Title: Silk Fire
Author: Zabé Ellor
Publication Date: July 5, 2022 by Solaris
Genres: Fantasy
Protagonist Gender: Male
Reading the reviews of Silk Fire, it's very clear I'm in the minority here, but I loved the story, the characters, and the world that Zabé Ellor has imagined here. I struggled a bit with the writing (I'll get back to that), but I was fully engaged. I cared for the characters, and I worried for them as one betrayal led to another, throwing their world into chaos.
Koré a young man in a (deeply flawed) matriarchal world, cast into ruin and despair when his father puts politics and ambition ahead of family. There's so much he blames the man for - and legitimately so - that it propels him into a coldly calculated life as a male courtesan looking to manipulate the system from behind the scenes in order to seek vengeance on his father. Ria is a young woman with problems of her own, looking to prove herself to her father and earn her place in their world, Faziz is a young man who has adopted his own problems, seeing it as his duty to care for the neglect and discarded of the underground slums. Their intertwined relationships are a madcap mix of will-they/won't-they attraction, lies and subterfuge, repressed feelings, anxieties, and more. They drive the heart of the story - and rip it out on more than one occasion.
The world itself takes the post-apocalyptic, dystopian themes of science fiction and blends them with the fantasy themes of fallen gods, lost magic, and (of course) dragons. It's very much an urban fantasy, taking place entirely in, below, and above massive cities where slums lay tight against palaces. It's a claustrophobic sort of world that often feels overwhelming because, let's face it, it is. This is not a world where people live and laugh and love, it's one where they plot, scheme, suffer, and survive.
In exploring this flawed matriarchy, Zabé Ellor does a lot of things that excited me greatly, with my aesthetic appreciation often directly in contrast to my psychological understanding. This is not just a matriarchy, but a feminine world, one where men are the second-class citizens, dressed in skirts and jewelry, bound to tithe magical essence to their wives, raise their children, and otherwise stay silent. As a non-binary reader, the aesthetics were delightful, making me swoon with jealousy every time Koré dressed to seduce, woo, or please the women above him, but I fully appreciate the satirical element of the story and how it points out the ridiculousness of gender discrimination. It's also a very queer world, one where a great many characters are bisexual and polyamorous, and I loved that aspect.
As for the writing (I promised I'd get back to that), I did often struggle with the breakneck pace of things, the abrupt transitions between scenes, and the myriad of names and titles. There were times I had to reread a page more than once, and others where I just accepted that I'd missed something and continued on. If you're not invested in the characters and their story, the writing could be more of an issue (which it seems to be for some reviewers), but if you find yourself hooked as I was, then it's a challenge, not a roadblock.
Silk Fire does have its long pauses amidst the chaos, and there's a lot of political maneuvering to navigate, with alliances, compromises, and moral grey areas, but the last 50 pages or so are absolutely intense! I had whiplash from all the betrayals and reveals, with twists I did not see coming, but it just kept ratcheting up the tension until I was clutching the book hard enough to leave marks on the page. If you're prepared to be patient, think, and read closely, I recommend it.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ 1/2
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