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emcooke's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
skadeffalo's review against another edition
5.0
Great way to learn the back story that I never quite grasped from the series. Love the artwork, beautifully portrays the characters just as I imagined. Great read.
maisiesleepywiredstudios's review against another edition
4.0
Small Shen in the prequel to White Tiger, telling the story behind how Gold and Jade came into the service of the Dark Lord.
Having read no Kylie Chan before this I felt her writing style was very easy to read but at times could be overly detailed and repetitive. I enjoyed the illustrations by Queenie as they helped with character descriptions and settings. My fave by far of Gold and his tea plantation.
I adored the back and forth between the time periods- it helped with world building and they complex and dense nature of the world. Chan creates this whimsical world that I got swept up in it. The backstory of Gold was told in a vignette style, short stories with a lesson that Gold learns. Also love his friendship with Jade.
The pacing was a little off a time as it picks up and then slams to a holt. which made it harder to invest in. Michelle while at first wasn't overly annoying as the character got more involved with the Shen/Mystic World she became unbearable and downright bratty at some points.
I understand that the world scared her and she was wanting to protect her child but seriously, your husband says it would be safer to go with him but you want to stay for a party? and press, those vultures rather than safety?
I digress. I overall found this book entertaining with good characters and intriguing plot.
tsana's review
5.0
Small Shen is a short graphically-enhanced novel written by Kylie Chan and illustrated by Queenie Chan. The text is interspersed with graphic novel-style illustrations, particularly in the scenes flashing back to Gold's earlier days (hundreds of years earlier), whereas the main story takes place in the 1990s Hong Kong.
Small Shen follows Gold, a minor deity who featured in Kylie Chan's Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilgies. I've read the Dark Heavens trilogy and the first book of Journey to Wudang and I have to admit I never paid a huge amount of attention to Gold. But Small Shen endeared him to me significantly. He's a bisexual, gender-swapping rock in human form. What's not to like?
There are two story threads in Small Shen: flashbacks to Gold's earlier days starting back in the 1700s and the story of Gold's service to Xuan Wu and John Chen and his wife in the 1990s. The flashbacks are mostly about Gold committing mischief and getting into trouble but also sketch out the series of events that led to him and Jade (a dragon) being in Xuan Wu's employ. The 1990s storyline tells the story of Xuan Wu/John Chen and his life with his wife Michelle from Gold's point of view. Anyone who's read White Tiger (Dark Heavens book 1) knows how that story must end (big spoiler for Small Shen).
What I found sort of interesting is how unlikeable Michelle was. She spent a lot of time complaining about Xuan Wu's godly responsibilities (he's the second most powerful god after the Jade Emperor) and how hideous his True Form (and basically anything other than human form) is. While I sort of already knew about that it was kind of horrifying seeing it on the page. Like why did they stay together/bother getting married? It does not strike me as a very healthy relationship at all. And that's without the more benign diva qualities Michelle brings in. I have to say, she wasn't supposed to be a likeable character (I'm pretty sure) and that bothered me a bit on principle (only partly because it made their marriage a bit baffling).
I particularly liked the way in which the story was broken up with illustrated flashback vignettes which mixed things up a bit. One aspect which was nice was the way in which Gold's historical shenanigans touched on Chinese history in a real-world sense, rather than just a mythological sense.
Small Shen was a fun read and I highly recommend it to all Kylie Chan fans and to anyone wanting to get a taste of her longer series. Although the trilogies are pure prose, the story in Small Shen — especially the 1990s story — gives a good idea of the sort of thing you can expect in the Dark Heavens trilogy (not to mention all the foreshadowing). Fans of Queenie Chan who aren't familiar with Kylie Chan's writing will, I'm sure, find more to like than just the illustrations.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
Small Shen follows Gold, a minor deity who featured in Kylie Chan's Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilgies. I've read the Dark Heavens trilogy and the first book of Journey to Wudang and I have to admit I never paid a huge amount of attention to Gold. But Small Shen endeared him to me significantly. He's a bisexual, gender-swapping rock in human form. What's not to like?
There are two story threads in Small Shen: flashbacks to Gold's earlier days starting back in the 1700s and the story of Gold's service to Xuan Wu and John Chen and his wife in the 1990s. The flashbacks are mostly about Gold committing mischief and getting into trouble but also sketch out the series of events that led to him and Jade (a dragon) being in Xuan Wu's employ. The 1990s storyline tells the story of Xuan Wu/John Chen and his life with his wife Michelle from Gold's point of view. Anyone who's read White Tiger (Dark Heavens book 1) knows how that story must end (big spoiler for Small Shen).
What I found sort of interesting is how unlikeable Michelle was. She spent a lot of time complaining about Xuan Wu's godly responsibilities (he's the second most powerful god after the Jade Emperor) and how hideous his True Form (and basically anything other than human form) is. While I sort of already knew about that it was kind of horrifying seeing it on the page. Like why did they stay together/bother getting married? It does not strike me as a very healthy relationship at all. And that's without the more benign diva qualities Michelle brings in. I have to say, she wasn't supposed to be a likeable character (I'm pretty sure) and that bothered me a bit on principle (only partly because it made their marriage a bit baffling).
I particularly liked the way in which the story was broken up with illustrated flashback vignettes which mixed things up a bit. One aspect which was nice was the way in which Gold's historical shenanigans touched on Chinese history in a real-world sense, rather than just a mythological sense.
Small Shen was a fun read and I highly recommend it to all Kylie Chan fans and to anyone wanting to get a taste of her longer series. Although the trilogies are pure prose, the story in Small Shen — especially the 1990s story — gives a good idea of the sort of thing you can expect in the Dark Heavens trilogy (not to mention all the foreshadowing). Fans of Queenie Chan who aren't familiar with Kylie Chan's writing will, I'm sure, find more to like than just the illustrations.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
heatherr's review
4.0
I'm a fan of Kylie Chan's series about the Taoist Gods. The series starts with White Tiger.
White Tiger by Kylie ChanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"A young woman accepts a position as nanny to the young daughter of a handsome, wealthy, and mysterious Chinese businessman only to discover her new employer is really a god and every foul demon in creation is out to destroy him!"
This is a very complex world that is developed through a lot of books. I was excited to see that there was a standalone story about Gold. I wanted to get it to read for Weirdathon in March. So when March came around I went to try to find it. That's when I discovered that I wasn't allowed to have it.
This book is not available outside of Australia. Ok, but there is this thing called the Internet and you can buy anything... or not. It turned out to be surprisingly difficult. By this time I was determined. Nothing will make you want something like being told you can't have it.
I finally found a store willing to sell me a copy and based on the cost of shipping they must have sent it on the back of a flying unicorn to get to my house.
It was worth it though. I love the style of having a written novel interspersed with sections of graphic novel. I want the rest of the series like this. For a series based on gods who have any different aspects and presentations this is a big help.
The cover copy says that this is a good introduction to the series. I don't think so. It does take place before the series starts but you don't get the gentle introduction and world building that happens in the first book. If you feel like seeing a floating stone carrying towels to the human wives of a white tiger and then finding a snake and a turtle lounging in the pool would leave you with some questions, read the White Tiger first. For fans of the series this is a fun read about one of the essential secondary characters that you really don't get to know much about. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
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