First published in 2017 under the title Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, Julie C Dao has rereleased the first book in the East-Asian inspired fantasy duology as Rise of the Empress in anticipation of a new series on Prime.
Rise of the Empress follows the story of Xifeng (SHE-fung), a young, stunning beauty from a small, forgotten village in the ancient empire of Feng Lu. Xifeng lives with her vicious aunt, a powerful witch whose cards have long foretold of Xifeng’s destiny to rule the empire. But a darkness calls to Xifeng from deep within, and without embracing all it offers, Xifeng may be trapped forever in the fate of a common villager.
Shunning her aunt, Xifeng decides to leave her village and find a way to earn greatness on her own, trying to escape the darkness clawing at her soul. With the love of the local metal worker, Wei, she sets off. But even the path to the royal city is plagued with danger, and Xifeng finds herself bending, just once, to the call of dark magic from within. Abandoning the love and safety Wei promises in order to secure herself a place within the palace walls is only the beginning, the dark magic demanding more and more of her as the path to becoming Empress unfolds.
Like an origin story, Rise of the Empress tells how a beautiful girl with a pure heart can transform into an evil queen blinded by the darkness within. The intricacies of fantastical courts and hierarchies, of love versus ambition, and of good versus evil are dissected through the long and winding path Dao has carved out for Xifeng. This is the beginning of a fairy tale, an in-depth imagining of the Snow White story so many are familiar with, but for an audience too mature for the old cartoons, and embracing mystical mythology of eastern tales.
Wrapping the familiar tale in a new cloak of danger and desire, Dao has added an edge of tyranny and anger to show how an innocent girl could be nurtured into an evil that will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Dark themes are abundant, with descriptive scenes of violence and trauma, however this would be suitable for readers 14-years+. There is no mention yet of the second book in the series, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, being rereleased.
