Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown is one of my all-time favorite books, so there was no way I was passing this novella up! As such, I really went into it mostly blind. The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but that wasn't a bad thing!

From the summary description, I was expecting an action-packed martial arts fantasy, possibly with a humorous take. Instead, the slightly lyrically feeling title and cover art are probably a better indicator of the story inside. While there are definitely a few action-filled moments, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a quiet, reflective (hah!) story about finding yourself and your place. It's a great character-driven story.

Cho's writing is beautiful and perfectly suits the characters' inner conflicts over identity and spirituality. The world-building is immersive and vivid, despite the short length of the story. As always Cho perfectly blends fantasy elements into her world, creating something that feels magical and yet completely organic.

I liked the group dynamic between Guet Imm and the various bandits. The found family dynamic was well done and would have been even better with more time to develop and grow. I liked what we saw of the brothers but, aside from Tet Sang and Lau Fung Cheung, I didn't really feel that I got to know them that well.

If you're looking for a story that's memorably unique and beautifully written, pick up The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water.

So, this is an uncorrected copy, because it's an ARC. Usually, those don't differ from the copies that are sold.
But I really, really hope this got another round or two of editing before it gets released (words are missing, sentences don't make sense, words are being repeated, dialogue is attributed to the wrong people...).
I'll try not to be influenced by that too much for this review though. But it did spoil my fun a bit.


I wasn't a big fan of this in general, to be honest. Which is sad, because I generally enjoy the wuxia genre. I liked the setting, still, and I'm a big fan of the found-family trope in general, but the dialogue almost ruined this for me. It's what I'd call highly modern, which clashes with the setting and it feels weird to read.

Once you get used to it (in my case, about 30% through), the novella is very enjoyable though. The cast is diverse, with all kinds of backgrounds, even when the novella is too short to explore everything about them. Still, it's a quick, enjoyable read.


@Netgalley and Tor/Forge: Thanks for the ARC

A hugely enjoyable fantasy with a brilliantly fresh feel! I felt my self sinking into every page, thoroughly hooked!

“A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there.”
Found family fantasy meets martial arts movie! When a group of “contractors” (read: bandits) is joined by a sheltered nun from a recently destroyed monastery they find a strange balance even as their plans get thoroughly out of hand. This is a wonderful, vivid novella filled with humor and heart. I would genuinely love to see more about these characters.

For this review, I’m just going to get this out of the way—I loved this novella and am sincerely hoping that it is the start of a series. The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water was so delightful that I would be genuinely saddened not to be able to enjoy further adventures with Guet Imm and Tet Sang. I will definitely suggest the title for purchase and will be recommending it to patrons.

"Do what you want, brother - leave me behind, get rid of the treasures, pretend you don't have a past. It won't work. You'll bring yourself along wherever you go, and the deity will find you there."



The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water was overall a good read. I was initially drawn to this book by the cover, which is absolutely gorgeous, and requested this book without reading the synopsis... Thankfully, I was not disappointed.

Set in a medieval China-like setting, this wuxia ("martial heroes") fantasy novella followed Guet Imm, a nun of the Order of the Pure Moon. After an altercation in a coffeehouse, she meets up with a group of bandits on their way to sell items they have procured. However, things soon get out of hand and more complex than Guet Imm bargained for.

I was surprised how much story was packed in this novella. While the writing was often a little choppy, making it slightly hard to get into, the author did a really good job of setting up the world of the characters as well as the characters themselves. For a "wuxia fantasy," there wasn't a lot of martial arts, or a lot of action in general, but honestly I didn't mind that much because the story was about a lot more than that - it was about identity and friendship and culture and more. I would definitely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor.com for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love the idea of Wuxia, but I've actually encountered very little of it, and I think that puts me at a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to evaluating how successful this is, and knowing how to enjoy it. And it's marketed as being about a "found family" -- well, that should be totally up my street!

Unfortunately, I didn't really get along with it as well as I'd hoped, and the "found family" feels fairly thin. The characterisation of anyone apart from the main characters is fairly light, and I didn't really feel I got a handle on who anyone was as a person and what they held dear, apart from those main two (and even then, sometimes I struggled). It feels like it's going to be an adventure story, but in the end it's more personal -- only I didn't feel like I came along for the journey.

This sounds more critical than I want to be; I enjoyed reading it, and appreciated Tet Sang a lot. I don't know how to stack up my experience here against other Wuxia books, and I think that's part of the problem.

Review link will go live on 9th June in accordance with Tor reviewing rules about holding the review until two weeks before publication.

So this was a weird one. I really enjoyed it but I also got lost and confused because what was that ending? Its like the story was just chopped in half or the author just decided to stop writing midway through. But as I said, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

So first off, look at that gorgeous freaking cover! I will admit that I had already decided to spam that request button before I even knew what this was about. Its colourful and draws the eye but also hides so much hidden goodness that it is honestly the gift that keeps on giving.

Protagonist Tet Sang is both lovable and irritating in equal parts. Hiding a secret from his band of brothers, he is intent on fitting in until he meets a nun from The Order of the Pure Moon who throws a spanner in the works when she decides to join them on their quest to deliver rice and other valuable materials. He is loyal to a fault but also not willing to take crap from any of his fellow bandits.

Now this is a super hard one to review without going into that territory that involves spoilers or otherwise ruining the magic that is this super effective novella. As a brief overview for those who like to hear about themes and whatnot, its got a lot. First off, it packs a punch with its portrayal of found family. This group of bandits act like brothers and sisters despite there being no blood connection. It has a genius discussion of transgender portrayal and effortlessly gives inclusivity without being obnoxious and in your face. It also touches on the idea of finding your true self and ignoring the opinions of others which is usually a trope that I despise but here it is done brilliantly.

Let me tell you this too. While the language was a little awkward in places and I got a tad confused with some terms, this novella was a stupidly quick and easy read. Rarely do I find a novel/novella that I start and then suddenly I’m at the end with no idea of what happened in the world in the meantime. There were no breaks, no distraction, it was simply a enthralling read that I would definitely love to revisit.

Basically what im telling you right now is do whatever you need to do to read this in June when it releases. It is genius in its utilisation of taboo topics that usually come across as on the nose. The language, while occasionally a little confusing, allows the reader to fully immerse themselves in the narrative, leaving you wanting more. Honestly if this had a sequel, I feel like I would inhale it faster than my cat does his dinner.

Several characters are not who they seem in Zen Cho's 158 page fantasy novella, "The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water".

It begins with a rumpus in a coffeehouse. A bandit leader walks in and takes exception to a customer's treatment of waitress Guet Imm, a votary of the Order of the Pure Moon. When it's all over, the waitress decides to leave with the bandits, whether they want her or not.

The bandits are making a delivery to Sungai Tombak, a delivery of great interest to the nun. As they near their objective, secrets are unveiled. Finally 2 members leave the group - beginning a new quest?

Order of the Full Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho (author of The Sorcerer to the Crown). A novella, and a strange one at that.

From Description: A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

The description captured my imagination. I was not familiar with the term wuxia novel, so in case you aren't yet familiar with the term either:

Wuxia (武俠 [ù. ɕjǎ]), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. ... They often originate from the lower social classes of ancient Chinese society.

There is a handsome bandit, a homely bandit, a quixotic young nun on a mission, humor, and an unexpected twist. In fact, most of this novella is unexpected. And fun. And maybe should have been longer?

Read in March. Review scheduled for June 7.

NetGalley/Macmillan Tor/Forge
Wuxia novella. June 23, 2020. Print length: 176 pages.

[the review will appear on my blog at the link provided on 23 June]

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho is a standalone novella set in an asian fantasy world with, I think, Malaysian and Chinese influences. It is a delight, like most of Zen Cho's work.

Zen Cho returns with a found family wuxia fantasy that combines the vibrancy of old school martial arts movies with characters drawn from the margins of history.

A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

This story is about a disenfranchised nun joining a group of bandits on a smuggling job. Amusing hijinks ensue, as is to be expected from Zen Cho. I'm not sure I can say much more about the plot without spoilers, but it includes secrets, temples and a background war.

The characters are particularly excellent, with the nun forcing her way into the team of bandits and the bandits coming around to her presence in their own different ways. This is a novella that successfully has a detailed plot and strong characterisation.

I enjoyed it very much. I laughed and was delighted and it was exactly what I needed to lift my mood during pandemic lockdown times. I highly recommend it to all fantasy fans, especially readers who enjoy a bit of humour in their stories. Fans of Zen Cho should not hesitate to pick this one up and I hope it will make more readers into fans.

5 / 5 stars

First published: June 2020, Tor.com
Series: No
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho
Review by malrubius

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is the new fantasy novella from British Fantasy Award and Hugo winner, Zen Cho. The story follows a small gang of “roving contractors” (aka bandits) as they attempt to hawk extremely valuable stolen—or perhaps preserved—goods. When the gang is forced to adopt a former nun turned coffee-shop waitress into their band, dissension, mystery, lust, violence, and bad cooking ensue.
The story is perfectly adapted to the novella format. It features only a few main characters, and we become intimate with them. It is told in the point of view of Tet Sang, the second to bandit leader Lau Fung Cheung. Tet Sang is a quiet, somewhat sullen bandit in tattered robes that seem to show fallen luxury. He is also a wuxia master. He often has to lead the gang because its actual leader, Lau Fung Cheung, is too beautiful to appear in public in most situations. He attracts too much attention. People can’t stop staring at him, and that’s not good since he is a wanted bandit. So “clay-faced” Tet Sang must perform much of the bandits’ public duties, such as trying to fence the stolen goods. Guet Imm is a nun who joins them, much to the chagrin of the other members of the all-male gang, after she is fired for causing a ruckus at the coffee shop. She is very smart, beautiful, and still dedicated to the temple. She has lived much of her life in the Temple of the Pure Moon and has no family. She has nowhere else to go, so she joins Fung Cheung’s gang. But there is something keeping her there beyond just her need to find something to do. These three main characters have a uniting drive to find better lives, or at least survive, in the war-torn southern peninsula, but it is the tension between them that creates such an entertaining story. They are bandits, but they don’t commit “bad crimes,” so they are caught in a kind of limbo between the tyrannical Protectorate, which is clamping down on bandits and reformists, and the actual bad bandits, who will steal their stuff and kill them.

The secondary characters are also excellent. Ah Boon is a bit of a healer. He helps the bandits with their wounds. He is the only one who is eager for Guet Imm to join the men, but when he finds out she won’t fuck them because she is a nun, he gets extremely angry. Ah Hin is a bit of a drunkard and a secret zealot. He is angry that they took in a woman who can’t even cook, and after a short experiment in inedible food, he must resume the duties.

I loved all these characters for their flaws as much as their good characteristics. However, as happens in the best (dare I say ‘literary’) fantasy, the characters’ relationships are what really shine here. What attracts Guet Imm to the bandits? Why is Fung Cheung so faithful to his second, Tet Sang? What keeps Ah Hin in the gang? All the questions arise from the fabric of the gang’s relationships and develop beautifully throughout the novella, right up to the inevitable but shocking ending.

On the surface, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water is a pretty grim tale about hapless, hungry bandits trying to survive amid poverty, war, and tyranny. In this sense, it is like a lot of grimdark novels and novellas and is pretty much standard grimdark fare. But Zen Cho is so fucking funny that the story becomes as darkly humorous it is grim and pathetic. It’s rare balance that I’ve found only a few times in the likes of Rob Hayes’s Never Die, Mark Lawrence’s Red Queen’s War, and several of Abercrombie’s novels. Not only is the narrator subtly humorous, but the characters are freaking hilarious, mostly unintentionally, often delightfully crudely.

Although The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water is not brimming with violence—there are fights and killings, etc., just not in every chapter—the story sits right in the morally grey area of the best grimdark. We genuinely care about these characters even though they are armed bandits who are attempting to fence stolen goods. They want top dollar for their stolen goods, and will do almost anything to get it. But they are also practically hopeless. There is nothing else they can really do. War and strife have torn their country apart, and poverty is rampant. They are on the Protectorate’s wanted list of bandits, and even the other bandits want to kill them. They must do what it takes to survive.

Usually, when I finish a good book, I feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Not so with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water. I did not want this book to end. I wanted to follow these characters wherever they went next. I felt attached to them. The ending itself, in a sort of post-modern way, leaves most of the big, surface questions unanswered, which I happen to love. No Country for Old Men is one of my favourite movies for just this reason. But just like No Country for Old Men, when I finished The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected on Water, I realized that, despite many unanswered questions, this story had ended, and it was not the story I thought I was reading. It was a beautiful realization. I hope that makes some sense.

Anyhow, The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a brilliant novella. It provides all the entertainment, action, surprises, and hilarity one could want from 33,000 words, but in the end, it makes you think about people, their lives, their relationships, their motivations, and their futures. I most highly recommend this book to discerning readers of grim fantasy as well as to ‘literary’-type folks who enjoy books like Alix E. Harrow’s also-brilliant The Ten Thousand Days of January. And even though there are so many more new books to review, I think I’m going to have to dive into Zen Cho’s back catalogue for a bit first. 10/10.

The Order of The Pure Moon Reflected in Water is scheduled to be released by Tor.com on June 23, 2020. Do yourself a favour and read it.

This review comes out today (4/1) in Grimdark Magazine and will be posted to our website and social media in about a week. It will be reposted as the release date approaches.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, closer to release date.]

That ending! I got emotional.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water is a wuxia-inspired fantasy novella following a group of bandits and an ex-anchorite nun after an unexpected fight in a coffeehouse.

I want to start with the positives and say that Zen Cho knows how to write effective banter even when there's not much page-time to develop the characters, and really gets the serious-humorous balance right in general as well - this is overall a very entertaining story. It's also always really nice to read about fantasy worlds where queerness is relatively unremarkable; I want to specifically mention that this is also true for being trans, as many supposedly queer-normative fantasy books don't even try to acknowledge that trans people exist.

While this features the "outcast found family" trope, it focuses mostly on three characters:
🌘 naive-yet-shrewd ex-anchorite Guet Imm, votary of the Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, whose tokong has been destroyed; she was hilarious and definitely my favorite character.
🌘 mysterious Tet Sang, who is hiding far more than any of his friends suspect;
🌘 beautiful, charming Lau Fung Cheung, more or less the leader of the group.
The other characters were pretty much a blur. Here's the thing: I don't think novellas are the right format for the found family trope. It's already hard enough to pull off in a standalone novel.

Another thing that didn't work for me much was the lack of descriptions. Maybe it stood out to me because I just finished another novella, Empress of Salt and Fortune, that put painstaking attention into every detail and made them matter, but here I felt like I didn't know how anything actually looked like.
Also, while I really appreciated how normalized queerness was, this book did kind of use a character's transness as a small twist, which could have been easily avoided - but it didn't end up being the character's Big Secret, which is refreshing.

There are also some nods to topics I would have loved to see explored more, like how going through traumatic events like a war can change one's relationship with faith. There are a lot of thing here I would have loved to see more of, characters included, and this definitely has sequel potential, so I'm hopeful.

If you are a frequent visitor of this blog than you will know that I think very highly of Zen Cho. I absolutely fell in love with Sorcerer to the Crown and there is absolutely no way that I will ever pass up the opportunity to read one of her books or stories. So be the case with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water.

While the start of this book and the synopsis might indicate a book that focuses on bandit fantasy, the title is more true to the essence of the book. It is about ones identity and place in the world. Seeing your own self reflected back at you, even if it is really hard to be confronted of that. There is also a sense of family throughout the story. A bit of a distorted family with this band of bandits. But there is an essence there about loyalty and finding your place. It is a very powerful story all together that I hesitate to tell you too much about it. Because this is something you have to experience for yourself.

Zen Cho knows how to tell a story with twists and turns and things you might not have expected. As this is a true wuxia fantasy and you are still seeking why to read this novella, I implore you to seek out some own voices reviews. While I can shout to you amount Zen Cho to the moon and back I think to make up your mind own voices reviews are very important.

My goddess Zen Cho has blessed us again. My only real complaint was it was so short. The lush writing and a story with culture that breathes and bleeds as much as its characters do. Much as is typical with Wuxia stories there are great feats of martial arts to the point the characters are supernatural yet mot eof the story focuses on the characters, them coming to terms with their past, and their beliefs. I enjoyed the rag tag team of bandits and the found family aspect of the story although I got a bit confused with the names at times.

Overall the order of the pure moon reflected in water was breathtakingly beautiful and I would highly recommend it to fans of Zen Cho, Wuxia fiction and anyone else who will listen

The second Tor.com novella I read in March was The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water that is also an Asian fantasy read - it seems to be my favourite genre right now. We follow Guet Imm, as she joins a group of thieves to protect a sacred object but she gets more than she bargained for! I haven't read anything by this author before but I'd heard great things and I think this novella was a great, quick and easy introduction to her writing. I loved the premise of the story and the camaraderie between the bandits as well as the action scenes and exploration of gender and gender roles but it wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped it would be sadly.

An unexpected meeting, a wanted poster and a nun with motives unknown.

We meet Guet Imm, a votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, devout and persistent in her mission which is revealed in delightful tidbits throughout the story. This is a nun not to be trifled with.

A unlightly collection of traveling contractors cross paths with Guet Imm and from there we follow them on a butt-kicking, deal striking, plot twisting, adventure filled with wuxia inspired martial arts and revelations you’ll never see coming.
The world is vibrant and the characters fleshed out and complex. Along with being brilliantly diverse with no shortage of representation, the relationships between all characters develop subtly and beautifully.
The plot moves along at a pleasing pace and it kept my interest throughout with ease with its quick and often humorous dialogue.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water packs in plenty of story in its 176 pages and is a refreshing and engaging novella that everyone should read.

Zen Cho es una escritora que sigo de cerca, porque casi siempre consigue levantarme el ánimo y en estos tiempos esto es muy necesario. Además, cuando vi la preciosa portada de su nueva novela corta, no pude dejar de interesarme por ella.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water está basada en la tradición wuxia, así que dado mi escaso conocimiento esperaba algo de fantasía y muchas artes marciales. Aunque hay algo de ambos contenidos, no conforman el eje principal de la historia. Realmente lo que nos cuenta es una pequeña fábula sobre identidad y pertenencia, basándose en la historia de una monja que por paradojas del destino acaba aunando su camino a un conjunto de bandidos, aunque ellos prefieran denominarse agentes de libre intercambio.
La prosa es ágil y fluida y debido en especial a su brevedad es una aventura que se lee en un suspiro. Tiene sus momentos de humor y algunos también de profunda ingenuidad, como corresponde a una fábula hecha para entretener y no para epatar. Es una obra ligera y entretenida, que puede servir como aperitivo entre otras lecturas de más enjundia.

I've loved everything Zen Cho has written so far, but I couldn't get into this at all. I felt like I was constantly grasping at straws to work out what was going on, and I didn't connect with any of the characters. I appreciate the choice to throw the reader into the story without pausing to make long explanations, but in this case, it left me feeling disconnected - I kept waiting for the hook that would get me invested, but it never came. I found the dialogue very hard to understand, as people seemed to be making individual statements most of the time rather than having connected conversations. Just not a book I could click with, at all.

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water was my first foray into wuxia, and overall I enjoyed the book. It wasn't as martial-arts-heavy as I'd anticipated, instead offering a fantasy tale with interesting themes and fairly deep reflection on matters like identity, belonging and the fight for survival. Guet Imm was a fun character, and all the bandits had their own personality quirks, developed to just the right level to give them clear identities without slowing the pace of the story. It's hard to say more without risking spoilers, but I recommend this book to fantasy fans looking for a quick but different read. I would certainly read more by Zen Cho in the future.

(This review will go live on my blog and on GR/social media on 9 June 2020.)