This was my first foray into Yoon Ha Lee's work and all I can say is I can't wait to explore more of his work because I really loved this! It is so very different to much of the fantasy I usually read, but because of that it felt so refreshing and new. And the nonbinary/female enemies to lovers relationship at the core of this STORY SPARKED SO MUCH JOY OMG I LOVE TO SEE IT.

Phoenix Extravagant is not your usual fantasy. We don't follow a hero: instead, we follow an artist, slightly naive, oblivious to the world outside their art, and really just wanting to get on with their life outside of war. This passivity isn't usually something you see in fantasy, particularly in one about colonisation and rebellion. The book follows this artist, Gyen Jebi, as they are hired by the ruling Razanei Ministry of Armour to paint sigils that power their army of automaton. But after they discover how the paint is created, they feel forced to act, by stealing the Ministry of Armour's automaton dragon of course!

This is a book full of very contrasting elements, and it made for a very unusual read, but one that felt so new and unique, fun and fresh. We see the book from the perspective of someone who doesn't want to get involved in a rebellion, who doesn't want to fight or kill and kind of just wants to get on with their life, so they get a job with the enemy to pay their bills. This is contrasted with the exploration of identity, colonisation and war, bringing us the unusual story of someone from the conquered class who doesn't want to fight back themselves to get their country back. We see in Jebi the way the conquering nation are able to assimilate, manipulating the Hwaguk into giving up their names and their culture. The horrific nature of the magic system really exemplifies this, using cultural erasure to create the very weapon used to enforce the rule over Hwaguk is just horrific on so many different levels. Instead of in the main character, it is in Jebi's sister, Bongsunga, that we see the rebel fighter who is willing to die to her country back. This makes for a very interesting and complex sibling relationship at the heart of this book, one that involves betrayal on both sides.

Alongside Jebi, we have another pacifist at the centre of this novel, who is of course Arazi the automaton dragon. Arazi, a war machine built by the Razan to destroy their enemies, who wants nothing to do with it. Arazi is such a sweet dragon for a creature created for such monstrosities and I adored the emphasis put on his consent and choice, and Jebi's efforts to allow the dragon choice and free will as much as possible.

I really loved the juxtaposition of the steampunky, scifi nature of this fantasy alongside this more mystical, fairytale sense of freedom in the story. The contrast of this automaton dragon, and the mystical way he can fly; this felt most especially freeing in the way this book ended. I won't say anything for spoilers, but I loved that we ended on a more fairytale-esque note than other elements of the book would suggest.

I want to end with talking about the relationship between Jebi and the prime duelist, Vei, because I just loved it. I think I must've been smiling like a fool the whole way through at seeing such a brilliant nb/f relationship at the heart of a fantasy book, it just made me so full of joy!! These two start with a mainly physical relationship but then grow to trust each other and suddenly the fire with which they fight for the other, the lack of control when the other is in danger, I just love to see it. Lee writes with such a simple style of writing I feel, it's not full of huge detailed paragraphs about worldbuilding, about magic, about politics, or about the relationship. And this more simple style of writing somehow felt more powerful than if we'd had pages and pages of relationship development. Instead, the simplest sentences held the most power. It makes you pay attention to actions and what's actually happening to see what is most important, and this felt particularly well done when showing off the relationship between Jebi and Vei.

I really loved this book. It looks at colonisation and war from a very different perspective than you usually see in fantasy. Instead of following a hero, we follow one of the bystanders impacted by war. It felt so fresh and unique and it really emphasised some of the mechanisms colonisers use to control those they conquer.

I didn't get the chance to read this title in full as it was archived before I got a chance to download it. However, I did read an excerpt, and this "review" is in regard of my current opinion:

1. The world building is immaculate. I adored what Yoon Ha Lee has done with the world, and I enjoyed reading about the dynamics that he forged.

2. The main character seems interesting! I'm excited to read more about them.

PHOENIX EXTRAVAGANT is definitely a book I can see myself buying come pub-date, and reading in full. Thank you for approving me for this title, and I'm sorry for this inconvenience. This is the best review I could produce with what I've read.

I can finally say I’ve read my first Yoon Ha Lee book! And I thought it could have gone a lot worse, considering the short stories I’ve read by him, but also it could have gone slightly better? I confess I was hoping to give this book 5 stars.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I am not good at summarizing what this story is about because there’s many themes (colonization, art and so much more) that I truly believe is best to find out for yourself. But it is a beautiful story with an unlikely protagonist, Jebi, a nonbinary artist who’s really not fit to deal with everything thrown at them, and often gets sidetracked because they must paint at inconvenient times (Jebi’s actual thought process at seeing mud or their own blood: must use it as paint. now!) or because they are frankly a little too horny for their own good (but who can blame them when the object of their yearning is a beautiful sword-wielding woman).

Choosing Jebi as the protagonist was a choice that could have backfired but it made the book more interesting. Jebi is one of us, they don’t know how to deal with politics and revolutions, they want to stay out of it and they keep making mistakes when thrown in the middle of things. If you’re someone who tends to be frustrated with protagonists you might want to extend some mercy to Jebi and be understanding of them, and put yourself in their shoes.

I suspect a lot of people will come to this novel because of the mecha dragon shown on the cover (it’s me, I’m people), and they won’t be disappointed! While I would have loved for Arazi to have more page time, I still loved it and found its relationship with Jebi to be one of the highlights of the book. Arazi’s outside might be an automaton but it is a real dragon, with dragon skills and knowledge. Its curiosity about the world through Jebi’s senses was so cute and I truly wouldn’t mind a book only about their friendship.

The thing that most worried me going into this, only having read two of YHL’s short stories, was the writing style. The stories I read were really complicated and as much as I wanted to get along with the style it just made me feel like I was on a different (lower, much lower) level. My friend said the writing was very different here so I started the book without being too scared, but with the knowledge that YHL’s usual writing is much different I couldn’t help but notice how he kind of, forgive me for not knowing a better term, dumbed it down. Which is good!!! This writing will definitely appeal to a broader public and I didn’t have a problem with it, except when things were explained a little too much for my tastes. I hate being spoon-fed information about the character’s emotions, information that is already or can be made clear (with gestures, dialogues, tones) without overly explaining. I don’t think this is something that happened a lot, but it really stood out to me whenever it was unnecessary.

The “too much information” could have, in my opinion, be used elsewhere in the text. I confess that as much as I loved Arazi I still had a hard time getting a handle on its character at the beginning because I was left completely on my own to figure out its tone whenever it said something, and it already had the whole mysterious mecha dragon / real dragon entity thing going on, so a little help figuring out their personality would have been nice.

Overall, this not being the author’s usual writing style, I thought some aspects of the book felt like a colorful painting where the colors had been stripped of their vibrancy. What suffered mostly was how relatively little I was made to care about some of my favorite things in fiction (sibling drama, queer romance, relatable protagonist), to the point where throughout the book I had to remind myself to care instead of just caring. But the book made up for it with its story, its intriguing and frankly horrifying concepts (if you love art….prepare for pain), its normalized queerness (probably one of the most normalized across all planes – sexuality, gender, polyamory – that I’ve seen so far). Plus it’s obvious that even through a more simple writing style YHL is a great writer, so I highly recommend reading this (and I’ll be sure to try and read some of YHL’s previous non-short-story works too).

Another amazing science fiction parable by Yoon Ha Lee. Lee’s work is otherworldly, inviting, and always enjoyable as this author creates an unfolding world.

I'm a huge fan of Yoon Ha Lee. The blend of fantasy, science fiction, a far eastern point of view and the fact that in a past life the author was a mathematician make for completely satisfying and original stories. Although this is billed as a first fantasy novel, there have been short stories before, and its not so different from their science fiction, except for a glorious twist at the end. One slight quible - the use of "they" as the pronoun for the indeterminate gender protagonist makes for very confusing language in Lee's hands. Although it works fine in conversation, "e" seems much more readable to me. If you love this author, and they really are one of the best modern SFF writers around, endlessly imaginative and challenging, then you will love this,

Yoon Ha Lee is one of those authors that I have been meaning to read their trilogy of but it just hasn't happened. So when I got the chance to read this book by them I had to give it a shot. I think what happened here was an 'Its not you but me' thing. 

Phoenix Extravagant is an interesting kind of story about a country that has been colonized by one of its neighboring countries many years in the past. But it is still fresh enough that many remember the war. It makes a certain bleakness and grittiness run through the story as so much is affected by the colonizing and the little microaggressions by the colonizers. And lets not forget the grudge the survivors have. Yoon Ha Lee gets that tone just right.  

It creates an interesting setting for our main character, Jebi who is non-binary, to navigate through. How to make a living as an artist when the only well paying job is by the colonizing government? Stuck between that and the judgement of their family. Jebi has to constantly navigate others needs and wants in between trying to figure out where their own values lie. 

As interesting as that sounds the problem I had is that I never really got hooked into the story. For me the magical aspect was a little underdeveloped. I just didn't feel like I got a good grasp on it as a whole or what was able to happen and what was not. I also lost interest in the many musings of Jebi. I never felt that I would have missed anything had I not read them. 

Having said that, please don't take my 3 stars as a bad rating. I think this is a book that will strike a chord with many people. 

AND there was Arazi who was amazing and should have been a bigger star (says my dragon loving heart).

I really struggled to get into this book, and gave up at 10%. It was a slow start and I wasn't enjoying it, I didn't feel a connection to the characters at all. However, I'm so happy that the main character is nonbinary and that their sister is also queer. I'm sure this book would have had even more queer characters if I'd kept reading, but the story just wasn't my cup of tea. I'm sure this book will be a great read for many others, hence my 3 star rating. I'm disappointed that I couldn't get into it, but it is what it is. I'm still glad I had the chance to try it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review. I’m delighted to talk about what I loved about this book:

• The magic system was extremely cool and unlike anything I’ve seen before. The mechanism by which automatons operate was a joy to read about, and art being central to the magic system added a wonderful dimension to the worldbuilding. The thought that an artist could have such major political impact was such a cool point of exploration. The final 40% of the book had some awesome manifestations of the magic system, which brought together several themes, including selfhood, family, and nationalism.

• The focus on sensory environment was one of my favourite elements of the book. Jebi’s perspective was sensory throughout, with showcases on what they could feel, smell, hear, taste, and see, each described in plentiful detail. Later, this sensory capacity is reflected upon as Jebi considers their sense of self. The sensory nature of the descriptions does a lot to set up the power dynamics of the world and became one of the most prominent themes of the book, to its credit.

• The politics felt developed and in-depth, though we saw less of the operation of politics in the world at large owing to the framing of the novel. Imperial occupation taken from real-world history adapted to a secondary world made for depth of politic and provided dimension to the world that did the story a great service. Jebi’s internal monologue when they meet a foreign westerner is also a delight, shocked by his red hair and his mastery of the language.

• The normative queerness of the world was great. Nonbinary protagonist with a queer romance and gay side characters—thanks!

Unfortunately, the prose and the style worked less well for me:

• The style was very straightforward, not much left to subtlety; some elements, particularly around relationship construction, felt both underdeveloped and overexplained. Neither internal nor external dialogue felt particularly natural throughout the book, nor was some exposition not particularly dynamic, sometimes repeating words.

• There isn’t a lot of context or emotional resonance given to the relationships. While I don’t always need a romance to be “earned” in books that aren’t slated as romances, Jebi’s initial internal exposition on their romance with Vei feels one-note and repetitious. Several times they allude to their affection to Vei, at one point even using the words ‘matters of love’, but not long later they express dismay that they were forced to “finally admit to themself” their feelings despite stating their feelings all along. Later, Vei is very protective of Jebi, but much of her rhetoric feels unearned, empty, and without much contextual warmth to support the relationship given Vei’s divided loyalties and complicity in Jebi’s jailing. Even the dragon strikes up a relationship with Jebi without much apparent motivation of its own. I do think the final act of the book develops these relationships further, but hitting the 60% mark not feeling significantly invested was a pity.

• Jebi’s agency didn’t always feel developed—they often felt like a passenger in their own narrative. For example: keen to lie to Vei, Jebi blurts out something highly personal from their backstory—and then expresses shock and disappointment at themself for doing so, as though it was somehow an accident. It did not seem to be a matter of Jebi’s agency that they did so. Very often, Jebi is told about events that have transpired off-screen, especially because they are not battlehardy themself and must spend much of the action painting indoors for their own safety. This was a significant shortcoming of the book. While I appreciated the focus on Jebi, incorporating Vei or Bongsunga’s point of view would have anchored Jebi’s autonomy in the story by ensuring the reader had firsthand context for what they were responding to.

• Related to the above, the book suffered from a pacing issue. Much of the first 60% of the book is spent making art in an underground bunker. A lot in this book’s first half was great on atmosphere and making the world tangible—but it lags so severely in pacing that the plot very often feeling like a secondary concern, a shadow against the very vivid descriptions of the world. I think it pays off in the last 40%, when it all culminates in complex magic, but at one point in the middle, I was able to skip most of two chapters and keep abreast of events, passing lines like “More time passed” multiple times.

Contributing to this slow and heavy feeling at the front is that the action in the book’s early chapters felt unnecessary. Jebi did not really need to see Vei formally duel; it added a tangible dimension to the world, but was not necessary to the plot, felt rush and awkwardly placed, and seemed to be there primarily for pacing. Again, almost all major plot elements happened offscreen, and conveying them to Jebi verbally in their artisan’s bunker-prison had a significant weighing effect on the pacing.

• The frame of the book in general—Jebi spending much of the book in an underground bunker—contributed substantially to my complaints about pacing, underdeveloped relationships, and shortchanged autonomy. It also contributes to some plotpoints not feeling earned when they happen. At one point, when Jebi has been double jailed effectively for treason, Jebi is beaten(!) by the central antagonist who expresses repeated incredulity at why Jebi thinks the jailer is against them (probably the beating!) and then that Jebi has a limited view of what’s going on in the outside world. Of course they do. They have been imprisoned underground for several months. The jailer’s revelation about the true situation—that Jebi was leverage against their sister and not the other way around—felt unearned because we had few outside cues to go on.

Jebi names the antagonist’s condescension, but this does not change that the guard seems to be calling the reader stupid by extension: neither Jebi nor the reader understood the situation correctly because the reader has been systematically excluded from these plot elements along with the protagonist. A different frame or, again, the introduction of another POV might have helped with most of these issues. My lasting impression of the book is that Jebi’s removal from the plot significantly softpedalled the plot’s impact.

• The very end: no spoilers, but while I appreciated the artistry and analogy of it, the book’s final pages felt a bit at odds with its themes.

Overall, this was conceptually a cool read—we need more fantasy worlds like this one, and I’ve have loved to see more of the magic system at work within it more widely. I’d recommend this book for its worldbuilding and its sensory experience; for a unique magic system centering an artist; for an example of an organically queer world; and for anyone looking for an entry point into Yoon Ha Lee’s body of work. More dynamic style, a different frame, and in-depth character motivations could only have developed this wonderful world yet further.

There is something quite extraordinary about a book that not only entertains and educates, but also sends you diving into Wikipedia because of how much more you want to know about it. Set in a brilliant fantasy, semi-steampunk Korea during its occupation, Phoenix Extravagant manages to weave together so many different themes that one can almost become dizzy. The power of art, of personhood, colonisation and the struggle of occupation, Magic, and the big question: can a magical, mechanical dragon pass the Turing Test?

Added to this are fully realised, layered LGBT characters. Lee himself is a member of the LGBT community, and his characters, non-binary, trans, pan, bi, are some of the best written queer characters that I have met recently. There is no being shoved to the side, no being fridged. The protagonist Jebi is completely themself throughout. I want to adopt them, and feed them, and help them make good life choices!

I enjoyed this. It was a fast read. I would have loved a little more fleshing out in some places, there were some parts it felt a little rushed, I wanted a little more romance, but it's a very good read. I really enjoyed the world building. The ending was a delight!

There is something quite extraordinary about a book that not only entertains and educates, but also sends you diving into Wikipedia because of how much more you want to know about it. Set in a brilliant fantasy, semi-steampunk Korea during its occupation, Phoenix Extravagant manages to weave together so many different themes that one can almost become dizzy. The power of art, of personhood, colonisation and the struggle of occupation, Magic, and the big question: can a magical, mechanical dragon pass the Turing Test?
Added to this are fully realised, layered LGBT characters. Lee himself is a member of the LGBT community, and his characters, non-binary, trans, pan, bi, are some of the best written queer characters that I have met recently. There is no being shoved to the side, no being fridged. The protagonist Jebi is completely themself throughout. I want to adopt them, and feed them, and help them make good life choices!

5 stars. 5 glorious stars, and an extra one for Lee’s Catten who makes regular appearances of the authors social media.

First up: if you’re expecting unique sci-fi like Yoon Ha Lee’s brilliant The Machineries of Empire series, this is not it. It’s not sci-fi at all, but historical fantasy that is perfect for the fans of R. F. Kuang’s The Poppy War series. However, even if you’re a diehard sci-fi fan, I recommend you give this book a chance. If for nothing else, to see how an author can pull off such a different genre and writing style so brilliantly. I received a free review copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Phoenix Extravagant is set in a country that resembles turn of the twentieth-century Korea; mostly sticking to its traditions, but with cars and electric light. It has been invaded a decade earlier by a country with different but similar traditions (i.e. Japan) and has since settled into an uneasy relationship with the conqueror that consist of conforming and rebelling.

Gyen Jebi is the sole point of view character. They are an artist and they only want to paint, even if it means working for the invaders. They are ready to conform in other ways too; they have learned the invaders’ language and officially changed their name to fit in better—a decision that causes a break-up with their sister. But when it turns out that what they paint directly helps the enemy to not only oppress their people but to destroy the country’s cultural heritage too, they start having second thoughts. Their journey from an observer to an active agent is fairly fast, but the outcome isn’t entirely what they expected.

Jebi is an interesting character. They don’t identify as a man or a woman but as not gendered. No attention is drawn to this, apart from the pronoun ‘they’ with which Jebi is referred to. There are other people like Jebi and people recognise them for what they are without them having to ever mention it. It doesn’t cause them any grief, nor is it something they have to think about. The author doesn’t tease readers with hints of what they may have started as and there is no explanation given to why such choice was made—or if it was a choice at all. I would’ve liked to know if this stems from actual Korean tradition or if it’s something the author created for this book, but all in all, it worked well, even if it was an unnecessary detail in the character’s development and how the story played out.

The world-building is great. The traditional Korean culture comes alive in small details that are treated as natural facets of Jebi’s life without unnecessary explanations—though they are explained better than the alien cultures in the Machines of the Empire series, making it easier to understand. The fantasy elements are fairly light and woven into the narrative so seamlessly that the reader doesn’t necessarily even notice them. There are automatons, mechanical humanoids that are given life with magic. There is a huge dragon automaton too, the key to the story, as Jebi is tasked with creating the correct magical sentence structure that would operate it. In the end, Jebi learns this magic so well that they become instrumental in a rebellion against the invader. And the poetic ending brings home for good that we’re not dealing with reality after all.

The pace of the narrative is fairly fast. Since this a stand-alone novel and not the first in trilogy, it takes no time at all before Jebi finds themself trying to rebel against the invaders. The story is easy to follow—again, much unlike the Machines of the Empire—and interesting. There’s drama and tragedy, but good and sweet moments too. All in all, it’s excellent historical fantasy.

I've been looking forward to reading this book ever since it was announced; firstly, brilliant title. Secondly, brilliant cover. Thirdly, or actually this should probably be first, Yoon Ha Lee is a superb writer, and if you haven't already, you really should go check out their Machineries of Empire series.

Phoenix Extravagant is the story of Jebi, an artist, who gets caught up in the...stares at previous paragraph...machinations of current conquering occupies. Set in Alt-Korea, it tells the tale of a country occupied by Alt-Japan, and the journey of one person...to find a job. I kid. That's just the first 50 pages or so, after that we get art espionage, romance and revolutionaries.

The magic of the world revolves around...well, like Machineries, it's not really explained. There are mythological creatures, paint can be created to cast spells that bring machines to a semblance of life, good luck charms are real. There was this normalcy to it all that Jebi never really needed to explain to us. I don't mind this, it just leads me to wanting to know more about the world.

One of the things I really loved about Jebi was how human they came across as. They have this huge passion for art, it makes up their whole life, to the point where they have huge blind spots. No idea what other languages would sound like, no idea what Westerners look like, the ideas of the West sound like made up stories (I loved them going "they cut up the dead to get a better idea of how to paint? a joke, surely). It just all adds up to them feeling more real, more knowable. It's something I rarely have read in a character; perhaps this is because we can flesh out their world with ours, and thus know more about it.

This might have been to the detriment of the other characters; apart from Vei and Jebi, we don't get a huge amount of screen time with other characters, simply snippets here and there. Not to say they're underdone, I still knew why each and every character acted the way they did, but we certainly didn't get that much screen time with others. As an aside, the glee the dragon Arazi shows when it came to any new piece of information or culture was very endearing; I remember grinning as they talked about gambling.

As a rule, I don't try and spend much time talking about plot in my reviews; for myself, I like going into stories knowing as little as possible (which means, I don't actually read many reviews). But on a final note, I have to say that the ending intrigued me. I wasn't quite sure if things would wrap up, and it would be a standalone, or if things would build and build, with the promise of more. Phoenix did a left turn, answered some questions and then left a bomb of a scenario at the end. To say I'm curious to see where this goes would be an understatement.

I was given a copy by Net Galley in return for an honest review.

I received a free advanced reading copy from Negtalley in exchange for an honest review.


Phoenix Extravagant is a delightful standalone in a world of lengthy scifi series.

To be completely honest, its plot, as described by Yoon was what won me over, besides that amazing cover. So please, allow me to quote his words: “It’s about a nonbinary painter teaming up with a pacifist mecha dragon against an evil empire (as one does), and it takes place in a magical version of Korea during the Japanese occupation.”

It is a delightful read that I absolutely enjoyed and shines its most with its characters. Jebi is an amazing character, one would say they may be a bit typical in terms of a hero of the story kinda novel, but I would like to disagree. They are by no means trying to be the hero of the story in any case, they just try to get by, and earn some money to survive in the times that they have to live, and if that is not relatable for you I quit.

The plot itself may be on a first interpretation quite simple and again, be framed as typical within what we are used to in the genre. However, colonialism, cultural imposition, identity and cultural erasure are very presents in the plot and I do have to think very hard to find this elements, well treated and developed, in other works. I couldn’t say I enjoyed those parts, but I do think it is a very necessary part of this kind of fiction that most of the time is overlooked or not given the importance necessary. Today, more than ever, I feel like this issues have to be voiced both in fiction and reality.

And I do have to say I loved the ending. Closed enough that does not leave you with a feeling of wanting to know more about the story or the characters but also opening new plots in a way that it could place the opportunity of more books on the same universe. If that is the case, sign me up!

Overall it is a very good novel that I read in a couple of days. I do think it brings new things to the table and widens representation in many aspects so this is gonna be one I will be recommending to pretty much everyone!

I usually try to avoid spoilers but gonna have them in this review. I was really really enjoying this book and then the end happened and they literally went to the moon?

The characters are fairly good throughout. A couple of one note characters but that's fine that happens. I particularly liked Jebi and how their thoughts on being colonized and war and heritage played out throughout the book. We need more books like this.

Loved Arazi. Loved them. More dragons please.

But yeah everything is painted with a little bit of fantasy but then they go to the moon and some hand wavyness over the charms on the dragon protecting them BUT HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO LIVE ON THE MOON?! This book was almost too rooted in realism for me I guess. Like for all the magic fantasy elements apparently being able to fly to the moon on a dragon and live there just like pulled me right out of the story right when the climax was happening. I do hope the hinted sequel happens though.

Gyen Jebi is an artist from Hwaguk, a nation conquered by the Empire of Razan and renamed Administrative Territory Fourteen. While Jebi's sister Bongsunga is bitterly angry at the Razanei occupation and exploitation, not least because her wife Jia died in the war with Razan, Jebi prefers to keep their nose out of politics and focus on creating and selling their art. In order to get ahead, Jebi changes their name to a Razanei name and takes an exam with the Razanei Ministry of Art, hoping to get a good job as a Razanei government portrait artist. This plan doesn't work out, though, and Bongsunga furiously tosses them out of her house upon finding out that Jebi is willing to collaborate with the Razanei. In desperation, eventually Jebi takes a job as an artist for the secretive Ministry of Armor, which requires them to learn how to paint the magic symbols that program Razanei automata. The source of these magic paints and the Ministry's plans for the automata turn out to be much darker than Jebi could have imagined.

I think this might be the first book I've read with a non-binary protagonist whose non-binary gender identity is not used as a plot point. Jebi is always recognized and acknowledged as non-binary (though the book notes that the Razanei are "baffled by geu-ae"), and Jebi's conflict with others is never rooted in that aspect of their identity. Likewise, queer relationships are normalized in Hwaguk. If you're looking for SFF with queer rep where the queer characters get to just exist without anyone making a big production about the fact that they're queer, this is a good book for you.

I liked the route this novel took with colonization and assimilation. As an artist, Jebi is interested in art and the historical and cultural value of it. Razan does not value Hwagugin art. Razan is, in fact, entirely happy to destroy priceless works of Hwagugin art, both because that destruction will directly aid in their war effort and because they want to impose their "superior" culture on their colonized territories. It's cultural genocide, and this book explores what that means to an artist who had previously been content to accept Razanei rule and write off Razanei forced assimilation policies as harmless changes in fashion.

Where the book fell short for me is in its protagonist. I wouldn't say they're unrealistic, but rather infuriating. Jebi has managed to live a privileged life, despite their family's financial troubles. They come across as irresponsible and immature, something they've gotten away with because they've always had others (most notably their older sister) taking care of them and enabling them to always focus on their art. I don't think Jebi is poorly written, but their immaturity and narrow focus made it difficult for me to connect with the character and enjoy the book. With that said, I enjoyed a lot of the characters Jebi interacts with, particularly the dragon Arazi, who reminds me a lot of Naomi Novik's Temeraire.

With a different protagonist, I think I would have loved this book. I loved the themes this explored, though I would have hoped to see them explored a bit more deeply (something that I think would have been possible with a politically sharper protagonist), and the note the book ended on was utterly perfect. I enjoyed the Asian cultural influences (Hwaguk is strongly based on Korean culture), and the silkpunk aesthetic. (Plans to colonize the moon, where celestial beings live! An Asian-style dragon automaton!) There was so much about this book that I found delightful and insightful, but I struggled with Jebi's limited worldview, which is why I only gave this book three stars. Still, I do recommend Phoenix Extravagant because I think there's a lot to love about this queer silkpunk fantasy about colonization, resistance, and culture.

Jebi is an artist just hoping to find a position where they can support themselves, instead of always relying on their sister Bongsuna. This is much more difficult because Jebi is Hwagugin living in Administrative City Fourteen, under control of Razanei conquerors. Because they have to get a false Razanei name license in order to seek employment, they end up at odds with the sister who raised them due to her bitter hate for the conquerors since she lost her wife in the war, placing Jebi suddenly out in the world on their own. Backed into a corner they accept an unusual position for an artist at the Ministry of Armor, in a new field of magical pigments for painting sigil coded automata masks. The deputy minister has a special project, an automata dragon that has previously gone terribly wrong, now Jebi is under pressure to figure out why it failed and make it work because although the Razanei are powerful conquerors, the minister lives in fear of the Western world rising against them.


Sadly I'm not very familiar with Korean history, but minor references make it seem clear at least the two nations are loosely based on Korea and probably China. Given the timing I also have to feel this is a complementary read to The Poppy War, where that story digs deep into the grim military side of the horrors of war, this doesn't shy from awful things, but avoids the grim content mostly, focusing on showing us the civilian and cultural impacts. The wanton destruction of art and items of historical significance, the division of family and friends, hard choices made to survive and have an identity. Even in occupied peace there is still ongoing damage, but there is also in rebellion.


This is heavily character focused and political, fairly low on action, the characterization is up to the author's usual high standard, where it felt like any of the primary characters and even most side characters could have their own complete book. There is even the fantastic use of a favorite trope of mine that we've seen before in Ninefox Gambit. Beyond that we have wonderful representation across the cast with a non-binary protagonist, their biracial love interest whose parents are a poly-triad, as well as their lesbian sister, all feel fully fleshed out identities. As someone in the tech field, I thoroughly enjoyed the disparity of the Ministry basically taking it as assumed fact that "coding" automata for no potential unexpected outcomes is optimal, while an artist prioritizes choice/expression in their code, I really wished this were expounded on a lot more. I did feel the ending was a bit tidy, but I loved the ideas and characters, definitely one of my top 2020 releases.

3.5/5

From the cover art and blurb, it's easy to come in expecting a bombastic story with dragon rampages and art as a tool for inspiring revolution, but that's not quite on the money. Instead, Phoenix Extravagant is a more nuanced examination of colonialism and the interplay between art, rebellion, and dragons don't necessarily tie into a convenient revolutionary bundle.

Phoenix Extravagant opens to a country which definitely isn't Korea, which has been under occupation by a country that definitely isn't Japan for seemingly a decade or so. The occupiers aren't killing people in the streets or anything, but they're oppressive in the way that colonial nations tend to be. Not Korea is being stripped of both natural resources and culture by their Not Japan occupiers.

The main character, Jebi, is an artist who finds themselves unexpectedly and unintentionally thrust into the middle of the colonial tensions when they end up working with a new and very secret technology.

Overall, I really enjoyed the first half and found my interest waning during the second big story movement. I'd still be interested in reading the sequel but it didn't quite capture me enough to get to four stars.
My favorite aspect of this book was the take on colonialism (oh and dragons, I'll come back to that later). This book did a good job realistically displaying how many different reactions people living in a colonized country can have, from acceptance to being an active collaborator to rejection. You get a realistic sense of unrest, but also that the country is made up of normal people who just want to live their lives. Jebi falls into the last camp where they're not happy about the colonization, but they're also willing to partially assimilate themselves for the sake of opportunities and comfort.

The magic system also ties into colonialism and is, in addition to being a real in-world magic system, a good metaphor about the damage occupation can have on the indigenous culture. So that was pretty neat. It's a soft magic system masquerading as a hard one. We're given a few bits about its origin and that there is a logical structure to it, but very few details on how that logical structure actually works. I didn't have too much trouble just accepting the premise and moving on, but some more elaboration might have been nice. Also, there is clearly more than just this form of magic in the world but it doesn't really come into play so far. I'm curious to see if more natural forms of magic will be making an appearance in later books.

Character-wise, everyone did their jobs and were reasonably enjoyable but I didn't find myself getting particularly attached. As an artist, Jebi's viewpoint was refreshing because there aren't many artist main characters in fantasy. They also use the 'they' pronoun, which took a bit of getting used to grammatically, but is otherwise a non-issue for me. There's actually a really neat world building detail about how characters indicate their pronoun preference.
I got the most enjoyment from seeing where the plot was going. It held my interest very well in the first half because it's a high pressure situation with a clear goal. I found my interest waning somewhat towards the second half because the characters were just trying to keep their heads metaphorically above water rather than moving towards a goal in particular.

Overall, an enjoyable fantasy with an eye towards the social fallout of colonialism and how art plays into society. Recommended if you're interested in how fantasy intersects with art, or dragons.
Also particularly recommended if you're looking for representation in fantasy (this has a lot, non-binary, lesbian, polyamory, probably more than I'm missing)

Oh yeah, and the dragon is great! No details because spoilers, but I love dragons and I wasn't disappointed

I really wanted to like ‘Phoenix Extravagant’ and for the first quarter or so I did, but then I found my interest in it was gradually declining and by the end I was clicking the page turn button on my Kindle before I’d even finished reading the page. Books like this frustrate me, because I never know if it’s me or the book that’s the problem. I need up finishing them feeling a bit anxious and enormously unsatisfied, and that was certainly the case here.
So here’s the good stuff. The world building in this book is great. Yoon Ha Lee has created a vibrant, Asian-inspired fantasy world populated with automata as well as humans, and rich with intrigue. It features a land that’s been invaded by another country, its people oppressed and itching to be free,
The protagonist, Jebi, one of the oppressed. An artist who designs and paints scripts that allow the automata to run. Jebi is also non-binary, a detail which I loved and which adds something to the story without overwhelming it. As much as I liked the idea and Jebi as a character, I did find I struggled with pronouns. The author refers to the as “they” throughout, something I got used to in time but which which I did find confusing at times. That’s something that’s definitely my problem, rather than the book’s.
The plot is initially fascinating. Jebi is forced to redesign the scripts painted on a dragon automaton. A device intended as a weapon of war but which has proven to be anything but. Jebi is watched over by a female duellist and the relationship between the two characters makes up a lot of the book.
The problem with it all is that, once the basic set up was in place, I found it just didn’t grab me at all. There are some great ideas here, but the book lacked oomph and I quickly found that I was confused about the details of past events that were key to the story. The result felt like a disappointing missed opportunity. So much of what is here is great, it just doesn’t come together into a satisfying whole.

I really, really wanted to like this one. It had so much promise, so many interesting things it could have explored. Forget the mechanical dragon: the idea of an artist trying to make a living under an oppressive regime is so loaded and intense, and a perfect opening for a story. An artist getting involved in a revolution against an oppressor is even better...provided that the story doesn't fall into the YA fantasy trap of having the protagonist fall unwittingly into a revolution without knowing any of the real implications of their actions inside said revolution and thereby never allowing the story to fully plumb the complexities there.

Ahem. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Because the first issue, really, is the world-building. Let's set aside the fact that the countries mentioned here are obviously Korea and Japan wearing pseudonyms (and, you know, fine. cool.. although it did feel kind of pointless to change the names at all, especially considering how many real world elements were kept), and jump to the magical elements of this world. I felt like there was a lot of inconsistency between what was truly magical and what was magical thinking in this world because there is so little establishing of the magical elements of this world. Jebi has good luck charms that aren't for real magical, and a friend who's a fox-spirit (who doesn't ever do anything fox-spirit-y), and also there's that quick bit about celestials, and all of this basically adds up to me feeling like a bunch of stuff was thrown at the wall just for the sake of coolness. And you know what? That would've been fine...if I could've gotten a decent explanation for the mechanism behind how the automaton paint works. We find out the source for the paint and that there are glyphs involved but...beyond that, really nothing. And considering that that's what 90% of the magic in this book circles around it feels like we should have gotten the ground rules for that well established. Particularly since so many other, far less significant things were established over and over again: like, say, how Jebi knows absolutely nothing about fighting, they just want you to know that, they know nothing about it, they're reminding you again, do you understand that fighting takes years of study and practice and that they'd never practiced because they know nothing about fighting?

Which brings me back to the issue of the protagonist: namely, the need they feel to constantly explain how little they know about everything. This is a personal bugaboo of mine, so other readers might not be bothered by it, but I personally find it incredibly frustrating to follow a character who's inner monologue involves a lot of "I don't know anything about x and let me draw your attention to that fact for whatever reason." This is especially a problem as it relates to them getting involved in the rebellion, because, frankly, a character who knows why they're involved in a cause, rather than someone who just fell into it haphazardly, is infinitely more interesting. (Which is why Vei or Jebi's sister would've made way better protags.) Couple that with Jebi constantly reminding us, you know, that they can't fight/don't want to fight and something that could have been gripping is transformed into something bland.

There really was so much potential here, and so many things I would've liked to have seen explored more. I don't doubt that other readers will enjoy this - the representation alone is pretty great - but I guess, for me, I've just read one too many oops-I'm-a-rebel now books at this point and I'm a bit burned out on them.