and smarter than the other, mixed in which magic is not a good combo.

That said it’s pretty interesting and the world-building is pretty solid.

Sciona, the first female high Mage is unlikely paired with a Kwen man Thomil.

It reads a little like a white savior story which doesn’t quite sit well with me.

She is incredibly passionate and stubborn and at times very hard to like.

I DNFed this at 2/3 in. Im not spending any more time with this misogynistic dystopian book.

Suzanne

In this fantastical world, it is still ruled by the patriarchy and two schools of a slightly different religious doctrines, who have deemed the Kwen a lesser people. The metaphors are pretty heavy handed and unfortunately this could be about many different regions and peoples historically. A group of people deciding they are better and smarter than the other, mixed in which magic is not a good combo.

That said it’s pretty interesting and the world-building is pretty solid.

Sciona, the first female high Mage is unlikely paired with a Kwen man Thomil.

It reads a little like a white savior story which doesn’t quite sit well with me.

She is incredibly passionate and stubborn and at times very hard to like.

I DNFed this at 2/3 in. Im not spending any more time with this misogynistic dystopian book.

I feel like this story was very straightforward and didn’t try to be more profound than it was. Every reader understands the symbolism to the real world, and it worked very well. At no point did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with information or talked down to by the author. She had a vision and executed it almost flawlessly.

The wild building and magic system was something I very much enjoyed. It was almost sci-fi in nature, but the expansion of how the magic works was very useful in comprehending something that could’ve been extremely complicated.

The characters were complex and compelling. While I’m not a huge fan of the main character, she was excellently written. She is the epitome of “white feminism”— meaning she can understand oppression from her limited worldview but struggles to identify it in other people. Watching her struggle with her own societal standing while simultaneously being in a position of privilege over others was interesting and rings true to life. Thomil, on the other hand, was someone I also resonated a lot with. He reminds me of older people in my family who try to raise strong, independent Black kids but also knows how to toe the line to keep his family protected from the violence of his oppressors. His struggle of being between worlds and choosing between cultural pride and safety of self was fascinating to experience as well.

I do think there is little bit of romanticization of the white savior going on — hence the half a star taken away. At some point, our protagonist is the face of a movement that doesn’t quite belong to her, and while this is something that happens all the time in the real world, it still infuriates me. That aspect of the story unsettled me because I couldn’t tell if it was purposeful commentary or if it was just an arc for the character in which the author didn’t think about the implications.

Either way, this was very well done. I’m glad it was my first read of the year, and I look forward to more of her works in the future.

Nik ✨

I feel like this story was very straightforward and didn’t try to be more profound than it was. Every reader understands the symbolism to the real world, and it worked very well. At no point did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with information or talked down to by the author. She had a vision and executed it almost flawlessly.

The wild building and magic system was something I very much enjoyed. It was almost sci-fi in nature, but the expansion of how the magic works was very useful in comprehending something that could’ve been extremely complicated.

The characters were complex and compelling. While I’m not a huge fan of the main character, she was excellently written. She is the epitome of “white feminism”— meaning she can understand oppression from her limited worldview but struggles to identify it in other people. Watching her struggle with her own societal standing while simultaneously being in a position of privilege over others was interesting and rings true to life. Thomil, on the other hand, was someone I also resonated a lot with. He reminds me of older people in my family who try to raise strong, independent Black kids but also knows how to toe the line to keep his family protected from the violence of his oppressors. His struggle of being between worlds and choosing between cultural pride and safety of self was fascinating to experience as well.

I do think there is little bit of romanticization of the white savior going on — hence the half a star taken away. At some point, our protagonist is the face of a movement that doesn’t quite belong to her, and while this is something that happens all the time in the real world, it still infuriates me. That aspect of the story unsettled me because I couldn’t tell if it was purposeful commentary or if it was just an arc for the character in which the author didn’t think about the implications.

Either way, this was very well done. I’m glad it was my first read of the year, and I look forward to more of her works in the future.

M.L Wang has succeeded in delivering a fantasy novel that is unique and complex but so engaging.  

I have so many thoughts about this book that are hard to summarise in just one review, but I want to try my best.

Firstly the magic system was so interesting and nothing like I read about before. It's really cool to see mathematics and coding incorporated into a magic system. Like with any fantasy book there is a bit of a learning curve in understanding it but it's nothing too complicated. In fact, if you are a frequent fantasy reader its sure to be a welcome challenge. 

The world building is equally detailed and well thought out, however there are less terms to look up in comparison to the sword of kaigen. Nonetheless the writing was descriptive and moving. The pace is incredibly fast with the first chapter in itself being as shocking as a cold water plunge. However I think things are developed appropriately and nothing felt rushed.

Secondly I quite enjoyed seeing Sciona's character, yes she is kind of insufferable at times, but she shows actual growth and changes so much through the course of the book. I think shes a strong example of how someone can be a minority in society but still have privileges and inadvertently contribute to the oppression of others. While Sciona ends up choosing honesty and becoming a disruptive symbol of change, it was interesting reading her journey in getting there. Similarly I also enjoyed Thomil's character, I admired his valiant efforts to keep his culture and history alive through himself and carra. Thomil was always aware of where he truly stood and I'm glad he never comprised his beliefs or identity to be closer to Sciona. 

Finally I really enjoyed how this book discusses systematic oppression and especially the role of religion in justifying oppression. Every chapter opening with verse from the universe's religious texts was a nice touch. I think religion is often an element overlooked when it comes to colonialism and oppression so I'm glad to have seen it here.

Overall blood over bright haven was an unforgettable read

Marz 

M.L Wang has succeeded in delivering a fantasy novel that is unique and complex but so engaging.  

I have so many thoughts about this book that are hard to summarise in just one review, but I want to try my best.

Firstly the magic system was so interesting and nothing like I read about before. It's really cool to see mathematics and coding incorporated into a magic system. Like with any fantasy book there is a bit of a learning curve in understanding it but it's nothing too complicated. In fact, if you are a frequent fantasy reader its sure to be a welcome challenge. 

The world building is equally detailed and well thought out, however there are less terms to look up in comparison to the sword of kaigen. Nonetheless the writing was descriptive and moving. The pace is incredibly fast with the first chapter in itself being as shocking as a cold water plunge. However I think things are developed appropriately and nothing felt rushed.

Secondly I quite enjoyed seeing Sciona's character, yes she is kind of insufferable at times, but she shows actual growth and changes so much through the course of the book. I think shes a strong example of how someone can be a minority in society but still have privileges and inadvertently contribute to the oppression of others. While Sciona ends up choosing honesty and becoming a disruptive symbol of change, it was interesting reading her journey in getting there. Similarly I also enjoyed Thomil's character, I admired his valiant efforts to keep his culture and history alive through himself and carra. Thomil was always aware of where he truly stood and I'm glad he never comprised his beliefs or identity to be closer to Sciona. 

Finally I really enjoyed how this book discusses systematic oppression and especially the role of religion in justifying oppression. Every chapter opening with verse from the universe's religious texts was a nice touch. I think religion is often an element overlooked when it comes to colonialism and oppression so I'm glad to have seen it here.

Overall blood over bright haven was an unforgettable read

Started off promising even if predictable, but went on too long and began to drag. I’m sure there are types of people who need to hear the lectures from the characters of this book, but for anyone else it’s repetitive and uninteresting made worse by the main character’s pov. 

Palpebra 

one of the only books ive read this year which ive truly enjoyed reading from start to finish 

Blood over Bright Haven

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