Book Report: The Night Ends with Fire

I wanted something to read at the airport last Saturday, since I’d packed all my other reading material. I went to the Book People shop at the Austin Airport and was intrigued by a couple of novels that had nice images on the edges of the pages. They both looked fine, so I picked one.

The book I chose is called The Night Ends with Fire, by K. X. Song. I didn’t even realize it was a retelling of the legend of Mulan in a non-Disney interpretation until I was halfway finished with it. Song does a fine job of making this book fascinating, even if you don’t know the legend/history behind it.

This is a perfect book for the airport or a vacation, because it’s easy to get engrossed in the story and lose yourself. That’s a lot of fun sometimes! Song weaves a fascinating world of mythical “China” with warring clans, intrigue, and magic all combined to create a great read.

I liked that none of the characters were pure and perfect, including the protagonist, Meilin, a woman who goes to war as a man and is a full-fledged human with ambitions, weaknesses, as well as great strength. The “villains” are also real, human, and have strengths and weaknesses. That’s my favorite thing about the book, that all the characters are both extraordinary and ordinary at the same time.

The storyline is a lot of fun, with surprises, twists, and turns. The only thing I didn’t like was when I realized it’s part one of a series. Bummer. Now I have to wait for the sequel! If you like historical fiction and especially Chinese culture, go out and get this one! You’ll enjoy it.