Tesia Tsai’s young adult fantasy novel, Deathly Fates, tells a story you’ve likely encountered before: a serious young woman is inconveniently thrust into an adventure with a frivolous male counterpart that makes her situation more difficult. It’s a comfortable read with its formulaic and predictable plot. It won’t make you work very hard, but it may be something easy and light to pick up if you’re in that headspace. It doesn’t stray from the tried and true formula, but you may enjoy the dynamic between a death priestess and the corpse that won’t die.
Kang Siying has followed in her father’s footsteps and become a Ganshi priestess. A Ganshi’s duty is to serve the dead, using magic to animate corpses and guide them to their final resting place. When her father falls ill, Siying takes on a lucrative contract to retrieve a fallen soldier in enemy territory. Crossing the border can be troublesome enough, but a bigger problem occurs when the dead soldier becomes too animated after Siying’s ritual. Despite the soldier’s deathly pallor, Ren can talk and act like he’s alive, which complicates things. When it’s discovered that Ren could return to life if he absorbs more qi or life force, Siying has no choice but to help the young man. Desperate to receive the money from the contract, Siying reluctantly agrees to help Ren absorb more qi before she returns him to his supposed-to-be-final resting place.
The main characters are one-dimensional and don’t do much to step outside their structured Type A and B personalities. Siying is the dutiful eldest daughter taking on the family business and putting the weight of the world on her shoulders. She is very responsible and has a no-nonsense air about her. Her family and her duty have always come first, so she doesn’t have friends or many connections outside the people she interacts with as a priestess. Ren is the carefree thorn in her side. He is flippant, careless, spoiled, and free of responsibility. Despite being a walking dead man, his worries are almost non-existent. The two clash as their different natures go head to head. Siying takes each situation seriously, and Ren trusts that things will just work out.
Deathly Fates was a formulaic story featuring three tasks and an imminent deadline that constantly pushed the plot forward. Siying and Ren travel to the three places to complete a task, and each location exposes more information that keeps the plot moving on its merry way. The story really holds your hand, and it doesn’t leave a lot of room for doubt when it comes to identifying the antagonist either. The overall concept of Deathly Fates was interesting, but the story never leaned in and made use of some of its interesting elements. Most notably, Ren’s predicament as an animated corpse traveling the countryside did not create as many issues as you would expect. His unique situation was always easily explained away when it could have added more tension and difficulty to the story. It’s also constantly stated that Siying is smuggling goods between the two warring countries, but besides that being the one rule she doesn’t follow in her strict lifestyle, it’s a throwaway fact that never affects the story.
Speaking of Ren’s corpse-like predicament not contributing to the story much, his need to absorb more qi became a plot device more so than a detrimental character flaw. The rate at which he loses qi is never consistent. There are moments where he absorbs qi and is fine for days. Then, at one point, Ren will barely be conscious, even though he just absorbed a large portion of qi hours earlier. Because his ability to hold on to life force is so inconsistent, his abilities become a convenient tool for the author to use. Ren was easily made strong or a convenient burden based on what the author needed in that scene. Ren’s need to replenish qi is supposed to be a time-sensitive task that puts pressure on the entire adventure. But when you realize his qi levels are not reliable, it feels like fake urgency, and all of the tension established at the beginning of the story is lost.
Deathly Fates doesn’t stray from the task (or tasks) at hand but does try to spice things up with some paranormal elements and a little mystery surrounding Ren’s death. For me, it wasn’t memorable or captivating enough due to its predictable and somewhat cozy nature.
Rating: Deathly Fates – 5.0/10
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
