asianamlitfans | A Review of Sue Lynn Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess (Harper Voyager, 2022) (Reply)

Written by Stephen Hong Sohn
Edited by Uttara Rangarajan

I’ve been toggling for whatever reason between a lot of high fantasy and memoir. I guess that’s just the reading mood I’ve been in for the last couple of months. I’ve especially been catching up on the so-called Asian-inspired fantasy trend, which is pretty much everywhere and frankly its own market now, with dozens of titles coming out year after year. The next one that appeared on my radar was Sue Lynn Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess (Harper Voyager, 2022), which is a super engrossing read and certainly one I’d recommend for fans of this genre. Let’s let the marketing description move us a bit forward on this book: “Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind. Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince. To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos. Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic, of loss and sacrifice—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.”

This description doesn’t outline that there is a central romance triangle, which is absolutely instrumental to our engagement with the plot! Xingyin does eventually become enamored with the prince of the Celestial Emperor. Xingyin and Liwei seem like a pretty good pair, until the readers eventually find out that that Liwei has already been promised for marriage to another! GASP! Xingyin ends up deciding to go her own way and part of that process involves getting work in the celestial army, working under Captain Wenzhi. Whereas the sparks immediately flew with Liwei, things work at a slower pace with Wenzhi, but eventually, Xingyin develops feelings for Wenzhi, thus leading to our central romance triangle. There are various adventures which occur throughout this novel: Xingyin must battle merfolk, dragons, and demons, all with the ultimate intent that she might find a way back to her mother. She must also figure out how to pivot around the Celestial Emperor and Empress, who at various points drive Xingyin into specific actions which could endanger her life. One of the most perilous sections is a kind of trap: Xingyin is tasked to retrieve the pearls of dragons, not realizing that in doing so, she would be forcing the dragons to give up their agency. Xingyin, with her ethically centered self, always manages to find a way around such obstacles, and this aspect of her personality is what grounds this novel at every point, despite the hazards she consistently faces. But back to this romance plot: Despite the fact that Wenzhi seems like a good match (after all, he *is* single), Xingyin continually finds her thoughts moving back to Liwei. And here I will provide us all with the requisite spoiler warning, so please turn away unless you want to find out what all goes down. Though using what I would consider to be a common twist, Tan is able to cover it up in a way that, at least for me, produces a serious level of surprise. What you eventually find out is that Wenzhi is not who we thought he was. He is in fact the heir to the demon realm, and Xingyin must eventually defeat him in order to save Liwei and the more broadly the Celestial Kingdom. For her efforts Xingyin does eventually gain the favor that she wants. Her mother is freed from her imprisonment, and she will be allowed to return to her mother without fear of reprisal from the Emperor. Overall, I really enjoyed this one; it’s quite different from the other Asian-inspired fantasies I’ve read. Many in the kingdom are immortals and most have various powers that enable them to defeat magical monsters and figures. Tan’s world building is both assured and expansive, letting readers into a rich world filled with memorable characters.

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