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spicedragon's review against another edition
2.0
2/5
Silk Fire was an ambitious undertaking for a debut novel. I believe if it was refined more it could be a groundbreaking novel, however, as it stands.... it is everything but.
The world-building has immense potential, the concept of taking the brightness from someone and how it can alter your appearance. The fact that our main character is a sex worker and closely follows the lives of him and his comrades. Kore's thirst and plan for revenge. An ancient ward of the city once thought lost, and a god that was thought long dead. SO much that could've made an amazing novel if the author had only focused on one aspect. I think the biggest pitfall of this novel is the author had multiple ideas of what would make a cool and new sci-fi novel and instead of whittling it down to a solid like four core ideas, the author decided to mash it all together. As I was reading the arc, I had gotten 6 chapters in and had hit like 3 climaxes that would've made up 3 other novels. At times, it's almost incomprehensible, a book that takes unbelievable amounts of brain energy to follow the plot and cast of characters who are there in a whirlwind and gone just as quick.
I do think the novel needs heavy editing to reach it's true potential.
Silk Fire was an ambitious undertaking for a debut novel. I believe if it was refined more it could be a groundbreaking novel, however, as it stands.... it is everything but.
The world-building has immense potential, the concept of taking the brightness from someone and how it can alter your appearance. The fact that our main character is a sex worker and closely follows the lives of him and his comrades. Kore's thirst and plan for revenge. An ancient ward of the city once thought lost, and a god that was thought long dead. SO much that could've made an amazing novel if the author had only focused on one aspect. I think the biggest pitfall of this novel is the author had multiple ideas of what would make a cool and new sci-fi novel and instead of whittling it down to a solid like four core ideas, the author decided to mash it all together. As I was reading the arc, I had gotten 6 chapters in and had hit like 3 climaxes that would've made up 3 other novels. At times, it's almost incomprehensible, a book that takes unbelievable amounts of brain energy to follow the plot and cast of characters who are there in a whirlwind and gone just as quick.
I do think the novel needs heavy editing to reach it's true potential.
winterreader40's review against another edition
3.0
Kore is the most wanted whore on Victory street, he is also a bastard son of War's Judge's husband, and he's trying to put anyone but his scheming, petty, evil father on the Judge's throne. Around the same time a ship comes floating out of the lost city and the same night of the celebration parade Kore goes with a client to some ruins and while he's there he has sex on their old dead god's alter and becomes a dragon and now everyone is out to get him.
The matriarchal structure of the world is an interesting concept, men are basically home bodies for the most part, they also get the unpleasant aspects of being the "weaker" sex, but the world building wasn't focused enough, even the buildings in this world don't physically make even with altered gravity as part of the equation. I think the fact that the world was so unfocused also pulled focus from the characters as you spend so much of the book trying to make the landscape make sense.
I received this ARC through NetGalley and Rebellion, Solaris
The matriarchal structure of the world is an interesting concept, men are basically home bodies for the most part, they also get the unpleasant aspects of being the "weaker" sex, but the world building wasn't focused enough, even the buildings in this world don't physically make even with altered gravity as part of the equation. I think the fact that the world was so unfocused also pulled focus from the characters as you spend so much of the book trying to make the landscape make sense.
I received this ARC through NetGalley and Rebellion, Solaris
areaderamongthestars's review against another edition
5.0
Silk Fire by Zabé Ellor is a queer book that overturns many conventions of the SFF genre, creating a narration that is both entertaining and extremely original. With the political intrigues of high-fantasy and the complex world-building of classic sci-fi novels, it’s impossible to not get fascinated by Koré’s story.
Narrated from the point of view of Koré, a courtesan with a troubled past, Silk Fire is set in a futuristic world, on an enchanting city-planet that defies the laws of science (but can be tricky to fully visualize) and is governed by a matriarchal society- but as opposed to what happens in many other similar novels, this doesn’t correspond to a more equal and better-organized community. Instead, the world is affected by expectations and false beliefs connected to senseless gender norms similar to those we face in real life: it’s, simultaneously, an opposite mirror image and a highlight of some key issues in our society.
At the center of the story unfolds an intricate political conspiracy carried forward by many different players (even if Koré often seems to be the one pulling all of their strings), that also encompass a few different sub-storylines, with cunning enemies and uncertain allies, gods and old dangers. The narration can be slow from time to time, the plot as a whole is gripping and captivating.
The world-building is built piece by piece instead of giving a big info dump towards the beginning, with the traditions and the history of the world explained only when needed. It requires a certain level of attention to fully grasp the intricacy of the world, but it’s totally worth the extra effort. And there are also many descriptions of gorgeous gowns that will make you want to steal some outfits from the characters (and can I say how much I adored that skirts are the staple piece of almost every outfit, independently from gender?).
Even if it’s a very complex book, the characters’ emotions and motives are always handled with care, explored on-page and challenged by the events connected to the plot. And so every character, from the main ones to the secondary ones, is built in a way that makes them feel realistic, almost alive, with clear motives and goals.
Koré is definitely an unconventional main character. Even when he gets selected as the “chosen one”, he is forced by his circumstances to hide it as he has hidden other parts of himself in the past, all for a goal of vengeance that has slowly become his identity. It’s both beautiful and heartbreaking to see those tiny bits of joy every time he is able to set his magic free, and when he finally gets to fully embrace it, it’s truly magnificent.
Throughout the curse of the book, one of the common threads is showing how Koré slowly learns to understand and accept that the way he has been broken and manipulated since he was a child doesn’t mean every important person in his life will do the same, that his trauma doesn’t necessarily have to corrupt his happiness all over again. It’s a painful and ugly process, constituted not by straightforward decisions but by mistakes and impulsive choice, and still one that was so extremely important to show.
In the same way, the relationship between him, Ria and Faziz is not easy at all. But from the moment when Koré forms, with both of them, something that is between an alliance based on common goals and a fragile friendship, to the one when the romantic aspect starts to get in the way of things, everything is so perfectly crafted. I truly loved how, in a way, their bond support and reflects the development of each of these magnificent characters.
The ending was satisfying and fitting, as everything was wrapped up in such a nice way that was true both to the character and the plot.
Silk Fire is a brilliant stand-alone I recommend to those looking for an immersive adult SFF book that will keep you intrigued and mesmerized.
[ Disclaimer: an ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review ]
Narrated from the point of view of Koré, a courtesan with a troubled past, Silk Fire is set in a futuristic world, on an enchanting city-planet that defies the laws of science (but can be tricky to fully visualize) and is governed by a matriarchal society- but as opposed to what happens in many other similar novels, this doesn’t correspond to a more equal and better-organized community. Instead, the world is affected by expectations and false beliefs connected to senseless gender norms similar to those we face in real life: it’s, simultaneously, an opposite mirror image and a highlight of some key issues in our society.
At the center of the story unfolds an intricate political conspiracy carried forward by many different players (even if Koré often seems to be the one pulling all of their strings), that also encompass a few different sub-storylines, with cunning enemies and uncertain allies, gods and old dangers. The narration can be slow from time to time, the plot as a whole is gripping and captivating.
The world-building is built piece by piece instead of giving a big info dump towards the beginning, with the traditions and the history of the world explained only when needed. It requires a certain level of attention to fully grasp the intricacy of the world, but it’s totally worth the extra effort. And there are also many descriptions of gorgeous gowns that will make you want to steal some outfits from the characters (and can I say how much I adored that skirts are the staple piece of almost every outfit, independently from gender?).
Even if it’s a very complex book, the characters’ emotions and motives are always handled with care, explored on-page and challenged by the events connected to the plot. And so every character, from the main ones to the secondary ones, is built in a way that makes them feel realistic, almost alive, with clear motives and goals.
Koré is definitely an unconventional main character. Even when he gets selected as the “chosen one”, he is forced by his circumstances to hide it as he has hidden other parts of himself in the past, all for a goal of vengeance that has slowly become his identity. It’s both beautiful and heartbreaking to see those tiny bits of joy every time he is able to set his magic free, and when he finally gets to fully embrace it, it’s truly magnificent.
Throughout the curse of the book, one of the common threads is showing how Koré slowly learns to understand and accept that the way he has been broken and manipulated since he was a child doesn’t mean every important person in his life will do the same, that his trauma doesn’t necessarily have to corrupt his happiness all over again. It’s a painful and ugly process, constituted not by straightforward decisions but by mistakes and impulsive choice, and still one that was so extremely important to show.
In the same way, the relationship between him, Ria and Faziz is not easy at all. But from the moment when Koré forms, with both of them, something that is between an alliance based on common goals and a fragile friendship, to the one when the romantic aspect starts to get in the way of things, everything is so perfectly crafted. I truly loved how, in a way, their bond support and reflects the development of each of these magnificent characters.
The ending was satisfying and fitting, as everything was wrapped up in such a nice way that was true both to the character and the plot.
Silk Fire is a brilliant stand-alone I recommend to those looking for an immersive adult SFF book that will keep you intrigued and mesmerized.
[ Disclaimer: an ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review ]
pitmanj18's review against another edition
5.0
This book was so good. Reminds me of avatar the last airbender and legend of kora but for adults.
angelod24's review against another edition
2.0
get straight to the point on this review.
The author was overly ambitious and tried to include every single trope, societal inequality, and fantasy element all in one book. I felt this was more a rough (very rough) draft/outline thank a complete novel. The lack of depth hurt the world building. Betrayal after betrayal just for the sake of a “twist” aspect.
The concept was interesting but the execution was off the mark. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this to others.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
The author was overly ambitious and tried to include every single trope, societal inequality, and fantasy element all in one book. I felt this was more a rough (very rough) draft/outline thank a complete novel. The lack of depth hurt the world building. Betrayal after betrayal just for the sake of a “twist” aspect.
The concept was interesting but the execution was off the mark. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this to others.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.
iam's review against another edition
DNF @ 55%
I loved the idea of a high scale SFF book with a scheming polyam sexworker protagonist and dragons, but unfortunately I ended up not being quiet as engaged as I hoped to me.
The worldbuilding of Silk Fire was rich and fascinating, and it's one of those books that just throws you right in without explaining all too much. I have to say, even halfway through the book, I still struggled with following all the different people, their allegiances, or how the political system and connections all really worked.
This wasn't helped by how I found the writing confusing at times. Even when there weren't any schemes or specific worldbuilding intensive scenes, I couldn't always follow entirely what was happening from one sentence to the next. This happened during all sorts of scenes, action ones, conversations, and even sex scenes.
I also would generally have appreciated a bit more details surrounding some of the core concepts of the world, like the matriarchy, or who some of the big players in the power structures are and where they came from, and what their power truly entails. Of course, a lot could be gathered from context while reading, but I do like a bit of telling occasionally.
Koré was a protagonist that I both appreciated and... not. I like characters that are unlikeable and have glaring flaws and do mistakes and fuck up... in theory. Koré didn't bother me, but just like I couldn't always follow the plot, I also couldn't always follow why he was doing what he was doing or how his feelings and thoughts evolved.
That said, there was something interesting, and relateable, in his fast switches between confidence and competence, and moments of weakness. At the same time, that lead to situations and the plot developing in ways I didn't like.
Unfortunately, none of the main characters really were my type. I wasn't excited about getting to know any of them, really, and as I like character-driven books, this lowered my engagement with the book quite a bit. This, however, is down purely to personal taste, and I think many readers would find plenty of the characters interesting.
Overall this had a lot of potential, but I think I picked it up at the wrong time. I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at a time, partially due to outside circumstances, and it wasn't always easy to get back into the book. I originally wanted to finish this, but when I realized I had no interest in picking the book back up, I had to admit to myself I better put it aside from now. I would love to reread at some point in the future and find out how it all ends, but for now, this is it.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
I loved the idea of a high scale SFF book with a scheming polyam sexworker protagonist and dragons, but unfortunately I ended up not being quiet as engaged as I hoped to me.
The worldbuilding of Silk Fire was rich and fascinating, and it's one of those books that just throws you right in without explaining all too much. I have to say, even halfway through the book, I still struggled with following all the different people, their allegiances, or how the political system and connections all really worked.
This wasn't helped by how I found the writing confusing at times. Even when there weren't any schemes or specific worldbuilding intensive scenes, I couldn't always follow entirely what was happening from one sentence to the next. This happened during all sorts of scenes, action ones, conversations, and even sex scenes.
I also would generally have appreciated a bit more details surrounding some of the core concepts of the world, like the matriarchy, or who some of the big players in the power structures are and where they came from, and what their power truly entails. Of course, a lot could be gathered from context while reading, but I do like a bit of telling occasionally.
Koré was a protagonist that I both appreciated and... not. I like characters that are unlikeable and have glaring flaws and do mistakes and fuck up... in theory. Koré didn't bother me, but just like I couldn't always follow the plot, I also couldn't always follow why he was doing what he was doing or how his feelings and thoughts evolved.
That said, there was something interesting, and relateable, in his fast switches between confidence and competence, and moments of weakness. At the same time, that lead to situations and the plot developing in ways I didn't like.
Unfortunately, none of the main characters really were my type. I wasn't excited about getting to know any of them, really, and as I like character-driven books, this lowered my engagement with the book quite a bit. This, however, is down purely to personal taste, and I think many readers would find plenty of the characters interesting.
Overall this had a lot of potential, but I think I picked it up at the wrong time. I couldn't read more than a chapter or two at a time, partially due to outside circumstances, and it wasn't always easy to get back into the book. I originally wanted to finish this, but when I realized I had no interest in picking the book back up, I had to admit to myself I better put it aside from now. I would love to reread at some point in the future and find out how it all ends, but for now, this is it.
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
legacysiren's review against another edition
1.0
I can definitely say I have read a lot of books in my 42 years on this earth. I have read a lot of bad ones and a lot of good ones. But...I have never read a book like this and I hope to never read one like it again.
neighborhoodbeanreads's review against another edition
This review is long overdue, I really needed to marinate in my thoughts before putting together the review. I DNF’d this book at the 20% mark. There were a lot of issues, right from the beginning, both in terms of world building and when it came to handling diversity in the book. This book relies heavily on the exploitation of orientalism; Asian motif’s and language are seen throughout the book in its basis and even in promotion kf the novel, its likness to Asian cultures used more so as an aesthetic than with respect to the fact these cultures belong to real-live people. This was present as well in the naming structure.
In terms of the books world building, there was way too much going on. We had dragons, dinosaurs and scifi technology elements which made the premise of the story hard to fathom. Way too much happens without the necessary foundational elements or world building in place.
I was really excited to read a novel with a focus on queerness and one with a matriarchy, something I’ve seen done beautifully in other novels and enjoyed, but the research on existing matriarchies (which are seen more often in non-western countries) was lacking and the representation felt hollow. There isn’t really a foundation of why the mattiarchy in this book is similar to the patriarchy in our world besides word-for-word copy and pasting rhetoric used against women flipped onto men. There seemed to be no foundation, at least from what I’ve read, where the power imbalance comes from— like we see in modern day patriarchal structures. It felt much more “women are mean to men too!!!”. You cannot simply copy/paste oppression without tweaking it past how it functions in our world. It reads as lazy and can be harmful. Unfortunately, when these concerns were brought up with the author after the books release, they doubled down. Refusing to take this criticism, Zabe instead told readers that we just can’t accept the fact women are abuse men too.
There was also some unfortunate TERF-like language and ideas embedded in the story, which was frustrating since the author himself is trans. I’m not sure if it is internalized misogyny or what, but it was nevertheless present. Example: the main character’s aunt transition from male to female and it is alluded to that they did so to get the perks of being a woman and the privilege that comes with in their society (TERF rhetoric).
Side note: I also didn’t appreciate the way sex work was portrayed or how often there were instances of dubcon. It felt like it was just shock value or trauma porn.
In terms of the books world building, there was way too much going on. We had dragons, dinosaurs and scifi technology elements which made the premise of the story hard to fathom. Way too much happens without the necessary foundational elements or world building in place.
I was really excited to read a novel with a focus on queerness and one with a matriarchy, something I’ve seen done beautifully in other novels and enjoyed, but the research on existing matriarchies (which are seen more often in non-western countries) was lacking and the representation felt hollow. There isn’t really a foundation of why the mattiarchy in this book is similar to the patriarchy in our world besides word-for-word copy and pasting rhetoric used against women flipped onto men. There seemed to be no foundation, at least from what I’ve read, where the power imbalance comes from— like we see in modern day patriarchal structures. It felt much more “women are mean to men too!!!”. You cannot simply copy/paste oppression without tweaking it past how it functions in our world. It reads as lazy and can be harmful. Unfortunately, when these concerns were brought up with the author after the books release, they doubled down. Refusing to take this criticism, Zabe instead told readers that we just can’t accept the fact women are abuse men too.
There was also some unfortunate TERF-like language and ideas embedded in the story, which was frustrating since the author himself is trans. I’m not sure if it is internalized misogyny or what, but it was nevertheless present. Example: the main character’s aunt transition from male to female and it is alluded to that they did so to get the perks of being a woman and the privilege that comes with in their society (TERF rhetoric).
Side note: I also didn’t appreciate the way sex work was portrayed or how often there were instances of dubcon. It felt like it was just shock value or trauma porn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Cultural appropriation
jolietjane's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately, I’m gonna have to DNF this book. I love the author and I love the ideas presented. Silk fire is a massive ambitious piece of work and the first attempt at fantasy from this author. The story is big and expensive and incredibly creative. I think that with a little bit more polishing, it could be brilliant.
Silk Fire suffers from too much ambition without a strong Application. The first few chapters of the book are a massive info dump, with characters vaguely discussing the politics of the past and their frustrations with said politics. The info dumps are expansive and continuous, but they’re so vague that you don’t 100% understand what’s going on at any point. A good way to compare this is with Gideon the Ninth, A book famous for being very cool but incredibly confusing. Silk fire has the same confusing factor but it’s hard to match the coolness that is Gideon, which makes it a bit of a chore.
I loved every single idea presented here. I thought the world was Badass and the characters and the intricate politics have a lot of potential, but confusing a reader in the first 150 pages isn’t a good way to start a series. If there was a little bit more effort cleaning this up and slowly introducing the politics gracefully rather than shoehorning them into the front half of the book, I think that there would be potential for some greatness here. There is a chance that some folks who are smarter and better at reading than I will understand what is going on and truly love this book. I wish the author well as I love their Twitter account and think that their approach to storytelling on the conceptual level is awesome.
Silk Fire is a behemoth. Jumping into A book this large, just know what you’re getting in for. I would recommend it to readers you consider themselves advanced who are comfortable with working with info dump materials and do not mind it so much.
Silk Fire suffers from too much ambition without a strong Application. The first few chapters of the book are a massive info dump, with characters vaguely discussing the politics of the past and their frustrations with said politics. The info dumps are expansive and continuous, but they’re so vague that you don’t 100% understand what’s going on at any point. A good way to compare this is with Gideon the Ninth, A book famous for being very cool but incredibly confusing. Silk fire has the same confusing factor but it’s hard to match the coolness that is Gideon, which makes it a bit of a chore.
I loved every single idea presented here. I thought the world was Badass and the characters and the intricate politics have a lot of potential, but confusing a reader in the first 150 pages isn’t a good way to start a series. If there was a little bit more effort cleaning this up and slowly introducing the politics gracefully rather than shoehorning them into the front half of the book, I think that there would be potential for some greatness here. There is a chance that some folks who are smarter and better at reading than I will understand what is going on and truly love this book. I wish the author well as I love their Twitter account and think that their approach to storytelling on the conceptual level is awesome.
Silk Fire is a behemoth. Jumping into A book this large, just know what you’re getting in for. I would recommend it to readers you consider themselves advanced who are comfortable with working with info dump materials and do not mind it so much.
eyan_birt's review against another edition
2.5
This was really ambitious worldbuilding and I wanted to love it. So many of the character elements and fantasy elements were right what I wanted, especially the examination of gender and identity. However the themes were all incredibly heavy handed, the plot drawn out, and the characters underdeveloped.