Mai H.'s Reviews > The Last Bloodcarver

In a sea of extremely mediocre YA Asian fantasy debuts, THE LAST BLOODCARVER does the impossible and draws me in. As often is the case, Nhika falls into the trap of being naïve and cliché. She is hoodwinked by multiple people, before coming into her own.

As the wave of Vietnamese diaspora fiction continues to hit the shelves, I have been eagerly waiting for more Southeast Asian lore to make its way into my hands. Since I grew up in the West, inundated with Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, and am slowly but surely educating myself on East Asian lore, I find myself searching for the myths of my homeland. This is a start. (Make sure you pick up THE CROSSBOW OF DESTINY.)

Where so many of the Asian fantasies seem to go wrong is the glorification of colonization. I will be the first to admit that I was worried about how this would turn out. Fear not, Nhika is very proud to be Yarongese. As she was born in Theumas, she has never even seen her oft dreamt about homeland. She barely speaks the language. She feels unconnected to her mother and grandmother's land and healing practices. This obviously hit me in the feels.

Nhika's gift deals with healing. She is from a land of magic. The place she lives deals more with science, and these people see her as other. Deep in this underworld of training and secrets, she meets a dark haired mysterious stranger. Again, fret not. I'm eager to see how the author will continue this story.

🎧 Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Young Listeners