asianamlitfans | A Review of Justinian Huang’s The Emperor and the Endless Palace (MIRA, 2024)

Written by Stephen Hong Sohn
Edited by Corinna Cape

Justinian Huang’s debut novel, The Emperor and the Endless Palace (MIRA, 2024) was one that was recommended to me by two former students of mine. I occasionally keep in touch with former students through unofficial reading groups. I’m glad I got to read this one, which is sort of a low-fantasy, silkpunk inspired work involving queer Asian American romance.

Let’s let the official marketing description give us some context: “In the year 4 BCE, an ambitious courtier is called upon to seduce the young emperor—but quickly discovers they are both ruled by blood, sex and intrigue. In 1740, a lonely innkeeper agrees to help a mysterious visitor procure a rare medicine, only to unleash an otherworldly terror instead. And in present-day Los Angeles, a college student meets a beautiful stranger and cannot shake the feeling they’ve met before. Across these seemingly unrelated timelines woven together only by the twists and turns of fate, two men are reborn, lifetime after lifetime. Within the treacherous walls of an ancient palace and the boundless forests of the Asian wilderness to the heart-pounding cement floors of underground rave scenes, our lovers are inexplicably drawn to each other, constantly tested by the worlds around them. As their many lives intertwine, they begin to realize the power of their undying love—a power that transcends time itself…but one that might consume them both.”

Huang clearly has some knowledge of Chinese cultural and historical contexts, which is crucial to the two sections set in 4 BCE and the 1700s. Here, the novel treads silkpunk fantasy grounds, as we’re in periods where palace intrigue and fox spirits are respectively integrated into the narrative. The novel is primarily anchored in the present day, as River, a queer Asian American man, has a mysterious run-in with a handsome stranger named Joey. The weirdest element of this contemporary storyline is that River meets Joey at a party, but while he is traipsing through the palatial estate in which the festivities are being held, he accidentally steps into a room filled with statues with individuals who look like him. River questions his perception of the experience, as he comes to the party under the influence of drugs. Nevertheless, River is under the impression that there is something more to this connection to Joey, which propels the plot into motion. Interspersed with the contemporary sections are the parts set in the Chinese past. Each of these earlier narratives also involves a romance plot between two men, or at least two individuals who appear to be men. The romance quotient in this novel is high, as this text comes out of MIRA, which is something I should have expected, but nevertheless there were moments I was pulled out of the plot, as Huang wanted to make clear that these relationships are not only illicit but very charged as well. The most interesting aspect of this novel for me was trying to figure out how the narratives would come together. As it becomes clear that Huang is playing with tropes of reincarnation, he still has a couple of tricks under his sleeve because we do not exactly know how River and Joey are situated in those past narratives. It is only within the last 100 pages or so that Huang begins to reveal his cards. Naturally, it is in this phase that the novel moves quickest, as we begin to see how River and Joey’s love has been thwarted over time. What I appreciated most is how the novel ultimately gives us a historically-expansive narrative involving queer Asian and queer Asian American men, something which is still fairly uncommon in contemporary fictional cultural productions. A fun read involving queer Asian/American romance, mischief, with some magical realism thrown in to keep us on our toes.

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