Review: For a Muse of Fire

For a Muse of Fire by Heidi Heilig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

For a Muse of Fire is that rare thing, a book that is a pastiche of so many disparate themes that flow together to make something truly unique. Heilig, whose previous books The Girl from Everywhere and The Ship Beyond Time were fantasy adventure time travel stories, surprises in this new trilogy with a book that is a seamless blend of colonialism, necromancy, puppetry and mental health issues. Set in a Southeast Asian country* that echoes colonial Thailand and French Indochina** (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), Heilig gives us the story of Jetta, whose family, the Ros Nai, perform in puppet theater, one of the few remaining aspects of their country's culture and one that fascinates their colonizers. (See examples of relevant puppetry below) Jetta's artistry is fueled by a dark secret- she sees the souls of the recently dead and can capture them and force them into objects, like her puppets, or even stone. But magic has been banned since the Aquitans (basically the French) have colonized the region and Jetta doesn't know everything about her power because she has to hide it and cannot safely explore it. Threading the dangerous line between exploiting her magic in their performances to gain fame and a wider audience and the risk of discovery, Jetta wishes to reach Aquitan, the capital, where she hopes to be healed from her malheur (her misfortune, i.e. her mental health issues, which in all honesty were not very much in evidence in this first book). Presented like a play in three acts, the interplay of the resistance and outright rebellion against the often brutish Aquitan colonizers and Jetta's family's struggle makes for a compelling and sometimes heartbreaking read. The conclusion of this first novel leaves the reader heartbroken for Jetta's family.

The physical book that I received for review is peppered with ephemera from theatrical performance promotional flyers to telegraphs to sheet music. What was missing in the ARC and what I had hoped had found its way into the final version of a book (I actually held the review until release day to verify) was a glossary. Targeting young adults, or really any reader, I think the book would have greatly benefitted from a glossary of French terms (e.g. malheur and fantouche/fantoche) which I still do not see in the final book. Other than that odd defect, this is just a stunning book unlike anything that I've read in recent years in fantasy. It is not, however, an easy book to process and I fear some readers will be deterred by its complexity of language, structure, and cultural message. For instance, the Asian cultural aspect, other than shadow puppetry, of the Chakrana setting feels as if it has been almost extinguished or overwritten by the colonizing Aquitan/French culture, which I am assuming is Heilig's entire point here. Also, readers of #ownvoices books may be puzzled by Jetta's lack of an obvious display of mental health (bipolar) symptomatology. Since this is a trilogy and the end of the first book is so crushing, I am assuming that how Jetta deals with these traumatic events will evidence her struggles more in the next book.

I avidly look forward to the next book in this series. This is a truly novel world.

*Chakrana, which on the map in the final edition of the book looks somewhat like Cambodia, is actually an Urdu word that means Swirled, which is rather interesting considering the setting.

**The real military history in this region of Southeast Asia is complex. The Franco-Thai war took place during WWII, when Thailand recovered territory conquered by France from 1893-1907 (Franco-Siamese War and later encroachments) and which was placed under the Indochinese Union. Due to interventions of the Japanese, Thailand did, in fact, recover territory.

Puppetry is an integral part of Southeast Asian culture, whether the Wayang kulit of Indonesia or the Nang sbek thom of Cambodia or farther afield in China. Examples of traditional Thai shadow puppetry (Nang yai) and music can be seen here and while traditional Thai three dimensional puppetry (Hun krabok) can be seen here. For a regional twist on the shadow puppet theme check out the dragons in this example of Vietnamese water puppetry here.

I received a DRC copy from Greenwillow Books via Edelweiss, along with a paper ARE copy, in exchange for an honest review.

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