The Sign of the Dragon

by Mary Soon Lee

Drawing on Chinese and Mongolian elements, award-winning poet Mary Soon Lee has penned an epic tale of politics, intrigue, and dragons perfect for fans of Game of Thrones and Beowulf.

As the fourth-born prince of Meqing, Xau was never supposed to be king. But when his three older brothers are all deemed unfit to rule and eaten by a dragon, as is the custom, Xau suddenly finds himself on the Meqinese throne. The early years of his reign are marred by brutal earthquakes and floods, and the long-simmering tension with the neighboring country of Innis finally erupts into war. Worst of all, demons rise out of legend to walk the realm again, leaving death and destruction in their wake. In a desperate gamble, Xau must broker an uneasy peace with his former enemies and hope their combined strength is enough to vanquish the demons before it's too late.

The Sign of the Dragon is comprised of over 300 individual poems, including the Rhysling-winning "Interregnum." The first 60 poems appeared in the 2015 Dark Renaissance Books publication Crowned, which won the 2016 Elgin Award, and many individual poems have appeared in award-winning literary magazines such as Fantasy & Science Fiction, Spillway, and Strange Horizons. Collected together in its entirety for the very first time, with over 200 never-before-published poems, readers can finally enjoy King Xau's story of sacrifice and war and dragons from beginning to end.

Genres: Fantasy, Poetry, Dragons, Politics, Adult, Novel In Verse

972 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 21, 2020

About the author

Mary Soon Lee was born and raised in London, but has lived in Pittsburgh for thirty years. She is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association, and three-time winner of both the AnLab Readers’ Award and the Rhysling Award. Her latest books are from opposite shores of the poetry ocean: How to Navigate Our Universe containing 128 astronomy poems, and The Sign of the Dragon, a novel-length epic fantasy told in poetry. She hides her online presence with a cryptically named website (marysoonlee.com) and an equally cryptic BlueSky account (@marysoonlee.bsky.social).

Reviews

[Goran Lowie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sign of the Dragon is a rarity. It’s hard to describe what makes it so great, so I will start with just describing what makes it unique: firstly, its structure (an epic fantasy novel written via 300-something poems) and secondly, its content (a story of a mythic figure, yet extremely personal).

I’ve never heard of a book of speculative poetry with this kind of ambition before. You’d think it would get old after the first hundred or so, but it only becomes more enchanting, immersing you like some epic poem of old. I found myself captivated by the rhythm of it all, the beauty of the words, the magic of its verses. Definitely worked very well for me.

But my favorite part was undoubtedly its story. The tale of King Xau is an inspiring one—in a conversation with Mary Soon Lee, she said people told her everyone is too kind in this book, and this is a sensible statement: nearly every poem, every moment, every fragment of this is saturated with kindness.

King Xau himself is the biggest reason for this: he exudes kindliness with every waking breath! It’s a contagious kind of thing, elevating him very quickly to a legendary status, with many tiny examples of his warmth and gentleness. Yet it never feels naïve—he suffers consequences, the good moments feel well-earned, he becomes this strange mix of a very human person yet a figure of myth.

There are some other hints throughout this story of this being a somewhat mythic tale—we are sometimes unsure whether everything truly happened as it is depicted, or whether this is some cultures version of e.g. the Odyssey. At other moments it clearly “breaks the fourth wall”, mentioning stuff which happens but will not be remembered by the historians.

It’s a very interesting narrative device. I don’t think this story would work as a novel. Neither do I think this will at all appeal to those who cherish grimdark (though it certainly gets dark at times), people who believe all people are fundamentally evil, that lord-of-the-flies crowd.

But if you are one of those Becky Chambers-loving, hopeful people who look for the positive in humanity, if you are someone who wants to read something truly experimental, a kind of multicultural hopepunk story with Guy Gavriel Kay-level emotions… You will love this book as I did. You will cherish the characters, the words and the lyricism.

Highly recommend. One of my favorites of the year. I hope to reread this next year—slowly, perhaps a poem a day, daily invigoration.

[Kathryn Atreides · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this with very little hope as I don’t usually enjoy poetry OR self-published novels, but I’ve seen it raved about enough that I figured I’d try it out for Fantasy Bingo.

What a relief I did! I would have hated to miss out on this almost 900 page epic poem. (Who is even writing Epic Poems anymore? I assumed that had fallen to the wayside fifty years ago. If Mary Soon Lee’s writing it though, I’ll be reading it.)

Recommend for people who liked The Goblin Emperor. The MC has a similar personality in that they’re trying to do and be good in a system that is full of bad.

Edit: On a re-read I like this even more, possibly due to seeing small details I hadn't picked up on during the initial read, but also because I still haven't ever found anything like this book. It's truly unique. Highly recommend the bluesky notes that Lee has posted for each poem, it was fun to get an author's insight into some of the poems and I especially liked getting to read the deleted stanzas and verses.

[Para (wanderer) · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 19%. I tried, I really did, the concept of a novel in verse seemed fantastic, but I underestimated my hatred of very plain free verse. I'm not averse to storytelling in verse, I loved Anne Carson's translation of three Oresteia plays. I liked Beowulf just fine, but I absolutely cannot stand the form used here. Some poems were alright, like Map, Crossing, Cure, but the narrative ones were an absolute struggle. No rhythm, no rhymes, no flow, barely any poetic figures. Nothing I'd find beautiful. It reads very easily, you won't have any trouble understanding what's going on, but I need more.

So it all depends on your poetry preferences. If you like the plain kind, you'll be just fine. The story seems to be very similar to The Goblin Emperor — the kind but neglected fourth son has to become king — and it's easy to read. But if you're an old school grump like me, probably no need to bother.

Enjoyment: 1/5
Execution: 4/5

More reviews on my blog, To Other Worlds.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this for the readalong started by my fellow r/Fantasy mod /u/oboist73, so a special thanks to her for making me aware of the existence of this excellent, excellent book. I may even forgive you (and Mary Soon Lee) after my heart heals up, but no promises.

For those who haven’t been doing the readalong - and there’s plenty of time to join in and get that Hard Mode bingo square! - the protagonist of this is Xau, the fourth son of a late king. With their father dead, his elder brothers have each in turn gone up a sacred mountain in their kingdom to ask the dragon that lives there to affirm them as king. Xau’s brothers were all judged unworthy, and devoured; the dragon saw worth in Xau, though, and named him king.

The book covers the reign of Xau, as he does all the things a king has to do: choose a wife (an act of diplomacy more than romance), court his vassals, fight off old rival nations eager to test the young king’s resolve, save the world from an eldritch monster who can control minds and delights in inflicting pain. You know, the usual kinging stuff. Xau baffles both his enemies and his advisors by being completely, uncompromisingly humanistic: he values the lives of everyone, subject or not, and utterly refuses to make the kind of realpolitic compromises that everyone assumes a king must do.

Delightfully, this entire book is one of poetry. Mary Soon Lee gives us a great variety of structures and forms of poetry, and from many perspectives. The king, his queen, his advisors, his children, his guards, his enemies, his friends, his enemies-turned-friends, the dragon, his cat - we get them all.

The story told in the poems is sweeping and epic, and a tragedy. Prepare to have your heart broken, again and again. It’s magnificent, and worth the heartache and the tissues. This book is pretty much the epitome of the hidden gem.

My blog

[L (Nineteen Adze) · Rating 5 out of 5]

First impressions: I love how much ground this book covers, walking through multiple wars in dozens of points of view without ever getting bogged down. The verse structure allows the reader to get to know a lot of people in a small space in a way that would make this book 1200 pages long and impossible to follow with a normal prose structure. I'm also a sucker for "this person who never wanted the throne tries their best to be a good monarch" stories, and I'd recommend it for other fans of things like The Goblin Emperor.

I do have to say that this is a "4.5 stars rounded up" situation, mostly because the first part was more effective for me than the second. There are some fascinating characters who have great moments in the first half but don't appear again, and the last 10% of the book was notably darker in a way that left me wishing for a little more falling action and exploration of certain characters. RTC.

[Beth Cato · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It's as close to perfect as a book can get, which is saying a lot, especially when I add that this is a novel-sized volume of fantasy poetry that truly reads like a novel.

The central character is King Xau, a fourth son never intended to be king. He never wanted to be king. Xau is a good human being, and that is one of the intense joys of this book. Even though it often deals honestly, graphically, with war and depravity, the verses are embodied with an overall positive message that good things happen when people strive to do good. We take that in through various viewpoints--Xau's, and those of dozens around him, from commoners in awe of a brief meeting to his avowed enemies to his beloved guards to the palace cat.

As a poetry book, it is entirely accessible. The verses flow, and emotions with them. This is a book that will make you FEEL. I can't even say how many verses brought tears to my eyes, and I had to fight sobs at the end.

I had read the first 60 poems in Mary Soon Lee's previous book Crowned (which I provided a blurb for), plus individual poems in a smattering of other publications. The Sign of the Dragon added 200 never-before-published poems to Xau's tale.

If you don't normally read poetry books, please, read this one. If you do read poetry, you'll be blown away at the beauty and flow of this novel told in verse. I already know this will be one of my favorites for the year. A favorite book, period.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this in July and have picked it up and put it down throughout the last six months not because I was struggling but because I had to pause along the way to truly take in the length and breadth of Xau's story. Having finally reached the end, I find myself bereft and in tears which is not a reaction I expected at all.

Someone else described this story as a rarity, and I think that is the perfect word for it. I have read a lot of epic poetry with a mythology degree under my belt, and this may be the first modern version I've ever read that captured the same epic structure and feeling without ever being pastiche. I have sojourned with Xau for an entire lifetime and every moment captured me in different ways, the fantasies, the realities, the dramatic highs and lows, the soft, small, human moments that build a legend.

Give this a chance if you come across it. Xau and everyone counted within his family will capture and utterly break your heart.

[Jay Brantner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sign of the Dragon is split into six sections with around 50 poems each, all detailing the reign of Xau, the kind-hearted, horse-loving, reluctant ruler of the Chinese-inspired nation of Meqing. The poems range in length from a single line to several pages, and they cover a wide cast of characters. Xau himself, of course, takes the lion’s share, but we frequently see poems from the perspective of his guards, and it’s not unusual to have poems from the perspective of servants, rulers of other nations, monsters, or even animals. With perhaps one exception, each of the six sections has its own major plot, but they build on each other, with the individual poems the threads in a truly epic tapestry.

I’m not a regular reader of poetry, and I won’t spend much time evaluating the poetic structures. The majority of the poems read like free verse, with the occasional rhyming or prose section immediately noteworthy as a change in perspective. But the poems themselves are often lovely, and the novel’s poetic structure gives it a tonal flexibility that I doubt would have been nearly so effective in a prose format.

Almost every section features some form of armed conflict, and the book never goes long between heart-wrenching deaths. But each section also includes plenty of moments of hope, celebration, or quiet pleasure. There are birthday gifts, fireworks shows, peaceful outdoor excursions, riddles, and more than a few jokes. And even when one of those moments happens shortly after a poem of loss, it doesn’t ring false. After all, many individual pieces cover only brief snapshots in the lives of the characters, and moments of levity within dark times are a fundamental part of the human experience. The poetic structure allows the story to jump between happy and sad moments without dedicating much space to transitional exposition that may break the narrative flow—it’s simply a story with a different narrative flow than you’d find in most prose.

The Sign of the Dragon is noteworthy for its depth of characterization, with the guards in particular developing rich personalities when they would blend into an amorphous unit in so many other stories. And they aren’t the only ones—there are plenty of other secondary characters who are eminently recognizable as fully-recognized individuals even when only garnering the occasional perspective poem. And yet, even with such a large cast, this is Xau’s story.

Fortunately, Xau is an absolutely delightful character. He’s unerringly kind and self-sacrificial to a fault. Of course, he’d not agree that it is a fault, and the combination of competence and unwavering character serve to make him an almost mythic figure worthy of such a sweeping epic. But the fact remains that his sacrifices cost. Did they not, he would read as so absurdly perfect that it’s difficult to invest in his story. But while his well of patience and selflessness may be unrealistically deep—not to mention a dash of magic that is literally the stuff of fantasy—he bears physical and psychological scars as the direct result of his actions. He loses friends and loved ones. He loses physical capacity and mental stability. And the accumulation of losses ground the narrative in a way that drives it home not as an exaggerated morality tale but as a gut-wrenching story about fallible people who become intensely sympathetic as the story progresses.

The somewhat episodic structure of the book’s six parts do represent a bit of a weakness, but not a debilitating one. Almost every section features the forging of human alliances and battles against deadly foes, whether human or supernatural. And in the first half of the novel, it works wonderfully. But in the fourth and fifth sections, when so many plot beats had already been seen before, the repetitiveness does take some of the shine off the magic. Not too much shine—it’s still an enjoyable read throughout, and it gathers together for a sixth part that provides a fitting and thrilling capstone for the novel as a whole. But. . . well, just like its main character, The Sign of the Dragon isn’t pure perfection, merely very, very good.

On the whole, it’s a beautiful story that I can’t imagine being told any other way. It’s thrilling, poignant, funny, uplifting, heartrending. It’s simultaneously poetic and easy to read, both wide in scope and eminently approachable. The Sign of the Dragon is a truly breathtaking epic, and one I highly recommend.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book to kick off 2025's /r/fantasy Book Bingo! The idea of telling a fantasy epic over a series of hundreds of poems, rather than as traditional long-form prose, was certainly an interesting one, and I think that technique worked well in The Sign of the Dragon.

Rather than telling the epic and tragic tale of King Xau traditionally, Mary Soon Lee told it over the course of hundreds of bite-sized poems. Most of the poems were less than a single page in length, with a handful of outliers spanning multiple pages, or just a few lines. The effect that this had was that it really highlighted the most important and necessary parts of the story. There was no fluff here, because each poem focused on a significant moment, character, or theme. It made me feel as if I the story was fading in and out of focus between poems, knowing that the world was moving on between each poem, but still maintaining that rich worldbuilding that traditional fantasy novels typically strive for. Additionally, because each segment of the story was a poem and not just a short snippet, it allowed Lee to be creative with the wording and structure of the text, and I just thought it worked wonderfully.

The story itself was great, too - drawing from real-world empires and dynasties to create a sort of alternate world that in some ways mirrors our own, but also expands beyond that to include magic and fantasy. King Xau, the focal point of the story, is a tragic character - always striving to do what is right, regardless of the consequences. It becomes apparent fairly early on the way that his arc will progress throughout the book, but the twists and turns to get there were still full of plenty of surprises. Alongside Xau, there is quite a cast of lovable and memorable characters - from the crass, but gold-hearted, King Donal, to Xau's inner circle of guards who are more like his brothers. Every character in this story felt fleshed out and real, which made their trials and struggles hit all the harder.

Overall, I really loved The Sign of the Dragon and would love to dive into more of Lee's works. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a "traditional" fantasy epic with a bit of a twist - it's not just a gimmick, it really works.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely incredible!

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of story this book holds is pretty incredible, I don't know if it would work written as a regular book but the poems give a realness to the main character. Definitely one of the harder books I've read as it requires your full attention throughout

[Ann Schwader · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an utterly beautiful, impressive, & occasionally heartbreaking reading experience! Having read Crowned, the first portion of this fantasy novel-in-poems, a few years ago, I was eager to see what the whole novel would be like -- and it did not disappoint. In fact, it turned out to be much more than I'd been expecting, both in quality & in scope.

Essentially, this is a multicultural epic fantasy. The protagonist, King Xau, rules a somewhat Chinese kingdom but has allies and enemies from other recognizable cultures. There is indeed a dragon, wise & dangerous. There are other monsters, sometimes wise and always dangerous. There are assassinations, royal weddings, strong women both good & evil, demons, dark magic, bloody battle scenes, and horses who will follow Xau without question. There is a final, agonizing quest.

And all of this is presented in finely-crafted, accessible poems that are nearly impossible to stop reading when it's way past your bedtime.

I'd recommend this to any fantasy reader, whether that reader is usually into poetry or not. The only catch -- for now, due to the pandemic -- is that it's only available for Kindle. It works perfectly well in that format, however (check your font size until the lines appear correctly), & is very inexpensive. For me, it was a perfect summer evening read in anxious times.

[Debbie is on Storygraph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing. It's a fantasy epic told completely in verse. The scope is incredibly ambitious, and the execution is perfect. The story follows King Xau, the fourth son who was never meant to be -- or wanted to be -- king. He is innately good, to the point that if the book was in prose, it would have been unbelievable. But as linked poems, threaded throughout with his selfless goodness, it read like Xau was a mythical figure and his goodness was just as mythical. Even when the book gets dark (and boy does it get dark, violent, and gruesome) Xau shines through.

By rights, this should not have worked. The story spanned Xau's rule and included some major upheavals in the political status quo. There's an evil queen, and a dragon who eats unworthy princes, and a sadistic six-eyed creature. And then peppered throughout are the quiet moments, of Xau spending time with his family, or training with his guards, or just being. And those are some of the most memorable poems.

Hopepunk at its finest!

[T. Frohock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mary Soon Lee can craft a better chapter in verse than most authors can with 10,000 words. This is an absolutely stunning work that I will read and reread.

[Maven_Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about the unlikely rise and reign of a reluctant prince, Xau, the fourth-born son in a realm where a dragon judges fitness to rule who becomes king under tragic circumstances, then must shepherd his kingdom through disaster, war, and the return of ancient horrors.

From the very start, something about the form of The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee made me feel I was witnessing something rare: an epic fantasy novel told entirely in verse. I loved how this structure allowed for a range of perspectives, not just Xau’s, but also guards, advisors, commoners, enemies, and even a palace cat creating a mosaic of experiences that enrich the world and its people.

Second, what struck me was how human and intimate this mythic story becomes through its poetry. I found myself moved by snapshots of quiet loyalty, grief, hopes, and regrets, moments that might have felt lost in a traditional prose epic but here hit with a fuller weight. Xau’s struggle to do right by his people, even when the cost is tremendous, resonated with me. At the same time the book doesn’t shy away from darkness: war, betrayal, and tragedy undercut the grandeur, reminding you that heroism lives in broken lands and scarred souls. Still, there’s a steady current of empathy, resilience, and in its small moments, kindness and hope. I emerged from the last page both heart-heavy and uplifted, grateful for having spent time in this world.

If I were to offer a gentle critique: the verse format, while beautiful, might feel challenging if you prefer conventional prose, and the enormous cast of voices could sometimes blur together, especially in the book’s darker or more chaotic stretches. But I think that is almost part of the point: to show how a kingdom is more than one person, and how a story is made of many lives, many pains, many small miracles.

Rating: 4/5 — This is a courageous, moving piece of work that melds poetry and epic fantasy into something rare and stirring. It didn’t always stay perfectly focused, but its heart, its ambition, and its compassion make it a book I’ll return to.

[Neha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sign of the Dragon is a fantastical epic about Xau, the unlikely king of Meqing, told in a series of over 300 poems. The story flows with the clarity and purpose of prose narrative, yet the medium of verse allows for beautiful imagery and emotional vulnerability to shine. Mary Soon Lee's poems are eminently readable and transport you effortlessly to palaces, plains, war tents, and battlefields. The story itself manages to be both a legendary recounting of the mythic King Xau, yet simultaneously an intimate look at his life and relationships with the people around him. It's those relationships that elevate the story; often poems are from the perspective of Xau's beloved guards or others who witness the king's actions and see him as not just a legendary king, but a man. Xau is beyond anything else, unflinchingly kind, and that kindness initially takes those around him by surprise, but then imbues others with loyalty, love, and purpose. I've never read anything quite this ambitious, unique, and enchanting.

[Cup-of-Noodles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a masterpiece!
I loved every character and moment we got to spend with them.
I loved King Xau and I thought there was so much depth to his character even if we mostly get to see his kindness.
My heart broke with some of the things that happened and I was shocked by others.
This might not be for everyone because it is an epic story told through verse, so if you don't like that kind of thing, this is not for you. Even though it was told in verse and the poems weren't all that long, I still had such an emotional connection to all the characters and they all felt very different from one another.
This may also not be for you if you're more into grimdark, morally grey characters because King Xau is an absolute gem and beautiful person, and as this is his story told through multiple years, if this type of character isn't your favourite, then keep this in mind.
For me this was perfect and I will sing its praises until I'm blue in the face.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't write many reviews, but this book is just so unusual & magnificent & underappreciated, I feel that I must sing its praises. I love both poetry & fantasy & this is one of the best combinations of the two I've ever read.

The story of King Xau reminds me of a Chinese-esque version of King Arthur: he is a surprise King, chosen by an otherworldly power (a dragon instead of the Lady of the Lake) who unites a fractious band of former enemies into dedicated allies, partially by his magic powers but mostly through the force of his personal charisma. Xau's guards are his Knights of the Round Table. Xau never sought to be King, but if Fate thrusts him into that role, he will be a great King. Whatever the cost.

I even became emotionally attached to some of the horses in the story. I LOATHE horses.

Thank you to Reddit's r/fantasy 2025 Book Bingo for introducing me to this book.

[Amanda M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of my favorite books of all time. Not a word misplaced, each poem a thing of beauty. I was moved to tears more than once. I don’t even like poetry that much! Would recommend to anyone.

[Kiersten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was really beautiful. Verse novels, especially free verse, are really hit or miss for me, but I was invested in this epic from pretty much the first poem. Beautiful character arcs; even minor characters feel realistic and complex. Rich in precisely-placed details that make the world come alive. I am absolutely going to reread this in the future.

[Jenny Blackford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just lovely, even though it made me cry quite a lot.

[Cassy V · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew this was a 5 star half way through. It was hard to get into at first, but I’m glad I pushed through. The author has a way of telling the story through verses that was so unique and captivating. I really enjoyed this book.

[Lucille Tallot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for r/fantasy Bingo 2024 : Self-published (HM : less than 100 reviews on Goodreads).

First time that I read fantasy poetry.
The book is a collection of more than 300 poems over 900 pages that follow the story of a fourth son forced to become king after his father and brothers die.
This is very much what I like to call optimistic fantasy where even if terrible things happen, there remains a sense of hope.

I am really impressed with the author's ability to convey so much emotions in so few words. It can be hard to start reading and to get used to the sentence structure but once I stopped thinking about that and just experienced the story, then it was very hard to stop.

I was a bit scared by the more than 900 pages but it reads very easily and quite fast.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An epic fantasy told entirely in verse - I would have not believed it something a modern author could pull off, but then I saw it was Mary Soon Lee. If you haven't experienced her poetry, you are missing out. She is a master of many forms, and utilizes dozens of them in this collection/novel/epic/chanson.

By paring down the story to the immediate, the visceral, the tiny moments and emotional mic-drops that poetry excels in, Soon Lee creates a story that aches in the best ways while also addressing some of the epic fantasy genre's tropes in new and unexpected ways. Oh, you had an immediate, psychic connection with that princess, so that you understood her the way no one else ever has? Yeah, that relationship is never going to work out, and it'll end up being humiliating and painful for both of you.

Mary Soon Lee manages to be nuanced and thoughtful even in her portrayals of cosmic horrors!

Also, I am a sucker for a hero who is actually heroic. He's so good and virtuous! Without that feeling pedantic or unrealistic.

My one complaint/warning is, well, there are a number of deaths, including deaths of horses. Epic fantasy plays for big stakes, yo. Keep some hankies on hand.

[Emma Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, emotional experience of reading a fantasy epic written through poetry. The poetry structure allows for a lot of story coverage with far fewer words. In the first 15% of the book, she's covered multiple battles, five years, and pretty much what an epic fantasy writer would take 900 pages to explain. This is bizonkers. She does a brilliant job of writing the perspective, sensory experience, emotional processing, psychological impact of events, and gradual development from multiple points of view, ranging from King Xau to his wife and children, his guards, his cat, other political players, and many other characters.

[C. Winspear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will update my review when I finish, but I'm 10% through and think this is my new favourite fantasy book.

I came with no preconceptions of poetry vs prose va length, I am just enjoying what is written. I love the beautiful moments, the swap between different styles, the many characters and their very natural stories (even the villains, especially the villains), the fast paced plot - all of it combined is amazing.

I recommend leaving behind expectations and enjoying this saphire hiding in the sand.

[Lars Spjut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing. Despite being an epic in verse, it was super accessible. Beautiful writing, beautiful story.

[Jane Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book. I'm not really a poetry reader, but that doesn't matter. Mary Soon Lee has used poems to weave a fantastic tale with lovable characters and detailed plots. Read it.

[Kat Mayerovitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea going into it how much I was going to adore this book. Our main character is a fourth son who was never meant to be king. But king he is, in a world where war is coming whether he wills it or not. We follow him through multiple perspectives over the course of 300+ poems. His own, his guards, his family, his rivals, people who glimpsed him once in passing. One of my favorite recurring POVs was the household cat, who cares literally nothing for politics, only treats and dealing with that annoying pigeon. Together, these perspectives form a mosaic of a man trying to be a different kind of ruler, and ultimately succeeding. Even if you don't normally care for stories in verse, this one is so, so worth trying.

CW: war, death, violence, suicide

[Jared Guertin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite book ever now. One review on the cover says "as close to perfect as a book can be" and I agree.

This book is structured uniquely in poetic form - the blurb compares it to Beowulf, but the poetic style is much more modern. It's not a single poems, but a collection of poems that weave together to tell a single story.

The story is exquisite. It follows the life and reign as king of Xau, a man who one can confidently say is purely good. He has his flaws, but they are not moral ones. Yet, he's not a vanilla hero - he's extremely compelling as a person, and his goodness transforms the world around him.

Lee seems to have mastered Tolkien's idea of the eucatastrophe - where things seem awful, but turn out alright. At the same time, the story is insanely filled with tragedy. It is the answering of tragedy by a good man that makes things turn out perhaps not "happy", but nonetheless fulfilled. It is a bittersweet story, but one of utter goodness in the face of evil.

The poetic form allows the story to be very free in its experimentation with point of view, allowing the reader to see the world not only through the eyes of Xau and his bodyguards and friends, but also through random foot soldiers, farmers, rival kings, the palace cat, and others. Especially poignant is the story's treatment of the perspective of women in the world, allowing them to hold their own dignity, concerns, competence in the world they live in without making them have the same role as men in order to have significance.

I don't know if the author is Christian, some parts of the writing seem to hint that she might not be, and yet Xau is one of the best-done Christ figures I have ever read. He really does take upon himself the dysfunction of the entire world, at great personal cost, and does so with nothing but sheer goodness, and a divine level of strength that comes with it.

Highly highly highly recommend. I would set this book at 18+. There is frank discussion of sex, though it is not gratuitous nor graphic, the book never led me to undue temptation. There is very graphic violence and gore, including genital mutilation, torture including against innocents and children, infant death, and the like - not for the faint of heart.