In Brighter Than Scale, Swifter than Flame, Neon Yang gives us a bright, fast-paced novella about dragons and knights and clandestine feelings. I have to admit, I was initially drawn in by the luscious cover art by Tran Nguyen, featuring a tough woman in beautiful armor with a second gorgeous, tattooed woman draped over her back as they both stare challengingly at the reader. I wanted to know more about them and about their dynamic. I felt like they would go through great lengths to stay together, and I was pleased with what I read. Neon Yang delivers a sprightly little story about self-discovery, loyalty, and sacrifice.
Yeva’s innate dragon-hunting ability manifests after a dragon tries to attack their household while she is the oldest one at home. She kills it but permanently injures her hand in the process. She finds a home in the dragon-hunting Guild Hall, who find her talent too precious to waste despite her disability, but she is self-conscious and hides behind the armor that she never takes off in public and mental walls that she never lets down. As the Masked Guildknight, she is sent to Quanbao to hunt down rumors that a dragon haunts the tiny neighboring kingdom. Once there, Yeva finds herself at loose ends. There’s no obvious dragon, and she is pulled slowly but surely into the orbit of the fragile but captivating Lady Sookhee, the ruler of Quanbao. Sookhee suffers from a mysterious genetic blood disease, wasting away and often being too weak to appear in public, but she is supported by a loyal council of her ladies. Soon Yeva is more interested in figuring out why she’s so drawn to Sookhee than in finding an apparently non-existent dragon, and also figuring out her distant mother’s connection to the country she is growing more comfortable in.
I thought this was such an easy story to dive into—so easy that I wish this was a full-length novel rather than a novella. I would have liked to know more about these kingdoms, about the guild hall system, and most especially about Quanbao. Lady Sookhee’s council ladies were ripe for secondary character development, and with more page space we might have seen more moments between Sookhee and Yeva as they get to know each other. What we see is very cute, and I loved their mutual fascination with each other, and how Sookhee coaxed Yeva out from behind her literal and metaphorical armor, but it could have been more. Still, it was a very enjoyable read, and although I spotted the ending coming, I greatly enjoyed the emotional choice that Yeva had to make. I thought it was poetic and well-done, and Yeva threads the needle between honor, loyalty, and doing what is right while remaining true to herself.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a fun little fantasy novella and like dragons, secrets, and girlies with an instant mutual connection that they then have to explore, this would be a great book for you. Neon Yang remains a very talented writer that I need to explore more, and I’m glad this book brought them back to my attention.
Leave a Reply