Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame

by Neon Yang

Genres: Fantasy
Pages: 178
Rating:

Synopsis:

Yeva was thirteen when she killed her first dragon.

With her gift revealed, she was shipped away to the imperial capital to train in the rare art of dragon slaying. Now a legendary guildknight, she has never truly felt at home ever since that fateful day all those years ago. But she doesn’t need a home when she has her sacred duty. She has devoted herself wholly to the cause—she never even removes her armor in public. Few remember the girl she once was. She rarely remembers herself.

Yeva must now go to Quanbao, a fiercely independent and reclusive kingdom. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper—but instead loved and worshipped. It is rumored that there, they harbor a dragon behind their borders.

While Yeva searches for the dreaded beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao’s monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary of each other, Yeva is shocked to find herself slowly opening up to the beautiful, mysterious queen.

Will Yeva forsake her sacred duty and let Lady Sookhee see the person behind the armor, or will she cling to the ideals that she has called home for so long?

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Neon Yang’s Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame is a book I’m definitely getting for my sister once it’s out — which, to those who know me/my sister tells you something right up front, but I’ll elaborate for the rest of the world! There are dragons, a female protagonist, and a lesbian relationship, which also meets her criteria that the lesbians don’t come to a tragic end.

It’s also a story of belonging, of dislocation from culture and finding your way back into it, which I’m sure will resonate for a lot of readers, even if the stakes aren’t as high as these for most people. Yeva is initially very divorced from her body and her “foreign” appearance, hiding it all to make her own place among the guildknights, but rest assured: that isn’t allowed to stand unchallenged (while at the same time she maintains some bond to her adopted home, in the form of her one friendship).

It’s a novella, so we don’t get large-scale worldbuilding or a very slow build relationship, but what we do get works well for me: Yeva’s fumbling attempts to fit into her new place, her confused loyalties, and her growing feelings for Lady Sookhee.

I predicted the twist of the story fairly swiftly, but it was still satisfying to see it play out. I’d have loved a little more play with the strangeness of… well, a certain character (not Yeva), but maybe that would’ve given the game away too much.

Overall, I really liked it.

Rating: 4/5