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Tensorate #1-4
The Tensorate Series
The Tensorate Series, which has been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, and Lambda Literary Awards, is an incomparable treasure of modern epic fantasy.
Across four novellas, Neon Yang established themself as a fantasist in bold defiance of the limitations of their genre. Available now in a single volume, these four novellas trace the generational decline of an empire and unfurl a world that is rich and strange beyond anything you've dreamed.
In the Tensorate Series you will find: rebellious nonbinary scions of empire, sky-spanning nagas with experimental souls, revolutionary engineers bent on bringing power to the people, pugilist monks, packs of loyal raptors, and much, much more.
The Tensorate Series omnibus contains The Black Tides of Heaven, The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, and To Ascend to Godhood
Across four novellas, Neon Yang established themself as a fantasist in bold defiance of the limitations of their genre. Available now in a single volume, these four novellas trace the generational decline of an empire and unfurl a world that is rich and strange beyond anything you've dreamed.
In the Tensorate Series you will find: rebellious nonbinary scions of empire, sky-spanning nagas with experimental souls, revolutionary engineers bent on bringing power to the people, pugilist monks, packs of loyal raptors, and much, much more.
The Tensorate Series omnibus contains The Black Tides of Heaven, The Red Threads of Fortune, The Descent of Monsters, and To Ascend to Godhood
451 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2021
115 people are currently reading
2187 people want to read
About the author
Neon Yang
19 books707 followersNeon Yang, formerly J.Y. Yang, is a Singaporean writer of English-language speculative fiction. Yang is non-binary and queer, and uses they/them pronouns.
Yang has written a series of "silkpunk" novellas, and has published short fiction since 2012. Their novella The Black Tides of Heaven was nominated for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella, the 2018 Kitschies Golden Tentacle and the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
Yang's work revolves around "the human body as a vessel for storytelling", and is based on their background as a molecular biologist, journalist and science communicator.
Yang has written a series of "silkpunk" novellas, and has published short fiction since 2012. Their novella The Black Tides of Heaven was nominated for the 2017 Nebula Award for Best Novella, the 2018 Kitschies Golden Tentacle and the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
Yang's work revolves around "the human body as a vessel for storytelling", and is based on their background as a molecular biologist, journalist and science communicator.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 110 reviews
October 16, 2021
Overall Rating: 3.5 Stars
This a bind quartet of four wonderfully unique Asian inspired fantasy novellas
Black Tides - 3.5 Stars
I particularly enjoyed the worldbuilding in this one, which was well fleshed out over a short number of pages. The magic system, called Slackcraft, involved the manipulation of an intangible force called the Slack. I particularly loved seeing how the different people were able to use and manipulate that magic.
While I enjoyed spending time in this world, I acknowledge that the plot was a bit thin and took a backseat in this novel. This is not a book to read for a fast driving narrative but instead one to read for the ideas within it.
This story plays with the ideas of gender identity. I love the idea of a world where gender is affirmed rather than assumed at birth. Such a forward thinking concept.
The Red Threads of Fortune - 3.0 Stars
As a queer monster hunting adventure this novella certainly sounded up my alley. The actual story did not quite live up to my expectations. Like the first novella, this one was less about the plot and more about the characters. My favourite aspects of the first book were the worldbuilding and the magic system, but this one had a lot less focus on those elements. Instead this one was a much quieter examination of two people.
The Descent of Monsters - 3.5 Stars
This was one of the best novellas in the Tensorate series. The setup was incredibly compelling and the story itself delivered. Compared to the other novellas, this one has the strongest plot with a clear, driving narrative. The story was also very dark which always earns points with me. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.
The Ascent to Godhood - 3.0 Stars
This was the shortest of the four novellas and did not leave the biggest impression. I appreciated the character work, but wanted more plot in this one. While not the strongest of the four works, I would still be interested to read more stories set in this world.
Overall I enjoyed these four stories and would recommend to readers looking for a queer fantasy with some wonderful elements of worldbuilding packed into a small package.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of the Tensorate series bindup edition.
This a bind quartet of four wonderfully unique Asian inspired fantasy novellas
Black Tides - 3.5 Stars
I particularly enjoyed the worldbuilding in this one, which was well fleshed out over a short number of pages. The magic system, called Slackcraft, involved the manipulation of an intangible force called the Slack. I particularly loved seeing how the different people were able to use and manipulate that magic.
While I enjoyed spending time in this world, I acknowledge that the plot was a bit thin and took a backseat in this novel. This is not a book to read for a fast driving narrative but instead one to read for the ideas within it.
This story plays with the ideas of gender identity. I love the idea of a world where gender is affirmed rather than assumed at birth. Such a forward thinking concept.
The Red Threads of Fortune - 3.0 Stars
As a queer monster hunting adventure this novella certainly sounded up my alley. The actual story did not quite live up to my expectations. Like the first novella, this one was less about the plot and more about the characters. My favourite aspects of the first book were the worldbuilding and the magic system, but this one had a lot less focus on those elements. Instead this one was a much quieter examination of two people.
The Descent of Monsters - 3.5 Stars
This was one of the best novellas in the Tensorate series. The setup was incredibly compelling and the story itself delivered. Compared to the other novellas, this one has the strongest plot with a clear, driving narrative. The story was also very dark which always earns points with me. Overall, I really enjoyed this one.
The Ascent to Godhood - 3.0 Stars
This was the shortest of the four novellas and did not leave the biggest impression. I appreciated the character work, but wanted more plot in this one. While not the strongest of the four works, I would still be interested to read more stories set in this world.
Overall I enjoyed these four stories and would recommend to readers looking for a queer fantasy with some wonderful elements of worldbuilding packed into a small package.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher as part of the Tensorate series bindup edition.
February 20, 2025
4.5 ⭐️s
June 22, 2023
I really liked this one. The magic system was cool. The story was interesting. I liked the first and fourth novellas best. I think it’s a cool story.
March 15, 2022
3.5 stars overall. Fabulous worldbuilding in these four novellas. The second and third entries are imo the real standouts here. The first novella feels like an extended prologue. The second is heartwrenching and is the most emotionally involved of the four novellas, and was my favorite. The other three felt pretty distant. The third felt like silkpunk Jurassic Park, which was fun, but it's in the form of reports/diary entries, and I would have loved more immediacy and rich detail. And I didn't like the fourth novella simply because I felt like it totally took me away from all of the characters I'd grown to love in the first three. I wanted more Akeha and Rider and Mokoya, but instead I got a story about the Protector and her ex lover. It was a perfectly good story, just not what I was hoping for in the final entry of the series.
You can definitely see Neon Yang playing with form more and more as the series goes on, which makes me excited for the new work they have coming out this year.
I should also mention that this series has one of my favorite takes on gender that I've ever read!
You can definitely see Neon Yang playing with form more and more as the series goes on, which makes me excited for the new work they have coming out this year.
I should also mention that this series has one of my favorite takes on gender that I've ever read!
December 26, 2021
Ratings are awful, I should stop using them at all. Overall, this combined collection of four novellas was excellent. The ideas and worldbuilding are great. But it also felt like a stone skimmed across the lake of a massive fantasy epic and I want THAT story. I wish this was an actual epic trilogy instead of this abridged history of something bigger. But still, it's well worth the read.
December 27, 2021
I enjoyed the multiple view points, each novella is poignant, unique and written elegantly. The Asian mythology, world building and steam punk setting made this wonderful book a quick read.
July 27, 2022
Update 13/07/2022
You can find the rest of my reviews at An Ode to Fiction. | Subscribe to my Booktube channel
Official Release Date : September 21st 2021
Buy the book :
Amazon|Book Depository|Bookshop.org (affiliate)
My reviews of each of the book in the series :
1.The Black Tides of Heaven
2.The Red Threads of Fortune
3.The Descent of Monsters
4.The Ascent to Godhood
You can find the rest of my reviews at An Ode to Fiction. | Subscribe to my Booktube channel
Official Release Date : September 21st 2021
Buy the book :
Amazon|Book Depository|Bookshop.org (affiliate)
My reviews of each of the book in the series :
1.The Black Tides of Heaven
2.The Red Threads of Fortune
3.The Descent of Monsters
4.The Ascent to Godhood
December 23, 2021
These were some really interesting stories! The Slackcraft, magic system is so very clever and not something I have read in a fantasy before, I enjoyed the exploration of energy and time shaping/bending. I particularly loved how gender identity is established in this world. For me however, the first story was my favourite which unfortunately meant that the other novellas didn't match the high bar that was set.
May 31, 2021
I see these novellas are being combined - which is how they should have actually been published in the first place, since there's only enough material for one story. I'm not going to buy this book, but I am going to repost my review from the first novella here:
It's hard for me to quite explain my full feelings about this book. I fell in love with the cover, and had to read it. Initially, I was not disappointed. The writing at the beginning of the book is beautiful, and the premise seemed really interesting.
As the story goes along, so much happens, and so much time is covered - it's as if Yang is trying to shove what could have been a full-length epic fantasy trilogy into a single novella. This book tests the limits of concise writing and clarity - ultimately to the detriment of the story. Yes, there are a lot of interesting ideas here. I liked the portrayal of gender in this book, and Akeha and Mokoya were characters that I would have really enjoyed, if I had been given more time to actually spend with them.
This novella is really just too short to achieve everything it's trying to do. Clarity of plot and world-building are sacrificed for snippets of the main characters' lives as we zip along through the years before grinding to what is ultimately an unsatisfying ending. The beautiful writing that the book opens with doesn't sustain itself throughout the entire story.
With all this in mind, I had to wonder, why did Yang make this story so short? Having read the sequels, I think they all suffer from the same problem: too short, with character and plot sacrificed for
snippet-style scene after scene that just barely holds interest.
Considering the price of these short little novellas, I was left with the impression that the author just wanted to harvest interesting ideas from their cultural background, transfer them to a fantasy setting, then sell novella-length stories at full novel price. It seemed clear to me that all the books in this series would benefit from being longer, allowing for true immersion that would have greatly improved the reading experience. I think the author should have just combined all of these novellas into a single novel that fully explores the world. Eventually, I came to the disappointing conclusion that the author took a relatively simple plot, chopped it up into a few novellas, and sold them individually so they could make more money. That alone would have been pretty exploitative of the reader, but it doesn't end there.
It all came together when I visited Yang's twitter, and stumbled across a hostile, racist scree of tweets railing at white authors. That's when I realized, this isn't a fantasy series. This is a money-hungry author exploiting their racial heritage and flogging what could have been one decent full-length fantasy novel into chopped up little novellas to make a buck off the publishing industry. At the expense of quality.
It's hard for me to quite explain my full feelings about this book. I fell in love with the cover, and had to read it. Initially, I was not disappointed. The writing at the beginning of the book is beautiful, and the premise seemed really interesting.
As the story goes along, so much happens, and so much time is covered - it's as if Yang is trying to shove what could have been a full-length epic fantasy trilogy into a single novella. This book tests the limits of concise writing and clarity - ultimately to the detriment of the story. Yes, there are a lot of interesting ideas here. I liked the portrayal of gender in this book, and Akeha and Mokoya were characters that I would have really enjoyed, if I had been given more time to actually spend with them.
This novella is really just too short to achieve everything it's trying to do. Clarity of plot and world-building are sacrificed for snippets of the main characters' lives as we zip along through the years before grinding to what is ultimately an unsatisfying ending. The beautiful writing that the book opens with doesn't sustain itself throughout the entire story.
With all this in mind, I had to wonder, why did Yang make this story so short? Having read the sequels, I think they all suffer from the same problem: too short, with character and plot sacrificed for
snippet-style scene after scene that just barely holds interest.
Considering the price of these short little novellas, I was left with the impression that the author just wanted to harvest interesting ideas from their cultural background, transfer them to a fantasy setting, then sell novella-length stories at full novel price. It seemed clear to me that all the books in this series would benefit from being longer, allowing for true immersion that would have greatly improved the reading experience. I think the author should have just combined all of these novellas into a single novel that fully explores the world. Eventually, I came to the disappointing conclusion that the author took a relatively simple plot, chopped it up into a few novellas, and sold them individually so they could make more money. That alone would have been pretty exploitative of the reader, but it doesn't end there.
It all came together when I visited Yang's twitter, and stumbled across a hostile, racist scree of tweets railing at white authors. That's when I realized, this isn't a fantasy series. This is a money-hungry author exploiting their racial heritage and flogging what could have been one decent full-length fantasy novel into chopped up little novellas to make a buck off the publishing industry. At the expense of quality.
December 1, 2021
Premetto che non è il genere di fantasy che preferisco però la storia di Mokoyo e Akeha mi è piaciuta.
Ho apprezzato il rapporto tra i due gemelli che pur essendo molto diversi l’uno dall’altra con caratteri opposti riescono a compensarsi e ad esserci sempre l’uno per l’altra .
Il worldbuilding è ben fatto e bene caratterizzaro anche se il sistema manico in generale non è proprio tra i più semplici da comprendere con le varie terminologie che lo rappresentano.
Questo primo libro credo sia un’introduzione a quella che sarà poi la vera storia ma devo dire che i temi affrontati sono stati decisamente interessanti.
Andrò sicuramente avanti e leggerò anche gli altri libri perché ho voglia di sapere come andrà avanti la storia di questi due gemelli.
3 ⭐️
Ho apprezzato il rapporto tra i due gemelli che pur essendo molto diversi l’uno dall’altra con caratteri opposti riescono a compensarsi e ad esserci sempre l’uno per l’altra .
Il worldbuilding è ben fatto e bene caratterizzaro anche se il sistema manico in generale non è proprio tra i più semplici da comprendere con le varie terminologie che lo rappresentano.
Questo primo libro credo sia un’introduzione a quella che sarà poi la vera storia ma devo dire che i temi affrontati sono stati decisamente interessanti.
Andrò sicuramente avanti e leggerò anche gli altri libri perché ho voglia di sapere come andrà avanti la storia di questi due gemelli.
3 ⭐️
December 14, 2025
I found myself thinking, numerous times, 'This is so fucking cool.'
Reread 2025
The Black Tides of Heaven: five stars.
The Red Threads of Fortune: four. There was a bit too much emotional yoyo-ing for me, but it made up for that in cool raptors and reptile arms and nagas.
The Descent of Monsters: five stars without doubt. Really creepy, really gripping.
The Ascent to Godhood: maybe a 3.5? It feels too short, less complete somehow, but it isn't a bad way to finish off the series.
Reread 2025
The Black Tides of Heaven: five stars.
The Red Threads of Fortune: four. There was a bit too much emotional yoyo-ing for me, but it made up for that in cool raptors and reptile arms and nagas.
The Descent of Monsters: five stars without doubt. Really creepy, really gripping.
The Ascent to Godhood: maybe a 3.5? It feels too short, less complete somehow, but it isn't a bad way to finish off the series.
September 21, 2022
The Tensorate series is, in quite a few ways, groundbreaking for Singapore literature. Written by Neon Yang, it blends together aspects of silkpunk fantasy, Southeast Asian geography, and a unique take on gender confirmation. While studying creative writing in the UK, Yang wrote the first novella and sold it to Tor publishing as part of a duology. The result was The Black Tides of Heaven and The Red Threads of Fortune, two novellas in the same world, similar to Kai Ashante Wilson's two novellas also published under the Tor imprint. Yang later released two further novellas to round out the worldbuilding.
With high fantasy, there is an expectation of extensive and elaborate writing to flesh out the politics of the empire, its myriad factions, and the dynamics between characters. However, over-describing can burden and drag down an otherwise strong plot. The Black Tides of Heaven keeps a close, scoped focus on Akeha and Mokoya -- two twins sent to live in the monastery so that the royal family could honour its debts. The novella chronicles their growing up, and their separation upon reaching adulthood. This is precipitated by their gender confirmation: in the Tensorate world, young children in the capital are marked genderless/nonbinary until they are ready. Watching Mokoya and Akeha struggle with each other's choice of gender despite their initial differences in personality was fascinating. I found it the most compelling part of the book.
With four novellas gathered together, I feel that much of the earlier criticisms around the Tensorate series lacking proper character development or worldbuilding are addressed. In book 1, people may have felt that Mokoya was relegated to a side-piece in terms of plot, so book 2 focuses on her perspective. Criticisms that worldbuilding is slight or underdeveloped get addressed in books 3 and 4. However, there is an unevenness in the writing and worldbuilding. The focus on working class individuals in book 2, for example, meant that readers met with a lot more Hokkien slang -- a crassness you never see in other books. The epistolary method of storytelling in book 3 features a new, pompous sounding character whose writing style is the least enjoyable out of the four novellas. If you peer closely, there are places where the worldbuilding seams are stretched.
Still, I did enjoy this series. I feel it is one of the more successful manifestations of silkpunk fantasy, and I admire its bold engagement with non-binary gender and queer characters. My hope is that it encourages more inventive, bold worldbuilding both in Yang and other writers like them. We need more of these books.
If you are curious: 4 stars to the duology and 3 stars to books 3/4.
With high fantasy, there is an expectation of extensive and elaborate writing to flesh out the politics of the empire, its myriad factions, and the dynamics between characters. However, over-describing can burden and drag down an otherwise strong plot. The Black Tides of Heaven keeps a close, scoped focus on Akeha and Mokoya -- two twins sent to live in the monastery so that the royal family could honour its debts. The novella chronicles their growing up, and their separation upon reaching adulthood. This is precipitated by their gender confirmation: in the Tensorate world, young children in the capital are marked genderless/nonbinary until they are ready. Watching Mokoya and Akeha struggle with each other's choice of gender despite their initial differences in personality was fascinating. I found it the most compelling part of the book.
With four novellas gathered together, I feel that much of the earlier criticisms around the Tensorate series lacking proper character development or worldbuilding are addressed. In book 1, people may have felt that Mokoya was relegated to a side-piece in terms of plot, so book 2 focuses on her perspective. Criticisms that worldbuilding is slight or underdeveloped get addressed in books 3 and 4. However, there is an unevenness in the writing and worldbuilding. The focus on working class individuals in book 2, for example, meant that readers met with a lot more Hokkien slang -- a crassness you never see in other books. The epistolary method of storytelling in book 3 features a new, pompous sounding character whose writing style is the least enjoyable out of the four novellas. If you peer closely, there are places where the worldbuilding seams are stretched.
Still, I did enjoy this series. I feel it is one of the more successful manifestations of silkpunk fantasy, and I admire its bold engagement with non-binary gender and queer characters. My hope is that it encourages more inventive, bold worldbuilding both in Yang and other writers like them. We need more of these books.
If you are curious: 4 stars to the duology and 3 stars to books 3/4.
August 22, 2024
Overall gonna say a 4.5 (rounded up) - This is a very interesting collection of novella's that are all quite different and somewhat unique both from each other and within the fantasy landscape as a whole. This series is just very interesting and deals with different emotions and how each book has a very different central theme that is also complimentary to the other themes. I'm not sure what else the author has written but excited to see more from them.
Black Tides - 4.5 Stars
This was a reread for me, I did remember quite a few of the story beats surprisingly well - I think as I've grown as a reader since then and while I do still really enjoy this story and this world it just wasn't really a 5 star for me anymore. That being said I loved the theme of self worth overall and what happens when you grow up in the shadow of so many different people and the struggle of just making a name for yourself.
The Red Threads of Fortune - 4 Stars
This was an interesting story, I did (unfortunately) connect with this one the least out of the 4. I really liked Mokoya in the first book so I was a bit dissapointed this book just didn't work for me as much. That being said the world really opened up a bit more in this novella while somehow it also was a lot more character focused than the first book, but it was nice to see everything explained a bit more and to get to go into some details about how everything works.
The Descent of Monsters - 5 Stars
This is definetely the most unique of the 3 books, this is basically just a "found footage" type novella where you read a collection of diary entries, rapports, & letters to figure out where the story was going. It was really interesting seeing the mystery unfold and putting the puzzle pieces together with the character as they are trying to investigate.
The Ascent to Godhood - 5 Stars
This was by far the shortest novella, and actually quite interesting since it feels completely dethatched to the previous 3 while still being set in the same world. It kind of goes on from Decent of Monsters in that you really just have to put everything you learned in the last 3 books together to paint the picture of what happened.
I will say I did miss seeing Akeha & Mokoya in this novel, as well as Rider, I do with we got a few more concrete answers to all the questions/mysteries posed in the first 3 novels, but I do really like this as an ending. It is very much the end of a saga but at the same time if the author decided to write more I'd definetely pick up future novellas (or even novels) set in this world.
Black Tides - 4.5 Stars
This was a reread for me, I did remember quite a few of the story beats surprisingly well - I think as I've grown as a reader since then and while I do still really enjoy this story and this world it just wasn't really a 5 star for me anymore. That being said I loved the theme of self worth overall and what happens when you grow up in the shadow of so many different people and the struggle of just making a name for yourself.
The Red Threads of Fortune - 4 Stars
This was an interesting story, I did (unfortunately) connect with this one the least out of the 4. I really liked Mokoya in the first book so I was a bit dissapointed this book just didn't work for me as much. That being said the world really opened up a bit more in this novella while somehow it also was a lot more character focused than the first book, but it was nice to see everything explained a bit more and to get to go into some details about how everything works.
The Descent of Monsters - 5 Stars
This is definetely the most unique of the 3 books, this is basically just a "found footage" type novella where you read a collection of diary entries, rapports, & letters to figure out where the story was going. It was really interesting seeing the mystery unfold and putting the puzzle pieces together with the character as they are trying to investigate.
The Ascent to Godhood - 5 Stars
This was by far the shortest novella, and actually quite interesting since it feels completely dethatched to the previous 3 while still being set in the same world. It kind of goes on from Decent of Monsters in that you really just have to put everything you learned in the last 3 books together to paint the picture of what happened.
I will say I did miss seeing Akeha & Mokoya in this novel, as well as Rider, I do with we got a few more concrete answers to all the questions/mysteries posed in the first 3 novels, but I do really like this as an ending. It is very much the end of a saga but at the same time if the author decided to write more I'd definetely pick up future novellas (or even novels) set in this world.
May 9, 2023
An interesting book with four connected stories set in a world where people of certain skills can affect the world by mentally playing with various elements (earth, water, metal, etc.), known as Slackcraft. It is also a world with fluid gender identities and romantic relationships that may or may not put off certain readers.
In this world lies the Protectorate, with a powerful woman, the Protector, who rules the Protectorate with an iron fist. The stories in the book deals with the rise, the rule and the end of the Protector, as told through the eyes of two of her children and the people who were involved with them.
- The Black Tides of Heaven: the High Priest of a monastery meets with the Protector, who has to fulfil her end of a bargain for asking for his help. But it is done in an unexpected way, and he ends up with two of her children. One would grow up questioning authority, while the other would change the world in her own way with her visions. The majority of the story stays with the rebel, who gets involved in a rebellion who are fighting against the Protector. But in the end, a tragedy would force him to reunite with his sister and confront their mother in a way that would change all their lives.
- The Red Threads of Fortune: this story focuses on the sister who, after the tragedy at the end of the first story, has left the monastery and now works as a dragon hunter. But the latest dragon hunt would lead to an unexpected new relationship and much danger, when the dragon turns out to be much larger than expected and is wrecking a lot of havoc. Dealing with the dragon would require her to learn new Slackcraft skills, deal with her emotions over the tragedy, and possibly alter the future.
- The Descent of Monsters: a story set as a series of reports as told from the viewpoint of a Protectorate Investigator tasked with finding out what has caused a massacre at an isolated secret laboratory. The investigation would lead to the discovery of a secret plan involving a Protectorate experiment on children to develop a special skill that could surpass that of the sister from the previous stories.
- The Ascent to Godhood: set as a story told by a leader of the rebellion against the Protector, it goes back in time to tell the story of how the Protector raised to her position of power, with the help of the leader who was then the Protector's personal maid. But events and a revealed subterfuge would cause her to defect to the rebellion. The story ends with the final fate of the Protector, tied to the special skill that was developed by a child in the previous story.
In this world lies the Protectorate, with a powerful woman, the Protector, who rules the Protectorate with an iron fist. The stories in the book deals with the rise, the rule and the end of the Protector, as told through the eyes of two of her children and the people who were involved with them.
- The Black Tides of Heaven: the High Priest of a monastery meets with the Protector, who has to fulfil her end of a bargain for asking for his help. But it is done in an unexpected way, and he ends up with two of her children. One would grow up questioning authority, while the other would change the world in her own way with her visions. The majority of the story stays with the rebel, who gets involved in a rebellion who are fighting against the Protector. But in the end, a tragedy would force him to reunite with his sister and confront their mother in a way that would change all their lives.
- The Red Threads of Fortune: this story focuses on the sister who, after the tragedy at the end of the first story, has left the monastery and now works as a dragon hunter. But the latest dragon hunt would lead to an unexpected new relationship and much danger, when the dragon turns out to be much larger than expected and is wrecking a lot of havoc. Dealing with the dragon would require her to learn new Slackcraft skills, deal with her emotions over the tragedy, and possibly alter the future.
- The Descent of Monsters: a story set as a series of reports as told from the viewpoint of a Protectorate Investigator tasked with finding out what has caused a massacre at an isolated secret laboratory. The investigation would lead to the discovery of a secret plan involving a Protectorate experiment on children to develop a special skill that could surpass that of the sister from the previous stories.
- The Ascent to Godhood: set as a story told by a leader of the rebellion against the Protector, it goes back in time to tell the story of how the Protector raised to her position of power, with the help of the leader who was then the Protector's personal maid. But events and a revealed subterfuge would cause her to defect to the rebellion. The story ends with the final fate of the Protector, tied to the special skill that was developed by a child in the previous story.
June 17, 2024
Algo queda claro y es que el worldbuilding de esta saga es genial.
¿Vamos con comentario general de la saga primero y después específicos? ¿les parece? ok.
En general, la saga me gustó mucho: el mundo, los personajes, los sentimientos, todo. Algo que me hizo muchísima falta es que tuviéramos una trama más concreta. Sí, todo más o menos gira al rededor de la rebelión maquinista y, pero solo se narra realmente en parte del primer libro. En el resto de la saga solo está en segundo plano. Me gustó mucho que Neon Yang se atreviera a adentrarse en diferentes géneros para contar la historia. Mi último negativo, que es totalmente personal, es el conflicto político. Yo soy un nerdo con estas cosas y me desinfla bastante rebeliones y cosas puestas solo por el drama y no con la intención de realmente reflexionar sobre nuestras estructuras sociales. Otro más que recordé, esta gente se enamora demasiado rápido para mi gusto.
Vamos libro por libro brevemente:
- Las mareas negras del cielo: El más tradicional de los tres. Trama sólida, pero se siente tremendamente introductoria. Sí, es el primer libro, se supone que tiene que ser la introducción, pero, como dije, casi todo lo que se habla en este libro queda en segundo plano para el resto.
- Los hilos rojos de la fortuna: Este me desinfló un poco cuando lo empecé al ver que dejábamos de lado los temas del primer libro. Poco a poco se volvió a ganar mi favor al centrarse en el tema del duelo y al seguir estirando el sistema de "magia" que propone Neon Yang.
- El descenso de los monstruos: El más arriesgado de todos, y, aunque lo respeto por eso, mi menos favorito. Este gira más a un tipo de novela policíaca narrada de una forma completamente diferente al resto. Intrigante. Pero se repite demasiado a medida que va saliendo nueva evidencia.
- El ascenso a lo divino: ¿opinión impopular?¿popular? No sé pero este fue mi favorito. Otra vez, un tipo de narración distinta mucho más personal, mucho más cercana. No tengo mucho más que agregar, pero sí, mi fav.
Me encanta la sonoridad del nombre "Mokoya":
Youtube
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¿Vamos con comentario general de la saga primero y después específicos? ¿les parece? ok.
En general, la saga me gustó mucho: el mundo, los personajes, los sentimientos, todo. Algo que me hizo muchísima falta es que tuviéramos una trama más concreta. Sí, todo más o menos gira al rededor de la rebelión maquinista y, pero solo se narra realmente en parte del primer libro. En el resto de la saga solo está en segundo plano. Me gustó mucho que Neon Yang se atreviera a adentrarse en diferentes géneros para contar la historia. Mi último negativo, que es totalmente personal, es el conflicto político. Yo soy un nerdo con estas cosas y me desinfla bastante rebeliones y cosas puestas solo por el drama y no con la intención de realmente reflexionar sobre nuestras estructuras sociales. Otro más que recordé, esta gente se enamora demasiado rápido para mi gusto.
Vamos libro por libro brevemente:
- Las mareas negras del cielo: El más tradicional de los tres. Trama sólida, pero se siente tremendamente introductoria. Sí, es el primer libro, se supone que tiene que ser la introducción, pero, como dije, casi todo lo que se habla en este libro queda en segundo plano para el resto.
- Los hilos rojos de la fortuna: Este me desinfló un poco cuando lo empecé al ver que dejábamos de lado los temas del primer libro. Poco a poco se volvió a ganar mi favor al centrarse en el tema del duelo y al seguir estirando el sistema de "magia" que propone Neon Yang.
- El descenso de los monstruos: El más arriesgado de todos, y, aunque lo respeto por eso, mi menos favorito. Este gira más a un tipo de novela policíaca narrada de una forma completamente diferente al resto. Intrigante. Pero se repite demasiado a medida que va saliendo nueva evidencia.
- El ascenso a lo divino: ¿opinión impopular?¿popular? No sé pero este fue mi favorito. Otra vez, un tipo de narración distinta mucho más personal, mucho más cercana. No tengo mucho más que agregar, pero sí, mi fav.
Me encanta la sonoridad del nombre "Mokoya":
Youtube
February 7, 2024
The way gender is handled in this series is
*chef's kiss*!
The first book focuses on Akeha, and the trans and non-binary love is heartwarming, even though the plot is really fast-paced and intense.
In the sequel novella, I love that the focus is on Mokoya. I felt that her characterisation was a little shallow in the first book, but this book completely made up for it with some truly badass, tortured character development for her post the incident of the first book.
Third novella, and... EPISTOLARY? The epistolary format is a little random for a book in the middle of a series but I did really enjoy it. The juicy plot woven via the letters, reports and diary entries was so gripping and I just wanted more, more, moreeeeee so I dived straight into the final novella of the series.
Final novella. Also an interesting delivery format of the story, a sort of sprawling record of one side of an interview. I really appreciated how even via such a restricted narrative style, the plot of the whole series was cleaned up quite nicely at the end. Of course, I would have liked more monologues to really engage with the characters' emotions, and more detail and action to the plot instead of key scenes being merely alluded to, but that is the price to pay for a fully fleshed-out high fantasy world and story told within only four novellas. This was an incredibly unique read, and I'm so up for more of the author's work.
In the sequel novella, I love that the focus is on Mokoya. I felt that her characterisation was a little shallow in the first book, but this book completely made up for it with some truly badass, tortured character development for her post the incident of the first book.
Third novella, and... EPISTOLARY? The epistolary format is a little random for a book in the middle of a series but I did really enjoy it. The juicy plot woven via the letters, reports and diary entries was so gripping and I just wanted more, more, moreeeeee so I dived straight into the final novella of the series.
Final novella. Also an interesting delivery format of the story, a sort of sprawling record of one side of an interview. I really appreciated how even via such a restricted narrative style, the plot of the whole series was cleaned up quite nicely at the end. Of course, I would have liked more monologues to really engage with the characters' emotions, and more detail and action to the plot instead of key scenes being merely alluded to, but that is the price to pay for a fully fleshed-out high fantasy world and story told within only four novellas. This was an incredibly unique read, and I'm so up for more of the author's work.
May 28, 2022
The Tensorate Series is a collection of 4 novellas by Singaporean writer Neon Yang, telling a high fantasy story about an oppressive magical empire and royal twins leading a rebellion against it.
The world built in these stories is refreshingly East and South Asian inspired, and is both unique and familiar. The magical "slack", and all encompassing elemental string-like system, rings a little bit "the force" and a little bit "airbender" and definitely more the Asian mysticisms both of those were based on that I know less about. There are areas with low gravity creating giant beasts, and those with future sight almost bringing time-shenanigans into it.
The world also plays with gender, where the predominant culture stops kids from developing secondary sex characteristics until they are old enough to choose their gender. This is an interesting idea the story plays with a bit, but due to the short format of the writing it sticks out awkwardly making a point more than graceful world building. It's a welcome attempt though, and more fantasy writers should try to interrogate gender in their fantastical worlds.
That applies to a lot of this collection. The format goes from a long time frame story to a short time frame story to a short time frame story to a long time frame story, each focusing on a different character, each with different formats. A lot is necessarily brushed over, and relationships are quite rushed. It's experimental, and interesting (think Infinite Jest or Ulysses), but the high fantasy adventure left me wishing it was one intentional cohesive novel. But Yang is a good writer and I can't wait to see what they do next. Despite my issues, I'm glad I picked this up.
The world built in these stories is refreshingly East and South Asian inspired, and is both unique and familiar. The magical "slack", and all encompassing elemental string-like system, rings a little bit "the force" and a little bit "airbender" and definitely more the Asian mysticisms both of those were based on that I know less about. There are areas with low gravity creating giant beasts, and those with future sight almost bringing time-shenanigans into it.
The world also plays with gender, where the predominant culture stops kids from developing secondary sex characteristics until they are old enough to choose their gender. This is an interesting idea the story plays with a bit, but due to the short format of the writing it sticks out awkwardly making a point more than graceful world building. It's a welcome attempt though, and more fantasy writers should try to interrogate gender in their fantastical worlds.
That applies to a lot of this collection. The format goes from a long time frame story to a short time frame story to a short time frame story to a long time frame story, each focusing on a different character, each with different formats. A lot is necessarily brushed over, and relationships are quite rushed. It's experimental, and interesting (think Infinite Jest or Ulysses), but the high fantasy adventure left me wishing it was one intentional cohesive novel. But Yang is a good writer and I can't wait to see what they do next. Despite my issues, I'm glad I picked this up.
December 16, 2024
12/6/24 Black Tides of Heaven: I really liked this one. Feels quiet because it’s such an internal story, but there’s also a lot of big things happening outside of Akeha’s own journey. I loved the dynamic he has with Mokoya and Yongcheow. It does a lot of really interesting things with storytelling, I feel like. 4 ⭐️
12/9/24 Red Threads of Fortune: Mokoya is such a different person than her twin, and I love how different this novella is from Black Tides. The story is super compelling and the pace was perfect for what it was doing. I really appreciated Mokoya’s relationship with Thennjay and Rider. 4 ⭐️
12/15/23 The Descent of Monsters: I see why some folks consider this one the weakest, though it’s still really interesting once I got into it. The beginning is so slow and I wanted familiar characters, that it was hard to get into, but the final third or so was super engaging and kept me turning the pages cuz I needed to see how it would all play out. 3.75 ⭐️
12/16/24 The Ascent to Godhood: okay, this is definitely the best of the series. And I like how the ending connected to Monsters. The storytelling execution as a “drunken monologue” is excellent and Lady Han recalling her history with Protector Sonami Hekate is so excellent. I loved this one, and I’m excited to read more for Yang. 5 🌟
12/9/24 Red Threads of Fortune: Mokoya is such a different person than her twin, and I love how different this novella is from Black Tides. The story is super compelling and the pace was perfect for what it was doing. I really appreciated Mokoya’s relationship with Thennjay and Rider. 4 ⭐️
12/15/23 The Descent of Monsters: I see why some folks consider this one the weakest, though it’s still really interesting once I got into it. The beginning is so slow and I wanted familiar characters, that it was hard to get into, but the final third or so was super engaging and kept me turning the pages cuz I needed to see how it would all play out. 3.75 ⭐️
12/16/24 The Ascent to Godhood: okay, this is definitely the best of the series. And I like how the ending connected to Monsters. The storytelling execution as a “drunken monologue” is excellent and Lady Han recalling her history with Protector Sonami Hekate is so excellent. I loved this one, and I’m excited to read more for Yang. 5 🌟
February 6, 2021
Lo stile di Neon è meraviglioso, peccato che io abbia trovato molto scialba è priva di pathos la narrazione. Di 4 libri, ho trovato interessante solo l'ultimo. Comunque il worldbuilding è ben congeniato sebbene viene spiegato tutto con il contagocce. Non credo che personalmente lo avrei premiato nel modo in cui lo hanno premiato, è ok, nulla di entusiasmante
February 2, 2024
3.5 stars
January 2, 2023
Qualche settimana fa ho terminato questa tetralogia silkpunk che ho scoperto per caso, nascosta tra gli scaffali young adult e fantasy. "Il Tensorato" è una piccola meraviglia e sinceramente sono sorpresa che se ne parli così poco. Sono sempre alla ricerca di libri fantasy che sfondino i confini tradizionali del genere, di autorɜ che sperimentino con le storie e i modi di raccontarle. Neon Yang non delude!
Partiamo dal principio. Cos'è il "silkpunk"? Inventato e definito dall'autore Ken Liu, il termine viene spesso inteso come generica descrizione di ambientazioni "Asian-influenced", ma c'è di più: le storie silkpunk mescolano magia e tecnologia in mondi in cui quest'ultima è concepita come una forma d'arte, un linguaggio poetico. Gli ingegneri sono l'equivalente degli aedi greci, dei cantastorie e dei bardi.
La storia di Yang si svolge in un mondo in cui la tecnologia rappresenta una forma di liberazione dalle stringenti maglie della "Slasca", l'energia magica che (apparentemente) soltanto alcunɜ possiedono. Attraverso le storie e le esperienze dellɜ gemellɜ Akeha e Mokoya entriamo nelle fila dei Macchinisti, lɜ ribellɜ che si oppongono allo strapotere di Hekate, la Protettrice e madre di Akeha e Mokoya stessɜ. È una storia di crescita e formazione ma non segue le tappe classiche del genere, appunto. È una storia corale, di comunità, dove non c'è "l'eroe" ma persone fallibili e imperfette che lottano per la liberazione di tuttɜ.
Fortissime le influenze di Ursula K. Le Guin: lɜ nostrɜ protagonistɜ non hanno genere definito alla loro nascita, e hanno facoltà di sceglierlo una volta raggiunta la maturità. Bellissimo, nel primo volume, il racconto della scelta dellɜ due gemellɜ e di come questa influisce nel rapporto. Nel corso della saga si avvicendano poi le storie di persone che non si identificano in nessun genere, persone che esplorano le relazioni, persone costrette in un genere che ha limitato la loro visione della vita (sounds familiar?).
Se tutto ciò non bastasse, in termini di sperimentazione, c'è di più! A livello formale i due primi volumi risultano essere i più tradizionali: seguiamo le storie di Akeha e Mokoya una volta separtɜsi e cosa lɜ porta a scegliere le proprie battaglie. I due volumi finali ci colgono invece di sorpresa: il terzo si svolge attraverso una serie di documenti, pagine di diario, resoconti, memorie, lettere che compongono il quadro di un mistero, un enigma da risolvere. Il quarto e ultimo è raccontato in prima persona da qualcunə che parla col lettorə, nascosto dietro a un personaggio che fa da ascoltatore silenzioso.
Questa saga ha un'unica pecca: è troppo breve! L'autorə la definisce infatti una "novella" più che un romanzo. Riusciamo giusto ad addentrarci appena in questo strano mondo fatto di magia e tecnologia, intrighi e misteri, che siamo subito costretti a uscirne. Avrei voluto fermarmi un po' di più nel Protettorato in compagnia di tutti i personaggi, buoni o cattivi, ideati da Yang...
Partiamo dal principio. Cos'è il "silkpunk"? Inventato e definito dall'autore Ken Liu, il termine viene spesso inteso come generica descrizione di ambientazioni "Asian-influenced", ma c'è di più: le storie silkpunk mescolano magia e tecnologia in mondi in cui quest'ultima è concepita come una forma d'arte, un linguaggio poetico. Gli ingegneri sono l'equivalente degli aedi greci, dei cantastorie e dei bardi.
La storia di Yang si svolge in un mondo in cui la tecnologia rappresenta una forma di liberazione dalle stringenti maglie della "Slasca", l'energia magica che (apparentemente) soltanto alcunɜ possiedono. Attraverso le storie e le esperienze dellɜ gemellɜ Akeha e Mokoya entriamo nelle fila dei Macchinisti, lɜ ribellɜ che si oppongono allo strapotere di Hekate, la Protettrice e madre di Akeha e Mokoya stessɜ. È una storia di crescita e formazione ma non segue le tappe classiche del genere, appunto. È una storia corale, di comunità, dove non c'è "l'eroe" ma persone fallibili e imperfette che lottano per la liberazione di tuttɜ.
Fortissime le influenze di Ursula K. Le Guin: lɜ nostrɜ protagonistɜ non hanno genere definito alla loro nascita, e hanno facoltà di sceglierlo una volta raggiunta la maturità. Bellissimo, nel primo volume, il racconto della scelta dellɜ due gemellɜ e di come questa influisce nel rapporto. Nel corso della saga si avvicendano poi le storie di persone che non si identificano in nessun genere, persone che esplorano le relazioni, persone costrette in un genere che ha limitato la loro visione della vita (sounds familiar?).
Se tutto ciò non bastasse, in termini di sperimentazione, c'è di più! A livello formale i due primi volumi risultano essere i più tradizionali: seguiamo le storie di Akeha e Mokoya una volta separtɜsi e cosa lɜ porta a scegliere le proprie battaglie. I due volumi finali ci colgono invece di sorpresa: il terzo si svolge attraverso una serie di documenti, pagine di diario, resoconti, memorie, lettere che compongono il quadro di un mistero, un enigma da risolvere. Il quarto e ultimo è raccontato in prima persona da qualcunə che parla col lettorə, nascosto dietro a un personaggio che fa da ascoltatore silenzioso.
Questa saga ha un'unica pecca: è troppo breve! L'autorə la definisce infatti una "novella" più che un romanzo. Riusciamo giusto ad addentrarci appena in questo strano mondo fatto di magia e tecnologia, intrighi e misteri, che siamo subito costretti a uscirne. Avrei voluto fermarmi un po' di più nel Protettorato in compagnia di tutti i personaggi, buoni o cattivi, ideati da Yang...
November 7, 2021
Pubblicata il 7 novembre 2021!
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“Akeha e Mokoya non sono stati concepiti per amore o per caso.
Ma sono il frutto delle manipolazioni e giochi di potere da parte della Regina, la loro madre.
La loro infanzia non è stata per niente facile, sono passati dal vivere insieme alla loro perfida madre e sorelle, cresciuti da Sonami, l’unica ad averli mai amati.
Per poi essere sradicati dall’unica casa che conoscevano all’’età di sei anni, per essere mandati come pagamento di un debito di sangue, al monastero.
Non hanno altro che se stessi e l’un l’altro una volta arrivati li, eppure con il passare del tempo si affezionano agli altri.
Si affezionano alla loro nuova casa, ma quando Moyoka si renderà conto di vedere il futuro e quindi di poter fare profezie, la loro vita verrà stravolta nuovamente.
Faranno l’errore di dirlo agli adulti, anche se Akeha non era d’accordo.
Da quel momento, si ritrovano coinvolti nelle macchinazioni della crudele madre, che troverà una scappatoia per poter venire meno alla parola data e così tener in pugno anche loro.
All’età di nove anni verranno nuovamente strappati dalla loro quotidianità.
Da quella che era diventata la loro casa, dagli affetti e abitudini.
Per finire a dover essere pedine negli intrighi politici della madre, la Regina.
Crescendo incominceranno i primi litigi, ma nonostante tutto sono sempre stati molto uniti come gemelli.
Fino a quando Mokoya deciderà di fare il rito di confermazione del genere.
Quella sarà la prima crepa che rischierà di rovinare il loro legame.
La seconda sarà quando Akeha stufo/a delle macchinazioni della madre, deciderà di andar via e cercare da solo/a il proprio cammino.
Presto ci saranno gli oppositori del potere della Regina, stufi di quella situazione.
I Macchinisti.
Riusciranno a trovare ognuno la propria strada?
Riusciranno a ricucire i rapporti?
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La storia nei romanzi è divisa in diverse parti.
Nel primo romanzo corrispondono all’infanzia, adolescenza e età adulta.
Lo stile e ambientazione
Lo stile di scrittura risulta fin da subito scorrevole, veloce e mai pesante.
L’ambiente circostante ai personaggi viene descritto in modo molto minuzioso.
L’autore si prende il tempo necessario per far immaginare al lettore da cosa sia circondato il personaggio di turno.
L’ambientazione si rifà alla cultura Asiatica, il lettore quindi comprende in che ambientazione si trova.
La narrazione è un qualcosa di mai visto e mai letto per quanto mi riguarda e anche se inizialmente ho faticato un po’, devo ammettere di aver apprezzato con il proseguimento della lettura.
In questa storia l’identità di genere non viene stabilita alla nascita, quindi nessuno tiene conto della natura fisica del corpo.
Ma per i primi anni di vita, fino ai diciassette anni quando poi si compie la cerimonia, ci si riferisce ad ogni persona con il pronome “loro”, quindi ne femminile ne maschile, ma entrambi.
Saranno loro nel corso degli anni a comprendere cosa sono.
Cosa sentono di essere, se l’identità di genere corrisponde al sesso che la natura ha dato loro o se invece non è così.
Sicuramente uno stile rivoluzionario, coraggioso e ambizioso, che cerca di cambiare l’idea su un argomento ancora di difficile comprensione per molti.
Ammetto di aver difficoltà io stessa a comprendere cosa voglia dire.
Sto cercando di comprendere cosa sentono le persone non-binarie, cosa percepiscono.
Però in qualsiasi caso io le rispetto, e questa storia può aiutare a comprendere un po’ di più.
E’ una storia che non da per scontata l’identità alla nascita, ma la fa comprendere alle singole persone da adulte.
Tematiche trattate
–Cambiamento climatico.
Anche se per poche righe, proprio in un piccolo passaggio iniziale.
E’ una sottile denuncia nascosta tra le righe, che l’autore vuole dare al mondo intero.
Inizialmente apprendiamo che il riscaldamento ha danneggiato l’acqua, l’ambiente, facendo morire per colpa del caldo molti pesci.
Molti terreni si sono seccati, prosciugati e di conseguenza il cibo ha incominciato a scarseggiare.
Di conseguenza sono iniziate le battaglie, le persone hanno incominciato a lamentarsi, a protestare per il cibo razionato.
Le persone hanno iniziato ad avere fame e a voler di più.
Finché poi sono dovuti intervenire.
Un chiaro messaggio sotto inteso, di quello che potrebbe avvenire nel prossimo futuro.
Se tutti noi non incominciamo a far qualcosa, se non incominciamo a migliore l’ambiente.
Tutti noi possiamo farlo nel nostro piccolo, se non lo facciamo e le temperature continuano ad alzarsi, c’è il serio rischio di rimanere con meno cibo.
Creandosi così una situazione terribile, con l’alto rischio di guerre per l’ottenimento delle provviste.
Chi ne ha la possibilità di poter cambiare le cose, dovrebbe farlo.
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–Esseri umani usati come merce di scambio.
Una fatto agghiacciante che si comprende fin da subito, è che nei giochi di potere da parte della Regina, dove usa e tratta le persone come pedine nella propria scacchiera personale.
E’ il fatto di generare e vendere, usare come moneta di cambio, un figlio per ripagare un debito.
Lei userà i suoi due gemelli, generati volutamente non per amore o per caso, ma pensati da poter essere utilizzati come moneta.
Come mezzo di scambio per ripagare un debito di sangue.
E’ una cosa agghiacciante anche solo da pensare.
E si riferisce anche (secondo me) a quegli accordi orribili che si usava fare una volta, cioè quella dei matrimoni combinati, usando i figli come merce di scambio per fare affari.
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–Le tematiche LGBTQ.
In questa storia a partire dal tipo di narrazione, si parla del mondo non-binary, queer.
E’ una delle tematiche più trattate all’interno della storia.
In conclusione
In conclusione cosa penso?
Sono abbastanza arrabbiata se devo essere sincera.
Perché l’idea di base c’è, la storia e l’ambientazione ci sono, ma il tutto non è stato sfruttato a dovere.
La storia parte con il botto, i primi due capitoli sono veramente bellissimi e portano il lettore a voler assolutamente proseguire con la storia.
Ti porta a pensare che sarà una bomba pazzesca, per poi rimanerne delusi man mano con lo sfogliare delle pagine.
La storia pian piano inizia a farsi confusa e incomprensibile in molti punti.
Tra un capitolo e l’altro passano anni e anni, da un paragrafo all’altro la scena è completamente diversa, cambiata.
Passano giorni da un paragrafo all’altro, il lettore così avrà la sensazione per tutto il tempo di avere tra le mani non la storia originale che l’autore avrà pensato, ma un riassunto di essa.
Perché non ci mostra cosa avviene tra un momento e l’altro.
Non ci mostra le domande, le discussioni, le incertezze magari tra una scelta o l’altra, ma ci porta direttamente a fatto avvenuto.
Il lettore non riuscirà a comprendere bene come siano arrivati a quella scelta, ma si ritroverà direttamente i fatti e basta.
I personaggi non vengono descritti, non per bene.
Non ho letteralmente sentito nulla da loro, non ho percepito nulla.
Non ho provato simpatia, affetto, nessuna emozione per loro, per i loro pensieri che non vengono quasi mai mostrati, se non qualche misera briciola.
Non ho percepito l’intensità dei legami, perché non vengono mostrati.
Prendiamo i due protagonisti, nel giro di quattro capitoli li troviamo da neonati a diciassettenni.
E non solo poi.
Non scoprendo nulla di quegli anni.
Ne del loro rapporto con Sonami.
Ne del loro rapporto con l’Abate, se non qualche minuscola briciola.
Sinceramente non riesco a comprendere il motivo della vittoria, del premio dato a questa storia.
So di non essere una critica, so di non essere “nessuno” in questo ambiente in un certo senso.
Non sono una critica e non lavoro per un testata giornalistica o altro.
Ma sono una lettrice/blogger, e questo è il mio pensiero.
Personalmente ritengo difficilissimo scrivere un romanzo breve, perché devi saper fare emozionare e catturare il lettore con poche pagine.
Ma qua la storia molte volte è confusa, per un idea del genere.
Per un fantasy del genere, sarebbe stato meglio approfondire molto di più parecchie vicende e personaggi.
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Il mio voto finale è complicato da esprimere.
Perché se penso ai personaggi e la storia privi di pathos, per me sarebbe da 2/5.
Se penso però alle varie tematiche trattate, all’idea di base, all’ambientazione e allo stile di narrazione davvero unico e particolare, il mio voto sale a 3/5.
Quindi lo sconsiglio? No, non proprio.
Cercherà di spiegarmi al meglio.
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Se siete amanti:
-dei romanzi brevi.
-delle ambientazioni diverse e particolari.
-se non vi interessa sapere tutto dei personaggi, ma preferite i fatti chiari e sapere la storia in se.
Allora si, potrebbe fare per poi.
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Ma se siete amanti:
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-dei romanzi corposi, quelli estremamente lunghi che vi tengono compagnia per giorni interi.
-delle storie passate dei singoli personaggi e amate sapere tutto, passato e presente dei personaggi.
-delle ambientazioni descrittive al punto giusto.
Allora forse no, potrebbe non fare per voi.
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Ammetto di aver capito dopo che si trattava di una saga e non un romanzo unico,
Sono stata attratta dalla trama, dalla copertina e dal titolo, non vedendo la scritta sotto dove recitava la scritta: “La serie completa”, se l’avessi visto prima, forse non avrei proprio iniziato la lettura.
Difficilmente amo i romanzi brevi, sono estremamente rari per me e devono proprio avere una storia e uno stile di narrazione particolare.
In alcuni punti mi fermavo a pensare a quanto mancava alla fine, faticavo a proseguire e a pensare che ogni romanzo era breve.
.
Quindi tutto sommato, il mio voto è: 3/5."
.
“Akeha e Mokoya non sono stati concepiti per amore o per caso.
Ma sono il frutto delle manipolazioni e giochi di potere da parte della Regina, la loro madre.
La loro infanzia non è stata per niente facile, sono passati dal vivere insieme alla loro perfida madre e sorelle, cresciuti da Sonami, l’unica ad averli mai amati.
Per poi essere sradicati dall’unica casa che conoscevano all’’età di sei anni, per essere mandati come pagamento di un debito di sangue, al monastero.
Non hanno altro che se stessi e l’un l’altro una volta arrivati li, eppure con il passare del tempo si affezionano agli altri.
Si affezionano alla loro nuova casa, ma quando Moyoka si renderà conto di vedere il futuro e quindi di poter fare profezie, la loro vita verrà stravolta nuovamente.
Faranno l’errore di dirlo agli adulti, anche se Akeha non era d’accordo.
Da quel momento, si ritrovano coinvolti nelle macchinazioni della crudele madre, che troverà una scappatoia per poter venire meno alla parola data e così tener in pugno anche loro.
All’età di nove anni verranno nuovamente strappati dalla loro quotidianità.
Da quella che era diventata la loro casa, dagli affetti e abitudini.
Per finire a dover essere pedine negli intrighi politici della madre, la Regina.
Crescendo incominceranno i primi litigi, ma nonostante tutto sono sempre stati molto uniti come gemelli.
Fino a quando Mokoya deciderà di fare il rito di confermazione del genere.
Quella sarà la prima crepa che rischierà di rovinare il loro legame.
La seconda sarà quando Akeha stufo/a delle macchinazioni della madre, deciderà di andar via e cercare da solo/a il proprio cammino.
Presto ci saranno gli oppositori del potere della Regina, stufi di quella situazione.
I Macchinisti.
Riusciranno a trovare ognuno la propria strada?
Riusciranno a ricucire i rapporti?
.
La storia nei romanzi è divisa in diverse parti.
Nel primo romanzo corrispondono all’infanzia, adolescenza e età adulta.
Lo stile e ambientazione
Lo stile di scrittura risulta fin da subito scorrevole, veloce e mai pesante.
L’ambiente circostante ai personaggi viene descritto in modo molto minuzioso.
L’autore si prende il tempo necessario per far immaginare al lettore da cosa sia circondato il personaggio di turno.
L’ambientazione si rifà alla cultura Asiatica, il lettore quindi comprende in che ambientazione si trova.
La narrazione è un qualcosa di mai visto e mai letto per quanto mi riguarda e anche se inizialmente ho faticato un po’, devo ammettere di aver apprezzato con il proseguimento della lettura.
In questa storia l’identità di genere non viene stabilita alla nascita, quindi nessuno tiene conto della natura fisica del corpo.
Ma per i primi anni di vita, fino ai diciassette anni quando poi si compie la cerimonia, ci si riferisce ad ogni persona con il pronome “loro”, quindi ne femminile ne maschile, ma entrambi.
Saranno loro nel corso degli anni a comprendere cosa sono.
Cosa sentono di essere, se l’identità di genere corrisponde al sesso che la natura ha dato loro o se invece non è così.
Sicuramente uno stile rivoluzionario, coraggioso e ambizioso, che cerca di cambiare l’idea su un argomento ancora di difficile comprensione per molti.
Ammetto di aver difficoltà io stessa a comprendere cosa voglia dire.
Sto cercando di comprendere cosa sentono le persone non-binarie, cosa percepiscono.
Però in qualsiasi caso io le rispetto, e questa storia può aiutare a comprendere un po’ di più.
E’ una storia che non da per scontata l’identità alla nascita, ma la fa comprendere alle singole persone da adulte.
Tematiche trattate
–Cambiamento climatico.
Anche se per poche righe, proprio in un piccolo passaggio iniziale.
E’ una sottile denuncia nascosta tra le righe, che l’autore vuole dare al mondo intero.
Inizialmente apprendiamo che il riscaldamento ha danneggiato l’acqua, l’ambiente, facendo morire per colpa del caldo molti pesci.
Molti terreni si sono seccati, prosciugati e di conseguenza il cibo ha incominciato a scarseggiare.
Di conseguenza sono iniziate le battaglie, le persone hanno incominciato a lamentarsi, a protestare per il cibo razionato.
Le persone hanno iniziato ad avere fame e a voler di più.
Finché poi sono dovuti intervenire.
Un chiaro messaggio sotto inteso, di quello che potrebbe avvenire nel prossimo futuro.
Se tutti noi non incominciamo a far qualcosa, se non incominciamo a migliore l’ambiente.
Tutti noi possiamo farlo nel nostro piccolo, se non lo facciamo e le temperature continuano ad alzarsi, c’è il serio rischio di rimanere con meno cibo.
Creandosi così una situazione terribile, con l’alto rischio di guerre per l’ottenimento delle provviste.
Chi ne ha la possibilità di poter cambiare le cose, dovrebbe farlo.
.
–Esseri umani usati come merce di scambio.
Una fatto agghiacciante che si comprende fin da subito, è che nei giochi di potere da parte della Regina, dove usa e tratta le persone come pedine nella propria scacchiera personale.
E’ il fatto di generare e vendere, usare come moneta di cambio, un figlio per ripagare un debito.
Lei userà i suoi due gemelli, generati volutamente non per amore o per caso, ma pensati da poter essere utilizzati come moneta.
Come mezzo di scambio per ripagare un debito di sangue.
E’ una cosa agghiacciante anche solo da pensare.
E si riferisce anche (secondo me) a quegli accordi orribili che si usava fare una volta, cioè quella dei matrimoni combinati, usando i figli come merce di scambio per fare affari.
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–Le tematiche LGBTQ.
In questa storia a partire dal tipo di narrazione, si parla del mondo non-binary, queer.
E’ una delle tematiche più trattate all’interno della storia.
In conclusione
In conclusione cosa penso?
Sono abbastanza arrabbiata se devo essere sincera.
Perché l’idea di base c’è, la storia e l’ambientazione ci sono, ma il tutto non è stato sfruttato a dovere.
La storia parte con il botto, i primi due capitoli sono veramente bellissimi e portano il lettore a voler assolutamente proseguire con la storia.
Ti porta a pensare che sarà una bomba pazzesca, per poi rimanerne delusi man mano con lo sfogliare delle pagine.
La storia pian piano inizia a farsi confusa e incomprensibile in molti punti.
Tra un capitolo e l’altro passano anni e anni, da un paragrafo all’altro la scena è completamente diversa, cambiata.
Passano giorni da un paragrafo all’altro, il lettore così avrà la sensazione per tutto il tempo di avere tra le mani non la storia originale che l’autore avrà pensato, ma un riassunto di essa.
Perché non ci mostra cosa avviene tra un momento e l’altro.
Non ci mostra le domande, le discussioni, le incertezze magari tra una scelta o l’altra, ma ci porta direttamente a fatto avvenuto.
Il lettore non riuscirà a comprendere bene come siano arrivati a quella scelta, ma si ritroverà direttamente i fatti e basta.
I personaggi non vengono descritti, non per bene.
Non ho letteralmente sentito nulla da loro, non ho percepito nulla.
Non ho provato simpatia, affetto, nessuna emozione per loro, per i loro pensieri che non vengono quasi mai mostrati, se non qualche misera briciola.
Non ho percepito l’intensità dei legami, perché non vengono mostrati.
Prendiamo i due protagonisti, nel giro di quattro capitoli li troviamo da neonati a diciassettenni.
E non solo poi.
Non scoprendo nulla di quegli anni.
Ne del loro rapporto con Sonami.
Ne del loro rapporto con l’Abate, se non qualche minuscola briciola.
Sinceramente non riesco a comprendere il motivo della vittoria, del premio dato a questa storia.
So di non essere una critica, so di non essere “nessuno” in questo ambiente in un certo senso.
Non sono una critica e non lavoro per un testata giornalistica o altro.
Ma sono una lettrice/blogger, e questo è il mio pensiero.
Personalmente ritengo difficilissimo scrivere un romanzo breve, perché devi saper fare emozionare e catturare il lettore con poche pagine.
Ma qua la storia molte volte è confusa, per un idea del genere.
Per un fantasy del genere, sarebbe stato meglio approfondire molto di più parecchie vicende e personaggi.
.
Il mio voto finale è complicato da esprimere.
Perché se penso ai personaggi e la storia privi di pathos, per me sarebbe da 2/5.
Se penso però alle varie tematiche trattate, all’idea di base, all’ambientazione e allo stile di narrazione davvero unico e particolare, il mio voto sale a 3/5.
Quindi lo sconsiglio? No, non proprio.
Cercherà di spiegarmi al meglio.
.
Se siete amanti:
-dei romanzi brevi.
-delle ambientazioni diverse e particolari.
-se non vi interessa sapere tutto dei personaggi, ma preferite i fatti chiari e sapere la storia in se.
Allora si, potrebbe fare per poi.
.
Ma se siete amanti:
.
-dei romanzi corposi, quelli estremamente lunghi che vi tengono compagnia per giorni interi.
-delle storie passate dei singoli personaggi e amate sapere tutto, passato e presente dei personaggi.
-delle ambientazioni descrittive al punto giusto.
Allora forse no, potrebbe non fare per voi.
.
Ammetto di aver capito dopo che si trattava di una saga e non un romanzo unico,
Sono stata attratta dalla trama, dalla copertina e dal titolo, non vedendo la scritta sotto dove recitava la scritta: “La serie completa”, se l’avessi visto prima, forse non avrei proprio iniziato la lettura.
Difficilmente amo i romanzi brevi, sono estremamente rari per me e devono proprio avere una storia e uno stile di narrazione particolare.
In alcuni punti mi fermavo a pensare a quanto mancava alla fine, faticavo a proseguire e a pensare che ogni romanzo era breve.
.
Quindi tutto sommato, il mio voto è: 3/5."
October 5, 2021
The Tensorate Series is a bind-up anthology of four novellas written by Neon Yang. It is a lush, vivid silkpunk fantasy series in a world where elementalist mages contend with revolutionary machinists.
The Black Tides of Heaven (★★★★☆) the novella centers on the twin children of the Protector, whose magic powers cause them to become entangled in the political machinations of their mother. It focuses on the twins Akeha and Mokoya, and spans thirty-five years from beginning to end. The plot begins to take shape when Mokoya has a series of prophetic visions, which prompts their mother to try to use her child's gift to her own advantage.
The Red Threads of Fortune (★★★★☆) the novella takes place after the death of Tensor Sanao Mokoya's daughter and has abandoned her position as prophet and now spends her time hunting naga in the wilderness. In her traumatized state, she no longer has access to the prophetic dreams of her youth. While tracking a giant naga, she encounters and improbably falls instantaneously for Rider, an ungendered outsider who uses magical Slackcraft in unorthodox ways.
The Descent of Monsters (★★★★☆) the novella centers on Chuwan Sariman, an investigator of the Protectorate, who looks into a massacre, but is prevented to do a full investigation – until Chuwan goes rouge. Chuwan Sariman is assigned to write the official report on a gruesome massacre at the experimental Rewar Tang Institute, where one of the Protectorate's weaponized animal hybrids escaped and killed the entire staff. With the help of Cai Yuan-ning, the sister of one of the killed researchers, they relay the truth of what happened to the Machinist rebels.
The Ascent to Godhood (★★★★☆) the novella centers on Lady Han as she recounts her life with the woman who became the Protector. Lady Han, leader of the anti-magic Machinist faction that has just assassinated the tyrannical Protector, drinks heavily while recounting her life to an unnamed listener.
For the most part, these novellas were written rather well. Yang has created a wonderful world that is richly textured with fascinating characters. One of the most fascinating details of this world is that children are not assigned genders at birth. Some children choose very young, others wait until much later, and others still choose to remain somewhere in between. Besides the gender fluidity society, the social order within the Protectorate suffers from massive wealth inequality. The greatest source of power in this world is the Slack, which draws its energy from different parts of nature. While most secrets of the Slack are kept secret by the Tensors, they are facing an uprising from the resistant Mechanists – an anti-magic group.
All in all, The Tensorate Series is a wonderful series that blend magic and steampunk with an East-Asian twist.
The Black Tides of Heaven (★★★★☆) the novella centers on the twin children of the Protector, whose magic powers cause them to become entangled in the political machinations of their mother. It focuses on the twins Akeha and Mokoya, and spans thirty-five years from beginning to end. The plot begins to take shape when Mokoya has a series of prophetic visions, which prompts their mother to try to use her child's gift to her own advantage.
The Red Threads of Fortune (★★★★☆) the novella takes place after the death of Tensor Sanao Mokoya's daughter and has abandoned her position as prophet and now spends her time hunting naga in the wilderness. In her traumatized state, she no longer has access to the prophetic dreams of her youth. While tracking a giant naga, she encounters and improbably falls instantaneously for Rider, an ungendered outsider who uses magical Slackcraft in unorthodox ways.
The Descent of Monsters (★★★★☆) the novella centers on Chuwan Sariman, an investigator of the Protectorate, who looks into a massacre, but is prevented to do a full investigation – until Chuwan goes rouge. Chuwan Sariman is assigned to write the official report on a gruesome massacre at the experimental Rewar Tang Institute, where one of the Protectorate's weaponized animal hybrids escaped and killed the entire staff. With the help of Cai Yuan-ning, the sister of one of the killed researchers, they relay the truth of what happened to the Machinist rebels.
The Ascent to Godhood (★★★★☆) the novella centers on Lady Han as she recounts her life with the woman who became the Protector. Lady Han, leader of the anti-magic Machinist faction that has just assassinated the tyrannical Protector, drinks heavily while recounting her life to an unnamed listener.
For the most part, these novellas were written rather well. Yang has created a wonderful world that is richly textured with fascinating characters. One of the most fascinating details of this world is that children are not assigned genders at birth. Some children choose very young, others wait until much later, and others still choose to remain somewhere in between. Besides the gender fluidity society, the social order within the Protectorate suffers from massive wealth inequality. The greatest source of power in this world is the Slack, which draws its energy from different parts of nature. While most secrets of the Slack are kept secret by the Tensors, they are facing an uprising from the resistant Mechanists – an anti-magic group.
All in all, The Tensorate Series is a wonderful series that blend magic and steampunk with an East-Asian twist.
August 2, 2022
I read The Black Tides of Heaven years ago and at the time was a bit hesitant about reading on. I didn't quite love that first novella. I think it was good that I waited because when I reread it in this bind-up I actually loved it.
The setting of these books is ancient Asian inspired fantasy where tensors are those that control the slackcraft in them and around them which gives them powers. They are ruled by the protector. There is an unique look at gender identity where children are not assigned a gender at birth but choose their own later on in life. Amidst this a rebellion is brewing. Those that are not tensors would like progressions while the state holds that back. When the protector births twins it changes things.
In The Black Tides of Heaven we meet the twins Akeha and Mokoya as they grow up. Looking so much alike but absolutely different. This focuses on Akeha as the story progresses who feels not quite as special as their sibling who gets visions but ultimately becomes a key person in the rebellion against their mother. I was much more invested in Akeha's character in this reread. The emotional strings amidst all these politics. Growing up to be your own person.
The Red Threads of Heaven focuses on Mokoya a few years after the events of The Black Tides of Heaven. Mokoya has been hiding away, grieving the loss of her child and avoiding her husband. When we comes across a rider on a naga called Rider, it starts a chain event that leads to Mokoya pulling up the gates. As much as I feel for the loss that Mokoya experienced as a mom myself, it does not negate her absolute stupidity towards her husband and it took away a lot of enjoyment out of the story for me.
The Descent of Monsters moves somewhat away from our twins as we follow an investigation into a labratory by the state by letters and diary entries of an state investigator that are directed at their partner. The connection towards the above is that it has to do with Rider finding their twin. It was interesting to see how hard everyone was at work to cover things up but I didn't quite connect with this one as much.
Last is The Ascent to Godhood that takes a slight different route by sharing the story of the Protectorate's ex-lover become enemy, Lady Han. It was an interesting glimpse into the life of The Protectorate. And the link towards the third story was quite a good touch.
The setting of these books is ancient Asian inspired fantasy where tensors are those that control the slackcraft in them and around them which gives them powers. They are ruled by the protector. There is an unique look at gender identity where children are not assigned a gender at birth but choose their own later on in life. Amidst this a rebellion is brewing. Those that are not tensors would like progressions while the state holds that back. When the protector births twins it changes things.
In The Black Tides of Heaven we meet the twins Akeha and Mokoya as they grow up. Looking so much alike but absolutely different. This focuses on Akeha as the story progresses who feels not quite as special as their sibling who gets visions but ultimately becomes a key person in the rebellion against their mother. I was much more invested in Akeha's character in this reread. The emotional strings amidst all these politics. Growing up to be your own person.
The Red Threads of Heaven focuses on Mokoya a few years after the events of The Black Tides of Heaven. Mokoya has been hiding away, grieving the loss of her child and avoiding her husband. When we comes across a rider on a naga called Rider, it starts a chain event that leads to Mokoya pulling up the gates. As much as I feel for the loss that Mokoya experienced as a mom myself, it does not negate her absolute stupidity towards her husband and it took away a lot of enjoyment out of the story for me.
The Descent of Monsters moves somewhat away from our twins as we follow an investigation into a labratory by the state by letters and diary entries of an state investigator that are directed at their partner. The connection towards the above is that it has to do with Rider finding their twin. It was interesting to see how hard everyone was at work to cover things up but I didn't quite connect with this one as much.
Last is The Ascent to Godhood that takes a slight different route by sharing the story of the Protectorate's ex-lover become enemy, Lady Han. It was an interesting glimpse into the life of The Protectorate. And the link towards the third story was quite a good touch.
November 16, 2023
I don't usually write reviews so this is going to be a rough one
I'd give this a 3.5/5
This is a collection of four novellas
I really liked the first one and the third one, I'd rank them 4/5 and 4.5/5.
I liked the second and the fourth novellas as well, they weren't bad in my opinion, I'd rank them 3.5/5 and 3/5.
I love the worldbuilding in this world, I love how gender is being treated in this world, it's a refreshing take in the fantasy sphere, maybe I haven't read enough of LGBTQIA+ fantasy and I haven't seen more rep like this, but the way this series treats gender and sexuality is great and it feels like it's not something that feels like it's forced in, it's an element that's prevalent in the world, it's well thought out and it never feels out of place.
Mx Yang is nonbinary and queer so I am not really surprised about how well and respectfully the LGBTQIA+ aspects are being treated, I still really appreciate their efforts and the way their vision comes true so smoothly
The magic system has depth but it's very easy to understand, it's an interesting system I'd like to see explored more in later novellas if Mx Yang decides to write more books set in Ea.
The politics of the world are interesting and the dynamics of it are present in even the smallest aspects of the story, it's great.
The character work is excellent as well, the characters are believable and interesting.
This collection and series is however not without faults
The prose was rough at times
The addition of modern curse words in the second book as slightly jarring, but I got used to it
I liked the story and the plot of novella 4 really much, I however really disliked how the story was told, it was told by an old woman retelling her past, it felt like a lacklustre finale to the series, but I respect what Yang was attempting there, they tried to make every novella different yet similar, they're all told in different ways
The first one was told over 4 decades
The second one was a bit basic compared to the others, it was just a typical novella format
The third, one my favourite, was told through diary entries, it was great
The fourth one was the old woman telling her story, I already mentioned that it felt lacklustre
Overall I enjoyed my time with this omnibus, if Yang ever decides to return to Ea, I will immediately pick it up.
This series is overall worth it just for the concepts
I'd give this a 3.5/5
This is a collection of four novellas
I really liked the first one and the third one, I'd rank them 4/5 and 4.5/5.
I liked the second and the fourth novellas as well, they weren't bad in my opinion, I'd rank them 3.5/5 and 3/5.
I love the worldbuilding in this world, I love how gender is being treated in this world, it's a refreshing take in the fantasy sphere, maybe I haven't read enough of LGBTQIA+ fantasy and I haven't seen more rep like this, but the way this series treats gender and sexuality is great and it feels like it's not something that feels like it's forced in, it's an element that's prevalent in the world, it's well thought out and it never feels out of place.
Mx Yang is nonbinary and queer so I am not really surprised about how well and respectfully the LGBTQIA+ aspects are being treated, I still really appreciate their efforts and the way their vision comes true so smoothly
The magic system has depth but it's very easy to understand, it's an interesting system I'd like to see explored more in later novellas if Mx Yang decides to write more books set in Ea.
The politics of the world are interesting and the dynamics of it are present in even the smallest aspects of the story, it's great.
The character work is excellent as well, the characters are believable and interesting.
This collection and series is however not without faults
The prose was rough at times
The addition of modern curse words in the second book as slightly jarring, but I got used to it
I liked the story and the plot of novella 4 really much, I however really disliked how the story was told, it was told by an old woman retelling her past, it felt like a lacklustre finale to the series, but I respect what Yang was attempting there, they tried to make every novella different yet similar, they're all told in different ways
The first one was told over 4 decades
The second one was a bit basic compared to the others, it was just a typical novella format
The third, one my favourite, was told through diary entries, it was great
The fourth one was the old woman telling her story, I already mentioned that it felt lacklustre
Overall I enjoyed my time with this omnibus, if Yang ever decides to return to Ea, I will immediately pick it up.
This series is overall worth it just for the concepts
October 30, 2022
First of all, let me just say how thrilled I am to see the day that we get to witness the addition of this work of high fantasy-adventure in the small pool that in our local literature, and how hopeful I am to continue seeing Singapore's unique culture represented in this genre, which continues to be dominated by East Asian and, of course, European cultures. Neon Yang is definitely a trailblazer as they are a talented writer. I thoroughly enjoyed the imaginative worldbuilding and the lyrical descriptions of its settings, including the geography, ecology and architecture of the cities, as well as the inhabitants with their magic systems or technology.
Yang does a great job painting their world and the distinct characters driving the story in the brevity afforded by the four short novellas spanning the whole series, but falls short in terms of the plotting and pacing. I am still very shocked and disappointed with how the climax of the rebellion was handled in the last two novellas. As a result, The Tensorate for me was more enjoyable as a study of a fictional world and its machinations rather than a narrative where I could bond with the characters and feel invested in the fate of their world as they struggled under the iron grip of their ruthless dictator. I don't know if Yang plans to expand more on this universe, but I hope they do because of all the loose ends (what happens to all the characters we start with? Did xxxxxx ever find out about xxxxx?) plaguing my mind now as a consequence of how abruptly we jump from one storyline to another. I also hope to see this become a film or show one day, because regardless of the choppy storytelling, this work in a visual medium will be a real treat.
Yang does a great job painting their world and the distinct characters driving the story in the brevity afforded by the four short novellas spanning the whole series, but falls short in terms of the plotting and pacing. I am still very shocked and disappointed with how the climax of the rebellion was handled in the last two novellas. As a result, The Tensorate for me was more enjoyable as a study of a fictional world and its machinations rather than a narrative where I could bond with the characters and feel invested in the fate of their world as they struggled under the iron grip of their ruthless dictator. I don't know if Yang plans to expand more on this universe, but I hope they do because of all the loose ends (what happens to all the characters we start with? Did xxxxxx ever find out about xxxxx?) plaguing my mind now as a consequence of how abruptly we jump from one storyline to another. I also hope to see this become a film or show one day, because regardless of the choppy storytelling, this work in a visual medium will be a real treat.
October 5, 2021
I flew through these novellas, y’all! I was not only completely ensnared in the magic system and political intrigue, but also in the depth of character and relationships Yang provides through each of the novellas. What I found so cool about this series, especially with reading all four novellas back to back, is how they were able to switch up the narrative style but still keep the same vibe of the world. The first novella THE BLACK TIDES OF HEAVEN takes place over the span of several decades, so there’s a lot of time jumps; THE RED THREADS OF FORTUNE is a more linear and compact story; THE DESCENT OF MONSTERS is told only through letters, transcripts, and diary entries; and THE ASCENT TO GODHOOD is told completely in an oral history fashion. Somehow, all these different narrative styles make sense for the specific plots explored throughout the series.
Throughout the entirety of this series, we see a recurring concept: Oppressed people don’t choose rebellion, but rather oppressive forces choose to continue circumstances that cause discontent. I definitely see myself reaching for these novellas again as a comfort read; the world is so easy to immerse yourself in and it’s nonstop action. My favorite novella was definitely THE RED THREADS OF FORTUNE. It features the best character portrayal and plot, and it’s a very full story with a lot of action and stakes for only 136 pages. My favorite story formats, however, is a battle between THE DESCENT OF MONSTERS and THE ASCENT TO GODHOOD.
THE TENSORATE SERIES features queer and nonbinary rep, as well as chronic illness representation.
Throughout the entirety of this series, we see a recurring concept: Oppressed people don’t choose rebellion, but rather oppressive forces choose to continue circumstances that cause discontent. I definitely see myself reaching for these novellas again as a comfort read; the world is so easy to immerse yourself in and it’s nonstop action. My favorite novella was definitely THE RED THREADS OF FORTUNE. It features the best character portrayal and plot, and it’s a very full story with a lot of action and stakes for only 136 pages. My favorite story formats, however, is a battle between THE DESCENT OF MONSTERS and THE ASCENT TO GODHOOD.
THE TENSORATE SERIES features queer and nonbinary rep, as well as chronic illness representation.
December 31, 2021
More of a 4.5.
I loved the way the novellas wove together. The forethought and organization of them as a collection made this series a pleasure to read.
I will say the third installment format was not my favorite and did leave me a bit confused.
However the world building was amazing. It was almost effortless to slip into the mindset of a citizen on the Protectorate.
_______
Also, on a more personal note, I was convinced to read this by a friend and she did promise Mokoya’s character would get better. I did not find that to be the case. She was a naive girl in the beginning and she became even more selfish in her grief. That isn’t to say that what she went through was insignificant or shouldn’t be taken into account. I agree that she needed time to heal. However, she abandons her husband to grieve alone and bites his head off every chance she gets even though he is still patient, kind, and would still give her anything. She treated him very poorly. Thennjay deserves better.
Disliked Rider, but really only based off of the small interactions we get with them in the second and third book. I know that I may be a bit off base, but the beginning of their relationship with Mokoya being mostly lies and manipulation does not sit right with me. I do respect that they had experienced a lot of trama in their previous relationship, but I don’t see that as an excuse.
The last book was by far my favorite. Lady Han’s bitterness and ruthlessness are explained. You see to what extent she was doing right as opposed to filling a need for vengeance. Seeing her heart break was intense. She and Akeha are definitely my favorite characters.
I loved the way the novellas wove together. The forethought and organization of them as a collection made this series a pleasure to read.
I will say the third installment format was not my favorite and did leave me a bit confused.
However the world building was amazing. It was almost effortless to slip into the mindset of a citizen on the Protectorate.
_______
Also, on a more personal note, I was convinced to read this by a friend and she did promise Mokoya’s character would get better. I did not find that to be the case. She was a naive girl in the beginning and she became even more selfish in her grief. That isn’t to say that what she went through was insignificant or shouldn’t be taken into account. I agree that she needed time to heal. However, she abandons her husband to grieve alone and bites his head off every chance she gets even though he is still patient, kind, and would still give her anything. She treated him very poorly. Thennjay deserves better.
Disliked Rider, but really only based off of the small interactions we get with them in the second and third book. I know that I may be a bit off base, but the beginning of their relationship with Mokoya being mostly lies and manipulation does not sit right with me. I do respect that they had experienced a lot of trama in their previous relationship, but I don’t see that as an excuse.
The last book was by far my favorite. Lady Han’s bitterness and ruthlessness are explained. You see to what extent she was doing right as opposed to filling a need for vengeance. Seeing her heart break was intense. She and Akeha are definitely my favorite characters.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2022
really enjoyed this extremely queer sci-fi series!! also bonus that it's written by a queer non-binary Asian person <3
there could be more world building, context & action.. i was confused at the start of each novella trying to figure out whose voice & when the story picked up from. there were other holes within the story that i had not think too deeply about
my favorite thing is how gender is seen within this world; regardless of how one is born, they can decide on their gender when they're ready. there's different pronouns beyond what's regularly used in referring to people. in the 4th novella, there is slight class analysis in highlighting how thinking about & deciding on gender is a privilege that working families didn't have since they needed to survive/keep food on the table which is real in our present society as well
#1 Black Tides of Heaven & #2 Red Threads of Fortune: 4.5/5
- really enjoyed how it followed one twin & continued with the other twin!
- also wow the queerness & relationships that both twins developed <3
- i appreciated how #2 also delved into grief & moving through that pain
#3 Descent of Monsters: 3.5/5
- not the biggest fan of the format... but it made sense & added to the storytelling
- the development & mystery & seeking truth through this one.. oof
#4 Ascent to Godhood: 3/5
- most confused at the start of this one & i didn't enjoy the style
- BUT it was so queer & focused on strong ass women
- i liked that they closed the series on Lady Han & her connection to the Protector
there could be more world building, context & action.. i was confused at the start of each novella trying to figure out whose voice & when the story picked up from. there were other holes within the story that i had not think too deeply about
my favorite thing is how gender is seen within this world; regardless of how one is born, they can decide on their gender when they're ready. there's different pronouns beyond what's regularly used in referring to people. in the 4th novella, there is slight class analysis in highlighting how thinking about & deciding on gender is a privilege that working families didn't have since they needed to survive/keep food on the table which is real in our present society as well
#1 Black Tides of Heaven & #2 Red Threads of Fortune: 4.5/5
- really enjoyed how it followed one twin & continued with the other twin!
- also wow the queerness & relationships that both twins developed <3
- i appreciated how #2 also delved into grief & moving through that pain
#3 Descent of Monsters: 3.5/5
- not the biggest fan of the format... but it made sense & added to the storytelling
- the development & mystery & seeking truth through this one.. oof
#4 Ascent to Godhood: 3/5
- most confused at the start of this one & i didn't enjoy the style
- BUT it was so queer & focused on strong ass women
- i liked that they closed the series on Lady Han & her connection to the Protector
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