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amalyndb's review against another edition
4.5
Content note: Genocide and hate crimes towards (fantasy) marginalized groups
Ooh. The twists in this one. Definitely to reread again without low grade fever.
Slow start, initially skimmed a bit until i got into it.
Ooh. The twists in this one. Definitely to reread again without low grade fever.
Slow start, initially skimmed a bit until i got into it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Torture, and Death of parent
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, and War
laurenipsums's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Foreshadowing was overall good, but the actual ending felt abrupt and the epilogue felt disjointed. Is there a sequel? I hope so, since there's a lot of loose ends left to tie up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Racial slurs, Slavery, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War
Minor: War
karalara's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery and Grief
Minor: Genocide
andra_mihaela_s's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"Descendant of the Crane" is such a promising first book in a series! Too bad we don't know when or even IF the author will write more in this world due to the unfortunate situation of it's initial publication... :(
Quick summary: Princess Hesina of Yan becomes queen after the death pf her beloved father. Her only desire...find the murderer!
To this simple (=personal drama) premise, Joan He blends very well chinese customs, culture and history (we have the first coin in the Chinese history mentioned here as the currency; we have a specific way of showing respect to the higher ups; we have traditional clothing and make-up,etc.) with a political plotline mixed with very little romance and a lot of mistery concerning the past of the kingdom (both religious and ideological).
I will not say that everyone will find this debut worthy of praise or anything like that, but I dare you to say it doesn't have great potential and a solid fundation for what it wants to be: a first person perspective in a world ruled by it's past. I really appreciate books that talk about misconceptions, fears, superstitions and plain beliefs based on "historical fundation" and perpetuated hate for "the enemy".
I'm happy to say "Descendant of the Crane" is such a book that not only explores the darker side of winners vs loosers argument, but it also evolves it with things that have a great impact in real life, like: <i>How a different nation respond/act/profit/involve itself with this issue?How can a ruler keep his/her throne in a deeply infected society AND change it at its core? How much power a ruler has in comparison to its vassals? etc. </i>
<b>Content warnings: violent murder, torture,discrimination based on historical motifs and fear of the unknown(which is horrible!); desecration of a grave;slavery</b>
Taking all this into consideration, I cannot help but point out the things someone else by find annoying and a deal-breaker for them: One such thing is the character work...you can see that this is a debut and the MC is the only one you can pass of as "well-rounded".
While Hesina is really naive and extremely focused on one goal (a conscious choice by the author), I had some expectations for the "villains", namely Xia Zhong and the Prince of Kandi'a due to the fact that a war is on the brewing because of them...and I wanted to find out WHY they do what they do..>..>
We have some family drama for Minister of Rites Xia, and the whole thing with a country without water..but sadly, the book did not expand on this.
As for the other characters...the king and queen are really fascinating! We have information only from Hesina's perspective when it comes to them..and I don't find that a bad thing! ^^ In the end, we find out some shocking information that was well foreshadowed (in my opinion) and THAT can be put to good use in an eventual sequel!
The rest of the cast was kinda there to serve Hesina in going through her journey...most obvious, the twins her father adopted: Caiyan- a great figure in the country's political stage, and Lilian - the imperial seamstress. Her blood brothers did not stand out to me either:(..both Sanjing and Rue (I'm not sure if his name is written correctly here...) are present for just a little part of the book and they have a major trait that takes up all the space for anything else...one is distant and passive-agresive due to lack of a real relationship as siblings; the other - a lamb..literary...>..>
The last character I want to mention...Akira...he has potential! In terms of his actual role in this story...he was between fine and great; as a love interest...not so much:( I wasn't impressed with his backstory, given the fact I was hoping he was more involved in the political and religious drama going on..,but that doesn't make him bad or poorly written..It's just a personal preference.
This book does well a lot of things, from the chinese inspiration mentioned earlier, to the beginnings of a political fantasy series with a lot of mistery added, to the discussion about stigma and discrimination, collective fear of something and REAL STAKES!
We lose people here! And the fantasy elements are integrated in a great way!
Yes, this book is slow on plot progression and world building, but I don't see that as a mistake, but more of a author choice/style.
Joan He decides to focus our first-person perspective to 2 very important subjects that, frankly, I enjoy reading about: how history affects people (discrimination, missconception, way of life, rules put in place,etc) and how and by whom it's written!(The Eleven are a clever idea to implement and I really hope I will get the chance to read more in this world, because we barely got some answers and another million questions! >..<)
So, yes! 4 stars for "Descendant of the Crane"! This one speaks to my reading taste!
I highly recommend this book to everyone liking a slow politial fantasy that really spends time showing the effects of history and a group of people! Don't expect "A Game of Thrones", but a young naive ruler that has the veil of ignorance ripped of her face page by page, and getting exposed to the real world.
Enjoy
Quick summary: Princess Hesina of Yan becomes queen after the death pf her beloved father. Her only desire...find the murderer!
To this simple (=personal drama) premise, Joan He blends very well chinese customs, culture and history (we have the first coin in the Chinese history mentioned here as the currency; we have a specific way of showing respect to the higher ups; we have traditional clothing and make-up,etc.) with a political plotline mixed with very little romance and a lot of mistery concerning the past of the kingdom (both religious and ideological).
I will not say that everyone will find this debut worthy of praise or anything like that, but I dare you to say it doesn't have great potential and a solid fundation for what it wants to be: a first person perspective in a world ruled by it's past. I really appreciate books that talk about misconceptions, fears, superstitions and plain beliefs based on "historical fundation" and perpetuated hate for "the enemy".
I'm happy to say "Descendant of the Crane" is such a book that not only explores the darker side of winners vs loosers argument, but it also evolves it with things that have a great impact in real life, like: <i>How a different nation respond/act/profit/involve itself with this issue?How can a ruler keep his/her throne in a deeply infected society AND change it at its core? How much power a ruler has in comparison to its vassals? etc. </i>
<b>Content warnings: violent murder, torture,discrimination based on historical motifs and fear of the unknown(which is horrible!); desecration of a grave;slavery</b>
Taking all this into consideration, I cannot help but point out the things someone else by find annoying and a deal-breaker for them: One such thing is the character work...you can see that this is a debut and the MC is the only one you can pass of as "well-rounded".
While Hesina is really naive and extremely focused on one goal (a conscious choice by the author), I had some expectations for the "villains", namely Xia Zhong and the Prince of Kandi'a due to the fact that a war is on the brewing because of them...and I wanted to find out WHY they do what they do..>..>
We have some family drama for Minister of Rites Xia, and the whole thing with a country without water..but sadly, the book did not expand on this.
As for the other characters...the king and queen are really fascinating! We have information only from Hesina's perspective when it comes to them..and I don't find that a bad thing! ^^ In the end, we find out some shocking information that was well foreshadowed (in my opinion) and THAT can be put to good use in an eventual sequel!
The rest of the cast was kinda there to serve Hesina in going through her journey...most obvious, the twins her father adopted: Caiyan- a great figure in the country's political stage, and Lilian - the imperial seamstress. Her blood brothers did not stand out to me either:(..both Sanjing and Rue (I'm not sure if his name is written correctly here...) are present for just a little part of the book and they have a major trait that takes up all the space for anything else...one is distant and passive-agresive due to lack of a real relationship as siblings; the other - a lamb..literary...>..>
The last character I want to mention...Akira...he has potential! In terms of his actual role in this story...he was between fine and great; as a love interest...not so much:( I wasn't impressed with his backstory, given the fact I was hoping he was more involved in the political and religious drama going on..,but that doesn't make him bad or poorly written..It's just a personal preference.
This book does well a lot of things, from the chinese inspiration mentioned earlier, to the beginnings of a political fantasy series with a lot of mistery added, to the discussion about stigma and discrimination, collective fear of something and REAL STAKES!
We lose people here! And the fantasy elements are integrated in a great way!
Yes, this book is slow on plot progression and world building, but I don't see that as a mistake, but more of a author choice/style.
Joan He decides to focus our first-person perspective to 2 very important subjects that, frankly, I enjoy reading about: how history affects people (discrimination, missconception, way of life, rules put in place,etc) and how and by whom it's written!(The Eleven are a clever idea to implement and I really hope I will get the chance to read more in this world, because we barely got some answers and another million questions! >..<)
So, yes! 4 stars for "Descendant of the Crane"! This one speaks to my reading taste!
I highly recommend this book to everyone liking a slow politial fantasy that really spends time showing the effects of history and a group of people! Don't expect "A Game of Thrones", but a young naive ruler that has the veil of ignorance ripped of her face page by page, and getting exposed to the real world.
Enjoy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide and Slavery
wolfje's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I feel like there were a few plot holes, but I didn't really care because the book just dragged me in and I just kept reading. Whatever flaws in the worldbuilding and plot, it makes up for in pace, tension, and by gripping you and not letting go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Death of parent
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Slavery, Torture, and Murder
hazychapters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is the first audiobook I listened to, and I liked it, although it was a bit complicated at first due to the format. I did this listening on Spotify, and I am delighted to have been able to discover this author. Descendant of the Crane is her first novel (if I'm not mistaken), and I think it's pretty successful! The plot is axed on politics, with lots of plot twists and stories of betrayals and alliances. Those who follow me know that I love these kinds of books, and Descendant of the Crane did not disappoint me on this point! It is also a gorgeous book in terms of worldbuilding. The story takes root in a universe that is inspired by imperial China. It addresses many themes, such as racism, justice or even the family. The way with words of the author is sumptuous. It was beautiful and calm to listen to!
The only point that could be negative is the characters, and more precisely Hesina. But it's pretty subjective. I really liked this image of a strong young woman who wants above all to rule her kingdom. But I gradually disconnected from her. And, in the end, I remained quite indifferent concerning her character, her decisions and what she was living. Admittedly the ending has an effect, but I ended up missing a little empathy for her. It was the same for Akira, who isn't, for me, extremely important to the story. I had more connections with Caiyan and Lilian. Lilian is full of life, and in a way, she reminded me of Genya Safin or Nina Zenik from the Grishaverse. Caiyan is more calculating, whereas Hesina is more empathetic. I had a little more trouble figuring out Sanjing. But I think he's still a great character, just as calculating as Caiyan but in a different way.
I really loved the relationship between the characters. I think that's a significant positive point too! And if some wonder if there is romance: yes, there is, but it is still very light. Besides, I haven't really noticed it. And I'm pretty happy because I find that there is no need to have some characters in a relationship, which changes from other YA books we are used to reading!
The only point that could be negative is the characters, and more precisely Hesina. But it's pretty subjective. I really liked this image of a strong young woman who wants above all to rule her kingdom. But I gradually disconnected from her. And, in the end, I remained quite indifferent concerning her character, her decisions and what she was living. Admittedly the ending has an effect, but I ended up missing a little empathy for her. It was the same for Akira, who isn't, for me, extremely important to the story. I had more connections with Caiyan and Lilian. Lilian is full of life, and in a way, she reminded me of Genya Safin or Nina Zenik from the Grishaverse. Caiyan is more calculating, whereas Hesina is more empathetic. I had a little more trouble figuring out Sanjing. But I think he's still a great character, just as calculating as Caiyan but in a different way.
I really loved the relationship between the characters. I think that's a significant positive point too! And if some wonder if there is romance: yes, there is, but it is still very light. Besides, I haven't really noticed it. And I'm pretty happy because I find that there is no need to have some characters in a relationship, which changes from other YA books we are used to reading!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery and War
Immolation, poisoningveilchen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Hesina is princess of Yan, a country that had ones been terrorized by the magic sooths, which are now outlawed. When her father, the King, dies, she is convinced that his death was not of natural cause and goes out of her way to find the real killer. But what she hasn't accounted for was the politics of the court, intrigues and betrayals playing their part in uncovering the truth.
First of all, this book is not a comforting, fun little fantasy book. It is Hurt/NoComfort, bawl your eyes out, talk about in therapy stuff. But it is a great book. My favourite part was without question the worldbuilding. The east-asian inspired setting of Yan, where the rules are dictated by eleven mysterious revolutionaries of the past is explored in depth, with all the lore, history of oppression and connecitons to its neighbouring countries, is what makes the sotry of Hesina so easy to get captivated by. Supported by a very pretty, descriptive writing style, I found myself speeding through the almost 500 pages in less than four hours.
I also fell in love with the characters. Hesina is a great protagonist with a lot of agency and not without faults. The rest of the cast mainly consists of her family, a wild mix of real siblings, bastards and adoptees, all of which got their moment to shine. Then, there is also the thief, who Hesina conscripts to help her uncover the Truth, Akira, with whom Hesina also develops a bit of a romance. Though there wasn't a lot of focus on that, I enjoyed their dynamic and would have wanted to see a bit more - maybe in the next book?
All in all, "Descendant of the Crane" was not at all what I expected. It was dark and sad, and very quick-paced, but it all took place in such a detailled world, with well developed character and in a beautiful style that I had no choice but to love it. It ended on a pretty open note - which I actually prefer, because now I can just pretend they all lived happily ever after. Nevertheless, one of the best endings I read in a while. I cried a lot.
First of all, this book is not a comforting, fun little fantasy book. It is Hurt/NoComfort, bawl your eyes out, talk about in therapy stuff. But it is a great book. My favourite part was without question the worldbuilding. The east-asian inspired setting of Yan, where the rules are dictated by eleven mysterious revolutionaries of the past is explored in depth, with all the lore, history of oppression and connecitons to its neighbouring countries, is what makes the sotry of Hesina so easy to get captivated by. Supported by a very pretty, descriptive writing style, I found myself speeding through the almost 500 pages in less than four hours.
I also fell in love with the characters. Hesina is a great protagonist with a lot of agency and not without faults. The rest of the cast mainly consists of her family, a wild mix of real siblings, bastards and adoptees, all of which got their moment to shine. Then, there is also the thief, who Hesina conscripts to help her uncover the Truth, Akira, with whom Hesina also develops a bit of a romance. Though there wasn't a lot of focus on that, I enjoyed their dynamic and would have wanted to see a bit more - maybe in the next book?
All in all, "Descendant of the Crane" was not at all what I expected. It was dark and sad, and very quick-paced, but it all took place in such a detailled world, with well developed character and in a beautiful style that I had no choice but to love it. It ended on a pretty open note - which I actually prefer, because now I can just pretend they all lived happily ever after. Nevertheless, one of the best endings I read in a while. I cried a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Genocide, Torture, Murder, and War
Minor: Slavery and War
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What an absolutely stunning book. I read this back in 2019 as an eARC, but I didn't have the words at the time to properly express how amazing I found this book, even more so today than I did back then.
At its heart, Descendant of the Crane is a book about morality. We all want to do the right thing, we all want to believe in the systems that have been put in place, and we all want to hope that the people around us are true, faithful, and honest. This book breaks down the concept of morality and truth and makes Hesina, our MC, question what is real and what is a veneer over a broken system.
What I love most about this book is that it showed the truth of humanity - no matter your position, your intentions, or your heart, humans are fallible and we make mistakes. Hesina makes choices that she believes are right and will lead her to the truth, but the brokenness of the system results in consequence after consequence, loss after loss. And she owns up to them, which is so rare to see, but you can see her taking accountability and bearing the weight of the losses on her shoulder.
The twist at the end still haunts me and I wish that we could've gotten a sequel for this one. Alas, not in the cards, but where it ends, there's hope for everyone left and I loved the potential we're left with.
Descendant of the Crane remains a favourite for me, and I definitely recommend picking this one up. I think it'll surprise you.
TW: death, grief, torture, violence, blood, injury detail, genocide, slavery, racism (of a magical group of people); mentions suicide, war, vomit
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
eARC gifted by Joan He's previous problematic publisher, so I won't be thanking them, but acknowledging the gifted copy.
At its heart, Descendant of the Crane is a book about morality. We all want to do the right thing, we all want to believe in the systems that have been put in place, and we all want to hope that the people around us are true, faithful, and honest. This book breaks down the concept of morality and truth and makes Hesina, our MC, question what is real and what is a veneer over a broken system.
What I love most about this book is that it showed the truth of humanity - no matter your position, your intentions, or your heart, humans are fallible and we make mistakes. Hesina makes choices that she believes are right and will lead her to the truth, but the brokenness of the system results in consequence after consequence, loss after loss. And she owns up to them, which is so rare to see, but you can see her taking accountability and bearing the weight of the losses on her shoulder.
The twist at the end still haunts me and I wish that we could've gotten a sequel for this one. Alas, not in the cards, but where it ends, there's hope for everyone left and I loved the potential we're left with.
Descendant of the Crane remains a favourite for me, and I definitely recommend picking this one up. I think it'll surprise you.
TW: death, grief, torture, violence, blood, injury detail, genocide, slavery, racism (of a magical group of people); mentions suicide, war, vomit
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
eARC gifted by Joan He's previous problematic publisher, so I won't be thanking them, but acknowledging the gifted copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Torture, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Vomit, and War
lilifane's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
To be honest, I only purchased this book because of the beautiful cover. I didn't even read the whole synopsis (because I never do), so I didn't expect much. All I knew was that it's Chinese inspired fantasy. I didn't even know it was young adult. When was the last time I read YA fantasy?!
Anyway, I really really really enjoyed it.
The world building was super interesting, the plot was SO much fun. Because there is also a murder mystery and a court trial and sooo many secrets and twists. It's full of things I like. And although it is fantasy, it clearly dealt with important current topics like racism, prejudices and fear of the unknown. (There is a scene where the protagonist recognises her own priviliges and it's just SO good.)
You follow Hesina, the crown princess of Yan. At the beginning of the book her father, the king, is poisened and so she has to start her rule way too early. And not only does she have to deal with some political issues (foreign and domestic) right away, but she also wants to resolve her fathers death and find his murderer.
I really liked the setting of this, the beautiful palaces and gardens with secret passage ways. Loved how complex the politics actually were and the way Hesina handled the situation. Usually in this kind of YA story, where the protagonists have to take over responsibility earlier than expected, they tend to be really bad at it and have to learn the basics first (so annoying). But here, Hesina immediately knows what to do. You realise that she has been preparing for this moment her whole life and she knows her duties and the rules of the court very well. Of course, she makes mistakes, but as a reader you never get the impression these were some stupid (newbie) mistakes. You always understand why she acts the way she does and it makes sense. You get the pros and cons, you see the problems every decision might cause, because there is no clear right or wrong, no clear black or white. And all actions have consequences, and unexpected things might happen, so you never knew what will happen next. Even if you think you do, you really don't.
Absolutely loved the mystery and the way it was uncovered step by step. I mean, some of it was pretty obvious but I was still surprised a few times. And the way Hesina made some of the discoveries was just SO cool.
Although I really liked the characters and their relationships and interactions (the family and friends dynamics are amazing), they still felt like plot devices somethimes. The mysteries around them felt a little too forced sometimes. But I wouldn't have minded, if they werent revealed the way they were. Which is also connected to the ending of the book. The last 40 pages were a wild ride, I tell you, and then the ending was basically a slap in the face.
You know how sometimes when you read a book and think it's the perfect standalone but then the author decides to stretch the plot really thin at the end just to make it a trilogy? This felt like the opposite, like me finishing an essay in university. "Oh, I reached the minimum page count for the assignment? Okay, let's wrap this up really quickly. Ah, I haven't explained the backstory of this character. Let's just write it down on half a page to get it over with."
So yeah, the ending felt really sudden and rushed. But it was also kind of cool the way it was handled? I'm conflicted. But I love the questions that arise at the end so much. What is actually good and what is bad? What makes a hero and what makes a villain? Is it better to stick to your ideals or do ends justify the means? I like that it's up to the reader to decide at the end.
I did some research after finishing the book btw. And I found some confusing information. There are people that say, this is a standalone. Then there are some who claim this is a standalone but there are options for companion novels. But then I also found an article that mentions a planned sequel? I mean, there are still some unanswered questions, some open mysteries. And the characters and the world are way too good to give them up completely. So if there is a sequel or a companion, I will definitely read it. I just hope these don't ruin the impact this book made had on me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Grief