The Red Threads of Fortune
-
-
4.2 • 34 Ratings
-
-
- $4.99
-
- $4.99
Publisher Description
“Joyously wild stuff. Highly recommended.” —The New York Times
The Red Threads of Fortune is one of a pair of unique, standalone introductions to Neon Yang's Tensorate Series, which Kate Elliott calls "effortlessly fascinating." For more of the story you can read its twin novella The Black Tides of Heaven, available simultaneously.
Fallen prophet, master of the elements, and daughter of the supreme Protector, Sanao Mokoya has abandoned the life that once bound her. Once her visions shaped the lives of citizens across the land, but no matter what tragedy Mokoya foresaw, she could never reshape the future. Broken by the loss of her young daughter, she now hunts deadly, sky-obscuring naga in the harsh outer reaches of the kingdom with packs of dinosaurs at her side, far from everything she used to love.
On the trail of a massive naga that threatens the rebellious mining city of Bataanar, Mokoya meets the mysterious and alluring Rider. But all is not as it seems: the beast they both hunt harbors a secret that could ignite war throughout the Protectorate. As she is drawn into a conspiracy of magic and betrayal, Mokoya must come to terms with her extraordinary and dangerous gifts, or risk losing the little she has left to hold dear.
The Tensorate Series
Book 1: The Black Tides of Heaven
Book 2: The Red Threads of Fortune
Book 3: The Descent of Monsters
Book 4: The Ascent to Godhood
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Yang returns to the fascinating world of their (Yang's preferred pronoun) debut, The Black Tides of Heaven, with mixed results. Four years after the events of the first book, Mokoya, daughter of the Protector, has fled the capitol and its painful memories of her daughter's death. In her traumatized state, she no longer has access to the prophetic dreams of her youth. Working in tandem with her twin brother's antimagic populist rebellion, she hunts down dangerous creatures that the Protectorate has weaponized to quash dissent. While tracking a giant naga, she encounters and improbably falls instantaneously for Rider, an ungendered outsider who uses magical Slackcraft in unorthodox ways. As Rider trains Mokoya in these new methods, Yang frequently digresses into explaining how the magic system works. Yang efficiently captures the action of the physical battles that Mokoya, her estranged husband, and her brother fight to protect the city. The underdeveloped diplomatic conflicts remain a bit murkier, with a confusing layering of political jurisdictions and fealties. Though not as gripping as its predecessor, the novella authentically depicts trauma and lays promising groundwork for future books in the series.
Customer Reviews
Companion Novella Introducing the Tensorate Series
“The RedThreads of Fortune” is a companion novella to “The Black Tides of Heaven.” Both are considered as introductory points to JY Yang’s Tensorate Series. The events of “The Red Threads of Fortune” occur chronologically after those of “The Black Tides of Heaven” but it is a compete story in itself.
In the Tensorate Series, both magic and technology exist in a alternate world that has a decidedly Asian flavor. Both stories revolve around twin children of a cruel ruler known as the Protector. One becomes a prophet, and the other a powerful magician known as a Tensor. “The Red Threads of Fortune” is told from the view of the prophet.
Overall, this world is refreshingly new, much different than the average fantasy setting. The different cultural background is a welcome change from the typical medieval European-type setting. The magic in this world is known as Slackcraft, and is decidedly different than in most fantasy novels, involving elemental aspects of the world.
In this world, gender is a choice that people make at some point in their lives. Children are agender, and become male or female when they reach adolescence as they decide for themselves. They are not limited to traditional relationships as adults, as they may choose to love members of either sex. Monogamy isn’t mandatory either, even for those who are married. None of this is a major theme of the story, it is just a background condition, like the other aspects of the world.
The story has a rapid pace, that keeps you involved in the narrative. It illuminates enough of the world to make you want to see more. I’ll definitely be checking into the next novella in the series.