James Nicoll Reviews

2024’s Sound the Gong is the second and final volume of Joan He’s The Kingdom of Three duology.

Although the empress still lives, her empire has long been divided into three principal regions under three warlords. Cicada holds the south, Xin Ren clings to the west, and Miasma holds the rest. Miasma is also in control of the person of Empress Xin Bao. Miasma can be described as the empress’s regent (if one is polite) or jailor (if one is not).

Observers might credit Miasma with the strongest position and Xin Ren with the weakest… if not for the fact Xin Ren has as her strategist the brilliant Zephyr. With Zephyr guiding her, surely Xin Ren can triumph, taking the empire and throne for herself.

There are a few minor problems with this otherwise perfect plan. The most obvious is that Zephyr died in the previous book.

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2022’s Strike the Zither is the first volume in Joan He’s Kingdom of Three series.

The Xin Empire is eternal and indivisible. Or so its elite believes. It has recently suffered setbacks: the elite have split into factions and several regional governments have rashly decided to go it alone. But thanks to the hard work of Prime Ministeress Miasma, in whose resolute care the Empress Xin Bao resides, the Empire is well on its way back to its ordained unity. Or so the ruling faction believes.

This would be wonderful news to strategist Rising Zephyr (Pan Qilin) were she one of Miasma’s retainers. As she is strategist to Xin Ren, the least powerful leader of the remaining elite factions, life is a sequence of narrow escapes from Miasma’s superior forces.

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Joan He’s 2021 The Ones We’re Meant to Find is a standalone science fiction novel.

Her mother dead, her father aloof and lost in his eco-savior work, neuro-atypical Kasey Mizuhara at least has her sister Celia … at least until Celia vanishes at sea. While others give Celia up as dead, Kasey is not so sure that she’s gone. The blunt prodigy decides to track down her missing sister.

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