book of the week

the edge of forever

SUMMARY

The petals of the blossom tree turned scarlet-- and fell.

RECOMMENDED

The Edge of Forever by joeyness_ tells of a story of deposed princess Wang Mina in the 13th century in the Kingdom of Goryeo (ie. Ancient Korea) set during a time when the kingdom was on the verge of losing to the Mongols. It should be obvious, but all the characters in this story are Korean. Korean names, Korean culture, Korean people. This is especially interesting, since there’s very few books that are set in a different place that isn’t the United States, Canada, or some place in Western Europe. Additionally, this is a story with a cast of entirely non-white characters.

The setting and the cast aren’t the only parts of the story that deserve praise. The tale joeyness_ weaves is gripping and tantalizing from the very beginning. The current King of Goryeo, means to remove all power from Mina’s clan, which was previously the ruling family of Goryeo, by forcibly marrying her to his son. What is a girl to do? Fight Fire with fire, of course, and arrange a marriage with someone else first!

While it’s clear that this is a story of political intrigue and a tangled web of secrets and lies, Mina as the main character is definitely well prepared for it. She is strong, charming, talented, and definitely not your average princess. She might be stuck in traditional dresses, and she might be expected to adhere to the social norms of the time, but she can toe-to-toe with a sword. And she’s perfectly willing to go into an arranged marriage with someone she’s barely knows with the intention to save her family and cling onto power. With strength like that, who stands a chance against Wang Mina?

And with a character like Wang Mina, who can’t resist picking up and reading joeyness_’s The Edge of Forever?

•••

written by SeaSpree