Julia Vee

Ebony Gate

Ellie M.

Thanks to TOR Publishing, Julia Vee, and Ken Bebelle for the complimentary copy through Netgalley. This doesn’t affect my review in any way. Ebony Gate comes out on July 11th, 2023! 

Emiko Soong is known as the Butcher of Beijing. But after the incident that cost her the lives of innocent people, she moved to San Francisco, away from being her clan’s Blade and away from bloodshed. However, as she tries to live her quiet, newfound life, the Shinigami suddenly summons her for a mission to retrieve the ebony gate to prevent the vengeful ghosts of Yomi from wreaking havoc on her city. But as she tries to meet the death god’s deadline, she discovers there is more hidden to the missing gate. And as she ties the missing pieces together, she soon realizes that someone is manipulating with the balance of the city’s peace and magic. A mess that puts her brother Tatsuya’s life in danger, and she might not be able to fix it unless she wields her blade once more. 

This book was able to incorporate different Asian cultures with a diverse cast of characters, but most focused on the elements of East Asian mythology. Ebony Gate offers a promising story of adventure, self-discovery, and redemption with a badass female lead. A female John Wick with a penchant for swordfighting and dragon magic? SIGN ME UP! I love how this book richly encompasses magical realism with minor elements of science fiction set in modern-day San Francisco. The world-building was clever and is said to be on par with Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga, with the hierarchy of magical, powerful families fueled by politics and power. I would just like the narration to be a bit toned down, especially with regards to unnecessary details since I believe we could’ve saved so much page time. Other than that, I think The Phoenix Hoard will go a long way and I’m excited to see where the sequel will take us.

Ebony Gate

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