To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods

January 1, 2024

Chang's debut, an epic fantasy, features Ruying, a young woman with the ability to pull life out of mortal bodies, in a land where invaders defeated the magic of her people long ago. When an enemy prince wants her to become his assassin in exchange for her family's safety, she faces an impossible decision. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 19, 2024
Chang’s heavy handed debut and series launch chronicles a power struggle on a conquered world. Before Yang Ruying was born, the magical world of Pangu was invaded by a foreign power, Rome, which emerged from a portal in the sky and conquered Pangu’s people in a single day. Their dwindling magical powers were no match for the Romans’ high-tech weaponry. Ruying’s magic, however, is strong, a fact she tries to hide from the colonizers. When Roman prince Antony Augustus discovers Ruying’s deadly gift, he offers safety for her and her family in exchange for becoming his personal assassin. Ruying accepts after Antony convinces her that his plan to rule both their worlds will bring a better life for her people. But can he be trusted? The worldbuilding is delivered through clunky info dumps and repetitive proselytizing about the plight of Ruyung’s people, drowning out nuance. The plot feels largely like setup for future installments, especially as the mild cliff-hanger ending leaves few questions answered. This one is a tough sell. Agent: Kari Sutherland, KT Literary.

March 1, 2024
Ruying is just trying to keep her family afloat despite the Romans' occupation of Pangu. Poverty, opiate addiction, and violence pervade Jing City, and Ruying's not sure how to keep her aging grandmother and addicted young sister alive. When Prince Antony Augustus of Rome finds out about her gift of Death, he wants to use it for his own ends. He claims that his goal is a better future for both Rome and Pangu. Ruying isn't so sure, but she knows she'll do anything if it will keep her family safe. Chang based the roots of her world on the real-life Japanese occupation of Manchuria, its injustices, and the way memories of the event came down to her through ghost stories. The prose can be repetitive, and the world building is a little simplistic. But the text is powered by a morally gray, female heroine driven by rage at what her world has become. The clash between technology and magic, the moral questions of impossible choices and complicity, and an enemies-to-lovers-style romance will appeal to many readers.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2024
In the first of a series, a young woman with a deadly magical power chooses family, safety, and pragmatism over national loyalty. Yang Ruying has been "blessed by Death": She has the power to steal the life force from those she touches, although she pays a physical price for using her power. But the magical gifts she shares with some of her countrymen were not enough to protect the Empire of Er-Lang (which resembles a part of China) from occupiers traveling from another universe, where Rome never fell but developed high-tech weaponry and medicine over the centuries. A rash theft brings Ruying to the attention of the youngest Roman prince, Antony Augustus, who coerces Ruying into becoming his personal assassin. Antony claims that her killings on his behalf will ensure peace and a future for both their worlds. Ruying's need to keep her grandmother, her rebellion-minded twin sister, and herself safe, plus her growing feelings for Antony, help to quiet her doubts, even as her guilt for the blood on her hands increases. Inspired by the Russian and Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the novel is an interesting look inside the mind of a collaborator; while Ruying hates the occupiers, she simply does not believe the rebel forces led by the mysterious Phantom have the power to defeat the Romans, and prefers to snatch what security she can in a bloody, desperate world. As a result, she works very hard to try not to think about what is happening to her people--especially those with magic. Readers may find the writing somewhat heavy going; the author is striving for a poetic style that doesn't entirely land. For example, a distraught Ruying thinks, "A part of me that I couldn't bandage or balm fissured slowly like thin ice cracking under weight, and the frigid blue waters beneath waited eagerly to drown me in their bitter depths." The author also spends a great deal of time describing Ruying's feelings--time that might be more effectively spent showing her actions as Antony's assassin, which are more summarized than described in any detail. A profoundly felt story, unfortunately conveyed in somewhat stilted prose.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.