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A review by rlaferney
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
5.0
Dragon Pearl, part of the Rick Riordan Presents Imprint, and first in the Thousand Worlds series, is an impressive, multilayered middle grade space opera, penned by The Machineries of Empire trilogy author, Yoon Ha Lee. Like the The Machineries of Empire trilogy, Dragon Pearl is a wild ride of a story but one with a big heart. And it's quite imaginative blending Korean folklore into a space opera narrative.
The story is about a thirteen-year-old fox spirit named Min who has a powerful secret: she is disguised as a human; she can shape-shift and use magic to alter others' perceptions. Min wields these powers when she ditches her "dismal life" on the barren planet Jinju to track down her lost brother Jun, a Space Forces cadet who's gone AWOL, apparently on a quest to find a mystical object rumored to have tremendous powers. What she finds might break her heart or make her stronger.
The heart of this book is about siblings and friendship and the bonds of family. But, the worldbuilding - the tech and the magic - are all very fascinating too. There’s a glorious sense of wonder and eeriness that a lot of scifi I like conveys, and that’s present here too. This is science fantasy in many ways but it's not a rehash of say, Star Wars. It's a richly detailed, cohesive, original vision.
This book is brilliant, gorgeous, heartfelt, and exciting. We need more middle grade and scifi books like this one!
The story is about a thirteen-year-old fox spirit named Min who has a powerful secret: she is disguised as a human; she can shape-shift and use magic to alter others' perceptions. Min wields these powers when she ditches her "dismal life" on the barren planet Jinju to track down her lost brother Jun, a Space Forces cadet who's gone AWOL, apparently on a quest to find a mystical object rumored to have tremendous powers. What she finds might break her heart or make her stronger.
The heart of this book is about siblings and friendship and the bonds of family. But, the worldbuilding - the tech and the magic - are all very fascinating too. There’s a glorious sense of wonder and eeriness that a lot of scifi I like conveys, and that’s present here too. This is science fantasy in many ways but it's not a rehash of say, Star Wars. It's a richly detailed, cohesive, original vision.
This book is brilliant, gorgeous, heartfelt, and exciting. We need more middle grade and scifi books like this one!