It pained me to give three stars to a Yoon Ha Lee work. But, this is not as enthralling as his Machineries of Empire. It is much more straightforward (no level of complexities like in MoE) and the main character, Jebi, was not as colorful as Jedao. In fact, they made me feel morose from start to finish.

The story was set a country under occupation of a foreign ruler that used automaton as part of its enforcement activities. The worldbuilding might easily refer to Korea-Japan war in the 20th century, complete with 'Westerners' threat lurking in the horizon. There was some minor magic that involved the use of pigments that could cause all sorts of destruction when applied correctly by capable artists. There was a certain automata that would steal every scene it was in. Lee is always good when describing intelligent non-living things.

All of those are not that bad, but I always felt 'surely something more exciting will happen after this' after every chapter. I kept waiting and waiting until the eye-rolling ending, which is my biggest exasperation of this book.

All in all, while this is not a bad book, quite well written in fact, I just needed a lot more.

Thanks Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for the review copy.

Fantastic, diverse and engrossing fantasy with a strong core message about war. Brilliant characterisation and beautiful if rather sparse world building. Highly recommend.

This is a departure for Yoon Ha Lee. Previously known for the mind bending occult mathematics of the Hexarchate novels, this is a turn into fantasy, set in an imagined version of Korea under Japanese occupation.
On the plus side, there’s an intriguing and original magic system that taps into the book’s concerns about colonialism and appropriation. The characters are well realised, with believably complex relationships. And there’s also a giant metal flying dragon. Lee has put a lot of work into the art of this book, taking a theme and working with it, setting resonances and echoes of it throughout the world he has created. 
But that same care doesn’t seem to have gone into the narrative, which is a little slight, a little obvious. There are some good set pieces, but there’s no complexity or surprise in the story, no tricksiness. Even the one revelation that you could generously call a twist doesn’t really surprise or shock. It’s not terrible by any means, but the storyline doesn’t feel like it’s been crafted with the same attention as the rest of the book. I’ve seen talk that this is a standalone novel, but it feels like a part one to me. There’s a blatant sequel hook at the end, but more importantly the lead character has at least two interpersonal conflicts that don’t really get resolved. I’d like to see more of this world, so I hope there is another in the works.
This is one of those books where I wish GR allowed half stars. Four stars seems generous, but three feels too low. I'll settle on 4.5 /5 for the setting and the atmosphere, 3/5 for the story. And a million out of five for that gorgeous cover.

I want to open this review up by telling you what not to expect from this book. Because I know from the experience of not really getting Yoon Ha Lee’s writing style in Ninefox Gambit, how people might not like this one, his first fantasy novel. (And because I know a lot of people have come to this off the back of his middle grade novel, which is great, but also very different to his adult style, but enough dithering.)

Things not to expect:

An action-packed ride (at least not til closer to the end).

Very much exposition on the world-building (particularly magic systems here). He’ll trust you to pick it up as you go along, and that does/doesn’t work for different people.

A light writing style (in that it’s quite detailed and dense at times).

Okay, now we’ve got that out the way, why should you read this book?

Firstly, I am biased, because I read Machineries of Empire and loved it (barring the aforementioned blip of getting into the first book). So, I knew I would like this book at the very least.

The best thing about this novel is Arazi. I mean, who wouldn’t love a snarky sentient automaton dragon? And really, the book gets very good once Arazi shows up. The relationship between him and Jebi was a little reminiscent of Jedao and Cheris in book 1 of Machineries of Empire so of course I was guaranteed to like it.

And then there’s the worldbuilding. I know I warned about the dense writing an lack of exposition above, but for me those are great aspects of it. I love being trusted by the author to pick up magic and politics as I go along, because I’m really not one for reading long passages explaining the world.

There were probably two things I was less enamoured by. The first is that Jebi is a much more passive (for want of a better word) character than Yoon Ha Lee’s previous mains. I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing, but for a lot of the plot they just seemed to go along with things, rather than causing them. But hey! They just want to live in peace, really, so I can see them as a more reluctant rebel type. I also didn’t love the romance, but again, that’s just me. The whole relationship was necessary to the plot, but I didn’t think the romance itself was (if that makes sense).

But overall, this was an enjoyable read. And one I urge you to take up, especially if you want to read more of Yoon Ha Lee, but adult sci fi is too intimidating right now.

Simon and Schuster was kind enough to pass along an ARC of this. I honestly wasn’t expecting how quickly I tore through this, even with shelter in place in effect here. The pitch is that an artist is “recruited” into collaborating with an occupying government and working on the sigils that animate the government’s secret automata weapon, and the deeper they go, the more they find out about the occupying government’s crimes, and the less they can stay out of politics. So they decide to steal the automata they’re working on. Yeah, it’s a heist book, but it’s also about siblings, and the role of art, and the various ways people choose to survive, and also mechs that become self aware, and war crimes, and identity. This seems like it’s going to be a one shot, but I would love to see more of these characters. Also - enby main and romance! This comes out in June, and I highly recommend picking it up when it does.

I love Yoon Ha lee! Loved his SF books, and this fantasy offering is just as good. The main character is an artist, who discovers that his art has magical abilities and uses it against the invaders. Very good prose, nice characters and as always with this author, the conflict is not just black and white.

A MASSIVE thank you to Rebellion Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with my first ever ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Phoenix Extravagant is a beautiful and at times brutal story about the struggle to remain true to our values in the face of adversity.

Jebi is a Hwagugin artist, and somewhat of a pacifist, struggling to make a living in a country recently incorporated into the Empire of Razan. When Razanei racism threatens Jebi’s livelihood, they accept a job in the Ministry of Armor, using their artistic skills to harness the mysterious magic that gives life to the automata. Jebi is soon pulled into government plots and forced to confront the reality of the Razanei colonisation.

Readers of fantasy who get excited about discovering new magic systems will enjoy this book as much as I did. Lee has some fantastic and original ideas, but what I really enjoyed was how he incorporates magic into the story. He intertwines it with myth, history and art to frame the moral struggle of the main characters to remain true to themselves, their heritage and their family.

For this book Lee chooses a non-binary protagonist and a society where sexual orientation is inconsequential. This can sometimes feel like token representation, and more recently a sort of worldbuilding genre trope, but I feel that Lee is subtly drawing focus away from gender to his chosen societal themes, and I think its effective.

I’m hard pressed to think of an infallible (human) character in this book, however Lee is unbiased in his storytelling and each character feels relatable. I was fascinated by Jebi’s relationship with their sister Bonsunga throughout the story. We’re told more than once that Jebi believes art is about the inner nature of things, and it feels like Lee is studying the inner values of humans from various perspectives with this ensemble.

I loved Lee’s writing and thought this was a beautiful, nuanced story. I cannot WAIT to have a physical copy so I can stare at that stunning cover. I have high hopes that Rebellion will release a line of merch that includes a matching bedspread.

As a massive fan of Yoon Ha Lee's previous series (the wonderful space opera series that starts with Ninefox Gambit), I was an easy sell for a fantasy book from the same author, especially that rarest of animals the standalone novel. While I can't say I'm an equal fan of the cover art chosen for the book, its contents were enough on their own to sell me completely.

Phoenix Extravagant is set in a world where automata have been introduced for some roles, such as policing the local populace of the occupied territory of Hwamal, now a subject state of the neighbouring country of Razanei. Jebi just wants to get a secure job, one which will allow them to use their talents for art, but their background is something of a handicap even though they try to hide it by taking on a Razanei name. This causes conflict between Jebi and their sister, still mourning the death of her wife during the invasion, who becomes even more incensed when Jebi takes on a job with the Ministry of Armor. 

In an extension of the automata, the Ministry has used their technology to create automata for use in warfare and wants to use Jebi's knowledge and skills to understand just what went wrong with the one they currently have locked in the basement. Jebi is horrified to discover the source of the automaton's self-awareness and, alongside their growing relationship with the Ministry's chief duellist, finds themself becoming Hwamal's most unlikely revolutionary. 

I really enjoyed Phoenix Extravagant, which has a plethora of interesting world-building elements and the author's customary sly humour. Jebi as a protagonist has a one-track mind without being two-dimensional and their relationship with their sister in particular feels very genuine. If I have any complaints, it might be about the speed with which Jebi and Vei's relationship appears, seemingly created out of very little, but that's a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent book. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very, very excited to read this as I was a huge fan of the Machineries of Empire series- be aware that this is very different! Not bad, exactly, but it's paced and plotted differently (a little less ruthlessly), though you can see ideas that Yoon Ha Lee was toying with in regards to artificial intelligence and identity still at play in the character of Arazi, the pacifist war dragon mech. 

Set in a fantasy version of Korea under Japanese occupation, I found Phoenix Extravagant to be an interesting but ultimately unsatisfying read. Something about the plotting just felt half baked to me- long stretches of time seem to be skipped over and while I appreciate that we can't see every little thing the main character, Jebi, does, I still finished the book feeling like I hadn't spent enough time with them. Which was a shame, because I really liked Jebi- at once both cowardly and given to unexpected (even to themselves!) acts of kindness and heroism, I found them to be a very likeable and human main character.  

Maybe it was the fact that their relationship with Bongsunga, their sister, has most of its development in the back half of the book, or maybe it's because Jebi spends a lot of time in Phoenix Extravagant basically in their own head, but I just wasn't gripped by this book the way Yoon Ha Lee's other writing has held me. 

However, it's still Yoon Ha Lee, so- buy it, and draw your own conclusions!

I have to say I’m predisposed to like Phoenix Extravagant because Machineries of the Empire is one of my favourite series. 

This is something new again, a gorgeous novel filled with complex and diverse characters set in a fantasy version Korea Hwaguk occupied by the Japanese – called Razanei. Jebi, the non-binary protagonist, Vei [redacted because spoilers] plus a wider cast including mecha dragons and fox spirits. 

It would be easy to see this as easier than his previous series because the worldbuilding is more familiar; an analogue to worlds we recognise, unlike the more alien, numeric Hexarchate. But I found great depth in the constant colonial references, from Jebi’s initial obliviousness to the pain of their name change, to their complicity in engaging with the Razanei. Everything is considered; the cultural differences between art, food, even magic were explored with a subtle touch. 

I was hooked from the beginning; I wanted to hold up every page and press it against other people’s faces and say ‘read it! look how good it is!’ There’s a strong balance between the lighter moments and the horrific consequences of the ongoing story. I don’t want to say too much, I’d hate to spoil anything for a novel this good.

Plus, who could resist this cover?

Yoon Ha Lee has done it once again. It is tempting to compare Phoenix Extravagant to his other prominent work, Machineries of the Empire, which is easily one of my all time favorite science fiction series. In some ways the comparisons are unavoidable, but I did my best to view Phoenix Extravagant as it’s own independent work. And it does stand on its own, quite magnificently. While it doesn’t necessarily carry the same breadth of world-building and action as Lee’s other works, it nonetheless packs a punch in ways that are smaller, subtler, but equally compelling.  Lee remains a master of creating relatable and fascinating characters; from Jebi themselves, to Vei, Bongsunga, and even the metal dragon Arazi. The strength of interpersonal relationships amid the complex plot, a keystone of what I admire about Lee’s work, shines in this novel. 

Additionally, Phoenix Extravagant struck me as a compelling parable about war, as well as the atrocities of colonization and imperialism, both overt and subtle. While the horror of war and the terrible lengths people will go to justify their actions on both sides was prominent, the subtler tragedies of imperialism felt to me the most impactful—Jebi’s name change and the strife it caused between them and their sister, offhand comments made by side characters about changing cultural norms, the systematic destruction of art for the purpose of war, the looming presence of “the west” though the westerners themselves were mostly a sight unseen. I also found the story a very significant comment on the colonial theft of art through imperialism. As a White American I am obviously not able to directly relate to much of this commentary, but it does allow me to think long and hard about the dark imperialist past of my nation and culture, and the ways (in my opinion) that we are still complicit in the hoarding of cultural artifacts that are not our own—but I digress. 

The one thing that bothered me, besides my desire to see more lush worldbuilding, was that sometimes I felt like there was too much going on. While I enjoyed the mention of more explicitly fantastical elements—Fox spirits, the celestials living in the sky—they did feel a little bit out of place with the rest of the story. So much else about the magic of the world, e.g. the masks, the glyphs, the pigment making process— was gone over in such intensive detail that it felt a little bit strange to have these other magical elements included without equivalent background or explanation. 

Still, I was inspired and delighted by Phoenix Extravagant, and strongly hope that Lee continues this story in the future.