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Sometimes, there is just a book that when you finished reading, you completely have no idea where you are... This world was so immersive that I came up disoriented and rather sad that I have to leave it behind.
To begin with though, some mind-bending was required. In this world, you are born without a gender; you will remain as 'undeclared gender' until such time that you yourself wish to be confirmed to be one or another and then the process to change your body accordingly will take place. In an ...more
To begin with though, some mind-bending was required. In this world, you are born without a gender; you will remain as 'undeclared gender' until such time that you yourself wish to be confirmed to be one or another and then the process to change your body accordingly will take place. In an ...more

I enjoyed this novella. The world building was unique and fun to read about. I liked the characters - they were complicated, interesting, and felt genuine to me. I felt like this first novella gives the reader an interesting peak into a complex world and I look forward to reading more about it in subsequent books in the series.

This is a terrific introduction to the sub-genre of silkpunk. Author J. Y. Yang takes us to a world that feels vaguely Eastern, with significant elements of magic and fantasy as well as a vastly different approach to gender than our world has. The story revolves around young twins Akeha and Mokoya as each tries to find their place in a world torn between the traditionally powerful “tensors” and the competing machinists. It’s an intriguing reframing of the conflict between science and religion. A
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I read this ONCE, about halfway, then gave up. The gender fluid thing was fine, but it's been better done elsewhere (see: The Left Hand of Darkness). The story was so cookie-cutter the same: Asian setting; spooky twins; wise older man; manipulative power-made Empress; 'the Force' (called 'the Slack'); and so on. Readers of fantasy have read this story many times.
Maybe the story would have been better told as a graphic novel?? ...more
Maybe the story would have been better told as a graphic novel?? ...more

Sep 14, 2017
Betty
marked it as to-read

Oct 12, 2017
Lisa Wilkinson
marked it as wishlist

Jan 08, 2018
Bror (Abrar)
marked it as to-read

Feb 07, 2018
Micha
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Sep 25, 2018
Sean Leventhal
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Dec 22, 2018
Carrie
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Jan 01, 2019
KC
marked it as to-read

Feb 08, 2019
Mary
marked it as bookfunnel-downloads-prolific

Dec 20, 2019
Kit
marked it as to-read

May 16, 2020
Lizzy
marked it as to-read


Apr 25, 2022
Sabrina
marked it as to-read

Jun 15, 2022
Jirrine
marked it as wishlist
