A review by emily_mh
Waiting on a Bright Moon by Neon Yang

adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The issue with this novella is that it tries to achieve too much for a work of short fiction. We start out following a servant of an empire, and finish with the final battle in the rebellion against that empire, all within 44-odd pages. If Yang had confined the scope to a portion of that story, or written a full-length novel, it would have worked a lot better. As such, everything (plot, character, theme) felt rushed, despite being really interesting.

I’ve already pretty much covered what went wrong with the plot: there was too much of it. In terms of characters, I think the retrospective introspection highlighting the MC’s past was effective in giving explanation for her current actions. But I wish we had gotten a better feel for her overall. The LI was, unfortunately, a shadow of a character. Consequently, the romance felt hollow. I actually thought this might have been intentional, as the MC seems to get passionate about her lovers really quickly, then quickly moves on.

I love the theme Yang chose to explore here, which was empires and expendability; how people are expendable to empires, how they’re treated as resources instead of human beings. Again, I just wish it had had more room within the narrative.

The world-building was the one aspect that really stood out to me. There were so many cool elements, like shapeshifting magic, light as a tangible force, and singing to open portals across space. I also really liked the use of the 2nd person.

I did enjoy my time with this novella despite my qualms. It was a quick, fast-paced read that kept me hooked. Again, I just wish it had been longer or had had a narrower scope.

Rep: sapphic Chinese (?) MC, lesbian (word not used) Chinese LI
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