Book Review: Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
Title: Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang
Release Date: 29th October 2024
Publisher: Del Rey
RRP: $34.99
Rating: 5/5 stars
Synopsis:
An orphan since the age of four, Sciona has always had more to prove than her fellow students. For twenty years, she has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fueled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to be the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry. When she finally claws her way up the ranks to become a highmage, however, she finds that her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues will stop at nothing to let her know she is unwelcome, beginning with giving her a janitor instead of a qualified lab assistant.
What neither Sciona nor her peers realize is that her taciturn assistant was once more than a janitor; before he mopped floors for the mages, Thomil was a nomadic hunter from beyond Tiran’s magical barrier. Ten years have passed since he survived the perilous crossing that killed his family. But working for a highmage, he sees the opportunity to finally understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the Tiranish in power.
Through their fractious relationship, mage and outsider uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever—if it doesn’t get them killed first. Sciona has defined her life by the pursuit of truth, but how much is one truth worth with the fate of civilization in the balance?
Review:
(Content warnings for gore, sexual assault, and suicidal ideation)
Where do I even begin with this glorious Dark Academia novel. I had high expectations going into this because The Sword of Kaigen was nothing short of exceptional, and especially when this book is being compared to Babel, I wanted to know for sure if M. L. Wang could once again prove that she can create a story that is amazingly detailed and complexed while still being readable.
Well, this book absolutely blew me out of the water.
In fact, I think I might actually like this better than Babel. THE Babel, one of my all time favorite books EVER - THE Babel, the book that I’ve annotated front to back and own multiple copies of because I love it so much.
Seriously. This book was so good.
The magic system is so unique. We have a city that is powered by magic, following a female mage who has done all she can to be the first woman ever to become a high mage, studying magic and using it to better their city. Then we have Thomil, a janitor who people often pegs as an “uneducated savage”, who gets allocated to be Sciona’s lab assistant by her male peers. You know, as a joke.
But of course, that’s where it all begins! The conversations they have with each other, the philosophies they each have as a Tiranish woman and a Kwen male — the rights and privileges of each sex from different backgrounds, the religious beliefs stemming from the world as they’ve experienced it. The way they exchange their thinking and argue about what they think is right or wrong. There was nothing subtle about this. Everything from the character’s moral compasses to their actions are stripped raw and laid bare for us to judge. There was so much depth to the conversations. Sciona’s rage, the practice of magic and who gets to wield it and why it cannot be females. What happens when females “cross the line” and who should care what happens when they do? Who should care when they’re being attacked for their intelligence and bravery because no woman should have been able to become a high mage anyway?
M. L. Wang portrays these difficult and relevant issues so incredibly well, with an emotional yet readable approach. You are furious at the way Sciona is being treated by these “respectable men” but also not surprised. Yet you find hope with a character like Thomil, who is meant to be the “rotten” character brought on by society. It’s such a beautifully ironic story with so much darkness and relevance to the world we’re living in now.
This is such an important book for everyone to read. It really makes you think about those in power and whether or not they have the right or what it takes to better whatever it is they claim to be able to do. It’s about hanging on to the “tiniest” most “insignificant” sliver of hope — in this case, in the form of an undermined woman being attacked for her uncanny intelligence — even when everyone is dead set against you. It’s about family and even religion, and how people can twist these things for their own personal agenda.
This book…. This beautiful, crazy, dark book…. Is going to stay with you for a long time. Wow. This is now one of my favorite books ever.
Thank you so incredibly much to Penguin Books Australia & Penguin Random house / Del Rey for sending over an ARC and finished copy of this glorious book in exchange for an honest review 🤍🤍
