I picked up The Grace of Kings because everyone raves about this series, and I was interested in exploring more Asian fantasy novels (especially during Asian Heritage Month). The first time around, I found the plot difficult to follow (it’s the epic history of an empire being torn down by a rebellion) and the many characters — everyone from royal advisers, nobles, generals and soldiers, wives and servants, and even including the immortal gods of this island realm of Dara — felt like too many to track and engage with. This read-through, I was immediately hooked by a banging first chapter where an imperial festival becomes the occasion for an attempt on the emperor’s life by a flying assassin. Though there are many thrilling moments, the rest of the novel takes a bit of a slower pace than that chapter as we follow two main characters: Kuni Garu, a troublemaker and gang leader, and Mata Zyndu, a tall and massive son of a noble house, as events lead each to their ascendance, fanning the flames and marshalling the forces of rebellion against the emperor (Oops, no, they didn’t get him during the festival!) who had previously conquered, united, and enslaved all the nations of Dara under “The Reign of One Bright Heaven”.

From the outset, even without looking into author Ken Liu’s résumé, it’s pretty clear that he knows how to craft an Asian-inspired world. From the names of the characters and nations, the types of roles and battles, all the way to the pomp, styling and “branding” of an empire, I was having flashbacks to the tales of ancient Chinese history and folklore my mom used to tell me as bedtime stories when I was a child. Unfortunately I don’t anymore recall enough to pick out where Liu is reinventing actual events from history books, but the flavour — even the level of magic and fantasy elements (which is not very high) — feels authentic and real. Ancient Chinese history is full of exploits that seem outrageous, perhaps because so much of the historical record has been lost to time and retelling — embellishments get hand-waved and accepted along the way. All the creative and sneaky battle tactics; the way enemies were always getting their heads lopped off in a blink; the way both heroes and villains seem capable of incredibly cruel and brutal acts to serve their purposes; the way characters value their legacy, their legend, almost as much as their lives. Many of these elements are far-fetched, and yet they reflect so well the blending of fact and legend that is prevalent in Chinese history. Similarly, I absolutely appreciated how little Liu focuses on martial arts, especially in the scenes of combat. Characters definitely fought with blades (as the setting requires), but these were soldiers and generals in armies of thousands. It was genuinely refreshing how Liu did not fall into the cliché of the genre where “everybody was kung-fu fighting”. Thank you Mr. Liu!

The only truly magical or fantastical elements in this novel are the immortals and gods. Early on, we are introduced to the various deities (who are very similar to the classical Greek pantheon) interacting with each other like a big family. Each has domain over their respective elemental forces, along with being patrons of particular nations. They show up in brief scenes at the ends of chapters to provide a kind of commentary, as well as squabble and debate with each other about the events among the mortals. They apparently have a non-interference pact, but as the story progresses, many of them secretly infiltrate and slyly influence the lives of human favourites and manipulate events. But as fantasy fiction goes, it’s all very mild.

One of the big criticisms of this novel, and something that puts readers off, is the historical tone of the writing and storytelling. Liu chooses plot and description of events over experiencing the perspectives and inner lives of his characters. Throughout, we jump from one person’s story to another’s and watch as events bring them together or separate them. Even the character thoughts that are provided are done in the style of an omniscient narration. The closest this story has to character perspectives (or POVs) is a later chapter where Kuni Garu and his wife recount their experiences to each other through letters. I agree with readers who find that this writing style makes the characters less engaging. It took me quite a while to not only learn the characters’ names, but to start to care about what happens to them. The dialogue was often a bit unnatural, as if we are reading conversations as people (e.g. historians) have remembered them, rather than the actual words that might have been spoken. However, again, this felt authentic to how Chinese history and legends are told, and I enjoyed it.

I went into this reading experience looking for an epic fantasy story crafted from the Asian/Chinese experience and flavour, and this book delivered that. In my zeal, I had forgotten that even with my mom telling me those stories, I always did prefer the more magical fairy tales of the Eight Immortals or the Monkey King over the historical tales of Han dynasty warlord Cao Cao. I found the latter to be a little dry and dull. So in Liu’s Dandelion Dynasty, I definitely wish there were more fantasy, more magic. I would prefer to slow down the plot and get a bit deeper into the culture of Dara and breathe in the world-building (which is really intricate and well-considered from what we can see). I’ve heard that the later volumes of the series might take some of those wishes to heart, so I’m looking forward to reading them. Nevertheless, while The Grace of Kings didn’t quite fulfill all the demands of my quest for an Asian fantasy novel that I love, I really enjoyed it; I admire what Ken Liu has done and I look forward to continuing this journey with him.

4 stars

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