I loved this meditative, gentle climate fiction fantasy with a sweet, honest romance. It made me cry. The Beijing setting was full of little, authentic details and the dragons, coming across like pesky, feral cats and city birds at the same time, were so distinctive. I reviewed this for Booklist magazine and my review will appear in a future issue (one of the July or August issues, I believe).

This book is different from what I thought it would be...this book doesn't have a lot of adventure or a revolutionary plot, it has a focus on characters. The Book is basically about two characters Eli, who is Afro-Chinese-American who went to Beijing for an internship and Kai an artist who works in a shop that sells dragons, but his biggest priority is to rescue abandoned dragons, Eli and Kai meet when their work crosses path, and we quickly realize how the two are destined to help each other.
This book explores falling in love when your reality is surrounded by grief and the ways we seek to exert control over our lives, which in many cases can even be harmful to ourselves. The main characters are extremely interesting and very different from each other, Eli is careful and persistent, while Kai is stubborn and carries a lot of weight on his back.
I loved the points where it talked about the dragons, how they are in the east and west, about the dragon legend with eastern characteristics and with the skills of drakos, dragons of the west, I think this narrative could have been explored further, it would have further enriched the story. However, I loved the comments the author made throughout the book, about cultural differences and Eli's experience being Chinese-American in Beijing, pollution and its effects on people's lives, grief, climate change.

3.5/5

this was a pretty good little read! not a new favorite but i don't regret picking it up at all.

an urban low fantasy with themes of pollution, climate change and chronic illness, after the dragons is set in a modern day beijing that's suffering from drought conditions and a growing population of stray dragons. amidst all this, two college students form a tentative relationship.

i love how the author brings beijing to life in such a stark, vivid way through gorgeously atmospheric writing. there's a hazy almost ephemeral sense to the world and it suits the uncertain and coming-of-age nature of the story.

the dragons were definitely the best part of this novella. the way the author integrates the dragons into the everyday city life of beijing is so interesting to see; reducing these fantastical mythical creatures into animals as mundane as pigeons or cats. the descriptions of the dragons are so stunningly detailed they genuinely feel real. the world here has so much potential and i hope cynthia zhang writes another story within this setting.

i liked eli and kai well enough but i did feel a little emotionally distant from them and their burgeoning relationship, which is why this didn't get a higher rating from me. i did appreciate seeing the experiences of biracial chinese diaspora through the eyes of eli. besides that, most of the science-y descriptions went over my head and bored me a little. the dialogue also felt a bit awkward to me at times.

overall, if you're into descriptive, atmospheric reads with queer protagonists and you like dragons, you should definitely pick this book up.

I love reading books that feel like something new. I don’t know about you, but, before After the Dragons, I had never read a story that juxtaposed climate change, alienation, and chronic illness with adorable stray dragons and queer romance. I cannot overstate how much I enjoyed the elegantly nuanced manner in which this book approaches its unique collection of plot points and themes.

After the Dragons performs a rather splendid balancing act. Great and global issues—climate change-induced drought and illness; humanity’s responsibility toward species at risk, including, but by no means limited to, humanity—both contrast and align with the small-scale personal issues that shape individual characters’ worlds: who am I; what do I truly want; what matters to me more than what I think others want from me; how can I learn to love someone in ways they can accept? This book holds space for things both terrible and tender as it explores the fragile and uneasy ground where boundaries between people lie.

This is a beautiful story, beautifully told. Zhang’s vivid, polished prose effectively pulls readers in and holds them close until the story is ready to let go. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

I received a digital advance review copy of this book from Stelliform Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I suspect I will end up purchasing a physical copy to share with family and friends.

The premise of After the Dragons is similar to Raya, the Disney movie, which is why I picked it up and I loved it! It was such a refreshing twist on a hero's journey! I definitely recommend it!

After The Dragons is a beautiful story about friendship and young love, hardship that more often than not seems impossible to overcome, and a tinge of environmental commentary. The main characters -Kai and Eli- found their way to my heart from the very first pages, and stayed there ever since, changing form with every scene that delved a little deeper than the last.

The rawness of their relationship was what drew me in and kept me interested, more of a personal preference than a comment about the book, but important to mention nonetheless. Their dialogues and reactions, the way they move and tip toe around each other is so representative of young (gay) love, it almost hurt to read sometimes.

And now, the dragons. The mere existence of them would have made this a worthy read, but the way they were incorporated was so fresh and original, it never once made you forget them. In the background or foreground, their presence was one of a kind, luring you into a kind of modern fantasy setting that took your breath away.

All in all, a short, bittersweet read, worth it if not for the way you could almost see a dragon curl up besides you, then for the way Kai and Eli will sneak their way into your heart and stay there for a little (or long) while.

This novel set in a world so like our own I almost forgot that dragons don't actually exist. I think the realistic nature of this book is owed to the lovely main characters, Eli and Kai, who are young and a little messy in a way that just felt honest, never overly-dramatic. And while there are dragons, these are not the huge fire-breathing beasts of medieval myth (now extinct), and the vibe of this book is more "a quiet and tender romance in a world that happens to have dragons" than any typical dragon fantasy. These characters, their individual issues and their relationship are written with such thoughtfulness and gentleness that I couldn't help but care deeply for them both, despite the relatively short length of this book. A really lovely read, and I'll definitely be keeping my eye out for more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A compeeling story that pulls you right in.

4 stars

~ I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own ~

Thanks to Stelliform Press and NetGalley for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

"After the Dragons" is more of a realistic fiction story focusing on self-discovery with an evolving romance. Kai is a selfless individual whose sole purpose in life is to protect and care for dragons that have been long since abandoned by society. Eli is a researcher whose path takes him to Kai, and they hit it off well thanks to the dragons.

Now, this cover fooled me at first, but it's definitely not super focused on dragons as a whole. Pretend that it's about two guys falling in love with each other, but the one guy just happens to be really into taking care of turtles that have overpopulated the city and are left to survive on their own. That's basically it. There's no magical adventure, just a story about introspection and falling in love. I just wanted to be clear because I was fooled, ha.

It's a pretty interesting story and not something I usually read, I enjoyed the dialogue and how natural it felt. The two protagonists felt very much alive and well as if they could be sitting next to me.

I didn't thoroughly enjoy this story, but I'm honestly really enjoying Cynthia Zhang's writing style and I may just keep an eye on her future work because I see a lot of great potentials there. She really delivered in the writing here, it's just me wanting more of a bigger story with dragons. Still, a fascinating introspective sort of story that leaves the reader satisfied but also wanting more.

4.25★

did not expect to enjoy this book as much as i did but wow! surpassed expectations for sure.

immunology, pollution, diaspora chinese experience, and of course, tiny little dragons—all in this too-short of a book that i didn’t expect to love this much! tbh i picked it up for the dragons but it came with so much more richness to it that left me satisfyingly pleased.

‘after the dragons’ is cynthia zhang's debut and it features two main characters that i loved reading about; eli, who is a black and chinese american that feels drawn to beijing in this world, his heritage, the little dragons—and, of course, kai, a young artist who loves dragons.

the dichotomized lore and the ancestral (that is like ours but not identical) world in this book divides between the eastern and western dragons and it was compelling to read about. i really loved the social commentary of cultural dissonance, the diaspora experience, changing climate, pollution and its catastrophic aftermaths, and more. and the contrast in our two main characters made this even more of a unique read—with eli’s careful personality and utter hopelessness and kai's compassion and standoffish stubbornness.

i was pleasantly surprised by how this debut novel had an exceptional writing style; zhang writes vividly and uniquely, the characters are crafted with utter care they feel real and so were the world and setting.

absolutely loved this, it was so beautiful and had important takes on many topics we need more about in these genres. and i want more!! this book was so good and i definitely will be reading cynthia zhang’s upcoming work!

— digital arc provided via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kai looks for abandoned dragons to take care of, while Eli, a biracial American medical researcher, is drawn to Beijing by the memory of his grandmother and her death by shaolong, a terminal disease.

This is a non-action fantasy about loss and self-discovery. The story is definitely character-driven and it's beautifully written. However, I felt some parts were rushed through closer to the end, with some details that felt unsolved and wished had closure instead.

This is a debut novel I definitely enjoyed, but not loved. I am looking forward to reading whatever Zhang is going to write next.

I would recommend this book to anyone who looks for a non-action fantasy and a character-driven story.

Thank you NetGalley and Stelliform Press for providing me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a surprising book! Set in China, in a hotter, water-scarce, and air pollution tainted world, with two just dear main characters. Kai rescues dragons, which are high-profile pets but also cast aside by the rich, so he finds them under dumpsters and in abandoned shops. His small apartment is full of dragons he's rehabilitating. Eli, an Afro-Chinese-American, is in China doing academic work as a research assistant, while also coming to terms with the death of his grandmother from shaolong, a disease caused by exposure to poor air quality. There is a bit of plot involving the dragons, but the real meat is character-driven-- self-discovery, gay identity, salvaging the things that matter, mothers, grandmothers, nationality, and all in a literal heated climate. And the word I would use to describe it is: charming. New adult, but make it cli-fi with tiny dragons and a sense of impending doom yet a dose of optimism as well.

*Light spoilers below*


CW for chronic illness, dragon fighting with people betting on it
For Romance readers who want to know if it could technically be classified as a romance, yes-HFN.

My thanks to Netgalley and Stelliform Press for the eARC. My opinions are my own.

This book was given to me in via NetGalley exchange for honest review.

This is a beautiful story about friendship, love, cultural differences. The strangest themes are acceptance and environment protection. The author managed to grow both main characters beautifully in such a short space. The plot was flowing like a river and everything was perfectly logical and made sense.

I really enjoyed this book.

Things I liked:
- The Characters: Kai and Eli are so believable. I loved reading about them and learning more about their story. It was nice to watch them grow together as a pair.
- The relationship
- The inclusion of dragons: this was a nice element that took a contemporary romance to an urban fantasy. I would have been fine without it; you could have replaced dragon with various pets. However, the dragons gave this story a little excitement. I loved every section that told more about dragons.
- The Writing Style: Cynthia Zhang's writing is exceptional. Her characters felt real, her setting vivid and relevant to the story, her plot dynamic and constantly evolving.

Things I didn't like:
- The ending: I mentioned this not to say that the ending was poor, only to say that I wanted more! Based on the way the ending is written, I doubt there will be a sequel, but I would absolutely LOVE one.

In all honestly, I can't think of a single thing I truly didn't like about this book. If you're looking for an urban fantasy LGBTQ+ romance, I can't recommend this one enough!

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<p>Review copy provided by the publisher.</p>
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<p>Immunology! Pollution! Diaspora Chinese experience! Tiny dragons! Prickly gay guys figuring out whether they want a relationship! Cynthia Zhang's debut is so good that I am having a hard time writing this review because mostly I want to make high pitched squealing noises while pointing at it, and while that's very expressive of my feelings, it may not be the most helpful--or at least not the <em>only</em> helpful--way to review a book.</p>
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<p>Okay, so. Eli is a mixed-race American person, Black and Chinese American, and he has chosen to do some of his postgraduate medical studies in Beijing, in a world that is a great deal like--but not identical to--ours. His grandmother's grave is there, but his (Chinese-American) mother is still a little confused and concerned at his choice, especially because the pollution levels in alternate-Beijing are dangerous. But Eli feels drawn to the place, the people who share some but not all of his heritage, and the dragons--little semi-aquatic flying reptiles of the right size to scrap with a house cat.</p>
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<p>And once he's there, he feels drawn to Kai, a young dragon lover, artist, and all-around fascinating guy with a lot of defense mechanisms. Eli and Kai circle each other more warily than dragons put in a fighting ring by human gamblers as they figure out how much to push each other and what parts of "not enough to fix everything but still worth trying" they can live with. There, that sounded coherent, right? Eeeeee this is lovely, go read it when you can.</p>
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How do I put into words the poignant devotion to this pair of boys - a solitary one broken by hopelessness, a steadyingly compassionate one buoyed by the belief in our capacity to change for the better - that this compact, carefully constructed slice-of-life-like story drew out in me? Out of the blue, sometimes, bibliophilic luck will be on your side and you'll be blindsided by a really brilliant story, one that'll leave you breathless with its specifically worded, sparingly detailed writing; that's what sinking into the shallow, well-crafted depths of After The Dragons was like for me.

After The Dragons won me over in just a couple of sentences, and there was so much I appreciated about it. The dichotomized lore and the ancestral (and contemporary) divides between the eastern/western dragons described was compelling and unique, and the close-packed, particularized atmosphere of their tiny section of Beijing - whether we were led through college campuses, cutting-edge science labs, dragon shelter set-ups or simply some shoddy student accommodations - was painstakingly sketched out. I also loved how deftly the cultural dissonance Eli comes up against in China is charted, the stark contrast of his care-driven personality with Kai's diffident countenance and standoffish stubbornness, and - last but never least - the subtle commentary on changing climates and the pointed chronicle of pollution's catastrophic aftermaths on collectives of people and (legendary or actual) animals alike.

I can already tell that Kai and Eli's precisely plotted world and their unlikely, unassailable connection will linger in my thoughts for a long while, and if there's a sign-up sheet for devouring Cynthia Zhang's upcoming work, lead the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Stelliform Press for kindly passing on this arc! 💫