The first novella in the 'Tensorate' series from JY Yang, 'The Black Tides Of Heaven' is set in a silkpunk Asian inspired fantasy world of mages, who can manipulate a force called the Slack, and revolutionary machinists, rebelling against the dictatorial Protectorate.
This is a world where everyone is born non-binary, genderless until they declare which gender they identify the most with later in life. It's definitely an original concept that I've not come across before in my reading, but it works well in this world and drives part of the narrative in this novella.
The story follows twins Akeha and Mokoya, children of the Protector, overlord of the Protectorate, who were sold off to the Grand Monastery whilst they were very young. For the most part, the novella delves into the closeness of their relationship over the first few years of their lives and their growing up in the monastery. But as the twins begin to identify with their gender and sexuality, their strong bond begins to fracture and they end up going their separate ways.
From then on, 'The Black Tides Of Heaven' follows Akeha as he eventually falls in with the Machinist revolution, but a tragedy forces him to return to the Monastery and his twin, as well as to confront his mother, the Protector.
I've only ever read one of JY Yang's short stories before (the wonderful 'Waiting On A Bright Moon' - my review here) and this novella had a similar feel to it as I read through, as well as having similar elements too, such as having a magic system in place, with the back drop of a rebellion and having LGBTQ themes.
Overall, it's a really enjoyable but short read, and I liked the originality of some of the elements of this fantasy world and the characters that populate it. I'll look forward to reading the second novella, 'The Red Threads Of Fortune', which was released simultaneously, as well as more in this series. Recommended.
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