Descendant of the Crane: He Joan

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Hesina wasn’t lifting Caiyan up; she was leading him astray. But when he reached for her hand, she held on, to her dismay. The confidence in his grip grounded her, and they crossed into the district together. 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." - Lori M. Lee, author of the "Gates of Thread and Stone" series and contributor to A Thousand Beginnings and Endings And they did come—at the hands of eleven scrappy outlaws who climbed the Ning Mountains, crossed the Kendi’an dunes, breached the imperial walls, and beheaded the last relic emperor on his very throne. They emancipated serfs and set them to work on dikes and embankments. Storms calmed. Floods drained. They opened the doors of education to women and commoners, and their disciples circulated the former outlaws’ philosophies in a book called the Tenets. The people of Yan called them the Eleven. Legends. Saviors. Heroes. Descendant of the Crane was written as a standalone story, though it does seem like there’s more to come, and Joan He has said that she’s considered a companion book or two to go with it. I really hope that more books come out that carry this story on, as I’m desperate for more answers, to see more mystery uncovered, and to find out what happens to these characters. If there is no more, and it’s just this one book, then it’s a hell of a book, and there being no followup won’t detract from my enjoyment at all.

Review: Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. From this very first line of the synopsis I knew this was going to be the book for me. Hesina is what many of us girls once were: obligated to age before our time, to take on roles we should not have had to bear. It's a reality many girls of color are forced to endure, and it was as refreshing as it was bittersweet to read. Hesina, royal by birth, does not take all of her newfound responsibilities without struggle and without a hefty dose of mistakes, and I loved her all the more for it. I just adore this book so much and it’s one of my favorites of all time! I want to hug the characters to my chest and make sure they’re all happy and thriving. A well-conceived costume is a new identity. From this very first line of the actual book I knew I was going to be immersed in all the political scheming, court intrigue, and high-stakes action that I had been so highly anticipating. And I was not wrong. Imagine the acrid aromas of incense coiling through the air. The autumn wind as it whispers sweet secrets to the ginkgo leaves. The scarlet haze of paper lanterns smeared around the edges of silhouettes.

Joan has a beautiful prose that worked very well with the story, it actually exceeded my expectations. For a debut, this was more than well done! I think the pacing was slow and some places even slower than slow. If this was faster and shorter, then it would definitely have been a bigger hit (it is a big hit so it would have been perfect).

Fantasy books following the inner-workings of the royal court and with society's ruling members as their central characters are my favourite to read about. What this book did, inside this much-used outline, is deliver the reader something entirely new. The book begun with treason, was followed by murder, and the stakes were only ever raised from there. My trust was tested with each twist added to this deliciously dark tale and even as I bonded with the unforgettable cast of characters I knew I could never trust them, or the author, with what was going to be delivered next. The overall text suffered from pacing issues as sometimes it was exciting while other times it dragged. I was pleasantly surprised by the many twists throughout the story. These were a major highlight that kept me engaged throughout the book. The prose was hit-or-miss for me, but it was so well done during those "hits" that I could easily forgive the "misses". The dialogue was passable, but it often felt stilted. It’s just fantastic, and there are so many things that just make this book work. But still, I will try to give you ~reasons~ why you’ll love this, not just tell you that you will. By the time Hesina eradicated the image, the beggar was gone and another had taken his place, resuming the chants—in an all-too-familiar female voice. Let’s walk,” said Lilian, as if reading Hesina’s mind. She linked their arms. “You can try to get rid of me on the way.”

Descendant of the Crane

eARCs are available to request on NetGalley and Edelweiss! Pleaseeee forgive any typos/awkward phrasing/wonky sentences in the ARC!!! Love you all <3

This is a Joan He novel, so I already knew to expect plot twists and pain. However, while reading, I really never knew what would happen next. Even if I could predict one part, I had no idea how it would play out. At one point, I told myself it had to be a stopping point so I could sleep, but I couldn’t bring myself to put the book down. With complex worldbuilding and character development, readers tired of cookie-cutter stories will find some surprise twists here. Whereas DOTC and TOWMTF build off of YA tropes that I grew up reading about (royalty and siblings in dystopia, respectively), I took a leap with STZ and grounded it in a less mainstream, though no less significant, part of my childhood. STZ draws from the energy of epics such as 水滸, 康熙王朝, and, of course, the Three Kingdoms books themselves--which, I should note, not even my mom has read :') And so I've always known that this book won't quite resonate with everyone. There will be references that won't strike a chord, and others removed, reimagined or transposed in such a way that diehard fans of the original might go ??? (e.g. there is no Cao Zhi in STZ, so my lady Zhuge Liang gets to be the one who composes a poem in 7 steps!). Moreover, Joan He's debut is a beautiful story. Lush, symbolic, and profound, resulting in a clever tale of breathless twists, sharp turns, and a stunning conclusion that will leave you scrambling for more. DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE is a novel to watch.Girl spends like three days doing paperwork, is like, f this shit, and hares off to save the sooths and stop a war, bungles it because she has no clue how logistics, alliances, communication and leadership actually work, and then blames herself for not changing centuries of oppression and ingrained racism and hatred after being on the job for three weeks. do I need 3kingdoms knowledge to read the book? the short answer is that you do not; people like my editor with zero 3kingdoms knowledge have read the book and enjoyed it enough to publish it. the longer answer is that reading 3kingdoms may give you some additional context to certain story elements, such as the midpoint twist, which is my textual response to how Luo Guanzhong, the frequently accredited author of the classic, elevated real historical figures to characters of mythical proportions, with names such as Zhuge Liang looming large in the Chinese consciousness to this day. understandably, YMMV with the twist (here's why I chose to write it to the audience I did). If you are looking to get into the classic, I would highly recommend the abridged translation by Moss Roberts. It covers about 80% of the plots involving the main cast in a fraction of the words, compared to the 800k unabridged text. I am, Na-Na.” Like a real sister, Lilian still used Hesina’s diminutive name long after she’d outgrown it. “Father might be gone, but he won’t be forgotten. Not with us here.” in all seriousness (updating this as e-arcs go live), this book gets dark. I've you haven't seen the full extent of zephyr's ruthlessness yet

Descendant of the Crane was a really pleasant surprise. It's actually one of the better, more creative YA fantasies I've read, taking influence from Chinese culture and exploring morally grey areas in a story full of political machinations and twists. I hope this book doesn't get buried under the pile of generic YA fantasies with flashier covers and dramatic names like "Queen of Blood/Ash/Shadows/Fire". per tradition, going to answer some FAQs I've seen floating around here where readers can easily find them! A gripping tale full of intrigue, unpredictable twists, and betrayal— this is the Chinese fantasy readers have been waiting for." - Hafsah Faizal, New York Times-bestselling author of the Sands of Arawiya duology I thought the way He portrayed Hesina’s sort of tumble and crash built up really nicely, and is part of why I loved this story so much.this story is everything everyone is saying it is. its culturally rich, stunningly written, masterfully plotted, and cleverly wrapped up. i really enjoyed reading this! with all the twists and turns along the way, it is quite the adventure. its a very high-quality debut and one i hope the author is extremely proud of. what was your reasoning behind the names? you can read about the use of sobriquets and pinyin names here. I will link to the detailed character intros once they exist! But Chinese culture is rich in symbolism, and the meanings behind these objects are just as important, if not more. Lotus flowers must first grow out of the mud before they can bloom; they symbolize perfection and purity of heart. In this composition, they tower around Hesina almost menacingly, representing the struggle she faces to do right by her heart as she ventures deeper into her father’s past. Her father, meanwhile, is represented as a crane, a symbol for longevity. His legacy looms long after his death, because Descendant of the Crane, for all its political machinations and twists, is a tale centered on family and truth. It’s about how things that are inherently good, such as the crane and lotus flowers, become oppressive in a different context. It’s about choosing yourself, even when those who love you think they know best.” I've always thought of writing as like gardening. The words rooting in my mind. Sentences and paragraphs growing together, sprouting others and more. And sometimes not. Sometimes refusing to break through the concrete blankness, like now. This narrow focus also makes it difficult to get a feel for what motivates the other characters. Another key figure is Akira, a convict in Hesina’s prison who is foretold will help her with her investigation. It’s never entirely clear why he chooses to help her. Even when Hesina asks him directly, his answers give the impression that he himself doesn’t know. While this is perhaps an understandable reaction, it adds to the general fogginess of the story.