A delightfully unique take on the dragon slayer story! Strong female characters abound; but the author does not shy away from giving them vulnerabilities that endear them to the reader. Highly recommended!

4.5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: epic fantasy, dragons, sapphic romance, quests

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 4/3 and will be posted to my review blog on 4/8 and to Instagram on 4/12.

Despite this being less than 200 pages, it had the feel of an epic fantasy novel. I really liked how Yang chose to narrate the story. The beginning and ending were told in a distance 3rd person narration, as if we were being told a mythical tale from long ago. The bulk of the novel is from the limited 3rd person and focuses on Yeva. We get to see part of her childhood and what led to her becoming the Masked Guildknight.

I liked getting to see a couple of different cultures in this book and the way each of them seemed to think of dragons. Yeva is a child when she first comes across a dragon, and at the time it seems mostly like a pest, albeit one to have a healthy fear of. As a guildknight in a different country, dragons are seen solely as threats, something that needs to be dealt with for the good of the people. Then, in Quanbao, dragons are revered and it is a sad thing that there are now so few of them.

Yeva definitely comes into the situation in Quanbao with a certain way of thinking. While she recognizes that Quanbao has very different customs regarding dragons than the Sun Empire does, she still has the set of beliefs regarding dragons that she grew up with. Part of her journey in this book is learning to expand beyond just one understanding of the creatures. Related to this, I feel like getting to know some of the people in Quanbao that her mother knew also allows her to open up new ways of understanding her childhood and who she is as a person.

The couple things that did take this rating down from 5 stars for me was 1) the twist felt pretty obvious from the get-go. I'm not sure whether this was intentional or not, but if it was, I don't think it really worked in this case. 2) The ending felt very quick and had a deus ex machina feel to it. I would've liked to see, at the very least, more emotional tension between some of the characters prior to the conclusion. Things just felt very clean. And 3), though this is perhaps the most minor of them all, people kept using the wrong term for Lady Sookhee. She is the reigning monarch, therefore she goes by majesty, not highness, and no one, not even her own court, seems to realize that.

This is a solid novella, but its first quarter was more of a traditional high fantasy than I'd been expecting from Yang, so that threw me off a bit. Dragon fantasy isn't usually my favorite, so this wasn't as engaging to me as their other works, but the last half/ending made it a worthwhile read, despite my preferences.

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang is a captivating fantasy novella that blends rich world-building with intriguing character dynamics. The story is set in a world of dragons, magic, and complex political intrigue, following characters navigating both external and internal struggles. Yang's writing is immersive and evocative, drawing readers into a tale of transformation, power, and destiny. It's an excellent read for fans of high fantasy and character-driven narratives.

This was a full length, epic novel compacted into a novella. It was a wonderfully unique story that I highly recommend to anyone looking to dip their feet into fantasy or is looking for more diverse books. One thing that may hold people up is that it is told through a 3rd person narrator that feels very present. It didn't bother me as I feel it added to the story, but it may be frustrating to others.

Rated 4 stars. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

I really enjoyed this book!

It is about a dragon-slaying knight who is sent back to their homeland on a sort of diplomatic mission. It is thought that this independent nation has dragons, and so Yeva is sent to check things out.

This very much had the feel of Yang's Tensorate series, which I adore. There were also really great questions about sovereignty and choosing to do what's right instead of what's expected of you.

I don't really want to say too much about this one, because it is quite short and I would hate to ruin any of the story.

This felt to me like the outline of a full-length fantasy novel. In a novella, I want to be told a bite-sized story that suits the format; this didn't feel like a story for a novella, but like a longer story that was simply incomplete. The worldbuilding is interesting, and I would find the romance compelling if there was much to grab onto there, but ultimately the reader is just given scraps of a story. I felt unsatisfied and underwhelmed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the e-ARC. This is my honest review.

This was my first Neon Yang but it definitely won't be my last! I was kind of obsessed from this from the beginning, and I absolutely loved the way it was written.

I have mixed feelings about this one, unfortunately. On one hand, I really enjoyed the way this story was told. The storyteller sitting beside a campfire element was really unique. The prose was also well done, albeit a little too flowery at times for me. That is something I have learned to expect with Yang’s writing, though. I did like the overall story, it was very interesting, but it felt half-baked to me at times. I really wanted more world building and to learn more of the political mechanisms of the world. The pacing was really slow and it wasn’t until the last 20% where the stakes ramped up. I also predicted the twist, so that made it a little less satisfying than it should have been. While Yeva did have character growth, I wanted more from her in terms of development. It definitely should not have taken me 15 days to read 178 pages.

Thank you to NetGalley/Tor for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Loved this novella!! What if the Mandalorian was a queer, disabled female dragon slayer in an Aisian-inspired fantasy world? One with a mysterious and troubled backstory who always wears her armor and helmet, but is slowly drawn out of her shell by a beautiful girl-king who she's supposed to be monitoring? Such a great premise and the execution was excellent.

I think this does some really cool things with exploring the masks we wear, colonization, biracial identity, disability, and a return to familial and cultural roots. It's beautifully written with a satisfying story and character arc. Definitely recommend it! I received a copy of this book for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

"Bright than Scale, Swifter than Flame" is the rare case of a really fun plot being dragged down by a writing style that just.. doesn't work. It's told in a very "fairy tale being told to you" way, which keeps the audience at a distance from anything resembling emotional beats. While I enjoyed the romance, I was not particularly invested - and the "reveal" toward the end was very apparent by anyone who might read the back of the book, which was a shame. It was fastpaced and I enjoyed the worldbuilding - love a good sapphic knight - but just did not make much of an impression, ultimately.

A short, sweet, lovely novella that hits above its page count with a story revolving around identity, transformation, and breaking free from harmful institutions. While one might expect dragon-slaying and political machinations to take center stage here, a lot of this is really a somewhat quiet story about someone finding themself and beginning to question the things they have been told once they find themselves in a new environment. That isn't to say this book doesn't deliver on dragons, worldbuilding, and characters, which are all handled very well and are a highlight of the story, but with a shorter page count some elements might not have been as developed as they could be and the major twist is pretty evident very early into the plot.

A worthy addition to any fantasy collection.

This is such a lovely, poetic novella. Yes, it's about a masked dragon hunter sent to a foreign land to look for dragons, but it's also about identity -- reinventing yourself to fit in to a new society but then deconstructing that identity and realizing how inauthentic it had been. Yeva's journey of self-discovery was a joy to read and was my favorite part of the novel. Even though this novella is only around 175 pages, it's got a ton of character development in it that sometimes doesn't happen in full-length novels.

The prose in this is also really well done. In particular, the descriptions were quite vivid and it was really easy to imagine the imagery and the setting. Though the imagery and descriptions sometimes veer down the path of being too much/almost too purple prosey, the writing was overall enjoyable to read.

I thought the narrative was engaging and interesting, even though I did manage to guess the twist. Even with the predictability, I enjoyed it all the same. The sapphic romance was well done, too. Usually, I find that it's difficult for a relationship to feel fleshed out in a shorter book, but this one felt just right. It wasn't insta-love and it wasn't too much of a slow burn -- it was a nice happy medium.

Thank you to NetGalley and TorDotCom for the chance to read this book, all opinions are my own.

Okay, first I need to talk about this book cover because it is just TOO beautiful. It also depicts the relationship dynamic between Yeva and Sookhee so well. I was planning to buy this book for the cover alone but I am so happy to have gotten to read it early and know that it is a five star read for me already!

I feel like I need to preface all of my reviews of novellas with the reminder that this is a novella! Which feels like it shouldn’t need to be said but I see so many reviews of novellas complain they should be longer and I don’t think they appreciate what authors have to do to write a compelling, interesting story in only 100 pages. In my opinion, Neon Yang has done this and more!

Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is the story of Yeva, who lives in country where dragons are deadly creatures that must be hunted and subdued (by order of the Emperor) and when Yeva is young it is discovered she has the power to influence and hurt dragons and she is immediately shipped off to the capital to learn to become a dragon hunter. She is alone and isolated and eventually dons a mask to protect her identity and give herself some personal safety and distance from who she has become. As an adult she is given a task by the Emperor to go to a neighboring kingdom to search out a rumor of a large, dangerous dragon being protected (and also look for some plausible excuse to invade that country). Empires gonna empire. While in this country Yeva befriends (and falls for) their young ruler, Sookhee, and begins to question everything she thinks she knows about dragons, her empire, and herself. Yes, there are actual dragons in this book.

I really can’t believe how much story was packed into these pages! Every word and sentence felt so meticulously chosen and nothing felt superfluous and the words were sometimes doing double and triple duty to advance the story and the themes. The writing was truly beautiful. And I loved how the author explored the themes of empire/colonization, loss of culture and identity, using propaganda to keep citizens controlled, and threats of “other.”

Yeva’s journey of self-discovery was beautiful to see and I loved the symbolism of her wearing a mask and full armor to distance herself from the person she was to the empire and then slowly stepping out of that uniform into something light and airy and comfortable, as she began to discover her identity and connection to another culture and place where she finally felt safe to do it. Physical and mental unmasking!

I think fans of Priory of the Orange Tree will really enjoy this one (if you want something that’s 1/8 the size) but it gave me similar vibes and of course they both have that great sapphic tension. This book is super queer.

Five stars from me and I can’t wait to have a beautiful finished copy in my hands!

I love stories about knights, especially repressed knights. Something about the parallels of wearing full armour to protect yourself and keeping all emotional walls up is something I find extremely compelling to read. So Neon Yang’s novella Brighter Than Scale, Swifter Than Flame, about a knight who never removes her armour, is tailor-made for me.

My relationship with Tor novellas has been pretty hit or miss in the past. Either they’re really good and get me with a bunch of emotions packed into 150 pages or less, or I feel nothing. Fortunately, this is on the hit end of the spectrum! I was invested in Yeva as a character, and I wanted to see her internal journey grappling with her emotions and sense of duty while they were at war with each other. It wasn’t stuffed full of feelings in the same way that some other novellas I’ve enjoyed have been, but I still appreciated what the author was doing with the story.

The only thing I wasn’t totally onboard with was how the romance was written, mostly because I didn’t feel that much chemistry between the characters. The story is from Yeva’s perspective, and because she’s spent her whole life pushing her emotions down and hiding behind her helmet, I felt it was difficult to figure out what was going on with the relationships between her and the other characters. Because of this, the story reads as more reflective than anything else, and the writing a little bit detached and distant.

This was my first Neon Yang read, and I think I’d like to check out more of their work in the future. If you’re a fan of stories of knighthood like I am, check this novella out! Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the eARC in exchange for honest review!

This was the perfect ARC to add to my Trans Rights Readathon stack! I was so excited when I was approved for this novella. I love queer woman and dragons!!

While the ultimate path the narrative took was easy to guess ahead of time, I truly enjoyed the way in which we got there. The language was beautiful, structured like someone telling a myth, and the world-building was intriguing. This is definitely worth the read!

Thank you to TorDotCom and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Tor for an early review copy.

Neon Yang delivers a clever take on knight defined by their folklore. This book follows Yeva, who was 13 when she killed her first dragon, and has donned a mask as a fierce and unbeatable knight. When Yeva is sent to a reclusive kingdom to scope out whispers of a hidden dragon, she is drawn to their monarch, Lady Sookhee. For a novella, the romance and political intrigue were well written.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor for the preview. All opinions are my own.

Wow! This is a 500 page epic fantasy packaged for us in a less than 200 page tale. We've got a mysterious lady knight, dragons, a foreign court with an enigmatic lady king, and a fantastic inner journey. This absolutely has the feel of a story being relayed to us around a fire at night. Not a word is extraneous. Yang is able to convey all the world-building and character growth you'd normally get in a much longer form.

I loved Yeva's journey; both the way she builds the armor around herself and then learns to take it off. Soohkee is mysterious, yet so kind. While I definitely guessed the twist (I think we're supposed to), the wait for Yeva to catch up was so tense! The ending was just perfect, but I would also absolutely take more stories in this world.

Overall, this was just such a gorgeous story. I highly recommend!

I adored this but I wanted so much more! As a novella this was amazing but I would eat up a full length novel.

This book being described as sapphic mandalorian with dragons had me so intrigued and Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame did not disappoint.

This story spans quite a few years and I would have loved more time with our FMC at each stage of her life. I think the length also meant that I didn’t get as attached to the characters or their relationships.

All that being said I will definitely be checking out more books by Neon Yang and I can’t wait to see what they come out with next ♥️

4.5 Stars! What a beautiful novella. I was hooked on this and couldn't stop reading. Neon Yang has created a beautiful love story and I only wish there was more of it. The world building was great and I think with a longer book and more time the book could have had a bigger emotional punch. But overall, still a fan.