An AudioFile Magazine Best Audiobook of 2018!
A Library Journal, Paste Magazine, and ENTROPY Best Books of 2018 pick!
Washington Post ""5 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Novel of 2018"" pick!
A Bustle ""30 Best Fiction Books of 2018"" pick!
āI have no doubt this will end up being the best fantasy debut of the year [...] I have absolutely no doubt that [Kuangās] name will be up there with the likes of Robin Hobb and N.K. Jemisin.ā -- Booknest
A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of Chinaās twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liuās Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisinās Inheritance Trilogy.
When Rin aced the Kejuāthe Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academiesāit was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldnāt believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rinās guardians, who believed theyād finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegardāthe most elite military school in Nikanāwas even more surprising.
But surprises arenāt always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly powerāan aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much aliveāand that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . .
Rinās shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.