Book Review: Blood Over Bright Haven by M. L. Wang

Brilliant, Beautiful, and Tragic

M. L. Wang's Blood Over Bright Haven is nothing short of a masterpiece in dark fantasy literature. From the first page, this novel grips you and doesn't let go, weaving a mesmerizing tale of ambition, power, and the search for truth.

The story follows Sciona, the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. Her journey to this prestigious position is fueled by a relentless desire to achieve the impossible. However, Sciona soon realizes that passing the qualifying exam is just the beginning of her challenges. Her colleagues, resistant to change, make every effort to make her feel unwelcome. Instead of a qualified lab assistant, she is given a janitor.

What neither Sciona nor her peers understand is that this janitor, with his taciturn demeanor, was once a nomadic hunter. Ten years ago, he lost his family on a perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. Now, he sees an opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe and displaced him from his homeland, forces that also maintain the power of the privileged.

The relationship between Sciona and her assistant starts off fractious but evolves as they uncover an ancient secret that could revolutionize the practice of magic. This discovery, however, comes with its own set of dangers that could very well cost them their lives.

The world-building in Blood Over Bright Haven is exceptional. Wang has created a universe that is both rich and immersive, with a unique and well-thought-out magic system that adds depth to the narrative. The character development is superb, particularly the growth of Sciona and her assistant as they navigate their personal struggles and external conflicts.

In summary, Blood Over Bright Haven is a brilliant, beautiful, and tragic tale that will leave a lasting impression on its readers. M. L. Wang has once again proven her prowess as a storyteller with this standalone novel that is as thought-provoking as it is enchanting. Whether you're a fan of dark fantasy or new to the genre, this book is a must-read.

This one surprised me! I really liked the story and didn't see the twist coming. Sciona wasn't exactly likeable but the story was great! I only wish the sections with Sciona describing the siphoning and magic to others were shorter. I did think the magic system was creative and interesting, kind of like magical programming.

Dark, disturbing, and utterly addictive, Blood Over Bright Haven is an absolute must-read. I’m not well-versed in the dark academia subgenre, but you can’t go wrong with this page-turner. It delves into topics of imperialism, racism, elitism, and supremacy, but it’s a damn good book above all.

The City of Tiran is impressive. Enclosed within a magical Barrier, it offers its citizens comfort and industrialization made possible by magic. Refugees from the outside, however, can’t expect equal treatment, and they usually scrape by in factories or doing menial jobs. Those who live outside? Dead or soon to be dead through Blight. This lethal light appears from nowhere and strips away layer after layer of human and animal bodies until nothing but blood remains.

Within the confines of the walls, Sciona Freynan has the potential to make history as the first female highmage. She just needs to pass the final exam. Since work, studies, and magic are her sole priorities and she lacks social skills or real interest in other human beings, she feels she can do it. Driven by insatiable ambition and hunger for glory and gifted with a brilliant (if obsessive) mind, she has no equals. There’s just one problem - she’s a woman. And most mages believe women are not destined for greatness.

To avoid revealing any crucial plot points, I’ll keep the synopsis brief. Wang gradually unveils the true origin of magic and sheds light on the mysterious Otherrealm - from which mages draw energy to power the city. Expect the unexpected. It’s dark academia, after all, where appearances are often deceiving.

Blood Over Bright Haven avoids gratuitous violence but contains graphic scenes that may unsettle some readers. It excels at stripping its protagonist from her core beliefs while making her understand the monstrous secrets of Tiran.

There’s, of course, a man and a potential for romance. Sciona faces many obstacles, and it is through the other point of view character, Thomil—a Kwen refugee—that we understand how limited her choices are. Their chemistry and dynamics are great. But here’s the catch - we’re talking about M.L. Wang’s book. In The Sword of Kaigen, she has proven to be unafraid of defying readers’ expectations and making bold, heart-wrenching choices. I have issues with parts of the story and the characterization of one of the bad guys, but the ending left me speechless and deserves all the stars.

A word about the magic. I’m not usually a fan of magic systems, but I loved how similar to coding it was. How logical and elegant it felt. Bravo! The characterization of most players is top-notch, too.

The book itself is relatively short (around 120,000 words) and tells a complete story. It skilfully explores themes of gender injustice, racism, faith, and consequences of intentions. All while providing suspense, action, and personal drama. The second half of the book is driven by anger. A righteous anger that serves as a catalyst for societal change, igniting a fire that propels the characters and their world forward.

To provide a balanced perspective, it is worth mentioning that some readers may take issue with the somewhat simplistic depiction of certain characters and the use of narrative shortcuts to convey the message. Personally, I found myself emotionally engaged, and these aspects did not hinder my overall enjoyment of the story.

In short, Blood Over Bright Haves is excellent. It tells a complete story, provides a satisfying ending, and is an emotional rollercoaster as the narrative takes bold risks and delivers gut-wrenching twists. Go ahead, give it a read.

** spoiler alert ** I’m not entirely certain what I think about this novel that other reviewers haven’t already said, and in many cases more eloquently. This is a book that left me feeling a great many conflicting things, in large part because the parallels between our world and Sciona’s. The racial divide between the Tiranesh and the refugee Kwen who are treated as subhuman, if even allowed that much humanity; social injustice as a marginalized group is used, abused, and ignored in equal measure, where a woman — if she’s a Kwen — can’t be raped because she’d need to be seen as a person, first; where Tiranish women are treated as genteel, petted creatures, allowed rights and privilege with a decided emphasis on being a homemaker, on being emotional and soft and incapable of complex thought, with few rights and many excuses made for their delicate and helpless selves.

It’s in this world Sciona discovers the terrible truth about her magic, where it comes from and what it costs, and she falls to pieces. She is, justifiably horrified, she is angry, she is heartbroken and yet — as Carra, a Kewn girl whose family were killed by the Blight that lurks outside the walls of the Tiranesh city, she has no pity for an entitled, comfortable Tiranisehi woman. Nor forgiveness. And raised by books as I have been to sympathize with the main character … it left me with, well, feelings. Sciona isn’t rewarded for having human feelings, or for seeing something wrong for being wrong; she’s not the one suffering, and she’s bennefitted from the magic, much as every other Tiranish citizen. As a mage, she’s taken for granted everything she has, because she’s been allowed to exist in a bubble where she is the most important person in the world.

It’s a wrench for her, as a character, to go from seeing and feeling herself as a victim to seeing herself as part of the problem. But, credit where credit is due, when she realizes she’s in a unique position to do something that has even the smallest chance of making a change, she takes it with both hands.

I much prefer books that are character forward, but I really did enjoy the magic system this book used. It’s more akin to coding than waving wands and chanting, and rather than eye of newt there’s pens and ink and magic typewriters. The world building is strong, with a world heading into a magical industrial revolution with factories, horseless carriages and clockwork, though I do think it leans heavily on the patriarchy is bad. I understand needing to show that the Tiranishi people are on the wrong side of the fight — willing or not — but it did get a little predictable when every encounter with a Tiranishi man and anyone else ended up with the Tiranishi man being awful and horrible — save an adolescent boy and a young man who, it is mentioned, killed himself.

While I enjoyed all the little details and moments of Sciona’s thoughts and struggle to prove herself … I would have liked to see Sciona actually have to work at something. Magic came so easily to her, and I never got the feeling that it was ever in question that she would be the first female mage ever, simply because the impossible test was … well, a cakewalk. She was a bit of a mary sue where magic was concerned. For all that, those two minor nitpicks were the only ones I had.

The writing is decent, the pace is fine, and I whipped through this book in one sitting. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but it worked for me.I want to thank Net Galley and the publisher for granting me access to an advanced reader copy

I dove into this book totally clueless. But after a couple of chapters, I started to wonder if this was even my kind of story.

Pretty quickly, I realized this book just wasn't my jam—and that's cool. You can't win 'em all!

DNFd

5 stars...phenomenal! First off thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book. I know it was out before but now being re-released with an actual publisher. This book was everything u heard it would be. It had me laughing, crying, wanting to stick it to the "man". This book had a little everything: unconventional magic, blight/murder, some religion/politics, love for family and friends, redemption, vengeance, betrayal. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It was a heartbreaking, fantastical story.

Initial notes: The cover looks stunning, the contrast immediately draws your eyes in and makes you want to take a longer glance to see what it’s about.

The About section regarding the books synopsis does feel a bit long and gives away a little more than I’d like, like about her assistant used to be a hunter. It’s a small detail, but leaving it more mysterious might have more reader appeal. For example, instead of saying what he did, leaving an open ended statement about not being what he seems, or having a ‘darker’ past, or some other adjective, might have a more broad appeal and give the readers more initiative and desire to actually read the story.

This is my first foray into the "Dark Academia" genre and boy was this something. This was SUCH a frustrating read even though I knew it served a purpose to the story but I was in TEARS by the end. I loved Sciona's determination to make her mark on this world but I found myself just hating her for the things she would say to Thomil but I had to step back and think...this is the only world she knows, and being a woman in their world you're supposed to just be a housewife and not question anything so of course she would think this way. My heart broke when I realized what her last minute plan was and I mourned for the life they could have had together but I also think there was no other way the ending could have gone.
Topics include: colonialism, extreme sexism, racism

Amazing writing felt like I was standing next to the main character. The fear she had was so real I could feel it.

I am currently a wreck and in love at the same time. I don't even think I can put into words beautifully what was thus reading experience.
Easily one of the best books I've ever read in my entire life. Beautifully written, executed, and finished.

Thank you so much for allowing me to have this ARC.

I don’t think there are enough words to adequately express my love for this book.

What would you do if you were both the oppressor and the oppressed? Does intent matter or shall man be judged solely on his actions?

From the first chapter, the story telling had me locked in. My jaw was constantly on the floor, full body chills, and tears in my eyes by the end. I will think of this story for a long time. The character development is so incredibly well done; some of the best I’ve ever read. I cannot thank NetGalley enough for sending me a copy as the indie print is impossible to find. I will still be preordering a copy for myself. This is a MUST read!

I loved M.L. Wang before reading this and love her even more after! Such a wonderful standalone with great world building and amazing characters. I struggled to put this book down as I just wanted to keep reading and find out more and more. My favorite thing about this author is that she is not afraid to let her characters get exactly what they deserve.

I loved The Sword of Kaigen, so I was very excited to read this book. Ultimately, it left me a bit conflicted. There were pacing issues, and it felt like the author was preaching the book's themes (which I agree with) to the readers instead of letting us discover them more subtly. I did like it, though, and would recommend it others for its interesting characters, imaginative magic system, and those aforementioned themes that I wish had been better conveyed.

I could not put this down. I read one page. I read another page. I just. Kept. Reading. I read straight through until I was done with the book, and that's a rare thing nowaways! This was so good. From the start, I was thinking that it was going to be hard for Wang to tie up everything she had set up in one single standalone novel, but she managed it excellently, collecting threads and connecting everything in a way that felt completely natural. The novel and its themes interlocked skillfully, and the novel was brilliantly constructed. Nothing felt extraneous, and nothing felt lacking. Both the characters and the narrative had plenty of space to breathe, and the plot was resolved seamlessly. There were a few bits at the very end where I thought that it didn't quite line up, but they were minor, and didn't ruin the book for me. Overall I thought this was a brilliant novel, solidly one of my favorites this year, right up there with The Warm Hands of Ghosts. I'm thrilled to have another standalone fantasy that I'll be able to sell to people who don't want to launch into another series. I think this will be perfect for readers of RF Kuang. I have already convinced three people they want to read this book - I am sure it will sell VERY well.

I was absolutely riveted throughout the entirety of this novel. It's a refreshingly honest indictment of colonialism and religious extremism. I enjoyed the strong but flawed character of Sciona Freynan as she navigated coming to terms with her own history and dismantling oppressive power structures. This is a book about hope and making a better life, and it was a delight to read.

OMG I loved this book!!!

WHAT IT IS ABOUT:
In a city protected by magic and ruled by male mages, Sciona is determined to prove that women can also weld high magic and be part of the council. However, she quickly finds out that the high council of mages have been keeping secrets for years. Secrets that make Sciona question her own use of magic which she has devoted her entire life to.

WHAT I THINK:
OMG, I LOVED everything about this book! I was hooked in just the first chapter - people are running across ice for their survival and I had no idea what was happening or why. BUT I really wanted to know! The FMC gives me Hermione after Hogwarts vibes and is complex, introspective, and has faults she tries to overcome/accept. But, the magic system in this book is like none other. The spells are written in what we would describe as “code” and then the mage has to “source” the power for the spell. The ending is surprising, devastating and yet hopeful. I am sad this is not a series!

I am deeply conflicted over this book. There’s a lot of interesting and compelling things being done here, but there are also weak points that I really struggled with. I landed somewhere between 3 and 4 stars, rounding up because I think the highs were high enough that I’m inclined to be generous.

What I liked: this book was extremely compelling from start to finish. Our lead Sciona was very interesting to follow. She’s fiery and stubborn and makes a captivating POV. At every step, I was asking myself if she was really going to go there, and then she did. The secondary lead Thomil was an even more interesting character to me and I wish we had more of him - he added a unique perspective and was a good character foil to Sciona with his own narrative journey. Both characters were strong in their own ways and I enjoyed reading about them. The plot and pacing was good, and the sense of escalation was fantastic.

Then there’s the themes, which is the part of the book I’m most conflicted about. Honestly, the feminist themes were pretty basic. I am a female presenting person in STEM, and I’m just a bit tired of sexism being depicted in such a bland, obvious way. I’m not saying sexism like that doesn’t exist, especially in a secondary world that clearly has much stricter gender roles, but for me it’s no longer that interesting to read blatant examples of sexism with women being excluded from roles. It’s much more interesting to talk about the nuances of misogyny - women being pit against each other, feminism being co-opted for capitalism, subtle forms of aggression and systemic barriers that keep women out even if the rules are technically equal. The book hints at some of these things, but it focuses on the overt, sexism-in-law side of things. It’s a fine choice, but a less interesting one. I think the themes of class, race, and worker exploitation are much stronger. It’s here where you really feel the anger of the book and it absolutely refuses to pull its punches in depicting the truth of the exploitation taking place. It’s written really well and the way it works with the worldbuilding is fantastic. However…I have to question why this story is written from the POV of Sciona instead of Thomil. It’s a secondary world, but essentially, the choice here was to tell the story from the POV of a white woman who learns that her whole society is racist and genocidal, instead of telling the story from the POV of the person from the marginalized race. It just left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, and I get that Wang wanted to highlight the feminist themes, but again those were just less interesting to me. And the story does have some nods towards needing both groups to work together to bring down the system, but well…in the end it basically is (view spoiler). There’s probably a way to tell this story by emphasizing unity and allyship amongst marginalized groups, but I don’t think this story went far enough in that direction either. It was almost there for me, but just fell a bit short of the mark.

Overall, I’d be fine recommending this as a compelling, angry story especially if you like cool magic systems and are okay with being hit over the head with the themes. This is the second time I’ve felt conflicted on one of Wang’s books, so while I hope she grows as a writer, I’m not sure she quite writes books that are for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Del Ray for an ARC of this book for review

Poignant, layered and deeply resonant. Very masterfully written, a story that hits all the notes perfectly and leaves you feeling raw inside.

4.25 stars

This book was great. I was hooked by the first chapter. It's such a dark and heartbreaking first chapter; it really sets you up for the story you will be reading. This did not get a higher rating because the first third, after chapter one, was super slow for me. It felt bogged down by some of the detailed explanations that had to be given to set up the magic and society. Despite this, I ended up loving everything after that first third, and it is one I plan on purchasing. I may not have been in the right mindset for the beginning chapters, so my rating may change when I do a re-read in the future. 

Sciona is not a good person. That is well established from the beginning. She's not very likable other than the fact that she is a woman in a man's world. But despite this, you are rooting for her to win and stick it to these men who rule over their society. As Sciona learns more about the world she lives in and has her eyes opened to some hard truths, you see her trying to change and make the world a better place. Her actions have serious consequences, and they don't always turn out well. The realism within this book is impressive. 

Thomil's introduction is where the story picks up for me, and it really begins to explore various themes that are so relevant to our society. There are so many themes packed in, such as feminism and misogyny, religion, racism and bigotry, colonialism, (white) privilege, good and evil, impact and intent, guilt and forgiveness, and probably others. These things really hit home for me, and it makes me extremely glad that a traditional publisher picked this up so it can get the recognition it deserves. 

I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it. The ending was unexpected yet extremely satisfying. I highly recommend this book. Even if it has a slower start, it's so worth the read. Dark Academia at its finest. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

What does your convenience cost? "Blood Over Bright Haven" uses a fantasy setting where magic is typed up in fantasy computer code to shine a light on the patriarchal, post-colonial world we're living in. It's an excellent read, fast-paced and engaging. The biggest issue with the book is that the similarities between that world and this are not at all subtle, sometimes veering from metaphor into allegory.