“We have taken so that we may live. 
We have taken so that one day we may give back. 
And now the taking is done.”
~the Caldonnae hunter’s prayer~

One of my new favorite books. The book begins brutally. And the book ends brutally. It follows two characters as they make their way in a city, Tiran, that doesn’t appreciate them: Sciona, a woman, and Thomil the Kwen/“Blighter” janitor. Sciona mistakenly assumes that she would be respected once she passes her exam to become the first ever female highmage. But of course, she lives in a world and profession dominated by men some of whom will go out of their way to make her miserable. Thomil was the janitor of the building that she works in until one of the male highmages makes him Sciona’s (untrained) assistant as a humiliation to them both. As Sciona and Thomil work together and get to know each other, they come to learn the truth of the magic that Tiran is powered by. 

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from this book. I’d heard that it was like Kuang’s Babel, and it certainly was. But they are also two very different stories. I feel like I enjoyed this one more! It explores themes of racism, sexism, xenophobia, cultural assimilation, theft of culture and language, and mass slaughter and genocide. I cried a lot throughout this book. Often I’d cry near the end of it, but I was crying in like every other chapter. Anyway, this was an AMAZING book. Be prepared for racist and sexist language though. And for one SA scene. Oh, and gory death scenes too, sprinkled like blood throughout the book. In fact, just look at all the trigger warnings. I’ll add as many as I can think of. 

A very good read, and a really delightful magic system and world—both of which serve the overarching message of the book. Really incisive and well put together, but my only complaint is the dialogue could really stretch on. I tend to prefer a bit more show than tell.

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. 

This has some great reviews online but ultimately fell flat for me. The magic system was cool but after seeing someone relate it to learning Java in another review I can’t help but think of it that way. The misogyny was overdone and I felt the female main character could have been more complex. I felt some of the themes could have been implemented in a more subtle way & it was kind of predictable. 

Really loved this self contained story. I enjoyed the magic system and how thoroughly it was explained. The real highlight was the characters and how their strengths tie directly into their weaknesses. Scionas fight against misogyny while being pretty blatantly racist towards Thomil and the Kwen was a great dynamic to watch play out. The mystery of the blight and how the in-world magic works was another highlight

An absolutely incredible read for fans of *Babel*, *Arcane* (Netflix), unique magic systems, and dark academia. The story follows two characters, Sciona and Thomil, as they cross paths in a city protected by a barrier spell that is fueled by dark secrets and justified by religious dogma. Sciona becomes the first-ever female highmage in the city’s history, challenging their religion’s view that women are unsuited for working in the upper echelon of magical innovation. The story is challenging, bringing up issues like colonization, oppression, and the intertwining of church and state. Reading it made me appreciate the power of fantasy writing to challenge deeply rooted beliefs taught to us from a young age. While other reviewers focus on the idea of “What is the cost of magic?” I would take it a step further to say the book asks: what is the cost of comfort?

The writing is exceptional, opening slowly with strong worldbuilding, explained clearly and cleverly to the reader. The book even includes an annex with terminology. The story takes a turn about a quarter of the way in, and the action and twists start to take shape. This book was a page-turner for me, between the worldbuilding, the moral dilemmas, and the author’s intoxicating writing style. The focuses of the story are the character flaws, personal ambitions, the desire for legacy, and systems of power  — but there is a hint of will-they-won’t-they for readers who enjoy a sprinkle of romance in their books. Similar to one of the dilemmas presented in *Arcane*, the story presents the dichotomy of people using magic as a gift to enrich their community and those who manipulate and bend it to their will to fulfill selfish ends.

Easily the best book I have read this year — I will be clawing for a hardcover edition as soon as it’s available and following M.L. Wang’s writing journey closely! And of course, thank you to Del Rey Books and Random House Group for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.