Jimenez is definitely an “auto-buy” author for me now, and I loved their previous novel, The Vanished Birds. The Spear Cuts through Water is another beautifully told tale, but this time it’s looking at alternative historical (as opposed to future - TVB was sci-fi) temporalities.
The thing I loved most about this book was also something that may put readers off at first, simply because it takes some “practice” to get used to - much of the story is told as a “chorus” of voices, literally weaving together many different viewpoints on the “historical” events being recounted. Once I got into the rhythm of the book, this didn’t impact my ability to follow the thread of the narrative - to the contrary, Jimenez’s prose is so lovely that it pulled me along easily.
I am a little torn because I want to give the book 5 stars for the stylistic innovation alone, but in the end, I think I wanted a little “more” from the plot itself and a bit more development of the ending section.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ebook arc for review purposes.

This a unique story with great writing and a fresh plot that doesn't feel recycled. I also love the cover. It is just beautiful and mysterious enough to catch any fantasy readers attention.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

This book is beautiful. I took my time reading it, just small chunks at a time to make it last.

The plot takes place over five days. The narrative is so rich with detail and different perspectives that it doesn't feel too slow--it isn't fast-paced by any means. But it doesn't drag. Instead, it's a thoughtful stroll through the story. It does feel tense, knowing that time is ticking down as you read.

The narrative is told through several different voices from different times, woven together as a tapestry. Different people's thoughts jump in throughout the story, adding context to the events without disrupting them. It's honestly hard to explain, but it's so, so good. Highly recommend!

This was a ride. Mainly because of the writing and the changes between POV. It took a long time for me to get into the groove of the story, but the story itself was wonderful. This was honestly unlike anything I’ve read before, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey for granting my wish for this ARC! This one took a long time for me to get into- through no fault of the story itself, but the structure. Unless I was able to devote large chunks of time toward reading, each time picking up this book felt like a chore due to the framing device (which is cool!) and I had to relearn how to read it.

The format simply didn't work for me, but the story itself is fantastic, and I greatly enjoyed. There was simply an issue in the delivery for me.

The characters were compelling, the setting lush and vibrant, and it truly felt like a real world I could step into. Just enough was provided to us as readers to leave us wanting more, in terms of the world- an ancient one of gods and tortoise networks and emperors and Terrors. Nothing felt out of place, and if this was a more typical delivery I would have not hesitated to give it 5 stars.

The only complaint I have for this book is that the beginning was confusing. It took awhile to get used to changing from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person. The storytelling was like nothing I've ever read before. It was so unique that it would change persona mid paragraph and give a thought from a near by character.

Once I got used to the way this was written I really enjoyed the story. The whole book felt mystical. The magic system was powerful and I loved the way that it showed corruption with the people holding the power. I never quite new where this book was taking me but I liked the journey. I also really loved the main characters. They were flawed but easy to root for. There was also a surprise romance subplot that was adorable!

This was .... weird. And I typically really like weird but this was a weird that was really hard to follow at times.

Its a story being told about two men journeying across the land to save a dying goddess. It was easiest to keep in mind this was a story being told about a story. However, I felt like Alice jumping down the rabbit hole and ending up at the Mad Hatter's table. Just confused and not fully following a lot of what was happening. I'm still not sure i know what transpired between beginning and end.

This is a highly rated novel and I recommend checking out other reviews

“…some tales are too large to be told by one voice alone.”

This is the best book I’ve read all year, and I’m overwhelmed by the prospect of putting into words every astonishing aspect of THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER. It’s an epic tale of two warriors charged with transporting a god across a kingdom and ending the tyrannical rule of a royal family, a journey bursting with powerful magic and harrowing adventures. The world Jimenez creates is intricate and fascinating; there’s both an edge of absurdity (e.g. giggling telepathic tortoises, pornographic stone tablets) and a terrible throughline of gruesome violence. But the beating, bleeding core of this novel is a stunning love story between Keema and Jun, two young men who find what they both desperately need in each other: companionship, playfulness, desire, acceptance, and belonging.

There’s much to be said about the delightful, deranged, and devastating specifics of the story, but (1) the joy is in the discovery for the reader and (2) I want to focus on what Jimenez achieves with his layered narrative and multiple perspectives (using first-, second-, and third-person voices); it’s nothing short of incredible. There’s Keema and Jun’s story taking place in a lush, complex world of centuries past; there’s a unnamed young man in the present day, remembering legends told to him by his lola from the Old Country that his family has left behind, which connect to the warriors; and there’s the realm of the heavenly theater, where the young man is transported to, watching the warriors’ story play out on a stage that crosses space and time. Interspersed within are flashes of voice from background characters (or their ghosts), revealing their hopes and fears and deepening our emotional connection to the people. All this in combination with Jimenez’s gorgeous writing and the poetic structure of the book is frankly unhinged, unparalleled, and completely unique.

I could talk about this book forever, and I could never speak of it again and hold it close inside my heart; it’s that damn good. And we haven’t even touched on the homoerotic wrestling! This novel is an ode to oral storytelling, to the ache and affection one feels towards one’s ancestors and homeland, and ultimately to forgiveness and connection. Once you sink your teeth into this strange, fantastical story, it’s utterly transporting and for me, unforgettable. THE VANISHED BIRDS, Jimenez’s debut science fiction novel, is one of my favorite books, and this sophomore fantasy novel is even more ambitious (though both made me cry equally hard). I can’t wait to see what Jimenez creates next. Thanks to Del Rey Books for the review copy.

Content warnings: burning alive, violence/battle, gore, body horror, cannibalism, torture, murder/death, panic attacks, suicidal thoughts, animal injury, animal death, child abuse

Such an epic fantasy told as a story within story is about two warriors shepherd an ancient god across a broken land to end the tyrannical reign of a royal family. Truly a great fantasy standalone. I haven’t read from this author before, but I really enjoyed Simon’s writing! The entirety of characters and plot line is brilliant—dense and original. It might not be for everyone, but if you enjoy one-of-a-kind story, this is it!

Thank you Delrey via Netgalley for the arc.

This one caught me completely off guard. I have not read Jimenez' previous work and was mostly intrigued by the description alone - two warriors travelling with an ancient goddess through the lands to end the tyrannical reign of a terrifying royal family. Now that sounds incredible!

And it really, really was. This is such a unique novel with beautiful writing, and it's told in such an extraordinary, captivating way that I was immediately hooked. It plays with different perspectives, is written in first, second and third person, and at first it's a little confusing but also so very fascinating that I couldn't stop reading.
"The Spear Cuts Through Water" tells the story of a Moon Goddess, the cruel empire she quite literally birthed and the two warriors, Jun and Keema, who vow to help her undo her mistakes. It's also the love story of these two warriors, which I didn't expect and which blew me away. The character writing is superb, making me care even for the smallest side characters we meet on this long journey, and the plot is masterfully crafted. I cannot praise this book enough.

I really only felt a little letdown by the last 20% or so of the book, where things get rather messy and stressful and at one point the book felt almost anime-esque when the final villain appears, which threw me out of the story. The epilogue is a little too long, too, but the last few pages make up for it. Still, if not for these late hiccups, this would be an easy 5 star read.

It's an imaginative epic fantasy, complex and unique and deeply emotional. It won't be for everyone, but I cannot recommend it enough. It's a book that stays with its reader, and I won't forget my experience with it.

Groundbreaking and innovative, A Spear Cuts Through Water is the experimental novel SFF as a genre needs. Jimenez refuses to follow the traditional three act structure and his innovative storytelling is bellied by a mesmerising prose. You are never really sure where you are when you read this but the way Jimenez melds the past with the present is iconic. A true master of the craft

Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL prose, as expected of Simon Jimenez. The Spear Cuts Through Water is my second book from the author this year and oh gosh did it give me one of the best reading experiences ever. A stand out.

The novel is a fantasy and adventure story. It is an investigation of legacy and belonging. The shifting perspectives and plot made it difficult to really get into the story for me. There are three POV that carry the novel.
I don’t know if my confusion that occurred while I was reading this novel or part of the experience I was suppose to have. It didn’t make it easy to read (for me). I do think there are many people who will enjoy this style of writing.

When I first received the publisher’s request to review The Spear Cuts Through Water, I almost didn’t accept it. I had reviewed The Vanished Birds and “meh” about it. But when I read the blurb, it caught my interest, and I decided to give this book a chance. I am glad I did because this book was one of the most uniquely written books I have ever read. Oh, and I also really liked it.

The Spear Cuts Through Water had an exciting plotline. It follows the journey of Keema, a one-armed outcast, and Jun, grandson of the emperor, as they escort Jun’s goddess grandmother across the country. Jun and Keema face many dangers but discover strengths they didn’t know they had. There is also another storyline that is intertwined with Keema and Jun. That is the story of an unnamed man who finds himself in a place called the Inverted Theater after a lifetime of hardship. He is watching a play about Keema and Jun and their journey. Like me, he had questions about their journey. Will they complete their journey?

Usually, I will put a trigger and content warning at the end of my review. But, if I feel that the book’s content will immediately affect the reader or the triggers are horrible, I move it to the top of the review. The triggers in this book are a combination of both. If you are triggered by gore, genocide, ritual cannabilism, body horror, dismemberment, and ableism, do not read this book.

The Spear Cuts Through Water is a medium-paced book in a dystopian ancient Japan or China (I couldn’t figure out which one). The author uses a lot of Japanese and Chinese folklore as a base for the story. I loved it!! It made the book so much more enjoyable for me to read because I enjoy the folklore/mythology from those areas.

As I stated above, this was very uniquely written book. It was written in equal parts, 2nd person and 3rd person POVs. I can count on one hand how many books I have read in 2nd person. And I can count how many of those books I have liked on half of that hand. The author seamlessly switched between the 2nd and 3rd person without disrupting the book’s flow. I was surprised at how much I liked the way it was written. Now, saying that the way this book is written isn’t for everyone, and I would keep that in mind when starting it.

The main characters of The Spear Cuts Through Water were well-written. The author did a great job of fleshing them out and making me care about them (and their journey).

Keema—I liked him. There’s not much I can say about him other than that he was almost stupidly brave. I wouldn’t say I liked that he was looked down upon for only having one arm or that the other guards picked on him because of it. His journey with Keema was to find himself as much as it was to bring the Moon to her final destination.
Jun—So, he didn’t make the best first impression when he showed up in the book. But, as the book continued, I saw Jun’s character evolving. He started to care about Keema and what the Terrors were doing to the people during his journey. Heck, he even cared about the tortoise. By the end of the book, he has changed from the beginning.
Unknown Narrator—This is the person being told Jun and Keema’s story and their own life story. I felt terrible for this man. He had been through so much in life. He was amazed to find himself at the Inverted Theater, watching this story unfold. There was a more fantastic connection between Jun, Keema, and himself that was revealed at the end of the book. I didn’t see that twist coming!
The Three Terrors—I was going to make them secondary characters, but I got to thinking, and they each, in their way, were main characters. To me, they embodied the worst traits that society had. Jun’s father (the First Terror) was Violence. He participated in genocide in the Old World. He did love his sons, but that was his only redeeming quality. The Second Terror, to me, was Greed and Gluttony. In my eyes, he was the scariest Terror, mainly because of what he did to gain the powers of the tortoise. The Third Terror, I couldn’t place him in any group. He was a horror exiled from his family at a young age. I will not even get into what he was or what he did. But I did feel bad for him. The scene with the man in that dungeon was both gruesome and heartbreaking at the same time.
The Moon— I wasn’t sure about her. I understood why she wanted to leave (who would want to be held captive under a palace). But I wouldn’t say I liked how she coerced Jun and Keema to do what she wanted. She didn’t get to her destination, forcing Jun and Keema to do something atrocious, something I had heard of but had never seen written in a book before. She also held no love for her children. That bothered me more than anything, to be honest.
The Spear Cut Through Water did have a lot of notable secondary characters. I will not list them, but they all added extra depth to the book.

The Spear Cuts Through Water was listed as a fantasy novel. I agree, but it is more suited as a dark and epic fantasy. The author did a great job weaving the epic fantasy angle (the journey) and the dark fantasy angle (everything else). It made for a great read.

I also want to add that there is a romance and LGBTQ+ angle to this book also. Keema and Jun’s romance is cultivated throughout the entire book. There was so much given with a look between them. And the yearning, oh my, it was almost too much for me to bear.

The author amazingly wrote the main storyline with Keema, Jun, the Terrors, the Moon, and their journey. The author had me glued to the book, wanting to know more, and you know what? He gave it to me in spades. The author explained everything, and he tied everything together. The author left no loose ends with this plotline. There were a couple of twists I didn’t see coming.

The storylines with the unknown narrator and the Inverted Theater was well written. I didn’t get as invested as I did with the main storyline, but still, it drew me in. A twist in that storyline made me put my Kindle down. I needed a second to process what I had read because the twist was that unexpected and that good.

Several secondary storylines give some added background and depth to the main storylines. The author incorporated them into the main storyline without pausing the book’s flow.

The end of The Spear Cuts Through Water was not what I expected, but at the same time, I expected it, if that makes sense. I loved how the author ended the main storylines and how he merged them both.

Three reasons why you should read The Spear Cuts Through Water:

The storylines.
The characters.
Jun and Keema’s slow-burn romance
Three reasons why you shouldn’t read The Spear Cuts Through Water:

The triggers. I am usually pretty good with the number of triggers in the book, but even I got triggered by this book.
The way it was written. Being told in 2nd and 3rd person isn’t most people’s cup of tea.
The Terrors. They genuinely creeped me out.

Thanks so much to the publisher and Net Galley for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Lovely lyrically told story- a fable really. The language is rich and dreamy, but I found the story rather dull; a spoiled brutal prince ( ala GOT) on a mission for his father the “Sun” to find the key to everlasting life, interwoven with a modern story of a dreamland theater. Very well written, but not my cup of tea. DNF

**Thank you to Del Rey Books, the author, and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book was released on August 30, 2022.**

*So hear me, audience of the theater—listen to the Moon on High, the Empress of the Eight Sons of the Moon Throne, for I have a tale to tell.*

Once upon a time, the Moon promised a warrior his greatest desire if only he would cut her from the sky so that she would not be replaced after her death—and so the Moon Throne was born. Now the current emperor and his sons, the Three Terrors, rule over the country with an iron fist. But the Moon has been plotting her release, and with the help of Jun and Keema, she will find her freedom—and the end. And you are going to witness it all.

About two sentences into beginning this review—right after I finished reading the book (on an airplane, sandwiched between strangers and crying so much I was grateful I was wearing a mask)—I knew that I wouldn’t be able to speak coherently about this book for a WHILE, and gave up. In fact, this review is definitely not going to be a fully comprehensive picture of its deep and powerful narrative, but it’s time for me to try and talk about THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER anyway, because this feels like a truly original and masterfully crafted contribution to the fantasy genre.

I’ll admit that I was a bit wary for the first little while as I read, because I personally don’t always do well with narratives that shift through points of view from chapter to chapter, let alone in the midst of one. I also generally prefer linear narratives. But I eventually found myself captivated, because this is a story within a story, a performance, evokes oral storytelling, is full of myth and legacy—all things I obsessively love in fiction. It’s nearly impossible to read quickly, and I found myself grateful that I read the majority of it in one day; while it took me longer than another book might have, I didn’t have interruptions to the rhythm set by the plot and I was able to fully sink into the story, which is set over the course of five days. Perhaps my favorite technique, though, was how different moments in time were bridged through italicized sentences set in the middle of the page, sometimes they tied the two together and sometimes they didn’t, but man, when they did, it was incredible.

These and so many other little pieces stacked on each other to build up my admiration for this book. First of all, the setting and the worldbuilding—everything feels so lush and fully realized, whether the reader is currently in the time of the Old Country or the present or the Inverted Theater. All of these elements (especially the tortoises, oh my gosh) were so fantastically unique that I’m still thinking about them. Not to mention the writing—I copied down so many passages that just sang, that cut right to my core, and I wish I could share them all. But they wouldn’t mean anything without the weight of the story, or without You (as both the reader and as the person experiencing the performance of this story), or without Jun and Keema, who I grew to love and laugh with/at over the course of the book. I didn’t expect them to be so FUNNY. The audience inclusion is another amazing aspect; it felt like immersion in the truest sense.

And the ending. My god, the ending. Or perhaps more accurately, roughly the last half-to-last third. I do not want to give away the bit of the story that set off the waterworks for me, but it was wholly unexpected and I am still in a sort of mourning for this character, despite everything they’ve done. Like, it was “Omelas” levels of sorrow. The epilogue, or “After,” of the main plot is long but I think it’s earned. The closing off of each thread, and the way everything comes full circle… it can’t be overstanding how stunning this book is. It just can’t.

Again, this is the kind of thing that drives a person to sob quietly for over an hour on an airplane. And I highly, highly recommend it.

On a final note, I don’t normally include content warnings since I don’t really seek them out myself, but if you are a person who does prefer to know what they’re getting into, I absolutely recommend you look up a full list. Off the top of my head, though, CW for gore, body horror, cannibalism, torture, and more. But if they are things that you can take in, you are in for a gorgeous, brutal, tender, and transformational adventure. I don’t think anyone can walk away from this book unaffected.

"This is a love story to its blade-dented bone.”

I have never read anything quite like this book. I tend to find second person narration distracting, but it was effective here. I love the creative storytelling and will definitely give this a reread.

I would call it a story within a story, but that doesn’t capture its expansiveness and also connectedness.

The “you” in this book grew up with stories of the Old Country told by your lola. One of the first stories you remember is of the Inverted Theater: a place mortals could be invited, through dreams and luck, to visit and watch a performance. Ugh, I know that sounds boring, but it isn’t—I don’t know how to describe this effectively. Epic. Surprising. Violent. Delightful.

This was my first book by Jimenez, and I’ll definitely be reading his other, The Vanished Birds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey!

Just because this wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for you. I’m either dumb or confused, but this was as layered as Malazan, which I tried but never finished. To be fair, I listened on audio. This may or may not be better on print.

What’s confusing? The first, second and third person perspectives that change without a thought. The shifting plot. The fact that all of this encompasses a few days. Triple terrors. A tortoise. So many changes in scenery.

Maybe I’m just not in the right headspace (am I a guy on a dating app or what), but this was not the right book for me at this point in time. Maybe I’ll revisit.

Simon Jimenez burst onto the SciFi/Fantasy scene with 2020's The Vanished Birds, which was an utterly fascinating book, even as it was kind of a bit more in the literary direction than my usual read. The story followed a number of characters who interacted with a mysterious boy, and dealt with the choices and sacrifices those people made for their professional and personal lives, among other themes, and featured some really great character work, even if its ending felt a bit rushed and the antagonist just felt kind of there. It was a really well done and interesting novel, especially for a first novel, which made me very eager to get to Jimenez' second novel, The Spear Cuts Through Water.

And The Spear Cuts Through Water is honestly my book of 2022 so far, even as it is a very very different kind of novel than The Vanished Birds. Told with phenomenal prose as if the story is a stage play of the past shown in a dream-like magical theatre (to an unnamed but not undefined narrator), The Spear Cuts Through Water is a love story, a quest story, a story of memory and who we are, of guilt and redemption, and more. It's a beautifully told story that had me gripped from its very beginning and while it takes its time getting to its main two protagonists, it never felt slow or tiring...and once it got to the protagonists, I fell slowly but deeply in love with them. This is going to be a difficult review to write because of the type of novel this is, but let's just be clear up front, this novel is fantastic and I cannot recommend more highly that you give it a try.



-----------------------------------------------Plot Summary----------------------------------------------------
Years ago, your Lola told you about the Inverted Theater, the product of the love between the Moon and the Water, which can only be reached through dreams, when the Theater issues its one and only invite during a person's lifetime. Now that invite is yours and you visit the Theater in a dream, where you are shown a story you vaguely remember your Lola telling you about long ago, a story about the Old Country, a story involving the Spear that you find yourself holding in your hands, that you know only as a family heirloom hung on the family wall.

The story features the legendary five days in which the all powerful Emperor, the Smiling Sun, blessed with the powers of the Moon, planned to make a pilgramage through the Country before taking a voyage towards immortality.

But Fate had other plans, and soon the Emperor is gone and the Moon escaped with the help of two young men - one covered in a mask and one lacking an arm - and on the run from the Emperor's three powerful Moon-blessed sons: the Three Terrors.

This is the story of these two young men, the Spear one of them carries, the Moon they flee with, and the Water who yearns for her, as the age of the Emperor comes to an end and a new era is born from their actions......
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The Spear Cuts Through Water is told in a fascinating way, with the story weaving in and out of the framing device - a person from the industrial-era future of this world seeing the story in a dream theater of a more fantasy/medieval (almost Asian inspired?) past - from section to section. The prose features each chapter broken up into small sections, with each section introduced by the last few words of the last section blown up and bolded into a new section header, so that each section flows naturally from one part to the next. And within each section the story is sometimes told in second person, or with first person plural "we" narrators occasionally serving as a Greek Chorus, but somehow none of this ever becomes confusing and the prose is just tremendous to read.*

*I say this, but one friend of mine who has Aphantasia found this difficult at the start to get into. I have issues myself visualizing but do not think I have Aphantasia (even as I usually dislike descriptive prose), and found the prose did work for me and was more character based than descriptive based*

And so it leads to a fantasy story that is large in scope and yet at the same time quite small in its scope, as its two lead characters, Jun and Keema of the Daware Tribe, venture forth, first coincidentally on the same path as Jun tries to help the Moon/Old-Lady escape and Keema tries to fulfill his oath to take the Spear to its intended recipient. The two characters are excellently done, both with mysteries in their past that matter to some extent (and don't to others) which are revealed slowly, and their growing relationship, which turns into something more (M/M romance) is really really well done, culminating in one...not quite typical sex scene..but one that is quite spectacular. And the two are great characters on their own as they each struggle with their own vows and goals: Jun to redeem himself for what he sees as unforgivable atrocities in his past, and Keema to make something of himself by fulfilling the vows he made to those who didn't make it. And between the two of them, their eventual vow to help the Old Lady/Moon escape and end the nightmares her power caused through her sons the Three Terrors.

The story takes these two main characters through a world that is filled to the brim with people and factions and beings that are all incredibly well done and deep, like villagers who live among the water who wish for a chance to strike at freedom, or turtles that form a magical communication net, and noble merchant factions who wish to make their own claim at power, etc. etc. It's a world that feels tremendously real and painted, helped by the gorgeous prose, and even the parts talking about the industrial future, where war is waged for who knows what reason and families are torn apart by it, work well as a contrast. The result is a story that uses its quest to touch themes of who we are, how our pasts, our families and heritage, and choices define us, and where we can go from there, and what we all deserve as a result. And it's all done so well up until the ending that is just perfect - maybe a bit too easy, but perfect nonetheless.

It's just a tremendous novel, both in character and in prose, and I cannot recommend it more highly.