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The Revenant of Surolifia
In the vein of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Unbroken, The Revenant of Surolifia is a gripping political fantasy of empire, identity, and impossible choices, where rebellion blazes in the streets, loyalty is a double-edged sword, and the price of peace may be too steep to pay.
Secrets are often liabilities, but sometimes they are power.
Lucas Rhine has seen enough violence. When the Empire of Colours slaughters 17,000 of his silver-eyed kin, Lucas buries his hatred, hides his eyes behind coloured lenses, and vows to become the imperial gendarmerie’s commander. He will liberate his annexed island home through a diplomatic secession.
Usurped prince Faye Phlorik wants his throne back. When violent revolutionaries help him escape from prison, he joins them. They need a silver-eyed champion to rally the people, and he needs their resources to defeat the gendarmerie.
When Faye’s escape costs Lucas his promotion, Lucas adds revenge to his list of reasons to stop the bloody revolution. While the two hunt each other across the country, the Empire's warships are landing in two weeks to exterminate everyone with silver eyes. If Lucas and Faye can't unite their forces against the imperial fleet, there will soon be nothing left of the people they're both trying to liberate.
Secrets are often liabilities, but sometimes they are power.
Lucas Rhine has seen enough violence. When the Empire of Colours slaughters 17,000 of his silver-eyed kin, Lucas buries his hatred, hides his eyes behind coloured lenses, and vows to become the imperial gendarmerie’s commander. He will liberate his annexed island home through a diplomatic secession.
Usurped prince Faye Phlorik wants his throne back. When violent revolutionaries help him escape from prison, he joins them. They need a silver-eyed champion to rally the people, and he needs their resources to defeat the gendarmerie.
When Faye’s escape costs Lucas his promotion, Lucas adds revenge to his list of reasons to stop the bloody revolution. While the two hunt each other across the country, the Empire's warships are landing in two weeks to exterminate everyone with silver eyes. If Lucas and Faye can't unite their forces against the imperial fleet, there will soon be nothing left of the people they're both trying to liberate.
416 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2026
About the author
Florence Chien
1 book20 followersFlorence Chien is a Chinese-Canadian writer of fantasy and historical fiction. She is also a co-host of #SmallPitch, a pitch event centered around connecting authors with independent publishers. Outside of writing, she is a commercial real estate lawyer, a connoisseur of coffee, and a fountain pen aficionado.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
✰ 2.75 stars ✰
The more I think about it, the more issues I seem to find that bothered me about Florence Chien's political fantasy debut. But to rate it any lower would be an unfair disservice, so 'tis what it is. Keeping this review spoiler-free—and short—will be difficult, but I'll do what I can. 💪🏻
When I began reading, I felt like I was missing a portion of the story, for so much of the plot was centered on background events. 😵💫 But as it progressed and intentions were revealed, I slowly began piecing together the history and the motives of the many forces vying to claim Al Senia's sovereignty. However, I felt there were too many reminders of past years. It felt distracting and confusing, especially when there were also a lot of characters to keep track of, too. A timeline, maybe, could've helped?
“His path was the long and lonesome journey of a lethal poison toward the heart of a behemoth.”
The arcane system of the Silvers—phenomancy and noumenmancy—was limited—deliberately so, and explained as it was displayed and understood by me, in the like. ✨ For as it was readily addressed, I was able to slowly familiarize myself with the scope of its power. It had some interesting facets to it that made the stakes higher - in the figurative sense, too.
Some of the internal musings were a bit repetitive, attempting to convey a single thought in every possible way. Two major reveals were a welcome surprise, but many of the other twists weren't as impactful. The dialogue and danger were evenly balanced, with some meaningful relationships, but I wish there had been more of Faye and Lucas. Even if not as a team, but somehow, crossing each other's paths more. 🥺
“Calculate all variables before every action and accept all consequences without regret.”
The blurb gave me the impression that Faye and Lucas's power play of duty and loyalty would be the focal point of the plot. But aside from their perspectives, there was another POV, a female one. A FMC that - to me—took away screen-time that could have allowed Faye's character to develop into a more compelling one. I felt he was underutilized. It sounds so anti-feminist when I say it like that, and I'm not.
But what always makes me cautiously hesitant when reading V.E. Schwab's books are that her FMCs tend to dominate the narrative with their presence. I felt that also became the case here; and that left me with a bitter aftertaste. 😒 The blurb felt like a purposeful misdirection - to me; I expected more of their dynamic, rather than a third party influencing much of the final outcome. 😮💨
“Sometimes, choices would drive a person to a precipice where there were no more choices.”
The ending was unexpected but hastily resolved and rather unfulfilling - usurped even of its true potential. 😐 Maybe that is the harsh truth of warfare, but I didn't feel like it was enough—not to celebrate, but to feel. Not all characters had their moment to shine, which was a shame as something still felt missing. I kept thinking we would even get a face-off between Faye and his first love, with how often it was mentioned, but it never came to fruition. 🤷🏻♀️
The author's Acknowledgements were well-intended and worth addressing. I liked Alex and Faye's short-lived dynamic, and I wish it had been explored more. The writing was very much like an anime—the emotions and actions felt like I was watching one. That first meeting between Faye and Lucas—loved it! 🤩 If only we had gotten more of Faye being a proactive prince rather than a passive one - even if I know, circumstances prevented him from being so; maybe I would feel less frustrated as to how I'm feeling now. 🙁
“We all have dreams, and we do what we must to realize them.”
The more I think about it, the more issues I seem to find that bothered me about Florence Chien's political fantasy debut. But to rate it any lower would be an unfair disservice, so 'tis what it is. Keeping this review spoiler-free—and short—will be difficult, but I'll do what I can. 💪🏻
When I began reading, I felt like I was missing a portion of the story, for so much of the plot was centered on background events. 😵💫 But as it progressed and intentions were revealed, I slowly began piecing together the history and the motives of the many forces vying to claim Al Senia's sovereignty. However, I felt there were too many reminders of past years. It felt distracting and confusing, especially when there were also a lot of characters to keep track of, too. A timeline, maybe, could've helped?
“His path was the long and lonesome journey of a lethal poison toward the heart of a behemoth.”
The arcane system of the Silvers—phenomancy and noumenmancy—was limited—deliberately so, and explained as it was displayed and understood by me, in the like. ✨ For as it was readily addressed, I was able to slowly familiarize myself with the scope of its power. It had some interesting facets to it that made the stakes higher - in the figurative sense, too.
Some of the internal musings were a bit repetitive, attempting to convey a single thought in every possible way. Two major reveals were a welcome surprise, but many of the other twists weren't as impactful. The dialogue and danger were evenly balanced, with some meaningful relationships, but I wish there had been more of Faye and Lucas. Even if not as a team, but somehow, crossing each other's paths more. 🥺
“Calculate all variables before every action and accept all consequences without regret.”
The blurb gave me the impression that Faye and Lucas's power play of duty and loyalty would be the focal point of the plot. But aside from their perspectives, there was another POV, a female one. A FMC that - to me—took away screen-time that could have allowed Faye's character to develop into a more compelling one. I felt he was underutilized. It sounds so anti-feminist when I say it like that, and I'm not.
But what always makes me cautiously hesitant when reading V.E. Schwab's books are that her FMCs tend to dominate the narrative with their presence. I felt that also became the case here; and that left me with a bitter aftertaste. 😒 The blurb felt like a purposeful misdirection - to me; I expected more of their dynamic, rather than a third party influencing much of the final outcome. 😮💨
“Sometimes, choices would drive a person to a precipice where there were no more choices.”
The ending was unexpected but hastily resolved and rather unfulfilling - usurped even of its true potential. 😐 Maybe that is the harsh truth of warfare, but I didn't feel like it was enough—not to celebrate, but to feel. Not all characters had their moment to shine, which was a shame as something still felt missing. I kept thinking we would even get a face-off between Faye and his first love, with how often it was mentioned, but it never came to fruition. 🤷🏻♀️
The author's Acknowledgements were well-intended and worth addressing. I liked Alex and Faye's short-lived dynamic, and I wish it had been explored more. The writing was very much like an anime—the emotions and actions felt like I was watching one. That first meeting between Faye and Lucas—loved it! 🤩 If only we had gotten more of Faye being a proactive prince rather than a passive one - even if I know, circumstances prevented him from being so; maybe I would feel less frustrated as to how I'm feeling now. 🙁
March 5, 2026
It was SO GOOD. Lucas is the GOAT and I will not hear any disagreement. That's it. That's the review.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This review was originally published on Before We Go Blog
3.5 stars
Thank all that is holy for the algorithm working in my favour for once because literally a week ago I had never even heard of The Revenant of Surolifia, and then suddenly Florence Chien was everywhere on my radar and I did not waste a single second to dive into this book. I mean, a brutally dark and complex political fantasy that feels like a baroque-flavoured mash-up of The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Tigana, and Inception full of revolution, mind magic, and enemies who actually stay enemies instead of making out after two mildly tense conversations? Yeah, sign me the hell up.
Now, the prologue to The Revenant of Surolifia is probably one of the strongest and most “oh shit” openings I have read in ages, and it instantly had me hooked. On the one hand, I absolutely loved that for me, but on the other hand I also have to admit that I think the book set the bar a little too high for itself because after the timeskip I kept waiting for the story to hit that same level again, and it never quite did for me. Not because it got bad, because it absolutely did not, but because this story turned out to be a lot different in tone than what I had anticipated.
I mean, between the promise of magical bank heists, cons, blackmail, hidden identities, uncertain loyalties (all of which there are!), and the hilariously disastrous pitch of ‘two emotionally constipated idiots working against each other toward the same goal because they can’t get their shit together, and a much more competent young woman who singlehandedly saves the country because she has had enough of their moping’, I had somehow convinced myself The Revenant of Surolifia was going to be a dark yet fun romp with a lot of wit and cheek, when in reality this thing is unapologetically complex, serious, and filled with enough political factions, schemes, and proper nouns to cause temporary spiritual exhaustion (thank all that is holy for a glossary on the author’s website). Which you might love or you might hate, and I honestly still do not quite know where I fall on that spectrum.
See, there is no denying that Florence Chien’s sheer ambition and imagination are truly awe-inspiring, and I think the Guy Gavriel Kay-esque lush prose, rich atmosphere, and strong thematic core of The Last Revenant of Surolifia absolutely shine. The baroque-inspired setting felt immersive, decadent, and oppressive in the best possible way to me, and I loved the morally messy exploration of identity, colonisation, oppression, diplomacy, and the cost of rebellion. The whole arcane science vibe with the mind-manipulating noumenmancy and material-altering phenomancy magic also had me completely enamoured, especially because Chien weaves it so masterfully into every single aspect and layer of the narrative that it quickly proves to be so much more than ‘just a cool flashy dual magic system’.
However, there was just a certain je ne sais quoi missing for me to fully get invested in the characters and stakes of the story, and I thought the dynamic between my stubborn colonel Lucas and my fugitive pickpocket prince Faye had so much more potential (though not in a romantic sense, before anyone starts projecting AO3 tags onto this review). See, these messy men are absolutely drenched in trauma, secrets, guilt, grief, and emotional repression as they are both forced to hide their silver-eyed identity from their abusive colonizers, and yet I felt like I was frustratedly staring at all their hurt and turmoil through a beautifully crafted stained glass window instead of actually feeling it. A lot of the complexity and weight lies in events prior to the start of the story, and I just kept waiting for the book to dig deeper into their backstories and emotional messiness instead of repeating the same thoughts over and over.
I do have to say that my dangerously ambitious merchant’s daughter Elsa actually completely stole the show for me as the third POV character, and I loved how she quickly proved herself to be almost the only person in The Revenant of Surolifia with anything resembling competence or emotional stability. Sure, she might have taken even more focus away from the emotional core with Lucas and Faye, but I honestly did not mind because she just kicks ass and completely won me over. I really enjoyed how she brought some of the more romantic vibes into the narrative that I thought I was gonna get elsewhere, and her journey to prove her worth was truly a wild emotional rollercoaster.
Ultimately, I truly came to appreciate and enjoy The Revenant of Surolifia after some adjustment of expectations on my part, and I loved how it all wrapped up with such a bold, brutal, and beautifully bittersweet ending that was exactly the kind of emotional gutpunch I was wanting from this story all along. It’s an ambitious, messy, politically dense, occasionally frustrating, but undeniably impressive standalone debut, and I highly recommend it if you like the kind of political fantasy that demands a lot of brainpower, but which absolutely rewards you for your patience by the end.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own. The Revenant of Surolifia is scheduled for release on 7 July 2026.
3.5 stars
Thank all that is holy for the algorithm working in my favour for once because literally a week ago I had never even heard of The Revenant of Surolifia, and then suddenly Florence Chien was everywhere on my radar and I did not waste a single second to dive into this book. I mean, a brutally dark and complex political fantasy that feels like a baroque-flavoured mash-up of The Traitor Baru Cormorant, Tigana, and Inception full of revolution, mind magic, and enemies who actually stay enemies instead of making out after two mildly tense conversations? Yeah, sign me the hell up.
Now, the prologue to The Revenant of Surolifia is probably one of the strongest and most “oh shit” openings I have read in ages, and it instantly had me hooked. On the one hand, I absolutely loved that for me, but on the other hand I also have to admit that I think the book set the bar a little too high for itself because after the timeskip I kept waiting for the story to hit that same level again, and it never quite did for me. Not because it got bad, because it absolutely did not, but because this story turned out to be a lot different in tone than what I had anticipated.
I mean, between the promise of magical bank heists, cons, blackmail, hidden identities, uncertain loyalties (all of which there are!), and the hilariously disastrous pitch of ‘two emotionally constipated idiots working against each other toward the same goal because they can’t get their shit together, and a much more competent young woman who singlehandedly saves the country because she has had enough of their moping’, I had somehow convinced myself The Revenant of Surolifia was going to be a dark yet fun romp with a lot of wit and cheek, when in reality this thing is unapologetically complex, serious, and filled with enough political factions, schemes, and proper nouns to cause temporary spiritual exhaustion (thank all that is holy for a glossary on the author’s website). Which you might love or you might hate, and I honestly still do not quite know where I fall on that spectrum.
See, there is no denying that Florence Chien’s sheer ambition and imagination are truly awe-inspiring, and I think the Guy Gavriel Kay-esque lush prose, rich atmosphere, and strong thematic core of The Last Revenant of Surolifia absolutely shine. The baroque-inspired setting felt immersive, decadent, and oppressive in the best possible way to me, and I loved the morally messy exploration of identity, colonisation, oppression, diplomacy, and the cost of rebellion. The whole arcane science vibe with the mind-manipulating noumenmancy and material-altering phenomancy magic also had me completely enamoured, especially because Chien weaves it so masterfully into every single aspect and layer of the narrative that it quickly proves to be so much more than ‘just a cool flashy dual magic system’.
However, there was just a certain je ne sais quoi missing for me to fully get invested in the characters and stakes of the story, and I thought the dynamic between my stubborn colonel Lucas and my fugitive pickpocket prince Faye had so much more potential (though not in a romantic sense, before anyone starts projecting AO3 tags onto this review). See, these messy men are absolutely drenched in trauma, secrets, guilt, grief, and emotional repression as they are both forced to hide their silver-eyed identity from their abusive colonizers, and yet I felt like I was frustratedly staring at all their hurt and turmoil through a beautifully crafted stained glass window instead of actually feeling it. A lot of the complexity and weight lies in events prior to the start of the story, and I just kept waiting for the book to dig deeper into their backstories and emotional messiness instead of repeating the same thoughts over and over.
I do have to say that my dangerously ambitious merchant’s daughter Elsa actually completely stole the show for me as the third POV character, and I loved how she quickly proved herself to be almost the only person in The Revenant of Surolifia with anything resembling competence or emotional stability. Sure, she might have taken even more focus away from the emotional core with Lucas and Faye, but I honestly did not mind because she just kicks ass and completely won me over. I really enjoyed how she brought some of the more romantic vibes into the narrative that I thought I was gonna get elsewhere, and her journey to prove her worth was truly a wild emotional rollercoaster.
Ultimately, I truly came to appreciate and enjoy The Revenant of Surolifia after some adjustment of expectations on my part, and I loved how it all wrapped up with such a bold, brutal, and beautifully bittersweet ending that was exactly the kind of emotional gutpunch I was wanting from this story all along. It’s an ambitious, messy, politically dense, occasionally frustrating, but undeniably impressive standalone debut, and I highly recommend it if you like the kind of political fantasy that demands a lot of brainpower, but which absolutely rewards you for your patience by the end.
Thank you to the author for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own. The Revenant of Surolifia is scheduled for release on 7 July 2026.
Read
January 5, 2026A big thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC of the book!
THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA is clever and intricate, a complex web of political intrigue driven by strategy, revolution, sacrifice, loyalty and deception. Chien elegantly explores the struggle for change and a better future, the collision of solutions and beliefs, and what it means to be a good leader.
THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA is clever and intricate, a complex web of political intrigue driven by strategy, revolution, sacrifice, loyalty and deception. Chien elegantly explores the struggle for change and a better future, the collision of solutions and beliefs, and what it means to be a good leader.
December 1, 2025
"He was an omen, a curse, the harbinger of misfortune."
Sarah beat me to being the first review, but I agree completely with how utterly amazing this book is! As a lover of intricate stories, Revenant has one of the most meticulously detailed magic systems I've encountered in a while with a complex plot weaving in genuinely unexpected ways, and a fully realized world stretching far beyond the pages that left me hungering for more!
TRoS is a dream book that feels like it was written just for me; for hardcore political fantasy fans; and for anyone looking to spend hours lost in a story that challenges its reader. It is intelligent and lovingly crafted with an ending that will sit in your stomach. Forget ASoIaF: THIS is how you do political intrigue that fucks severely.
I'm happy my master plan of getting to know Florence to read an early copy worked (← this is a joke, Florence is just a really kind person and fantastic writer)
If you liked Paprika, Superliminal, or Catch Me If You Can I really think you'll love this! Personally, I need a movie adaptation beamed into my eyeballs as soon as possible!!
Meme ratings of character I found most notable, from the absolute favourites those on extremely thin ice:
- Elsa: Surrounded by mid men at all times. Please call me, let's get you out of there so you can take a break in the Republic
- Alex: Fruity, smart, AND ? you could have had it all
- Lucas: Shadowboxing paranoid phantoms while Faye dances rent free through his mind. Not sold on him at first until
- Faye: A little confused but he got the spirit. Trying his best but can't escape the failguy allegations. Pookiebear <3
- Connery: An earnest Guy whose eventual dynamic with is really sweet
- Bromont: There is something wrong with this man. I need to study him under a microscope, for science reasons
- Hayden: Love a child and help heal his grief or be super cryptic and give him a massive hero-slash-survivor's guilt complex that traumatizes him even further?
- Rio: Gets the bombastic side eye. On the list ONLY because he cares for Elsa. Your dad is the worst by the way
Sarah beat me to being the first review, but I agree completely with how utterly amazing this book is! As a lover of intricate stories, Revenant has one of the most meticulously detailed magic systems I've encountered in a while with a complex plot weaving in genuinely unexpected ways, and a fully realized world stretching far beyond the pages that left me hungering for more!
TRoS is a dream book that feels like it was written just for me; for hardcore political fantasy fans; and for anyone looking to spend hours lost in a story that challenges its reader. It is intelligent and lovingly crafted with an ending that will sit in your stomach. Forget ASoIaF: THIS is how you do political intrigue that fucks severely.
I'm happy my master plan of getting to know Florence to read an early copy worked (← this is a joke, Florence is just a really kind person and fantastic writer)
If you liked Paprika, Superliminal, or Catch Me If You Can I really think you'll love this! Personally, I need a movie adaptation beamed into my eyeballs as soon as possible!!
Meme ratings of character I found most notable, from the absolute favourites those on extremely thin ice:
- Elsa: Surrounded by mid men at all times. Please call me, let's get you out of there so you can take a break in the Republic
- Alex: Fruity, smart, AND ? you could have had it all
- Lucas: Shadowboxing paranoid phantoms while Faye dances rent free through his mind. Not sold on him at first until
- Faye: A little confused but he got the spirit. Trying his best but can't escape the failguy allegations. Pookiebear <3
- Connery: An earnest Guy whose eventual dynamic with is really sweet
- Bromont: There is something wrong with this man. I need to study him under a microscope, for science reasons
- Hayden: Love a child and help heal his grief or be super cryptic and give him a massive hero-slash-survivor's guilt complex that traumatizes him even further?
- Rio: Gets the bombastic side eye. On the list ONLY because he cares for Elsa. Your dad is the worst by the way
Want to Read
March 13, 2026this sounds SO GOOD
June 23, 2026
5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Honestly the cover and blurb immediately caught my attention, I love a book with beautiful character art. I put off reading this ARC for a bit because I knew it was quite long, but this ended up being such an incredible read. I haven’t enjoyed such a complex and compelling read since Alchemised.
If you (like me) are tired of reading the same book filled with the same tropes, over and over again, then this book is a much needed breath of fresh air. This is a dark political fantasy with an intricate plot that requires your undivided attention. It is filled with twists, moral dilemmas, manipulation, questioning loyalties, and of course, rebellion. This took some time getting into, especially considering all of the proper nouns, but once I was in I was completely hooked. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the unique and absolutely fascinating mind magic system.
I adored both Lucas and Faye. They are complex, well-developed characters whose motivations remain understandable even when their choices are difficult. I was also pleasantly surprised when a third POV was introduced. Elsa quickly became my favorite character, and I loved seeing how these three were interconnected. As the narrative unfolds, there is no shortage of angst, tension, and heartbreak. The ending was emotionally devastating and I still need to recover.
This is an incredibly strong debut and a must-read for fans of political fantasy. Even readers who don't typically gravitate toward the genre may find themselves surprised by how captivating it is. I can't wait to see what Chien writes next.
Release Date: July 7th, 2026
Thank you so much to the author, publishers, and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly the cover and blurb immediately caught my attention, I love a book with beautiful character art. I put off reading this ARC for a bit because I knew it was quite long, but this ended up being such an incredible read. I haven’t enjoyed such a complex and compelling read since Alchemised.
If you (like me) are tired of reading the same book filled with the same tropes, over and over again, then this book is a much needed breath of fresh air. This is a dark political fantasy with an intricate plot that requires your undivided attention. It is filled with twists, moral dilemmas, manipulation, questioning loyalties, and of course, rebellion. This took some time getting into, especially considering all of the proper nouns, but once I was in I was completely hooked. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the unique and absolutely fascinating mind magic system.
I adored both Lucas and Faye. They are complex, well-developed characters whose motivations remain understandable even when their choices are difficult. I was also pleasantly surprised when a third POV was introduced. Elsa quickly became my favorite character, and I loved seeing how these three were interconnected. As the narrative unfolds, there is no shortage of angst, tension, and heartbreak. The ending was emotionally devastating and I still need to recover.
This is an incredibly strong debut and a must-read for fans of political fantasy. Even readers who don't typically gravitate toward the genre may find themselves surprised by how captivating it is. I can't wait to see what Chien writes next.
Release Date: July 7th, 2026
Thank you so much to the author, publishers, and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 19, 2026
Review of advance reader copy received from Author.
If you like your fantasy to be politically complex, full of unexpected twists and gritty realism, then The Revenant of Surolifia is the book for you! A thoroughly captivating page-turner, especially through the last act, as the various characters collide and come together to change the destiny of their divided nation.
With the overabundance of medieval fantasy on bookshelves, I think we’re long overdue the full arrival of the revolutionary/gaslamp fantasy era — and Chien has established herself as an exemplar of the subgenre with this debut. From a military double-agent to a revolution-funding banker to an industrial heiress-turned academic, the characters in this story do a great job of exploring the untapped potential of this era.
Fair warning: you do get tossed right into the action. I found it took me a few chapters to orient myself with the different characters, tumultuous relationships, history/politics of the world, and the dual magic system of noumenmancy/phenomancy. But I recommend sticking with it because there’s so much richness once you get settled into the story.
A few favourite elements were the Lucian-Elsa relationship , and
But the themes explored are also a big part of what made this story shine for me: how the persecution faced by Silvers was coupled with a genuine danger they posed to others, how the author exploring the struggle between doing one’s duty and doing what was right… I could go on, but just read the book and enjoy it for yourself!
If you like your fantasy to be politically complex, full of unexpected twists and gritty realism, then The Revenant of Surolifia is the book for you! A thoroughly captivating page-turner, especially through the last act, as the various characters collide and come together to change the destiny of their divided nation.
With the overabundance of medieval fantasy on bookshelves, I think we’re long overdue the full arrival of the revolutionary/gaslamp fantasy era — and Chien has established herself as an exemplar of the subgenre with this debut. From a military double-agent to a revolution-funding banker to an industrial heiress-turned academic, the characters in this story do a great job of exploring the untapped potential of this era.
Fair warning: you do get tossed right into the action. I found it took me a few chapters to orient myself with the different characters, tumultuous relationships, history/politics of the world, and the dual magic system of noumenmancy/phenomancy. But I recommend sticking with it because there’s so much richness once you get settled into the story.
A few favourite elements were the Lucian-Elsa relationship , and
But the themes explored are also a big part of what made this story shine for me: how the persecution faced by Silvers was coupled with a genuine danger they posed to others, how the author exploring the struggle between doing one’s duty and doing what was right… I could go on, but just read the book and enjoy it for yourself!
Want to Read
March 24, 2026🌌✨ The Revenant of Surolifia ✨🌌
📖 Bookish Thoughts
I’ll be sharing my full review closer to publication date. But I absolutely loved this!
🖤 What to Expect
• ⚔️ Political fantasy
• 👁️ Hidden identity
• 🏛️ Empire oppression
• 🔥 Revolution vs diplomacy
• 🖤 Morally gray characters
• ⏳ Race against time
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: July 7, 2026
📝 Thank you to Rising Action Publishing Co. and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
📖 Bookish Thoughts
I’ll be sharing my full review closer to publication date. But I absolutely loved this!
🖤 What to Expect
• ⚔️ Political fantasy
• 👁️ Hidden identity
• 🏛️ Empire oppression
• 🔥 Revolution vs diplomacy
• 🖤 Morally gray characters
• ⏳ Race against time
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: July 7, 2026
📝 Thank you to Rising Action Publishing Co. and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.
Read
July 11, 2026“Dreams brought them together and dreams sent them down their separate paths, but as long as they stood opposed to each other, some of their dreams were destined to shatter.” — Lucas Rhine
After the fall of his home, Lucas Rhine hides his identity to infiltrate the enemy that took everything from him. As long as he can be made the Commander of the imperial gendarmerie, the freedom of his people can be secured without any more carnage.
The captured Pickpocket Prince Faye Phlorik is the last obstacle standing in Lucas' way, but the revolutionaries know this too. Their successful rescue overturns twelve years of strategising, and Lucas is left scrambling to salvage his plans as Faye joins the revolution with the promise of becoming their future King.
Meanwhile, heiress Elsa Fontaine lives in a beautiful illusion of safety, woven by her mother after the loss of her beloved first family. But when history threatens to repeat itself in her new home, she's forced to join the fight alongside a childhood friend she never expected to see again.
⬦ Multi-POV Epic Gaslamp Dark Fantasy
⬦ Hidden Identity & Mind Magic
⬦ Belle Époque & Baroque-inspired Setting
⬦ Complex Relationships & Angst
⬦ Morally Gray Characters & Unreliable Narrator
Emotionally-repressed pretty men fumbling the bag until competent women have to step in and rescue the operation? 😍 Exactly what I’m here for!
Jokes aside, The Revenant of Surolifia weaves a wonderfully complex tale through the sometimes intersecting POVs of three main characters: Lucas, Faye, and Elsa. All three are convinced of their own (sometimes dubious) paths, yet share the common dream of restoring their people's freedom.
Among the three, I adored Lucas' voice the most, as he's the one who pushes most of the plot into motion. Occasionally an unreliable narrator (especially when it comes to understanding how others might perceive him) plus incredibly morally gray, Lucas with all his paranoia and distrust of everyone surrounding him was such a fascinating character POV (side note: I am now the president of the Lucas x Happiness fan club 😂 ).
I also enjoyed Elsa's character development, which felt like a mirror to Lucas' earlier journey that we didn't get to see, while Faye's brash and spontaneous personality acted as a refreshing foil to the other two.
The plot itself had many twists and turns that leveraged the extensive worldbuilding of the story, and I also found the magic system of phenomancy and noumenmancy to be especially unique! Still agonized that this is a standalone because I'll be waiting forever for a prequel, sequel, novella ... anything please!! 🙏
After the fall of his home, Lucas Rhine hides his identity to infiltrate the enemy that took everything from him. As long as he can be made the Commander of the imperial gendarmerie, the freedom of his people can be secured without any more carnage.
The captured Pickpocket Prince Faye Phlorik is the last obstacle standing in Lucas' way, but the revolutionaries know this too. Their successful rescue overturns twelve years of strategising, and Lucas is left scrambling to salvage his plans as Faye joins the revolution with the promise of becoming their future King.
Meanwhile, heiress Elsa Fontaine lives in a beautiful illusion of safety, woven by her mother after the loss of her beloved first family. But when history threatens to repeat itself in her new home, she's forced to join the fight alongside a childhood friend she never expected to see again.
⬦ Multi-POV Epic Gaslamp Dark Fantasy
⬦ Hidden Identity & Mind Magic
⬦ Belle Époque & Baroque-inspired Setting
⬦ Complex Relationships & Angst
⬦ Morally Gray Characters & Unreliable Narrator
Emotionally-repressed pretty men fumbling the bag until competent women have to step in and rescue the operation? 😍 Exactly what I’m here for!
Jokes aside, The Revenant of Surolifia weaves a wonderfully complex tale through the sometimes intersecting POVs of three main characters: Lucas, Faye, and Elsa. All three are convinced of their own (sometimes dubious) paths, yet share the common dream of restoring their people's freedom.
Among the three, I adored Lucas' voice the most, as he's the one who pushes most of the plot into motion. Occasionally an unreliable narrator (especially when it comes to understanding how others might perceive him) plus incredibly morally gray, Lucas with all his paranoia and distrust of everyone surrounding him was such a fascinating character POV (side note: I am now the president of the Lucas x Happiness fan club 😂 ).
I also enjoyed Elsa's character development, which felt like a mirror to Lucas' earlier journey that we didn't get to see, while Faye's brash and spontaneous personality acted as a refreshing foil to the other two.
The plot itself had many twists and turns that leveraged the extensive worldbuilding of the story, and I also found the magic system of phenomancy and noumenmancy to be especially unique! Still agonized that this is a standalone because I'll be waiting forever for a prequel, sequel, novella ... anything please!! 🙏
July 9, 2026
The Revenant of Surolifia has several elements I really enjoyed; it's an action-packed, dark fantasy with a unique magic system, and political maneuvering that kept me relatively invested in the story. Unfortunately, I found the lack of background information and explanation of the magic system left me feeling a bit underwhelmed by the end. I was pleasantly surprised that the author wasn't afraid to kill off characters, literally no one had plot armor and a lot of them went absolutely through it. I would've loved The Revenant of Surolifia if it could've been made into maybe a duology or series, with the first book being the past, off-page events and invasion that would've added so much more to this book. I will most likely keep up with Florence Chien, as I believe they have a great writing style and potential to be an author I'll love.
Thank you to Rising Action Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!
Thank you to Rising Action Publishing, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!
Read
July 7, 2026RTC
Review of advance copy
I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via Booksirens and the publishers.
[Overview]
✍️ Writing Style: 3.5/5
📖 Plot / Storyline: 3/5
🌙 Character Depth: 2.5/5
🔥Character Interactions: 2.5/5
If you expect a big focus on the MM pairing than this book is not for you. However, if you like a unique fantasy world and an interesting female POV alongside the intriguing male characters, than this book could be for you! I can't stress this enough, this is not a romance story, to be fair it's not tagged as one but I think people could get the expectation that there will be romance. That's what I expected (lol my bad) but it's not, Lucas and Faye only interact at the beginning and the end and they weren't even romantically into each other (unfortunately). So in short: This is a political stand-alone fantasy book.
I will also give a trigger warning for mention of child trafficking, I feel like this is important to note and I will elaborate on it in the spoiler section.
[Spoiler-free Section]
I'll be real, Elsa and the unique world carried this book hard for me. If it weren't for those two I would rate it a little lower, so I think 3 stars is a good compromise.
This author is very promising, I would say. The writing is smooth, though I feel like there could be more emotion. The ideas are great and even though I struggle with political fantasies I think this book does it well for the most part. But the pacing needs some work, it feels a little slow and like nothing much is happening, as if we are stuck somewhere. Technically things are happening but it feels like very little is contributing to the overall plot. As others have mentioned before, Elsa's presence should've been mentioned in the blurb as she is more of a protagonist than Faye. And I love Elsa! I think she's the best character, but from the blurb you get the feeling it's about Lucas and Faye and it's not. At least not about them TOGETHER. It's about these three on their own, only slightly interwoven.
Noumenmancy is so damn interesting, I really love this. Just in general I love dreams/memories. This is not simple mind-reading, Lucas is getting into Faye's subconcious through dreamlogic and it's written beautifully. Big, big props to the author for such an interesting concept. That's what I'm looking for in fantasy books.
I appreciate that this book, despite it's vast and interesting worldbuilding, doesn't bombard us with it like other fantasy books do. There is no major exposition-dumping. However, and that could just be my taste and not objective, I feel like the pace of the story leans towards slow.
It's also a little confusing to be dropped into the story while everyone already has established relationships. Since the relationships are already formed there is no need to tell us what happened before as it's not relevant for the characters in the world, but it's relevant as a reader to be informed of this. It's unfortunate, because I think the characters are quite interesting and their connections are intriguing, especially Elsa is slowly becoming my favourite as she interacts with so many people, but I'm just left wanting more, wondering how these relationships even formed in the first place. Coupled with the writing that isn't very emotional, you are just kinda… left confused and wanting more of the characters. And I can't stress this enough: The characters are intriguing as hell! I just wish we had better interactions between them, I wanted to get to know them on an emotional level, but this is more about the plot than them.
I'll be real with you the ending was shocking, but also… abrupt? Like, what even happened, what was the endgame here? It feels like nothing was achieved. It felt like we were meandering around for the whole time and suddenly we jumped off a cliff. It's so unfortunate, there was so much potential here and I think if this was a series, or if the pacing was different, than this could've been much better.
So all in all I did enjoy the concept, but the execution fell a little flat for me. It was not easy to get through this book and I'll be honest that could also just be on me. I think my criticism is fair but I will also admit that maybe political plot heavy fantasies aren't for me and I may have misunderstood something, because I thought there would also be a focus on the characters as people not just the plot.
[Spoiler Section]
[Overview]
✍️ Writing Style: 3.5/5
📖 Plot / Storyline: 3/5
🌙 Character Depth: 2.5/5
🔥Character Interactions: 2.5/5
If you expect a big focus on the MM pairing than this book is not for you. However, if you like a unique fantasy world and an interesting female POV alongside the intriguing male characters, than this book could be for you! I can't stress this enough, this is not a romance story, to be fair it's not tagged as one but I think people could get the expectation that there will be romance. That's what I expected (lol my bad) but it's not, Lucas and Faye only interact at the beginning and the end and they weren't even romantically into each other (unfortunately). So in short: This is a political stand-alone fantasy book.
I will also give a trigger warning for mention of child trafficking, I feel like this is important to note and I will elaborate on it in the spoiler section.
[Spoiler-free Section]
I'll be real, Elsa and the unique world carried this book hard for me. If it weren't for those two I would rate it a little lower, so I think 3 stars is a good compromise.
This author is very promising, I would say. The writing is smooth, though I feel like there could be more emotion. The ideas are great and even though I struggle with political fantasies I think this book does it well for the most part. But the pacing needs some work, it feels a little slow and like nothing much is happening, as if we are stuck somewhere. Technically things are happening but it feels like very little is contributing to the overall plot. As others have mentioned before, Elsa's presence should've been mentioned in the blurb as she is more of a protagonist than Faye. And I love Elsa! I think she's the best character, but from the blurb you get the feeling it's about Lucas and Faye and it's not. At least not about them TOGETHER. It's about these three on their own, only slightly interwoven.
Noumenmancy is so damn interesting, I really love this. Just in general I love dreams/memories. This is not simple mind-reading, Lucas is getting into Faye's subconcious through dreamlogic and it's written beautifully. Big, big props to the author for such an interesting concept. That's what I'm looking for in fantasy books.
I appreciate that this book, despite it's vast and interesting worldbuilding, doesn't bombard us with it like other fantasy books do. There is no major exposition-dumping. However, and that could just be my taste and not objective, I feel like the pace of the story leans towards slow.
It's also a little confusing to be dropped into the story while everyone already has established relationships. Since the relationships are already formed there is no need to tell us what happened before as it's not relevant for the characters in the world, but it's relevant as a reader to be informed of this. It's unfortunate, because I think the characters are quite interesting and their connections are intriguing, especially Elsa is slowly becoming my favourite as she interacts with so many people, but I'm just left wanting more, wondering how these relationships even formed in the first place. Coupled with the writing that isn't very emotional, you are just kinda… left confused and wanting more of the characters. And I can't stress this enough: The characters are intriguing as hell! I just wish we had better interactions between them, I wanted to get to know them on an emotional level, but this is more about the plot than them.
I'll be real with you the ending was shocking, but also… abrupt? Like, what even happened, what was the endgame here? It feels like nothing was achieved. It felt like we were meandering around for the whole time and suddenly we jumped off a cliff. It's so unfortunate, there was so much potential here and I think if this was a series, or if the pacing was different, than this could've been much better.
So all in all I did enjoy the concept, but the execution fell a little flat for me. It was not easy to get through this book and I'll be honest that could also just be on me. I think my criticism is fair but I will also admit that maybe political plot heavy fantasies aren't for me and I may have misunderstood something, because I thought there would also be a focus on the characters as people not just the plot.
[Spoiler Section]
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you to Florence Chien (author, friend, enabler of my impending derangement) for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
To the tune of that one TikTok sound, “there’ll be a day when Florence Chien agrees to let you have an arc of her book, it’s very important you ignore her.”
Honestly don’t read this book, it will devastate you.
Okay yes I’ve given it five stars. I’m a sadist I’ve never pretended otherwise.
I came to the author with the offer of internal organs for an early copy, she was generous and didn’t accept so much as a gallbladder. I could have given her every organ I and my ex boyfriends possess, and honestly I’d still feel undercharged.
There is so damn much to scream about with this book that I'm having trouble quantifying it for short-form review purposes. aka given a forest-worth of paper and a decade to type, I'd still not have enough room to describe just how much I loved this.
For a very sprawling fantasy with so many historic elements, The Revenant of Surolifia is impressively intimate. This gives a narrow view of a world in building chaos, imagine being in one specific trench during WWII, and lets you attach yourself to characters like a limpet, and you can't not love them. Bombs are going off at every corner, bullets are flying and you feel and fear every piece of wayward shrapnel.
This book has a strong and varied cast, focusing on Faye (my baby), Lucas (my secondborn) two men fighting towards ultimately the same goal, if with very different ways of getting there [and usually getting in each other's ways while they do.] They are a deposed prince and a living legend haunted by past mistakes. When I say the historical elements of this story, I mean this book drips with the past and the impact it left on the current. It feels less fantastical more biographical in just how much depth Chien gives to motive and fear of every character.
No stone goes unturned here, yet never does the plot lag. The author sets a brutal, racing pace which can be best described the way of only the best symphonies. I felt my heart racing with every step closer to one of the most fantastic climaxes I think I've ever read. This was one of the most intriguing political fantasies I've read in ages and I loved that we saw it from all angles. From the (de-pedestalled) very high to the very low. The impact could be felt on the richtor scale, it's inescapable as a driver to plot and character. Entirely addictive.
This is a headhopping book which is usually a pet-peeve of mine, but I found no perspective boring or uncompelling. I wanted to see the bloodshed from every single angle, because Chien has a fantastic way of painting detail in so many different voices. No two characters sound the same and they each, particularly Faye and Scarlett, have something spectacular to add to the plot.
My only real problem was, Jesus H Christ the PROPER NOUNS. There's no "that person brought me a drink," "the senator raised his hand in agreement." Everything had a name and a title and honestly, especially a bit early on I got a bit overwhelmed. Everyone important to the plot is well-established, I had no issues remembering them, and don't generally mind some world-fleshing out with a few extra faces. But I don't need to know the uncle's cat's name (an exaggeration but not a massive one.) Chop those in half and you'd probably lose twenty pages.
Actually I didn't want this any shorter so ignore that complaint. I wanted it waaaaaaaaaaay longer.
Okay yeah scratch what I said at first, absolutely read this book it was incredible. I will never heal, but it was beyond incredible.
Ms Chien had better lock her goddamn doors though. I’m bringing snacks and emotional damages.
To the tune of that one TikTok sound, “there’ll be a day when Florence Chien agrees to let you have an arc of her book, it’s very important you ignore her.”
Honestly don’t read this book, it will devastate you.
Okay yes I’ve given it five stars. I’m a sadist I’ve never pretended otherwise.
I came to the author with the offer of internal organs for an early copy, she was generous and didn’t accept so much as a gallbladder. I could have given her every organ I and my ex boyfriends possess, and honestly I’d still feel undercharged.
There is so damn much to scream about with this book that I'm having trouble quantifying it for short-form review purposes. aka given a forest-worth of paper and a decade to type, I'd still not have enough room to describe just how much I loved this.
For a very sprawling fantasy with so many historic elements, The Revenant of Surolifia is impressively intimate. This gives a narrow view of a world in building chaos, imagine being in one specific trench during WWII, and lets you attach yourself to characters like a limpet, and you can't not love them. Bombs are going off at every corner, bullets are flying and you feel and fear every piece of wayward shrapnel.
This book has a strong and varied cast, focusing on Faye (my baby), Lucas (my secondborn) two men fighting towards ultimately the same goal, if with very different ways of getting there [and usually getting in each other's ways while they do.] They are a deposed prince and a living legend haunted by past mistakes. When I say the historical elements of this story, I mean this book drips with the past and the impact it left on the current. It feels less fantastical more biographical in just how much depth Chien gives to motive and fear of every character.
No stone goes unturned here, yet never does the plot lag. The author sets a brutal, racing pace which can be best described the way of only the best symphonies. I felt my heart racing with every step closer to one of the most fantastic climaxes I think I've ever read. This was one of the most intriguing political fantasies I've read in ages and I loved that we saw it from all angles. From the (de-pedestalled) very high to the very low. The impact could be felt on the richtor scale, it's inescapable as a driver to plot and character. Entirely addictive.
This is a headhopping book which is usually a pet-peeve of mine, but I found no perspective boring or uncompelling. I wanted to see the bloodshed from every single angle, because Chien has a fantastic way of painting detail in so many different voices. No two characters sound the same and they each, particularly Faye and Scarlett, have something spectacular to add to the plot.
My only real problem was, Jesus H Christ the PROPER NOUNS. There's no "that person brought me a drink," "the senator raised his hand in agreement." Everything had a name and a title and honestly, especially a bit early on I got a bit overwhelmed. Everyone important to the plot is well-established, I had no issues remembering them, and don't generally mind some world-fleshing out with a few extra faces. But I don't need to know the uncle's cat's name (an exaggeration but not a massive one.) Chop those in half and you'd probably lose twenty pages.
Actually I didn't want this any shorter so ignore that complaint. I wanted it waaaaaaaaaaay longer.
Okay yeah scratch what I said at first, absolutely read this book it was incredible. I will never heal, but it was beyond incredible.
Ms Chien had better lock her goddamn doors though. I’m bringing snacks and emotional damages.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
WOW okay I just finished reading this and I am gutted. The ending pulled no punches and really stuck to the themes of war being a destructive force that cares little who it harms. There is violence and there is death, no one is safe and anyone who survives does so with tremendous guilt and sorrow but the hope of a better future.
The set up for the conflict in this book is based on an event in the past known as the Fall of Surolifia, we come to find out the details of this event over time which led to a great mystery element while reading the book That was also great because there were no long expository paragraphs.. The kingdom of Surolifia and their leaders, The Vesparins were overthrown by Frederique Sullivan of The Empire killing thousands in the process. Surolifia was targeted because they had and could harness Etherite, a mineral that grants the power of Noumenmancy to its users, bleaching their hair and eye color and turning them into Silvers. Etherite and Noumenmancy were outlawed after the fall and silvers became second rate citizens in their own lands, mistreated and always looked at with disdain and suspicion. For this reason many silvers use contact lenses and hair dye to pass as non silvers in every day life. Rebels led by Lucian Vesparin, the surviving son, is fighting for freedom against the empire albeit in a very violent way. The empire vs rebel fight is central to the story, with our main characters Elsa, Lucas, and Faye all thrust into the middle of things for various reasons. This story starts with a prologue that gets us directly into the action and things continue at an intense pace the entire novel. I did not find the plot lagging at all and was constantly engaged. There are many action scenes and they are very well done. The magic system contributes to the action as well and is quite unique - there are Pheonancers who manipulate material and Noumenmancers who manipulate minds.
Lucas & Faye are excellent and my main complaint is that they have very limited interactions throughout the story even though they have a great dynamic that I wanted more of. Based on the blurb, I was expecting more of a focus on their pairing but a third female character Elsa is introduced early on and becomes very central to the story. I do wish her character had been included in the blurb somewhere as she at certain points overshadowed the 2 male leads and I did not expect that going into things. Regardless, Elsa is a great character as well so I did her enjoy her despite being surprised at how central she was to the story. Also shoutout to some great side characters - Rio, Hayden, Martha, and Connery, who made the story even better. There were also some great side villains who added obstacles for our characters outside of the main threat of the empire.
Thank you Florence Chien, Rising Action Publishing, and NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!
#TheRevenantofSurolifa
The set up for the conflict in this book is based on an event in the past known as the Fall of Surolifia, we come to find out the details of this event over time which led to a great mystery element while reading the book That was also great because there were no long expository paragraphs.. The kingdom of Surolifia and their leaders, The Vesparins were overthrown by Frederique Sullivan of The Empire killing thousands in the process. Surolifia was targeted because they had and could harness Etherite, a mineral that grants the power of Noumenmancy to its users, bleaching their hair and eye color and turning them into Silvers. Etherite and Noumenmancy were outlawed after the fall and silvers became second rate citizens in their own lands, mistreated and always looked at with disdain and suspicion. For this reason many silvers use contact lenses and hair dye to pass as non silvers in every day life. Rebels led by Lucian Vesparin, the surviving son, is fighting for freedom against the empire albeit in a very violent way. The empire vs rebel fight is central to the story, with our main characters Elsa, Lucas, and Faye all thrust into the middle of things for various reasons. This story starts with a prologue that gets us directly into the action and things continue at an intense pace the entire novel. I did not find the plot lagging at all and was constantly engaged. There are many action scenes and they are very well done. The magic system contributes to the action as well and is quite unique - there are Pheonancers who manipulate material and Noumenmancers who manipulate minds.
Lucas & Faye are excellent and my main complaint is that they have very limited interactions throughout the story even though they have a great dynamic that I wanted more of. Based on the blurb, I was expecting more of a focus on their pairing but a third female character Elsa is introduced early on and becomes very central to the story. I do wish her character had been included in the blurb somewhere as she at certain points overshadowed the 2 male leads and I did not expect that going into things. Regardless, Elsa is a great character as well so I did her enjoy her despite being surprised at how central she was to the story. Also shoutout to some great side characters - Rio, Hayden, Martha, and Connery, who made the story even better. There were also some great side villains who added obstacles for our characters outside of the main threat of the empire.
Thank you Florence Chien, Rising Action Publishing, and NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!
#TheRevenantofSurolifa
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Trigger warnings for: mentions of child forced into sex work, sexual slavery, non-consensual sex,
Words mean things, and the words used to say something make a difference between someone understanding you, and someone being confused. So many passages in this book are stilted and clunky, overwrought and overwritten, chosen more for the style or feel of the word rather than the substance, the meaning, or the natural flow of the sentence. I appreciate authors using a larger vocabulary in their books, but I do wish more of them would also use the dictionary alongside their thesaurus.
My biggest problem with the writing is that — for the most part — the author’s voice is clear and their storytelling is solid. But then they suddenly turn their focus on the style of a sentence, and everything comes to a halt. And not a graceful one. It feels more like a traffic jam, with the pacing, the plot, and the characters all staggering into one another as everything waits for the grandiosity to have its moment before it flaunts its way out of the room with accompanying similes. You can tell when a scene is supposed to be important because of the way the language shifts, and I found it very distracting.
And it’s a shame because there is something here. The world building is solid — if slightly overexplained, as if the book wants to make sure all the breadcrumbs were found, and to make sure I knew what every character was thinking and feeling and knew — and the plot works. The magic system is interesting and the characters have some honestly strong moments. When the book is working, it’s a pleasant read. For the mos part nothing is forced, and while parts of it are labored and predictable, I don’t think that’s necessarily a detriment to the book, but when those moments of style hit, they hit hard and suddenly what was a harmless read becomes a chore.
The plot itself requires patience from the reader. There are a lot of threads to be woven together and the book begins halfway in with so much of the backstory slowly revealed in conversations and monologues as the book goes on. It’s well put together, but not always showcased to its best advantage, I think. Some moments needed less time than they were given while a few others — especially near the end — needed more. Faye’s relationship with Alex was underdeveloped, while his time with Hayden showcased both Faye’s personality and how the weight of his dreams for the future shaped him.
To be honest, this reads very much like the debut book of a promising author. The pacing isn’t there and I think the author needs to have more confidence in their voice. This book isn’t bad, but I’m on the fence as to whether I’d call it good. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
Words mean things, and the words used to say something make a difference between someone understanding you, and someone being confused. So many passages in this book are stilted and clunky, overwrought and overwritten, chosen more for the style or feel of the word rather than the substance, the meaning, or the natural flow of the sentence. I appreciate authors using a larger vocabulary in their books, but I do wish more of them would also use the dictionary alongside their thesaurus.
My biggest problem with the writing is that — for the most part — the author’s voice is clear and their storytelling is solid. But then they suddenly turn their focus on the style of a sentence, and everything comes to a halt. And not a graceful one. It feels more like a traffic jam, with the pacing, the plot, and the characters all staggering into one another as everything waits for the grandiosity to have its moment before it flaunts its way out of the room with accompanying similes. You can tell when a scene is supposed to be important because of the way the language shifts, and I found it very distracting.
And it’s a shame because there is something here. The world building is solid — if slightly overexplained, as if the book wants to make sure all the breadcrumbs were found, and to make sure I knew what every character was thinking and feeling and knew — and the plot works. The magic system is interesting and the characters have some honestly strong moments. When the book is working, it’s a pleasant read. For the mos part nothing is forced, and while parts of it are labored and predictable, I don’t think that’s necessarily a detriment to the book, but when those moments of style hit, they hit hard and suddenly what was a harmless read becomes a chore.
The plot itself requires patience from the reader. There are a lot of threads to be woven together and the book begins halfway in with so much of the backstory slowly revealed in conversations and monologues as the book goes on. It’s well put together, but not always showcased to its best advantage, I think. Some moments needed less time than they were given while a few others — especially near the end — needed more. Faye’s relationship with Alex was underdeveloped, while his time with Hayden showcased both Faye’s personality and how the weight of his dreams for the future shaped him.
To be honest, this reads very much like the debut book of a promising author. The pacing isn’t there and I think the author needs to have more confidence in their voice. This book isn’t bad, but I’m on the fence as to whether I’d call it good. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
Review of advance copy
My gripes with this story boil to two main issues:
1. We have an entire protagonist who is absent from the blurb and proceeds to be the Main protagonist throughout the course of the story. The plot revolves around this newly introduced surprise protagonist which caught me on the back foot as I was expecting two protagonists only, a prince and a soldier and then a scholar is added in. The author has commented on this absence being due to text limits, but that doesn’t feel like a good enough reason to miss out an entire protagonist.
2. The world feels untethered and under-explained to an audience approaching this story for the first time. Characters have prior alliances and betrayals and grievances against each other which the reader isn’t made slightly aware of until a good chunk of time passes. Similarly, the world structure is complex and difficult to grasp with sovereign states and annexed countries and territories involved without any backing on who they are to each other. A map, a character list, even just an exposition dump under the guise of a mission briefing, Something, please.
It’s also highly amusing to me that enough people (myself included) went 👀enemies to lovers BL? That the author felt the need to comment on it. The vibe is far more present in the start of the book than continues through it as there’s barely any face to face interaction between them.
The political machinations are present but the plot often falls to convenience to allow one character or another to catch up and it is complicated by the lack of explanation or history for the story established. It almost feels like the second book in a series because of it. There’s a slight romance B-plot that is instantaneous for one and underdeveloped for the other two.
The magic system suffers as well as it isn’t explained until too deep in the story, leaving the reader to sink or swim in the confusion of the first quarter, which is unfortunate as a lot of seriousness of the opening needs this understanding.
Amongst all that, it is an interesting story. There’s a lot of pieces in play and it makes for a compelling read to see the twists and turns that the story takes, and when the characters are together, they work well like two sides of a coin. I just would’ve liked to see more of it.
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the ARC!
1. We have an entire protagonist who is absent from the blurb and proceeds to be the Main protagonist throughout the course of the story. The plot revolves around this newly introduced surprise protagonist which caught me on the back foot as I was expecting two protagonists only, a prince and a soldier and then a scholar is added in. The author has commented on this absence being due to text limits, but that doesn’t feel like a good enough reason to miss out an entire protagonist.
2. The world feels untethered and under-explained to an audience approaching this story for the first time. Characters have prior alliances and betrayals and grievances against each other which the reader isn’t made slightly aware of until a good chunk of time passes. Similarly, the world structure is complex and difficult to grasp with sovereign states and annexed countries and territories involved without any backing on who they are to each other. A map, a character list, even just an exposition dump under the guise of a mission briefing, Something, please.
It’s also highly amusing to me that enough people (myself included) went 👀enemies to lovers BL? That the author felt the need to comment on it. The vibe is far more present in the start of the book than continues through it as there’s barely any face to face interaction between them.
The political machinations are present but the plot often falls to convenience to allow one character or another to catch up and it is complicated by the lack of explanation or history for the story established. It almost feels like the second book in a series because of it. There’s a slight romance B-plot that is instantaneous for one and underdeveloped for the other two.
The magic system suffers as well as it isn’t explained until too deep in the story, leaving the reader to sink or swim in the confusion of the first quarter, which is unfortunate as a lot of seriousness of the opening needs this understanding.
Amongst all that, it is an interesting story. There’s a lot of pieces in play and it makes for a compelling read to see the twists and turns that the story takes, and when the characters are together, they work well like two sides of a coin. I just would’ve liked to see more of it.
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the ARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks Netgalley and the published for the ARC!
This is a complex political fantasy with a stellar concept. I'm not always a big fan of enemies to lovers where one is on the side of the oppressor, and the other is oppressed. While this can be done well, I often feel like it lessens the impact of the whole conflict. To be clear, this book is not a romance between the two main characters. But they do start out as enemies, only rather than being on opposite sides, they actually have the same ultimate goal, they just have such different methods that it puts them in each other's way, and they might need to kill each other to succeed. Which doesn't seem helpful if you're both trying to free your home from the empire that conquered it.
Lucas has seen enough death. In the past, he witnessed the deaths of thousand of silver eyed people like him at the hands of the empire. So instead of starting a revolution that would see many more dead, he joins the gendarmerie (kind of inbetween police and army), aiming to get to the very top, where he'll have the political power to secede from the empire peacefully. While this seems naive, the book does make it seem plausible he would be able to do this. Unfortunately, when our second main character Faye escapes his custody, he loses a promotion. He'll need to kill Faye to finally get to this point. The book synopsis mentions this is about revenge, but I never really got that idea. Lucas could be difficult to stomach as a character sometimes, especially in how cruel he could be towards revolutionaries despite sharing their goal. He is very single minded on his method, and it was very interesting to see how isolated this made him, since beyond one old teacher he rarely sees, no one knows who he truly is or what he's doing. As a result, he's very emotionally repressed. I found him really interesting, and his story quite sad.
The other main character is Faye. He is a deposed prince, whose brother now has his throne. Said brother has completely surrendered to the empire, and Faye wants to aid in a revolution to reclaim his throne so he can free his people from the empire. While I think he and Lucas are supposed to be the same age, Faye read a bit younger than him, and where Lucas is serious and calculated, Faye is a bit more chaotic and doesn't always know what he's doing. I found him charming, but would have loved to see him developed a little more yet.
The third POV is another character who is not mentioned in the synopsis at all. She is a character who gets roped into the schemes, and is someone who used to be like a sister to Lucas. There's also a bit of something romantic between her and Lucas, but this never really goes anywhere. I found the romance aspect to their relationship a bit weird because initially she's introduced as something more akin to a sibling, but I did enjoy her character. She's a bit more level headed than the other two main characters.
I think the greatest weakness of this book is that a lot has happened before the start of the story, and it took me a bit too long to piece the entire timeline together. For a long time, I thought the conquest and the deaths Lucas witnessed happened long before Faye was exiled as a prince, but it later turned out the deaths were actually a consequence of what happened with Faye. I think this book could also have benefited from some flashbacks, to really make the reader feel the weight of what happened to Lucas and Faye in the past, because both carry a lot of trauma, but it can be difficult to piece together what happened exactly. I also would have liked a little more interaction between Faye and Lucas, for the most part they're both pursuing their own schemes.
Would recommend this to fans of complex political fantasy who love the concept of enemies who share the same goal, but not the methods
This is a complex political fantasy with a stellar concept. I'm not always a big fan of enemies to lovers where one is on the side of the oppressor, and the other is oppressed. While this can be done well, I often feel like it lessens the impact of the whole conflict. To be clear, this book is not a romance between the two main characters. But they do start out as enemies, only rather than being on opposite sides, they actually have the same ultimate goal, they just have such different methods that it puts them in each other's way, and they might need to kill each other to succeed. Which doesn't seem helpful if you're both trying to free your home from the empire that conquered it.
Lucas has seen enough death. In the past, he witnessed the deaths of thousand of silver eyed people like him at the hands of the empire. So instead of starting a revolution that would see many more dead, he joins the gendarmerie (kind of inbetween police and army), aiming to get to the very top, where he'll have the political power to secede from the empire peacefully. While this seems naive, the book does make it seem plausible he would be able to do this. Unfortunately, when our second main character Faye escapes his custody, he loses a promotion. He'll need to kill Faye to finally get to this point. The book synopsis mentions this is about revenge, but I never really got that idea. Lucas could be difficult to stomach as a character sometimes, especially in how cruel he could be towards revolutionaries despite sharing their goal. He is very single minded on his method, and it was very interesting to see how isolated this made him, since beyond one old teacher he rarely sees, no one knows who he truly is or what he's doing. As a result, he's very emotionally repressed. I found him really interesting, and his story quite sad.
The other main character is Faye. He is a deposed prince, whose brother now has his throne. Said brother has completely surrendered to the empire, and Faye wants to aid in a revolution to reclaim his throne so he can free his people from the empire. While I think he and Lucas are supposed to be the same age, Faye read a bit younger than him, and where Lucas is serious and calculated, Faye is a bit more chaotic and doesn't always know what he's doing. I found him charming, but would have loved to see him developed a little more yet.
The third POV is another character who is not mentioned in the synopsis at all. She is a character who gets roped into the schemes, and is someone who used to be like a sister to Lucas. There's also a bit of something romantic between her and Lucas, but this never really goes anywhere. I found the romance aspect to their relationship a bit weird because initially she's introduced as something more akin to a sibling, but I did enjoy her character. She's a bit more level headed than the other two main characters.
I think the greatest weakness of this book is that a lot has happened before the start of the story, and it took me a bit too long to piece the entire timeline together. For a long time, I thought the conquest and the deaths Lucas witnessed happened long before Faye was exiled as a prince, but it later turned out the deaths were actually a consequence of what happened with Faye. I think this book could also have benefited from some flashbacks, to really make the reader feel the weight of what happened to Lucas and Faye in the past, because both carry a lot of trauma, but it can be difficult to piece together what happened exactly. I also would have liked a little more interaction between Faye and Lucas, for the most part they're both pursuing their own schemes.
Would recommend this to fans of complex political fantasy who love the concept of enemies who share the same goal, but not the methods
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you very much to Florence Chien, Netgalley and Rising Action for this e-ARC.
Oh how I love epic political fantasy, and the Revenant of Surolifia has got to be one of the best ones I’ve read!
It had everything you could possibly want in an epic fantasy: an exploration on the dangers of imperialism, oppression and the weaponisation of fear, exquisite writing, multi-POVs of the most scheming, intricate, vengeful characters who would do whatever necessary to achieve the future security of their nation (moral righteousness be damned), a cool and unique magic system that is not too complex, fast pacing, intricate world building, diverse representation, some minor questing, the greatest, twistiest politics, and even a brilliant cave battle-magic scene. Plus Belle Epoque vibes!! Which I did pick up on while reading, but I just assumed that my love of the Belle Epoque and desire for more fantasy books to be inspired by it was grasping at straws, but no, as I found out afterwards, the author truly intended for it to be somewhat inspired by the Belle Epoque. What more could you want!?
Florence Chien, you are incredible. I will 100% be reading whatever else you write.
The Revenant of Surolifia was a standalone, which was absolutely wonderful because epic fantasy series usually consist of dozens of books, but there is so much more that could be written in this world and I really hope that happens. Prequels, sequels, novellas, companions, stories about the characters, stories about other characters, lore and mythology, books set years in the past or years in the future- there is just so much more that could be explored in this incredible expansive word, and how I hope it is.
I cannot express how much I love this book, the scheming, the politics, the magic and world building, everything! If you are a fan of political or high fantasy, I would definitely recommend picking this up.
Oh how I love epic political fantasy, and the Revenant of Surolifia has got to be one of the best ones I’ve read!
It had everything you could possibly want in an epic fantasy: an exploration on the dangers of imperialism, oppression and the weaponisation of fear, exquisite writing, multi-POVs of the most scheming, intricate, vengeful characters who would do whatever necessary to achieve the future security of their nation (moral righteousness be damned), a cool and unique magic system that is not too complex, fast pacing, intricate world building, diverse representation, some minor questing, the greatest, twistiest politics, and even a brilliant cave battle-magic scene. Plus Belle Epoque vibes!! Which I did pick up on while reading, but I just assumed that my love of the Belle Epoque and desire for more fantasy books to be inspired by it was grasping at straws, but no, as I found out afterwards, the author truly intended for it to be somewhat inspired by the Belle Epoque. What more could you want!?
Florence Chien, you are incredible. I will 100% be reading whatever else you write.
The Revenant of Surolifia was a standalone, which was absolutely wonderful because epic fantasy series usually consist of dozens of books, but there is so much more that could be written in this world and I really hope that happens. Prequels, sequels, novellas, companions, stories about the characters, stories about other characters, lore and mythology, books set years in the past or years in the future- there is just so much more that could be explored in this incredible expansive word, and how I hope it is.
I cannot express how much I love this book, the scheming, the politics, the magic and world building, everything! If you are a fan of political or high fantasy, I would definitely recommend picking this up.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Book Review: The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chien
Lucas Rhine, loyal imperial officer and professional “I can fix this from the inside” guy, decides the best way to stop a genocide is to climb the ranks of the people doing it. This mostly involves lying, scheming, and slowly realizing the system is not broken, it’s working exactly as designed. Meanwhile, every clever compromise buys him time but also makes him complicit, so his moral high ground quietly dissolves while he insists he still has one.
On the other side, Faye Phlorik, exiled prince turned revolutionary, is busy proving that burning the system down also has consequences when innocent people keep getting caught in the flames. He and Lucas form a tense “we should work together but also maybe kill each other” alliance, which goes about as well as expected. By the end, their grand plans collide, the genocide is only partially stopped, the empire is only partially wrecked, and everyone is left carrying the emotional equivalent of “so that didn’t go how I imagined.”
I really liked the premise here. The central conflict between reform and rebellion is strong, and it gives the story a solid thematic foundation. There are moments where the political tension and moral trade-offs feel genuinely sharp, and you can see how much thought went into the world and the larger ideas.
That said, the pacing dragged for me. The political maneuvering is dense, but not always engaging, and it sometimes feels like the story is spinning its wheels instead of moving forward. I appreciated what it was trying to do, but I didn’t always feel fully invested in the characters or their choices. Overall, I liked the concept more than the execution.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Lucas Rhine, loyal imperial officer and professional “I can fix this from the inside” guy, decides the best way to stop a genocide is to climb the ranks of the people doing it. This mostly involves lying, scheming, and slowly realizing the system is not broken, it’s working exactly as designed. Meanwhile, every clever compromise buys him time but also makes him complicit, so his moral high ground quietly dissolves while he insists he still has one.
On the other side, Faye Phlorik, exiled prince turned revolutionary, is busy proving that burning the system down also has consequences when innocent people keep getting caught in the flames. He and Lucas form a tense “we should work together but also maybe kill each other” alliance, which goes about as well as expected. By the end, their grand plans collide, the genocide is only partially stopped, the empire is only partially wrecked, and everyone is left carrying the emotional equivalent of “so that didn’t go how I imagined.”
I really liked the premise here. The central conflict between reform and rebellion is strong, and it gives the story a solid thematic foundation. There are moments where the political tension and moral trade-offs feel genuinely sharp, and you can see how much thought went into the world and the larger ideas.
That said, the pacing dragged for me. The political maneuvering is dense, but not always engaging, and it sometimes feels like the story is spinning its wheels instead of moving forward. I appreciated what it was trying to do, but I didn’t always feel fully invested in the characters or their choices. Overall, I liked the concept more than the execution.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Review Details?
-no spoilers!
-ebook (ARC)
-4.00 (out of 5)
Fanta-SciFi-ness?
-this book takes place in a medieval fantasy setting--we got swords, we got ships, we got magic. the world of Al Senia is interesting and engaging.
-the magic here is interesting, and it leans toward a soft system (we learn some rules but not much more). there are two general forms of magic: the manipulation of physical/material objects (phenomancy) and the manipulation of mental/psychological objects (noumenmancy). the latter plays a massive role in this world, as those who wield such power are hunted and feared. how the magic plays out in the book is fun.
-the world is embroiled in chaos and political intrigue from the jump, and the tension does not slow down at any point.
-dungeons and/or dragons: definitely a dungeon crawl at one point!
Complexity?
-we (mostly) follow the three POVs of Lucas, Faye, and Elsa, though I would argue that Lucas is *the* central protagonist. their plot threads are interconnected, and the story is easy to follow.
-one thing I like about this book--but that another reader might not--is that the world simply exists. we get quite a bit of backstory, but not everything. the world simply exists, and it is not over-explained.
-the magic is absolutely easy to follow here.
-the main characters are likable but flawed, and their conflicting goals help to hold up the book.
Keep it Coming?
-overall, I wanted to keep going to see how the book would end. that said, that enthusiasm waned at some points in the book (such as at some points when character motivations/thoughts were over-explained).
-no spoilers!
-ebook (ARC)
-4.00 (out of 5)
Fanta-SciFi-ness?
-this book takes place in a medieval fantasy setting--we got swords, we got ships, we got magic. the world of Al Senia is interesting and engaging.
-the magic here is interesting, and it leans toward a soft system (we learn some rules but not much more). there are two general forms of magic: the manipulation of physical/material objects (phenomancy) and the manipulation of mental/psychological objects (noumenmancy). the latter plays a massive role in this world, as those who wield such power are hunted and feared. how the magic plays out in the book is fun.
-the world is embroiled in chaos and political intrigue from the jump, and the tension does not slow down at any point.
-dungeons and/or dragons: definitely a dungeon crawl at one point!
Complexity?
-we (mostly) follow the three POVs of Lucas, Faye, and Elsa, though I would argue that Lucas is *the* central protagonist. their plot threads are interconnected, and the story is easy to follow.
-one thing I like about this book--but that another reader might not--is that the world simply exists. we get quite a bit of backstory, but not everything. the world simply exists, and it is not over-explained.
-the magic is absolutely easy to follow here.
-the main characters are likable but flawed, and their conflicting goals help to hold up the book.
Keep it Coming?
-overall, I wanted to keep going to see how the book would end. that said, that enthusiasm waned at some points in the book (such as at some points when character motivations/thoughts were over-explained).
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Revenant of Surolifia is a political fantasy novel set fourteen years after the Empire of Colours annexed the polity of Al Senia, establishing a brutal prohibition against its Silver noumenmancers, practitioners of mind-magic fuelled by etherite crystal which drains the colour from its users’ hair and eyes.
To take my issues with the book in one gulp: the writing tends towards straightforward repetitive prose; its metaphors are simplistic, there are more than a few seemingly unintentional tense switches. Typographical errors can be excused in an ARC, but the spelling errors (often homophones) are jarring, and common enough to be noticeable. At 400 pages, this book is neither desperately spare nor so long it overstays its welcome, yet the pacing feels wonky. Something rather important (to my eye) is revealed in the final ~20 pages which turns the idea of Al Senia’s weapon supremacy (e.g. etherite) on its head, and then defused in a matter of lines. Loose ends are dealt with in the next few pages in summary form. For once, maybe this should have been a series - or, alternatively, had fifty pages trimmed out.
With that said, the story itself is interesting and well-layered, and the magic is novel without being overbearing. The skeleton of the thing holds together. If the characters aren’t particularly three-dimensional, they at least cohere. All in all, this book feels like an early draft. There’s a solid piece of political fantasy buried under what seems like a lack of copyedits and a shying away from the more effective prose styling the writer occasionally proves herself perfectly capable of. What happened?
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
To take my issues with the book in one gulp: the writing tends towards straightforward repetitive prose; its metaphors are simplistic, there are more than a few seemingly unintentional tense switches. Typographical errors can be excused in an ARC, but the spelling errors (often homophones) are jarring, and common enough to be noticeable. At 400 pages, this book is neither desperately spare nor so long it overstays its welcome, yet the pacing feels wonky. Something rather important (to my eye) is revealed in the final ~20 pages which turns the idea of Al Senia’s weapon supremacy (e.g. etherite) on its head, and then defused in a matter of lines. Loose ends are dealt with in the next few pages in summary form. For once, maybe this should have been a series - or, alternatively, had fifty pages trimmed out.
With that said, the story itself is interesting and well-layered, and the magic is novel without being overbearing. The skeleton of the thing holds together. If the characters aren’t particularly three-dimensional, they at least cohere. All in all, this book feels like an early draft. There’s a solid piece of political fantasy buried under what seems like a lack of copyedits and a shying away from the more effective prose styling the writer occasionally proves herself perfectly capable of. What happened?
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Revenant of Surolifia by Florence Chien is a political fantasy about revolution, identity, and the difficult choices people make when trying to change the world.
The story follows two men fighting for the freedom of their people in completely different ways: Lucas Rhine, who joins the imperial gendarmerie hoping to change the system from within, and Faye Phlorik, AKA the Pickpocket Prince who joins the revolutionaries to take back his throne. Throughout the story, we see their paths collide while both believe they’re doing the right thing.
What I loved most about this book were the characters. They feel very human, flawed, stubborn, and shaped by the choices they’ve made. Lucas in particular who is a survivor of the massacre of his silver-eyed people who hides his identity and colors while serving the empire that destroyed them.
The book also doesn’t shy away from the consequences of war and rebellion. The author isn’t afraid to kill characters, and the story constantly reminds you that revolutions come with a real cost.
The worldbuilding is detailed and and clearly very thought-out. The political structures, councils, military ranks, and cultural tensions made the world feel very real. However, this is also where my one small struggle with the book came in. Many characters, places, and titles are introduced with very formal names, and at times it felt a bit overwhelming to keep track of everyone early on.
Despite that, this was an incredibly gripping read. The pacing constantly pushes forward with intrigue, betrayals, political maneuvering, and the looming threat of warships that could annihilate the silver-eyed people entirely.
The story follows two men fighting for the freedom of their people in completely different ways: Lucas Rhine, who joins the imperial gendarmerie hoping to change the system from within, and Faye Phlorik, AKA the Pickpocket Prince who joins the revolutionaries to take back his throne. Throughout the story, we see their paths collide while both believe they’re doing the right thing.
What I loved most about this book were the characters. They feel very human, flawed, stubborn, and shaped by the choices they’ve made. Lucas in particular who is a survivor of the massacre of his silver-eyed people who hides his identity and colors while serving the empire that destroyed them.
The book also doesn’t shy away from the consequences of war and rebellion. The author isn’t afraid to kill characters, and the story constantly reminds you that revolutions come with a real cost.
The worldbuilding is detailed and and clearly very thought-out. The political structures, councils, military ranks, and cultural tensions made the world feel very real. However, this is also where my one small struggle with the book came in. Many characters, places, and titles are introduced with very formal names, and at times it felt a bit overwhelming to keep track of everyone early on.
Despite that, this was an incredibly gripping read. The pacing constantly pushes forward with intrigue, betrayals, political maneuvering, and the looming threat of warships that could annihilate the silver-eyed people entirely.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you to the author for providing an ARC ahead of this review! The following feedback is my own opinion.
THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA is an adult political fantasy following Lucas Rhine’s mission to liberate his annexed island home through a diplomatic secession before usurped prince Faye Phlorik and violent revolutionaries seize control by force. A gripping tale of identity, empire, and freedom, THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA weaves an elegant web of betrayal through a Belle Époque aesthetic.
The cover caught my eye from the beginning, as it complements the novel’s sharp commentary on imperialism and intended setting aesthetic. I’m always an avid supporter of books written by Asian authors, and this one did not disappoint! Chien presents sophisticated dialogue, a carefully thought-out and interesting magic system with limitations, and raw emotions through well-rounded characters. Every word has been chosen so masterfully, making it an extremely compelling read. Lucas Rhine and Faye Phlorik are two sides of the same coin, offering valid reasons for the sides they’ve chosen and are perfect embodiments of diplomacy and revolution, respectively.
Once readers pick this book up, it'll be hard to put down. This is by far one of my top reads of 2026 and maybe of all time. I look forward to purchasing the physical edition when it releases so I can rediscover the amazement I felt during my first read-through.
THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA is an adult political fantasy following Lucas Rhine’s mission to liberate his annexed island home through a diplomatic secession before usurped prince Faye Phlorik and violent revolutionaries seize control by force. A gripping tale of identity, empire, and freedom, THE REVENANT OF SUROLIFIA weaves an elegant web of betrayal through a Belle Époque aesthetic.
The cover caught my eye from the beginning, as it complements the novel’s sharp commentary on imperialism and intended setting aesthetic. I’m always an avid supporter of books written by Asian authors, and this one did not disappoint! Chien presents sophisticated dialogue, a carefully thought-out and interesting magic system with limitations, and raw emotions through well-rounded characters. Every word has been chosen so masterfully, making it an extremely compelling read. Lucas Rhine and Faye Phlorik are two sides of the same coin, offering valid reasons for the sides they’ve chosen and are perfect embodiments of diplomacy and revolution, respectively.
Once readers pick this book up, it'll be hard to put down. This is by far one of my top reads of 2026 and maybe of all time. I look forward to purchasing the physical edition when it releases so I can rediscover the amazement I felt during my first read-through.
Review of advance copy received from Author
⚔️The Revenant of Surolifia⚔️
While I don’t often accept ARC solicitations, The Revenant of Surolifia sounded like exactly my cup of tea so I absolutely had to say yes. I’ve been really loving politically driven fantasy stories so it caught my eye immediately.
The Revenant of Surolifia checked so many boxes, a prince who has been usurped, rebellion and oppressed people who have illegal magical abilities. It certainly set the stage for a captivating story. It did take me a bit to find my footing but it definitely seemed intentional. The story is based around an event that happened in the past, the Fall of Surolifia, that the reader starts to find out about as they read. The story was definitely well paced and continued to propel forward.
The story is multi-POV, which as you know, is generally my preference. Particularly for this story it was great getting a first hand view at what a few different characters were up to and to see it all start to come together. The side characters were also quite excellent as well! Elsa was definitely a standout POV for me.
I quite enjoyed the Revenant of Surolifia and could definitely see myself re-reading it some day. The great thing as well is that it is a standalone! So if you’re looking for a standalone political fantasy, I would definitely recommend it!
A huge thank you to the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review, the Revenant of Surolifia is out today!!
⭐4/5 stars⭐
While I don’t often accept ARC solicitations, The Revenant of Surolifia sounded like exactly my cup of tea so I absolutely had to say yes. I’ve been really loving politically driven fantasy stories so it caught my eye immediately.
The Revenant of Surolifia checked so many boxes, a prince who has been usurped, rebellion and oppressed people who have illegal magical abilities. It certainly set the stage for a captivating story. It did take me a bit to find my footing but it definitely seemed intentional. The story is based around an event that happened in the past, the Fall of Surolifia, that the reader starts to find out about as they read. The story was definitely well paced and continued to propel forward.
The story is multi-POV, which as you know, is generally my preference. Particularly for this story it was great getting a first hand view at what a few different characters were up to and to see it all start to come together. The side characters were also quite excellent as well! Elsa was definitely a standout POV for me.
I quite enjoyed the Revenant of Surolifia and could definitely see myself re-reading it some day. The great thing as well is that it is a standalone! So if you’re looking for a standalone political fantasy, I would definitely recommend it!
A huge thank you to the author for the eARC in exchange for an honest review, the Revenant of Surolifia is out today!!
⭐4/5 stars⭐
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Revenant of Surolifia has an interesting core premise. Many books are about rebelling against an empire. Fewer are concerned about the morality of rebellion as much as they are the practical logistics. Fewer still are about conflict between rival factions. Unfortunately, the potential of this set-up is largely squandered beneath rushed pacing and a monotonous tone.
There is no build-up to big scenes. No quiet moments to process emotional stakes or reveals. The prose is usually the same during action sequences or two characters quietly talking. Scenes start to meld together, and, with new information being revealed rapidly, I often found myself piecing together plot points rather than living in scenes. The introduction of the third POV character briefly slows down the pacing enough to allow for more thorough scene development, hinting at what could have been.
The rushed pace also negatively impacts a dynamic and varied cast. Characters will have epiphanies, but without the groundwork being laid beforehand to understand how they arrived at their realizations, the scenes frequently feel disjointed.
I would not recommend The Revenant of Surolifia. However, if, after the opening chapters, the prose doesn’t bother you, there’s a chance you’ll enjoy its characters and exploration of empire.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for the ARC.
There is no build-up to big scenes. No quiet moments to process emotional stakes or reveals. The prose is usually the same during action sequences or two characters quietly talking. Scenes start to meld together, and, with new information being revealed rapidly, I often found myself piecing together plot points rather than living in scenes. The introduction of the third POV character briefly slows down the pacing enough to allow for more thorough scene development, hinting at what could have been.
The rushed pace also negatively impacts a dynamic and varied cast. Characters will have epiphanies, but without the groundwork being laid beforehand to understand how they arrived at their realizations, the scenes frequently feel disjointed.
I would not recommend The Revenant of Surolifia. However, if, after the opening chapters, the prose doesn’t bother you, there’s a chance you’ll enjoy its characters and exploration of empire.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Rising Action Publishing Co., Rising Action, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review!
Lucas Rhine is haunted by the 17,000 Silvers who were slaughtered fifteen years ago. Determined to liberate his people through moving up the ranks with as little bloodshed as possible, he vehemently opposes the revolution. And he will stop at nothing to achieve his lofty goals.
The aforementioned slaughter lost prince Faye Phlorik his throne, forcing him into the shadows to become the "pickpocket prince." After capture by Lucas, the rebels help Faye escape, and task him with killing Lucas. But as the empire draws near, these two enemies will have to rally their troops to point their swords against the true enemy if any of them are to be saved.
This ambitious debut had all the angst, scheming, and mind bending magic that you could ever want! The brilliant execution of this political fantasy left me with ALL THE FEELS. Seriously, the mind magic mixed with the well-developed, morally gray characters on the brink of war will have your heart pounding (and breaking) as they struggle and grow.
Lucas Rhine is haunted by the 17,000 Silvers who were slaughtered fifteen years ago. Determined to liberate his people through moving up the ranks with as little bloodshed as possible, he vehemently opposes the revolution. And he will stop at nothing to achieve his lofty goals.
The aforementioned slaughter lost prince Faye Phlorik his throne, forcing him into the shadows to become the "pickpocket prince." After capture by Lucas, the rebels help Faye escape, and task him with killing Lucas. But as the empire draws near, these two enemies will have to rally their troops to point their swords against the true enemy if any of them are to be saved.
This ambitious debut had all the angst, scheming, and mind bending magic that you could ever want! The brilliant execution of this political fantasy left me with ALL THE FEELS. Seriously, the mind magic mixed with the well-developed, morally gray characters on the brink of war will have your heart pounding (and breaking) as they struggle and grow.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The Revenant of Surolifia is a wild ride of a book. Expect to get immersed quickly in a country on the brink of revolution AND invasion. It’s a story that makes you think about what it means to be under the thumb of an oppressive power that hunts a particular type of people—in this case, “Silvers”—and how the oppressed will seek to subvert their oppressors in many different ways.
I loved the flashy fights and fascinating magic. Some of the descriptions in this book are downright gorgeous, especially when it comes to setting details and the scenes within people’s minds. You can tell that the author knows a great deal about real world law because the political jargon feels expert level. The disability representation in this, especially the chronic migraine rep, was really nice. The main POV characters were interesting, Lucas being by far my favorite, and the minor characters added a nice depth to the story. Also, Faye is the champion of breaking windows. IYKYK.
I would recommend this book to people who love intricate political fantasy, intriguing magic, and devastating emotional damage.
I loved the flashy fights and fascinating magic. Some of the descriptions in this book are downright gorgeous, especially when it comes to setting details and the scenes within people’s minds. You can tell that the author knows a great deal about real world law because the political jargon feels expert level. The disability representation in this, especially the chronic migraine rep, was really nice. The main POV characters were interesting, Lucas being by far my favorite, and the minor characters added a nice depth to the story. Also, Faye is the champion of breaking windows. IYKYK.
I would recommend this book to people who love intricate political fantasy, intriguing magic, and devastating emotional damage.
Review of advance copy
You know when it sounds like the author has edited their draft by swapping out every word for one found in a thesaurus? That’s very much the case here. Plus, the dialogue is awful, and the infodumping is rampant; paragraphs and paragraphs shoving character motivations and backstory down the readers’ throats. And even so, characters still behave very randomly, doing complete 180s with zero warning.
Besides using ‘cajoled’ instead of ‘asked’, the phrasing is often very wonky. Quotes taken from my review copy, so they might be edited/fixed in the final version of the book.
That is a terrible way to say his mouth fell OPEN.
‘Formality is SPARED’? Why would you say it like that?
WHY WOULD YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT?
That wording is appalling.
No thank you, absolutely not, GOODBYE.
Besides using ‘cajoled’ instead of ‘asked’, the phrasing is often very wonky. Quotes taken from my review copy, so they might be edited/fixed in the final version of the book.
Faye’s mouth fell apart.
That is a terrible way to say his mouth fell OPEN.
“Sit. You are unwell. Formality is spared,” the viceroy said,
‘Formality is SPARED’? Why would you say it like that?
trust that a mere two days will not make me amnesiac of your superior accomplishments.”
WHY WOULD YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT?
more likely than not, she probably wanted an explanation why he had broken her heart so cruelly;
That wording is appalling.
No thank you, absolutely not, GOODBYE.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Revenant of Surolifia is a tale of political intrigue, deadly rivalries, and revolution versus working within the system to achieve change. Most elements really worked for me. Lucas and Faye trying to keep ahead of what the other was planning was thrilling. The characters and their intertwining histories and shifting alliances added tension with every reveal, and compelled me to keep reading late into the night. I also found the magic system to be super interesting and unique, powerful but balanced with heavy consequences in its use.
However, at times it was a bit difficult to follow. The opening, while quite exciting, was a bit of a struggle as I tried to find my footing having just dropped into this world and high-stakes moment. There’s also this constant feeling of abruptness, not really giving the narrative and characters room to breathe. That being said, I really enjoyed this read and would like to read more of this author’s work in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. This review was written voluntarily and all opinions are my own.
However, at times it was a bit difficult to follow. The opening, while quite exciting, was a bit of a struggle as I tried to find my footing having just dropped into this world and high-stakes moment. There’s also this constant feeling of abruptness, not really giving the narrative and characters room to breathe. That being said, I really enjoyed this read and would like to read more of this author’s work in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy. This review was written voluntarily and all opinions are my own.
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