The Black Tides of Heaven (JY Yang)

The Black Tides of Heaven
The Tensorate series, Book 1
JY Yang
Tor
Fiction, Fantasy
***+ (Okay/Good)

DESCRIPTION: From the moment of their conception, the twins Mokoya and Akeha were meant to be pawns in the games of their iron-fisted mother, all-powerful Protector of the realm. They are raised in a monastery, studying discipline and the five veins of slackcraft that power their world, and from the start vow that, whatever their mother intends, they will live and die for each other alone. But vows made as children rarely last into adulthood, and when Mokoya's strange dreams prove to be prophetic, the start of a wedge grows between them. Driven into different lives with differing loyalties by the black tides of the heavens, the twins must reconcile or see their mother's blood-slicked grip on the land become absolute.

REVIEW: One of the reasons I so enjoy fantasy and science fiction stories is the chance to explore new and unusual worlds, to immerse in the wild and the grand and occasionally bizarre. Unfortunately, this can also lead to a serious disconnect between me and the story, when for whatever reason I find myself shut out of the wonders at hand. This can happen for a variety of reasons - characters I don't like or can't believe, plots that bore or confuse, or simple failure to connect to the author's style. I cannot say for certain which was the culprit here, but through the entire tale, despite tantalizing hints and promise of Yang's imaginative Tensorate, I never once managed to truly visualize and immerse in it. Characters tend to be stiff or overly dramatic, though this may have been a result of me never understanding the world enough to recognize the stakes or what compelled them to take (or not take) action. The plot proves a dense web of rebellion and politics and love triangles that I couldn't care about for lack of connection. As for the world, it seems like an intriguingly unique land: the sun apparently cycles several times in each day or night cycle, there are five powers in the "slack" corresponding roughly to Asian elemental magic, tamed raptor packs serve as trackers, a budding industrial revolution threatens the absolute powers of the Tensors (magic-wielders) and majority race... but I felt shut out of most of these wonders, peering in through inadequate slats in the fence boards and never quite finding that sense of immersive understanding that would let me truly experience what Yang was writing. It's not a terrible story for all that, but ultimately not one I could care about, and not one I care to pursue through the remainder of the series.

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