Tuesday, January 31, 2023

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan

 
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heart-of-the-sun-warrior-sue-lynn-tan/1141000039




Heart of the Sun Warrior is the follow up to January's young adult fantasy novel, Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan.  That first novel featured a world inspired by Chinese mythology, with its protagonist being Xingyin, the daughter of Chang'e the Moon Goddess and Hou Yi the Archer.  I loved that novel, as Xingyin's coming of age-sorta journey to find a way to free her mother from a decree by the Celestial Emperor results in her discovering the rest of the Celestial Kingdom and its neighbors, becoming a fierce warrior, finding the interest in a Crown Prince, and being the only one between the Immortal World and dangerous foes and the greed of the Celestial Emperor himself.  The world and setting was terrific, the main character was tremendous, and the story worked really well.  So I was really excited to get a chance to read the sequel.  

Heart of the Sun Warrior is a mixed bag of a follow-up, not quite working as well as its predecessor at times...and yet its highs are REALLY high, especially its final few chapters, which work tremendously well and tugged incredibly hard on my heartstrings.  The story's revisiting of old parts of the setting doesn't quite work as well the second time around, and the major conflict between Xingyin and the new antagonist is kind of rote, even with the theme of the importance of love working well with everything else.  But the new parts of the setting we see work really well and Xingyin remains an excellent heroine through it all.  And while I largely don't love love triangles like this...the way this novel concludes it is excellently done.  The result is a novel that I wound up really liking even if it's a bit uneven, and I would definitely recommend both it and its predecessor to readers looking for good new YA.  

-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary------------------------------------------------------
Xingyin has settled into a good life on the Moon with her mother Chang'e and her attendant Ping'er.  Her mother's exile/imprisonment is over, and she finds herself occasionally visited by Liwei, the Celestial Prince, and the boy she has deep feelings for.  And if she's occasionally visited by Wenzhi, the crown prince of the Cloud Wall/Demon Realm who once kidnapped her and tried to marry her, well...its an irritation she can deal with.  

But the Celestial Kingdom is not done with the Moon, and Chang'e's freedom has resulted in occasional visitors from others in the Immortal Realm.  And when one of those visitors betrays their hospitality with treachery, Xingyin finds herself on the run with both Liwei and Wenzhi, as the Celestial Emperor's ire is once again turned upon her and her family.  

Yet the Celestial Emperor and the Cloud Wall/Demon Realm are the least of Xingyin's worries this time: for a new yet old enemy has risen in power, with knowledge of a secret kept on the Moon that could change the balance of power in the Immortal Realm in horrifying ways, threatening all of the people Xingyin cares for.  To stop him, Xingyin will need to not only work with both Liwei and Wenzhi but to also find aid from those whose hate for her family runs deep, and for whom forgiveness seems impossible....but without such aid, the entire Immortal Realm may surely fall....
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Daughter of the Moon Goddess followed Xingyin as she grew and discovered new parts of the Immortal Realm on her quest to save her Mother and free her from her exile.  That quest/journey took her all over the Immortal Realm, introduced her to a number of strong minor characters, and worked really well with both the wonder of what we saw and were introduced to and in how we saw Xingyin grow as her own person through these new experiences. 

By contrast, for large parts of Heart of the Sun Warrior, we're trodding some older ground.  With the exception of two new parts of the Immortal Realm - the Southern Sea and especially the Sun - we're returning to the Celestial Kingdom, the Moon or even the Cloud Wall, where we've seen these places and learned their dealings before.  This means that some of the specialness, the wonder of it, is a bit lost from before.  Similarly, a large part of this novel deals with the love triangle between Liwei and Wenzhi and Xingyin, which wasn't really my favorite part of the last novel, and its a bit frustrating for how much this feels like so many other YA novels for most of the book (until the last act, as I detail below).  This all isn't helped by the main antagonist of this novel being kind of lackluster in his evil.  

This is not to say however that the book doesn't have some real high points.  Both of those new places we see, especially the Sun and its Goddess ruler, are really well done and interesting contributions to this setting.  Moreover, the book's themes about love and its power to make one whole, as demonstrated first through Chang'e and her long lost husband Hou Yi, and then through Xingyin and the two boys, works really well when contrasted against an antagonist who has nothing after he lost that love and then wreaked revenge in such a way so that he would never be able to feel it again, leaving him hollow and only wanting to inflict suffering on so many others.  The book's themes about mortality and how love is absolutely worth it also work really well through a bunch of characters, as does Xingyin's realization of how cycles of vengeance only lead to more devastation instead of attempting to recognize the hurt and pain of those who lost their loves.  And the way Xingyin accomplishes some of her goals on her new adventure here work tremendously well in both how smart they are and in how well written they are.  

And then there's the book's final act, which takes the part of this duology I probably was loving the least - the love triangle - and turns it a bit on its head in heart wrenching fashion.  The setup for the whole thing is probably a bit still generic, but the finish on it is incredible as it deals with love, grief, honor, and caps off how love is something that is absolutely worth waiting for.  And so this duology ends on an incredibly satisfying note.  

Overall I'd say this novel's lack of consistency makes it a lower level than its predecessor, but its highs are incredible and I still highly recommend both it and its predecessor to those looking for great YA Fantasy, or even just Fantasy at all.  Recommended.  
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