The Red Threads of Fortune, by J. Y. Yang

The Red Threads of Fortune by J.Y.  Yang

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'll second all those who say to read The Black Tides of Heaven first. Though the events are loosely connected temporally, all the world building happens in the first book. The world is still involved, we have the magic-using Protectorate vs. the technological Machinists, and both are making progress. But that dynamic is only lightly explored and is peripheral to this story. It's really all about the relationships. Mother to child, husband and wife, and non-binary lovers all get an interesting treatment. Many reviews focus on the non-binary relationship between Mokoya and Rider, and it is in front, but what makes it interesting for me is the way Yang is able to set it with other, more familiar relationships that allow us cis-gendered readers a way to bridge in. I am partial to big-picture social and technical stories so maybe was not as interested in this, but it's still good. I began to tire a bit of Mokoya's getting in her own way, but that's real too. It just feels to me like if the author allowed herself double the pages she could actually double the depth, and we'd have something really special.



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Waiting On a Bright Moon, by J. Y. Yang

Waiting on a Bright Moon by J.Y.  Yang

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I read this on the TOR website. It just didn't evoke any particular feelings for me. The second person perspective was somewhat forced. The most generous interpretation I can come up with for the overall tone of the story is that we're watching (or, since it's second person, being) someone who has detached herself emotionally in order to deal with the disappointments of her life and her current status. That could have been conveyed by third person better, and allowed for more of the warmth later in the story to come in. It's nice, but not super memorable.



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Waiting on a Bright Moon

The Black Tides of Heaven, by J. Y. Yang

The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y.  Yang

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


There's a lot packed into this little book. The magical system, Slack, is interesting in itself (though we don't really learn much about it besides the fact that it is difficult to master). I think there's some significance in how it's named that may become more apparent later. It's also not a completely fantastic world--technology progresses, and things that can be done in Slack might also be accomplished without magic. This gives the relationships and the politics a more grounded feel.

All this is illustrated, rather than described, through the relationship of Akeha and Mokoya, twins who at the start have yet to declare their sexuality. The author is non-binary, which may account for why the non-binary nature of children and sexuality as a choice feel very natural, and contribute to the Otherness of the work as a reflection of ourselves.

Since it's part of a series I expect that all this is going to get filled in a bit. I think it will be worth it.



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