A review by mora55
Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi
Story One: Death and Night
This one was give-and-take for me, because we already kinda knew all of this from The Star-Touched Queen. The imagery was pretty, of course, because Roshani Chokshi is a master at working words, but nothing here was new? And it was just kinda floaty romance that you knew the ending to? Literally it was just floaty romance. They even did the stars-in-the-hair thing, and The Star-Touched Queen isn't my favorite anyway, so that could potentially be an influence? Sort of an "I wasn't super interested then so why would I be that interested now" type of thing.
Story Two: Poison and Gold
LOVE. This one was the best. I love Aasha and how she is so uniquely herself and how she rediscovers herself after trying to be what everyone else was.
I love how Aasha's trying to figure out what emotions are and how she grows to care for Zahril, and how Zahril makes an effort to overcome her prejudice against vishakanya for Aasha's sake.
I like how it is acknowledged that this is not immediate love, but it has the potential become more.
In this world, mortals can live for hundreds of years and no one bats an eye, but they can also have 'normal' lifespans, and no one questions either, and I love that. Everything is just so integrated, even though it's so different. I am reminded of that in this story, what with both Aasha and Zahril's backstories.
Story Three: Rose and Sword
Eh? It was fine? The message was solid - if you're just going to suffer later, why set yourself up for it - and then the resolution that it's better to love while you can than pushing everyone else away, even if it might hurt more later. (There's probably a more eloquent way of saying that but I'm tired and I ain't got it.) I like how Gauri was portrayed when she was old - not perfect, not always young, and a little about the state of the family and kingdom so much later. I was a little confused about some of the storytelling tendencies Gauri had and how her granddaughter didn't seem to know what was going on but also that she was told different versions? I don't know.
Thoughts, in Summary:
I liked how these were all in the Star-Touched world, because a) I like that world, and b) if I came for Star-Touched stories, I'm here for stories from that world. (However much I like Garth Nix, I come to [b:Across the Wall|47617|Across the Wall A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories (Abhorsen)|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1302829636s/47617.jpg|46630] and [b:To Hold the Bridge|23213811|To Hold the Bridge|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413487205s/23213811.jpg|42756234] for the Old Kingdom titular stories, not the random other short stories he's written.) And I liked how these were fairly long stories instead of just little 20-page deals.
I liked the messages in the second and third story. The first was eh, because there was nothing there but floaty romance. Aasha's story was my favorite.
(I got this as an ARC from Goodreads Giveaways)
This one was give-and-take for me, because we already kinda knew all of this from The Star-Touched Queen. The imagery was pretty, of course, because Roshani Chokshi is a master at working words, but nothing here was new? And it was just kinda floaty romance that you knew the ending to? Literally it was just floaty romance. They even did the stars-in-the-hair thing, and The Star-Touched Queen isn't my favorite anyway, so that could potentially be an influence? Sort of an "I wasn't super interested then so why would I be that interested now" type of thing.
Story Two: Poison and Gold
LOVE. This one was the best. I love Aasha and how she is so uniquely herself and how she rediscovers herself after trying to be what everyone else was.
"If Zahril wouldn't acknowledge what she'd done, then so be it.
She could do it herself.
'Aasha, you're an upstanding individual. And also almost obscenely attractive,' she said out loud. She patted her head. 'Your reward is a foot rub. That you will give. To yourself.'
And then she gave herself a round of applause.
Zahril stared."
I love how Aasha's trying to figure out what emotions are and how she grows to care for Zahril, and how Zahril makes an effort to overcome her prejudice against vishakanya for Aasha's sake.
I like how it is acknowledged that this is not immediate love, but it has the potential become more.
In this world, mortals can live for hundreds of years and no one bats an eye, but they can also have 'normal' lifespans, and no one questions either, and I love that. Everything is just so integrated, even though it's so different. I am reminded of that in this story, what with both Aasha and Zahril's backstories.
Story Three: Rose and Sword
Eh? It was fine? The message was solid - if you're just going to suffer later, why set yourself up for it - and then the resolution that it's better to love while you can than pushing everyone else away, even if it might hurt more later. (There's probably a more eloquent way of saying that but I'm tired and I ain't got it.) I like how Gauri was portrayed when she was old - not perfect, not always young, and a little about the state of the family and kingdom so much later. I was a little confused about some of the storytelling tendencies Gauri had and how her granddaughter didn't seem to know what was going on but also that she was told different versions? I don't know.
Thoughts, in Summary:
I liked how these were all in the Star-Touched world, because a) I like that world, and b) if I came for Star-Touched stories, I'm here for stories from that world. (However much I like Garth Nix, I come to [b:Across the Wall|47617|Across the Wall A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories (Abhorsen)|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1302829636s/47617.jpg|46630] and [b:To Hold the Bridge|23213811|To Hold the Bridge|Garth Nix|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1413487205s/23213811.jpg|42756234] for the Old Kingdom titular stories, not the random other short stories he's written.) And I liked how these were fairly long stories instead of just little 20-page deals.
I liked the messages in the second and third story. The first was eh, because there was nothing there but floaty romance. Aasha's story was my favorite.
(I got this as an ARC from Goodreads Giveaways)