Red Phoenix

Red Phoenix is the second novel in the Dark Heavens series, a contemporary fantasy series set in Hong Kong and based around Chinese mythology; it follows on from White Tiger.

The primary criticism I offered with White Tiger was that I felt myself drowning in the syrupy embrace of the Mary Sue character. As the novel went on she became more fantastic, wonderful, and perfect, adored by all around her. The start of Phoenix was bad news: it starts on a cloying plateau, then climbs a mountain. After the first couple of chapters it had moved from a notable flaw to a near-fatal one, and I found myself wondering if I should bother trudging on.

I did, and happily I was rewarded for doing so. Chan moves her character away from her flawless perfection who anticipates every problem and outwits and outfights godlike beings in a state of wonder at her own perfection, and begins to develop a character with a bit more depth and resonance; more importantly, Chen moves the other characters away from a position of constant amazement at Emma’s brilliance to a more believable approach. Hints that Emma is not exactly as she seems are developed, which give room for her to be concerned about herself. The relationship with one of her sisters and her parents is turned into something less effortless, more natural and believable than the glimpses in Tiger. Plot points which appeared to have been discarded reappear in the middle and last half of the novel, lending confidence there’s more depth to come.

It’s still a bit uneven; it falls back into super-Emma mode from time to time, but overall I found it an improvement on Tiger, keeping its strengths (the easy apparent¹ familiarity with modern-day Hong Kong.

It’s worth noting that like White Tiger, Red Phoenix ends very abruptly. They are not self-contained novels in any real way, and are definitely designed to be read as part of an overall story.