In PHOENIX EXTRAVAGANT, a non-binary artist (Jebi) in an occupied country must learn to navigate a treacherous landscape of collaborators, occupiers, and rebels.

Modeled loosely after occupied Korea, the novel introduces a lot of background that Western readers may be unaware of. However, it does so in a way that felt organic to me, and while it was pretty obvious to me personally what was going on I don't think you need to know the history of this part of the world to enjoy the story, its characters, and its world.

One of the things I liked the most about this story is that there are no simplifications. Jebi's choices are complex, and so are those made by the people around them. This added a great level of depth and increased my enjoyement of the story considerably.

I also really enjoyed the character relationships. Also: talking metal dragon? Yes please!

Anyway, if you like complicated political fantasy and SFF, give this a read. You won't be disappointed.

(Note that despite the Netgalley publication date of August 17, 2021, this title first released in October of 2020.)

Yoon Ha Lee's newest sci-fi book presents the readers with a somewhat interesting story set in a universe that is only so slightly removed from historical reality to be deemed as anti-Japanese propaganda by most. And yet, hatred for the Japanese oozes from every page, sentence even tom are a reading pleasurable.

Sure, everyone's allowed their own opinion, but maybe a bit less so when that opinion is twisted. The way Lee paints pre-invasion Korea is way too detached from reality to be of any value or interest. For example, he speaks of the country as this egalitarian open society where women and non-binary people were free where in reality it was a brutally suppressive feudal society steeped in ancient misogynistic laws. The same applies for the language and writing, which were predominantly inspired by classical China rather than what the majority of current Korean revisionists claim.

And even if we look at "Phoenix Extravagant" as nothing more than a sci-fi, the book kind of fails. That's because the majority of it, especially towards the beginning, is dedicated to anti-Japanese writing and paeans to a Korean past that did not happen.

I absolutely devoured this book. I've only ever read Dragon Pearl by this author and couldn't wait to get my hands on more. Phoenix Extravagant is about an (in our terms) enby person named Jebi (they/them), and the intersection of colonization, art, and war. It's about code switching and surviving under colonial rule. But most of all? It's about DRAGONS!! We don't meet Arazi until 1/3rd of the way into the book, but the storybuilding is necessary first. The plot takes off like a rocket after Jebi and Arazi meet. Be patient with the setting and anticipate (wartime) violence. Side note: the cover of this book is so beautiful that I want it on my freakin wall!

Thank you to NetGalley for a preview ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

It was slow to get into initially with Jebi being rather unlikeable. But it's 100% worth sticking with as all their flaws become the reasons why you end up liking Jebi. They're not a hero, they don't want to fight in the conflict that is coming and that they'll be a part of. Once you get about 20% of the way through though the book is hard to put down and is everything that I hoped it would be. Absolutely loved the book and will definitely read it again some time.

2.5 stars

Gyen Jebi is an artist whose homeland has been invaded by a neighbouring country.
Desperate for a job, Gyen is recruited to paint masks for the automaton soldiers of the Ministry of Armor, run by the Razanei invaders.
Jebi makes a horrifying discovery and hatches a plan to free the dragon automaton created by the Razanei.
Will Jebi succeed?

I was excited to read this book as I'd seen a lot of love for the author and I thought it sounded like an interesting read. However, I ended up being disappointed.
Jebi was an okay protagonist. There were times when I sympathised with them, but I'm left feeling like I don't know that much about them.
None of the characters really stood out for me, but my favourite was probably Arazi, because who doesn't love a giant mechanical dragon?
Apart from Arazi my favourite things about the novel are the diversity and the concepts in the book which I found very intriguing.
Reading this book was a struggle from the beginning as I couldn't seem to click with the writing style, but I kept reading because I wanted to see what would happen. Around halfway through I found myself losing interest despite the fact that I should have found the plot exciting, but I wasn't invested in the characters and have to admit that did skim a few pages.
Unfortunately, this was a book where, despite there being promising concepts, the execution didn't work for me.
I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall, this was an okay read.

I had been really excited to read this book due to the main character being non-binary and I definitely enjoyed that part of the story.
However, the rest wasn't for me.
It takes a while for the plot to start and then it doesn't really end up going anywhere anyway and it kind of felt like the main character didn't get any character development at all.
Plus, there was a lack of explanation at certain points of the story and then a lot of conveniently placed conflicts, which I ended up not liking.
Overall, the first third of the book was pretty strong but the rest didn't live up to my expectation.

I received this ebook arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not what I expected it to be. From what I had heard, I expected mechanical dragons, revolutionaries, and art. I got some of these things. I feel like this book was more about our main character Jebi and their relationships than anything else.

We didn’t actually get to the dragon part until nearly 40%. There’s a gigantic dragon on the cover, I expect more dragon. There was revolution, but again, not until over halfway through the story was that even part of the plot. The main character didn’t concern themself with the political machinations. The concept of magical art was really cool!! But again…. We barely got any of it. And what we did get wasn’t explained well. I found myself very confused on how and why this magical paint was working and what exactly it did.

What this book does well is Jebi and their relationships with friends, their sister, and a romantic partner. Given that I didn’t care about the romance, I didn’t particularly enjoy it.

One of the best fantasy stories in decades. A beautiful combination of historical fiction, high fantasy and science-fiction which combines to make a flawless story of love and rebellion. Yoon Ha Lee has created a world that I have fallen in love with and will be recommending to everyone!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have read it and give feedback.

This story is set in a thinly veiled Korea occupied by Japan, although here it’s Hawaguk occupied by Razan. It follows Jebi (they/them), a presumably gifted yet failed artist, a character who doesn’t seem to mind the occupation as long as they can paint. After being rejected from an art school, they land a job with the Ministry of Armor where they discover more about the occupation and the automatons that act as the country’s police.

As a whole, it was an enjoyable read. I loved the setting, and the magic system was refreshing! I didn’t need too much detail on how the magic (including legendary beings) worked, so I’m glad not much was given. Automatons were an interesting idea, and it was great to see how that idea evolved through the book.
The cover is amazing. I honestly can’t go on enough about the art, the colours, even the font. I love it. I’m not kidding when I say I 100% did judge this book by its cover, and I’m glad I did.
Jebi’s sister was interesting, and I felt her stance on everything was very realistic given the circumstances. I obviously won’t go into detail, but I felt she was very natural. Jebi’s friend Hak was a fun addition, too, and I wish more time had been spent with her.
The fact that this is a standalone really appeals to me. I do think more could be done in this world but it’s not really necessary, so I can appreciate that the author knew to leave well enough alone. The ending worked well, so I’m happy. (Short stories would be lovely, though, so I hope we eventually see some!)

I do have a couple of gripes with the story and the writing, though they’re not major.
The first is the POV. I’m perfectly fine with a character identifying as they/them, but it did slow the reading down quite a bit. Possibly because I’m not used to it, I’ll admit, but I think first person could have made it a much more fluid read.
The second is the romance. It didn’t feel overly natural to me, and I feel it just came out of nowhere. I’m sure there are plenty of people talking about who the love interest is, but I don’t really want to give that away if you haven’t yet found out. I just didn’t buy it, and I felt it wasn’t overly necessary.
Finally, I’m just going to say it. I didn’t love the dragon. Don’t get me wrong, it was an interesting addition and I’m glad it was in there. I think other reviewers may have hyped it up too much for me, because when it came time to learning more of the dragon’s personality, I was just like “oh okay, that’s it then”. It wasn’t exactly a new and interesting personality, just one we’ve seen in a lot of other books.

Overall I did enjoy this book. I hope you all do, too!

I received this ARC via Netgalley for an honest review in celebration of the paperback release coming out this month!
This is a super original and satisfactory standalone SFF novel! It blends science fiction and fantasy perfectly.
We follow Jebi who is an artist in an occupied nation and all they want is to express their art. Because life does not always go as planned they end up working for their opressor's Ministry of Armor and learn how their magic works using pigments from destructed art and use them to paint symbols on objects to animate them. And it is AMAZING!! I was so intrigued in this magic system and it was described so perfectly that it was greatly understandable.
The dragon becomes part of the story around 1/3 of the book. And halfway through Azari (the dragon) is connected to Jebi in a interesting and entertaining way. Together they get involved in the rebellion of the occupied nation which was not what they planned at all!
Jebi and the other characters are super interesting and well developed especially for a shorter fantasy story. The nonbinary main character falling for the enemy assassin (duelist) and having a ninetailed fox as a best friend made this the perfect read.

This was such a good time!

My favourite part was definitely the main character, Jebi. They were just such an ordinary person stuck in a situation that was extraordinary, and it was cool seeing the story unfold from the perspective of a character that wasn't a great warrior, genius or some such. They were also just super sweet, and just trying to do the best out of a really bad situation.
I didn't care that much for the side characters though, but they were all clearly well developed and driven.
Another favourite was the dragon, a combination of automaton and magic, and I found it a really original take. This also leads me to another thing I really liked, and that was the combination of fantasy, scifi, and historical elements that this story contained. It was a mix that worked really really well.

Also, bonus points for being super queer!

Thank you to the publisher and netGalley for the arc!

DNF at 70%

**Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
#PhoenixExtravagant #NetGalley

Pros
+ extensive worldbuilding set in Korea during the Japanese occupation (thinly veiled by fantasy names)
+ LGBT rep (nonbinary MC, nb/f relationship, poly f-f-m parent group)
+ cool premise of an artist painting a mecha-dragon

Cons
- the book is way too long for the action that happens (could be shortened by 1/3 to 1/2)
- despite the cool setting and plot premise, this book DRAGS
- mecha-dragon doesn't even show up until about 50-60%
- by 70% I was bored, despite the action picking up (by then it was too late)

TW: occupation, prostitution (off-page), physical assault, murder (off-page), massacre (off-page)

3.5 Stars
This book was an entertaining read overall but it lacked the "umph" I was expecting from a book about automata dragon on the cover.

Based on one POV of Jebi, their character development was... interesting. I don't really feel like they actually developed into something. Their character was pretty consistent throughout the plot. Being a struggling artist believing they will make it one day. They never really looked at the bigger picture of the world and focused just on what they wanted.... which made them quite self centred and non-committal in a lot of things. The representation LGQBT+ was good though.

Whilst the talking dragon was the highlight for me when he finally appeared half way through through the book, I was still waiting for that turning point, for that moment when the story just grips you, but unfortunately it never did. I wished there was a POV for both the dragon and the sister. Just following Jebi's character lacks a but of depth, which resulted in what to me was a non-committal storyline.
I also wasn't sure about the ending. Despite all that it was still an interesting enough read with a great supporting cast of characters.

Synopsis

Finding work as an artist is hard. Working for a shady government ministry while falling in love with your watcher, who just so happened to kill your sister’s wife, is even harder, not to mention when you’re tasked with rewriting a dragon automaton warmachine that happens to be a pacifist!

Jebi is an aspiring artist in Hwaguk (now Razanei Territory 14) and, unable to find any work and thrown out of their house by their rebellious sister Bongsunga, accepts a position with The Ministry of Armor under the watch of the pragmatic Hafanden and duelist Vei, who is tasked with cutting Jebi down should they attempt to escape. Jebi is horrified at how the magical pigments used to command the Razanei automatons are created; by destroying priceless artworks and artifacts.

When they find out that the dragon automaton they have been hired to code has been blamed for a civilian massacre and needs reprogramming, Jebi decides to create a means for the dragon to tell them what really happened first. After finding out that the Razanei carried out the attack and that the dragon is in fact unwilling to kill anyone, Jebi instead becomes intent on helping their new friend to escape.

Review

My fellow bloggers here at FanFiAddict have kindly put up with me talking about Phoenix Extravagant almost constantly for the past several days. Does it deserve me raving about it so much? Well, yes and no. Read on …

Phoenix Extravagant drops us right into the Razanei occupation of Hwaguk, painting a scene of the locals struggling to adjust to life under their conquerors. We follow the story through protagonist Jebi, a non-binary artist living with their sister, Bongsunga. There follows the plot seeds of an authoritarian government versus a rebel faction which come into play in the book’s second act.

I was happy to be whisked from scene to scene, stopping to admire the world Yoon Ha Lee has woven together. The descriptions blend well with Jebi’s artistry, for example when they encounter a Westerner for the first time amongst the rebels: “The person, despite being bundled up in the same grubby felt coats as the other rebels, stood out like a hoopoe amid a flock of magpies.”

Everything seems considered and well thought-out, Phoenix Extravagant even passes the worldbuilding toilet test!

The characters were memorable and I gelled with Jebi straight away. I loved the relationship they forged with Arazi, the dragon automaton who gains sentience from Jebi’s painting. Arazi has a wonderful naivety as it learns about the outside world through Jebi’s eyes and ears via their telepathic link.

{I have never seen anyone drunk … This will be exciting!}

{I want taffy. You can tell me all about it. No one has ever shown me taffy before.}

It’s through Arazi that Lee demonstrates that the automatons used to police the population have their own wishes, yet lack the free will to do so. This becomes all the more poignant when Arazi says to Jebi not to give them the means to think and then take away their choices.

That’s the first act of the book. So, has it leaped into being my book of the year? Well ... no, it hasn’t. The second act of the book then comes into play. Rebellions in fantasy stories are seemingly in every other book now and this part of Phoenix Extravagant simply didn’t capture my interest like the first did. The second act sees Jebi, Vei, and Arazi aid the rebels but this isn’t the direction I was willing the book to go.

I wanted more of Jebi and Arazi, and of the romance between Jebi and their watcher, Vei, who is revealed to have killed Jebi’s sister-in-law in battle. Yes, the rebellion against the occupying force and the looming threat of a Western invasion were background influences in both acts but these weren’t Jebi or Arazi’s stories. The conflict of whether all automatons had sentience versus the price incurred at sacrificing unique cultural artworks to give them that sentience was much more interesting than the rebels taking back their country.

In the end, Phoenix Extravagant’s second act, while perfectly serviceable enough, doesn’t take the concepts and questions of the first act forward enough to make this a truly exceptional book, instead reverting to fantasy rebel tropes we’ve seen before. The ending saves the second act, but again serves us fleeting glimpses of a much more original fantasy story that this book could have been.

Ultimately, this is a good book and my ranting about it has been more than justified. I would still recommend this book for the dragon ride, but it could have been so much more.

After reading and quite enjoying the Dragon Pearl, I've been really interested in reading more of Yoon Ha Lee's books. Phoenix Extravagant was a quick and overall enjoyable read for me. I liked the dragon character and the main character the most; it would've been cool to have a POV from the dragon, I think. The setting and the magic system was so cool, and I found myself really enjoying the exposition to the point where I wish there was more in that regard. I can see why some people may feel mixed about this book, but this story was something that I did appreciate and enjoy! I'm very interested to continue reading this author's works like Ninefox Gambit books and the sequel for Dragon Pearl when it comes out. Thank you so much Netgalley and Rebellion for a copy of this eArc in exchange for an honest review!

This was definitely a fun read and having a main character with gender neutral pronouns was really cool! It wasn't what I expected, I was drawn in because of the mechs, but found it wasn't as mech focused as I would have liked, especially with the dragon. Overall, it was a really great addition to the scifi universe and I look forward to the push this will give the community for having diverse characters.

Okay, I really don't know how to rate this. So I won't.

I DNFed it at the halfway point but that doesn't mean it's a bad book. It just wasn't for me, even though I wanted to love it so badly. <i>Phoenix Extravagant</i> is set during a fantasy version of the Japanese occupation of Korea, a time period I haven't seen yet in English books.

I appreciated all these wonderful cultural details. The art and historical parallels. A discussion of colonization and collusion, of rebellion and survival. Unlike other war books, our protagonist Jebi isn't a soldier. They're an artist working on imperial military weapons. All they really want to do is to be an artist and survive. I appreciated seeing a normal person who doesn't want to be a hero. It felt much more realistic in that aspect.

Unfortunately, you can tell Yoon Ha Lee is a sci-fi writer because the prose is super dense and gave me a headache. I came in thinking it would be a fantasy novel, but it feels more like sci-fi to be honest. Silkpunk is an accurate term. I wanted to binge read this book but I couldn't read more than a few heavy, muddling pages at a time.

It's also got a really slow pace. You don't actually meet the dragon until a third of the book is over. A lot of it is slice-of-life stuff about Jebi, pure build-up. And while their occupation was super interesting... Jebi was just a super boring character to me. Everyone else seemed more interesting in comparison, like Vei the mixed race duelist prime love interest who will kill them if they desert, or even their sister who is a staunch rebel. Arazi too, the actual dragon on the cover, was way more interesting.

Once I reached the halfway point, I could predict how the rest of the book would go. And I don't really care for seeing if I get it right since I'm in a huge book slump right now. I wasn't in a slump when I started reading this book though... Draw your conclusions from that.

Also, super weird, but this kind of felt really young? It gave me YA vibes tbh. Remove the super dense prose and the focus on the sexual aspects of Jebi's love life, and it reads like a YA science fantasy, down to the plot and character dynamics.

So yes, unfortunately I expected more out of this book. I still recommend it for the Korean influences and themes. And it's the only book I've read so far with a nonbinary protagonist. I think that if you enjoy adult sci-fi more than me, then this book will work for you. Sadly this just cemented my discomfort with the adult SF genre.

<i>Thank you to Solaris and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Delightful, heartwarming, moving.
<i>"Dragon. Art. Revolution."</i> The tagline of this Asian-inspired SFF novel says it all. But let's break it down a little more.

<i>"Dragon."</i>
Our protagonist Jebi, a nonbinary Hwagugin artist, has been down on their luck with finding a new job. The relationship with their sister is already strained but when they are considering working for the same government that killed their sister's wife in the war, Jebi is thrown out and subsequently recruited by the Razanei Ministry of Armor.
Said job has them in contact with Dzuge Vei, a duelist prime and the dragon-like automaton with surprising intelligence called Arazi. It is charming and insightful and really brings the story to life.
Unique circumstances lead to Jebi's discovery that not everyone at his work is on the same side as the Empire of Razan. More secrets are uncovered and an escape plan is hatched which includes the dragon.

The measured pace of the story gains some momentum from there on as the plot unravels faster while Jebi has to decide how far they want to go when they are a pacifist at heart (not unlike another character in the story.) It offers a different viewpoint from the usual, high-staked action dramas that involve oppressive governments.

<i>"Art."</i>
Part of what makes this such a unique story is the means through which Lee builds up the surroundings. Jebi is an artist and we see the world through their eyes. Worldbuilding is cleverly done by describing Jebi's struggle of finding work; art (and other forms of entertainment) are usually the first to fall to the wayside when hard times arrive. We meet other characters along the way wh have found questionable ways of making the best of the situation. We also see how much Razan has taken over "Administrative Territory Fourteen" as it's now called. Street signs are replaced with Razanei script, they have to speak a different language at work and are encouraged to take on Razanei names, Hwagugin art pieces are being bartered away. Jebi's geu-ae identity also clashes with the Razanei gender binary (they are, however, never misgendered. In fact, we never learn about their genitals at all).
Without saying too much, the magic we see also involved paintings, colours, and artistry. Together, it makes the world feel lived in and vibrant with a rich history to explore.

<i>"Revolution."</i>
Bongsunga, Jebi's sister, is one of the people who is unhappy with the occupation. We later discover how different she grew up and how her raising Jebi alone shielded them from many bad experiences that challenged their notion of pacifist ideas and showing that it's not everyone needs to be a hero to want to help create a better world. Arazi, who has been created for the sole reason to fight in a war, is in a similar, unfair situation. Where are the lines drawn, are you obligated to help your people when it means death for others?
From a common protagonist and with philosophical undertones, this unique take on revolution meved and inspired me.

From the very beginning I loved how korean history is woven into this fantastical setting. And for the first quarter I was very much into it. I didn't mind the slow beginning, where a lot of world builing is presented, but, sadly, Jebi as a character is not interesting enough to carry the story and the dragon also only comes in at around 40%, so I was struggling to stay invested. The confined setting in the second quarter doesn't help either. I also don't vibe with the romance, the love interest falls too flat in my opinion. For me the novel doesn't have an engaging plot, I didn't see any direction, and the main character doesn't have a personal agenda.
It's a shame, because I would've loved to have this gorgeous cover on my shelf.

I am so glad I was able to get a copy of this book from Netgalley. I had heard about it, but wasn’t quite sure if I’d enjoy it or not. What a wonderful, wild ride!
I’ve been in a bit of reading slump lately and this book is exactly what I needed to get out of it. I loved Jebi and I was super interested in the world and the magic.
I honestly have only good things to say about this book.
Plus, that cover is absolutely beautiful.
I recommend this book, wholeheartedly.