Monday, December 27, 2021

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

 




Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on January 11, 2022 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.    


Daughter of the Moon Goddess is the debut fantasy novel by author Sue Lynn Tan, inspired by Chinese mythology.  In particular (as you might imagine from the title), it's inspired by the story of Chang'e the Moon Goddess and Hou Yi the Archer, a story I've learned about from other adaptations (last year's Burning Roses by S.L. Huang for example).  Here, that story is this book's backstory, as the novel features Chang'e's daughter Xingyin, who becomes determined to find a way to free her mother from the decree of the Celestial Kingdom that she remain imprisoned for her actions.  The result is a novel that I've seen a lot of advance acclaim for online, and features a set of author blurbs that could hardly be more impressive.  

And all that acclaim is largely worth it, as Daughter of the Moon Goddess is a tale that is really really well done and nearly impossible to put down (I meant to read it over two days and finished it instead in one).  The protagonist heroine Xingyin is tremendous in her determination to save her mother, her struggles with her attraction to two different immortal men, and her struggles between honor, love and doing the right thing - all in a story and setting that is incredibly well built in its Chinese-myth inspired depth.  It's not perfect, but this is a highly satisfying novel in its own right that makes me eager for the chance to read its eventual sequel (this is the first half of a duology, although it stands alone perfectly well).  


--------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------
Xingyin grew up on the Moon accompanied only by her mother, the moon goddess, and her attendant Ping'er.  She was happy there, even though she sometimes felt a pull towards something that her mother insisted she never follow.  Until one day she does just that, flaring her magic and drawing attention to her mother - a mother Xingyin never realized was supposed to be imprisoned there alone by the Celestial Emperor and Empress for the crime of taking an elixir of immortality to save both hers and Xingyin's life.  Lest she be discovered and killed, Xingyin's mother forces her to flee, resulting in her winding up alone in the Celestial Kingdom, with no idea what to do next.  

But Xingyin is determined to survive to see her mother again, if not to free her, and will not simply lie down and wait for fate to take her.  Instead circumstances provide her with the opportunity to meet the Crown Prince Liwei, and the chance to learn alongside him.  And as she grows into her powers and skills, she even begins to fall for the prince, despite him being the son of the pair responsible for her mother's misfortune.  

But Xingyin's first priority remains saving her mother, and so she embarks on dangerous martial campaigns and quests against other immortals and monsters, all for the sake of earning her mother's freedom, and her own happiness.  But both the Celestial Emperor and his enemies are ruthless and willing to twist honor for their own sakes, and one wrong move by Xingyin could result in both hers and her mother's deaths...if it doesn't plunge the realm into disaster and chaos first.....
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Daughter of the Moon Goddess is naturally Xingyin's story, which she narrates entirely from a first person perspective.  It's set in a world inspired by Chinese mythology (duh) although it certainly doesn't require any reader to have foreknowledge - and the result is a world that is absolutely wondrous and incredibly well built.  You have Xingyin and her mother growing up on the moon, you have the Celestial Kingdom (as well as neighboring kingdoms), you have the Demon Realm, you have various monsters and beings of various seas, etc.  You have magic of the elements and of the mind, to go along with Martial skills such as archery and swordplay that our heroine has to learn, to go along with haughty nobles and dreaming adorable young princes.  

And in all this, you have Xingyin, who is learning about it all alongside the reader, and is an incredible heroic protagonist, even if her underlying character traits aren't really all that unique.  Tan writes Xingyin's narrative so incredibly well, so that her determination to save her mother, her occasional misery as she's stymied, or the struggles of her heart become so easy to feel and understand.  Xingyin is facing a situation that should seem impossible - the Emperor and Empress hate her mother and clearly are somewhat cruel and yet only they can free her mother, they could kill her if she reveals her identity, and her closest ally is their son - a boy she's fallen for even though he's politically betrothed to another.  Her only hope is win enough honor that the Emperor will agree to do her a favor....a favor that he might kill her over instead of grant, and which will require Xingyin to face incredible odds to earn in the first place.  And then of course there's the military leader who Xingyin falls under, who also is interested in her, just to complicate her heart.  

And then there's the fact that through it all, Xingyin is honorable and caring and good, one who cares for the memories of the mother she loves and the father she only knows a story of, in a world where honor can easily fall by the wayside when faced with conflicting desires and responsibilities.  The plot of this book throws Xingyin through the ringer as she discovers the haughtiness of Celestial Kingdom nobles, the honor and friendliness of the soldiers she fights alongside, and her smart thinking (although she's in no way a guile heroine) and determination gets her through it in really satisfying ways. 

And there's the depth of the world alongside Xingyin, some of which I've mentioned above, that really makes this work on another level.  So naturally the people of the Demon Realm aren't necessarily different than those of the Celestial Kingdom (although they still serve the function of antagonists), something that makes Xingyin rethink what she's been taught.  So the dragons are powerful but are beings of peace, not of danger.  And well, so the minor characters get some really great depth that make them generally highly enjoyable.  It makes the cast and world around Xingyin very easy to fall into, and again Tan's prose and dialogue helps that even more.  

Not everything is perfect - this book is advertised for being romantic, and while Xingyin's romantic connection with Liwei works, her second love interest Wenzhi doesn't quite work as well from the start (these romances - despite a three people one bed joke - are basically entirely chaste, which might be affecting that honestly).  And a late act twist is kind of well, a bit ordinary in its direction (especially as it takes the romance) and I really wish the book hadn't gone there.  Still, this book ends in an incredibly satisfying fashion, to the extent that I forgot that this book was the first in a duology - this could easily work really well as a stand alone novel, and does not contain a cliffhanger.  So if you're not sure you want to read another two book series, you can commit just to this one and you'll be fine. 

The result is a wonderful book both in setting and character, and with prose so enjoyable that it drew me in from the start and never let up.  Highly imaginative and recommended.    

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