Book Review | Deathly Fates

Kang Siying is a ganshi priestess who earns her living by reanimating the dead and guiding them to their proper burial place. However, when she takes a job to retrieve a fallen solider from a battlefield, she becomes enmeshed in deadly plots she never imagined.

I’m a sucker for any book with fighting skeletons, and I loved how Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai gives us a non-Western interpretation of necromancy. The story deftly incorporates Chinese folklore, including jiangshi, which are a type of possessed corpse.

Also, for better or worse, this is a fast-paced read. The story immediately grips you from its prologue. However, I feel like some huge plot reveals came too soon. Characters are blabbing secrets left and right and certain plot twists can be seen from a mile off. This spoiled the story's sense of mystery and dulled the emotional punch that some of the revelations could have had. That—along with the flatness of its main villain—are probably my biggest gripes.

Thank you, Netgalley and Wednesday Books, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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