Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Siren Queen

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Siren Queen, by Nghi Vo

8 reviews

sarah984's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I love Nghi Vo's novellas (When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain is one of my favourite books) but this book did not work for me. I'm not surprised to find in the author's note that chronologically this is their first novel because it really does feel like a debut. There is not enough story to sustain a full length novel, but somehow the book still feels long. The writing style is also extremely fanficcy (the "all [noun] and [noun]" physical descriptors, the characters making parenthetical interjections throughout for no reason) and the romances are silly and over the top. None of the prominent characters are that interesting, and the book does that annoying thing from historical fiction where the character lays out the hardships of a certain setting and then goes, "but not me though!" as if they're better than all the real people who went through those situations.

I will say though that the world was very interesting (even if we didn't get to see a lot of it) and the way the magic was used to emphasize real world issues was mostly well done.

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ghosthermione's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious

I’ve enjoyed every Nghi Vo story I’ve read so far, so I was very excited for this novel! Thank you to Tor Dot Com and Netgalley for giving me this free eARC in exchange for a fair review!

So far what I’d read from Vo were her two Asia-inspired novellas, which were a lot like fairy tales, so I wasn’t sure what to expect here. I’d say Siren Queen is more of a cross between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Last Night at the Telegraph Club, with added magical realism.

It’s very much about the experience of a Chinese American girl in the 1930s, racism, sexism and all. It’s very much a story about queer Hollywood. And, also, a story where “all the myths are true” and fae and monsters roam the studios of Hollywood and you gotta make bargains – with your voice, your talent, sometimes your body parts or your life – to get anywhere.

I found it very slow, in a positive way. It’s a book you want to read bit by bit and see more of this world unfolding. And you never truly know as much as you’d want about any of it. I don’t think the narrator knows everything she wants to know. I really enjoyed the fantastical atmosphere and the idea that anything (mostly something terrible) could happen at any time. The prose is lovely as always with Nghi Vo, and I may not have liked Luli as a person but I enjoyed seeing her develop as a character, and seeing where she was going next. I also had no clue where the story would go next, or how it would end, the whole time. I like a book that keeps me on my toes!

And throughout, this idea of queer joy that I love so much, despite the rough context of the 30s and despite the fantastical horror: queer characters embracing who they are, even if the world around them would see them as monsters – and grab what joy they can get. I don’t know why queer joy and this kind of horror mix so well but they somehow do.

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anxiousnachos's review

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dark mysterious slow-paced

4.5

4.5 stars. Siren Queen has again proved how much I adore Nghi Vo’s writing. She has such beauty and a delicate hand with her prose, it always feels like stepping out of a dream when I finish reading. I particularly loved the way folklore and mythology was embedded into Siren Queen, woven into the magic of the world and into the dark underbelly of Hollywood.

Content warnings: racism, slurs, homophobia, sexual harassment, abuse in Hollywood, misogyny, physical child abuse, blood and gore, self-mutilation, fire, sex, pregnancy, discussions of abortion

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aardwyrm's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Vo does beautiful and terrible like nobody else. Soft touches of magic add up to something deep and horrible in the best way. I'm not an Old Hollywood person at all, and was still transfixed by the deft wielding of the unreal.

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onestephatatime's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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enasbookshelves's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tordotcom for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Full disclosure: I took nearly two weeks to finish this book. In my defense, elections happened in my country. But apart from that, while films are meant to be consumed in one sitting, this magnificent book about what it takes to be in film is something to be chewed slowly and thoughtfully, for maximum impact. And wow, did it impact me! It’s only my second time reading anything by Nghi Vo, but her prose always seems to take the humble Declarative Sentence to a higher plane.

Every layer in Siren Queen is rich and adds value to the larger story; every fantasy element a brilliant, uncanny metaphor. In a world where it is cishet white men and their stories that are granted immortality, Nghi Vo empowers that which is rarely told, if told at all, but without pretending that the world has magically turned kinder towards everything that is not straight, white, or male. My only actual complaint is that there were too many transitory characters — mostly actors whom the main character meets once, or whose projects are mentioned in passing then are never heard from again — that made me glad that e-readers come with highlight and bookmark functions. Then again, is Hollywood not full of short-lived, meteoric careers behind, around, and in front of the camera?

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amandalorianxo's review

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adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Even though this book is somewhat shorter than some of the other novels I read this month, there was something about the language of this book that I wanted to take my time with. We explore a fantasy esque 1930’s side of L.A where legitimate monsters are in control of the movies and the stars in them. Our female MC develops a strong passion for being in movies but has hide parts of her that was a huge no, even way back then. Some might say there weren’t enough fantasy elements but I thought for a book less than 300 pages, there was enough fantasy to keep me occupied. Wei discovers her sexuality later in life but isn’t ashamed about being purely attracted to women. I think possibly my only… qualm would be the slight rush towards the end? I was hoping for a tad cleaner finish yet that doesn’t deter from the fact that this was is a great pick if you are looking to tip your toes into fantasy or are a fan of lite fantasy.

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pagesofbellerose's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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