Descendant of the Crane: He Joan

Product Information

A beautiful debut with thrilling politics and strokes of magic, set in a lush world that feels real and weighted with its own complex history. He really pulls out all the stops with this book, and the sheer number of twists and turns have me screaming. They are selected at random, but Hesina is told by the sooth about this one convict in her dungeons that could help her. The main character is way too preoccupied with more important things to get in touch with her romantic feelings, and so for both her and the reader, the romance serves mainly as a light and sweet de-stressor. There is a little romance in there, but it is not over the top and it plays perfectly in the whole story.

Este libro tiene más de lo que las portadas dejan ver, la trama de fondo de la historia es digna de reflexión y se posiciona como uno de mis libros favoritos para la primera mitad del año. He taught her how to defend against the corruption and excesses of the old kings, before revolutionaries purged them and their seers to establish the dynasty anew. Sanjing tore my heart because he’s the most realistic portrayal of a 16 year old boy I’ve ever seen in a fantasy novel, and his relationship with Hesina clawed at my soul.

I love how nothing in this story yields resignedly to her desires despite her many effortful attempts. I fell in love with the characters of Descendant of the Crane so fast, I was making them my new family just 25% of the way in. Most of them are context-based – you can easily figure out what they refer to – but it’d still be nice to have a clear idea of what something exactly is.

Como lectora, sólo aprendí que la sangre de quienes blandían magia prohibida se encendía en llamas cuando salía a la superficie. Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira - a brilliant investigator who's also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own.I thought that was very well done, in fact, even if they weren't acting quite the way we expect teens to act. Now the catch is that these sooths are thought of as bad people, and by even acknowledging them as human beings you are guilty of treason. There were times when she wavered but when she made up her mind to do something, she did it formidably. They're understated and restrained in a consistent way that makes it feel like a coherent courtly culture, underpinned with specific philosophy. Deep world-building, magical family secrets, and intricate palace politics - Descendant of the Crane soars from page one.

One of my favourite things about Asian-inspired fantasy novels is that they often have undeniably stunning world building; I adored being lost in the world of Descendant of the Crane. Lilian is a ray of sunshine and when she’s around, you just know that everything will be okay, even if it’s for a moment. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.Princess Hesina has big boots to fill as her father the King is thought to have died under suspicious circumstances.