Sound the Gong, by Joan He, Roaring Brook Press, April 30, 2024, Hardcover, $19.99 (young adult, ages 14 and up)
Sound the Gong is the sweeping second novel in the Kingdom of Three YA fantasy duology by Joan He.
All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless.
The warlordess Xin Ren holds the Westlands, but her position is tenuous. In the north, the empress remains a puppet under Miasma’s thumb. In the south, the alliance with Cicada is in pieces.
Fate has a winner in mind for the three kingdoms, but Zephyr has no intentions of respecting it. She will pay any price to see Ren succeed―and she will make her enemies pay, especially the enigmatic Crow. What she’ll do when she finds out the truth. . . Only the heavens know. —Synopsis provided by Roaring Brook Press
If ever there was a book that should be read in quick succession to its predecessor, Sound the Gong is it. The followup to Strike the Zither builds on the characters and action from the first book. The world that Joan He has created is complex. And although informed by the Chinese classic tale of the Three Kingdoms, it’s a unique fantasy full of intricate world building and flawed characters.
In fact, Zephyr is about as morally gray as a character can be, but the author has crafted her in such a way that you want to know more about her. She’s compelling and multifaceted, and you’re left forced to come to your own conclusions about her.
Sound the Gong is a strong companion piece that creates a cohesive duology. It feels almost as if the author wrote the two books as one and then split into two. The pacing is strong and the overall flow feels right.
Sound the Gong also features map art by Anna Frohmann and black-and-white portraits by Tida Kietsungden.
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