A complex tale this story takes place under a dome made by the founding mages which protects those in the city from the Blight. 

The blight kills without shame and destroys anything with life that it touches from trees and plants to unravelling a human infront of your eyes. 

We see our main character develop a lot throughout this book, as an academic she questions everything and despite Kwen being frowned upon in their city when she is mocked by her all male peers for being the first female archmage ever she takes the Kwen janitor under her wing as her assistant. 

Its narrative addresses issues such as genocide/ seeing certain groups as lesser beings as well as colonisation in the form of

ignoring the harms of magic and the destruction they reap on the Kwans native land , despite being a product of stolen texts taken from the original female witches under the Kwan who only aimed to help people.

Overall despite being deep and at sometimes saddening I truly loved this book and could not put it down. It’s unique from its magic system, to how it addresses social issues and I think is a vital addition to diversifying the worlds of sci fi and fantasy. 

Ack. I’m devastated. There are so many things to process. But let me just say that this book achieved what Babel couldn’t. It's a thematically dense book, but it was handled expertly when it could easily be bungled by a less skilled writer. ML Wang's craft is precise, and most of the time her writing style is practical and straight to the point, considering we spend most of the time in Sciona's head, but when the time is right (and in every single Thomil chapter), she goes for the neck. The magic system is great, btw. I'll add a spoiler tag to my notes because I can't be bothered to edit the word vomit below.

There are so many things to love about this book, but I have to applaud ML Wang for portraying rebellion with enough nuance and lingering in that discomfort. Blood Over Bright Haven shows you the fallout and the loss of Kwen lives. And forces you to look at the damage. Yes, what Sciona did was necessary, but her actions caused so much destruction. And that is the terrifying truth. It takes great violence to shake the foundations of a nation that was built on violence and continued to thrive through violence. It takes an even greater devastation to destroy those foundations. And even then the aftermath might not yield the desired effect. It might be worse. But you can trust that at the very, very least, the destruction will usher in light and if I think about Thomil and the Caldonnae for too long I might actually lose it.

I do have one question though: did the Kwen not organize? Were there not underground groups or something? If not resistance groups then support groups? I find that hard to believe, but I'll give this the benefit of the doubt because Sciona didn't get to see much during the fallout. And unfortunately, we didn't get a Thomil chapter during that time. I can see why so I'm not docking points for that

Lastly, I wanna say that I do have some notes? Thomil was too much of a background character for my taste. Although, to be honest, I did have low expectations of his involvement (I'm still annoyed about Griffin, aka RF Kuang's mouthpiece, just... dying after he said his piece), but ML Wang edged toward making Thomil the marginalized character who serves to educate main character. I'm glad we got to see his anger and his grief but that also ultimately served to further Sciona's character development.

We absolutely could have had two Thomil chapters before they executed the plan, because who really is he outside of his work? Outside of his relationship with Carra? How does he interact with other Kwen? What's the Kwen community at the Kwen Quarter like? And again, did the Kwen not organize? lmao. A broken person can still have a life... The man is pretty friendly, charming, honest, and kind. I'm sure those qualities would have shone if he had been given the chance to interact with people from other tribes before the last crossing. Can you tell that Thomil is everything to me? Man, even his hunting skills were mentioned to supplement Sciona's work. Tell me more about his relationship to his gods!!! To nature!!!

I also have some notes about the middle and how Sciona reacted to the truth. I wish we could have sat with her emotions a bit more before the suicide attempt because that felt kinda drastic for someone who didn't really care much about the people in her own neighborhood let alone Kwen lives. Better yet, just do away with the suicide attempt, because I think that detracted from the weight and truth of the assessments leveled at her in the final arc. 

Actually, I'm not done. I think the sexual assault scene was handled a little bit weirdly. ML Wang could have written in Renthorn's true nature in a more convincing way than sexual assault, just as the misogyny could have had more layers to it. I agree with the critiques about the misogyny being mostly limited to underestimating Sciona's abilities and staring. It was infuriating, yeah, but it was so flat as to be relatively benign that I forgot that 1.) They only let women take the test every 10 years and 2.) Sciona is the first woman highmage, full stop. It's funny that it didn't even break the immersion too much because I genuinely forgot about those two facts for much of the book.

Welcome to Tiran, the bright haven that stands against the harsh outside world. A thriving metropolis that runs on magic that powers an advanced industrial economy and innovative technology. Sciona is a mage, who has worked her way up through the ranks to become Tiran’s first female highmage, one of the elite overseers of the city that maps and siphons the power used to keep it running. She is proud to be a mage, a follower of her faith, and highly independent. Orphaned since age four and raised by her aunt with her cousin, she’s a force to be reckoned with and takes no shit. Her sponsor believes in her, she believes in herself to be the best, and she will prove it. She and the other new inductees are tasked with creating a spell to siphon enough power to expand the barrier that keeps Tiran protected from the outside, a harsh environment being ravaged by blight, a mysterious occurrence that pulls the lifeforce out the living and decimates the land and its savage people, known as the Kwen. Not taken seriously, she’s assigned an unqualified Kwen janitor as her assistant. Thomil crossed the barrier into Tiran with his niece after his tribe was overtaken by blight, with nothing left to lose and a last hope to survive on the inside. Unfortunately, that comes at the cost of living in Tiran’s slums, taking the low, often dangerous jobs no Tiran resident will, and being treated as not only a lower-class citizen, but despised and mistreated by the Tiranish. As much as Thomil tries to keep to the background, he is assigned to be Sciona’s assistant.

Sciona is often too caught up in her work and self to notice how hard a Kwen’s life in Tiran can be. After all, shouldn’t the Kwen be grateful to be offered sanctuary in their majestic Tiran? Determined to prove herself in a man’s world, Sciona works tirelessly to create a spell to expand the glory that is Tiran. She is pleasantly surprised to find out Thomil is quite smart and helpful in her research. As they delve deeper into the hunt for magic sources and spells to harness the power, they are challenged by their peers who wish them to fail, and secrets are uncovered that will test their morals, their grit and sense of self.

Two unwelcome people find themselves tested at every turn. Taunted, threatened, challenged constantly, the two form a bond and ego-centric and often delusional Sciona finds herself caring for more than just herself for the first time. The character development for both Sciona and Thomil is well-written. They are both rough around the edges, but as we learn more, each evolve in significant ways. I also really enjoyed Carra and what she represented.

The story touches on thoughtfully explored themes of misogyny, prejudice, faith, family, love and sacrifice. What do we do protect those we love? What will we sacrifice, what risks are we willing to take? How do you fight injustice without being the same as those who oppress you?

I thought the dark academia vibes were fantastic. The magic system is unique, with mages using spellographs like typewriters in which a spell is input and then siphons power from mapped sources. The plot was compelling, and I feel like the themes were powerful and even at times rage-inducing. This book packs a punch in a standalone adult fantasy. It was thought-provoking and paced well. The ending brought this book so full circle in the best way, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Spoiler warnings for gore and violence, sexual harassment, suicidal ideation, colonialism, genocide. 

Started a bit slow but it ramped up quick! Interesting world-building and magic.

This book was incredible. It introduces a fantasy world where Bright Haven, a city protected by magic, is a refuge from blight. It's founders created a place in which magic and industry thrive, but at what cost? 

The characters in this book are incredibly well written. From the beginning Sciona and Thomil are real people, with depth to their characterizations that is incredible. The reader can understand their points of view, can recognize the danger of Sciona's ego and the anger in Thomil's silence and still empathize with them. Their different views on morality and what makes a person "good" were so well written. I'm still thinking about one of their verbal debates.

The pacing of the story is tense and quick but never feels rushed. The way it unfolds makes sense but I was also unable to directly predict what was going to happen. And the ending is impossible to stop thinking about, even now over a day after finishing it.

This is my favorite book of the year so far.

 

How far would you go to discover, and honor the truth, even if it meant upending everything you know about history and god, and what is right and wrong? 

 

Although light on detailed intricate world-building (eg., The Fifth Season Game of Thrones, etc.), everything else about this dark academia fantasy from Sword of Kaigen author M.L. Wang is top notch and is a 5-star book for me. Character development and depth, dialog and banter, unique magic system and depth, plot and story pacing and writing are all excellent. It was a page-turner for me, addictive and fast-paced despite the length. 

 

The story follows a talented and ambitious young female aspiring mage named Sciona as she becomes the first woman ever to be admitted into the High Magistry in an industrial utopia called Titan protected and fueled by a unique magic system similar to coding and programming. Facing challenges and bullying from most of her new male colleagues, she does as she has always had to do - work twice as hard to get half the recognition and overcome their assumptions about whether a woman is even fit or capable of being a High Mage. 

 

Along the way she is assigned a janitor as her assistant as part of their cruelty, a man who escaped the harsh winterlands and vicious Blight that killed everyone he knew in their trek to find refuge in the magic-protected city of Titan. 

 

As they work together on a special project to expand the magical bounds of the city, they start to uncover an ancient secret that could change things forever, if it doesn’t drive them mad or get them killed in the process. 

 

I think opinions will be mixed on how "happy" or "hopeful" the ending is, but just like in real life, I think some things can be both happy and sad, hopeful and tragic, redemptive and heartbreaking and thought-provoking, all at the same time. The truth of the past, the truth about history, is rarely golden and blemish-free, and uncovering the truth about the past can often be uncomfortable. It's what we do with that knowledge that matters, if we accept the status quo, or choose to do something with the knowledge, that makes us who we are. 

 

 

 

Notes about content and themes: 

There is some graphic depictions of violence that are central to the plot and the overall core of the world and struggle between the protected civilization under the dome and the people they exploit for resources, with strong themes of patriarchy and misogyny, genocide, exploitation, racism and xenophobia, classism, religious supremacy and intolerance, and hints and allusions to imperialism, colonization, that are reminiscent of the dark past of western history. Romantic elements are not overt -- there are feelings and inklings of love between several key characters in a doomed forbidden romance, but no spice.