The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan

I’ve borrowed this several times this year, only to return it unread each time, and I was starting to wonder if I really wanted to read it. But once I actually sat down and focused, I quickly realised that I definitely did!

I became completely engrossed in this Mulan retelling. It’s a tense adventure. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, particularly the elaborate courtesy of formal conversations, and the way Mulan and her companions value loyalty and camaraderie. I thought this was a very believable take on the whole girl-disguised-as-a-boy thing too.

“You are very good at this,” he says softly.
At deception, he means. Perhaps I am better than some, but every woman has a great deal of experience presenting herself as show more someone other than who she is, since no girl is ever everything the world wants her to be. show less

Oh my dear reading friends. Mulan has always held a special place in my heart. Fierce capable warrior who defies tradition to protect her family and country? Sign me up.

And as a fan of Mulan, its been a bountiful (if mixed) decade of books, live action news (both the Chinese Mulan and the forthcoming Disney movie) and discourse over the original Disney animated film.

None of which I can speak to as anything but a fan of the Ballad and film since it doesn't effect me racially or culturally.

This book was one that I wanted from the moment I saw the author post that she was doing it. I enjoy Sherry Thomas' historical romances and knew deep in my reader's soul that she was an awesome choice.

Here is Hua Mulan, 19 and having spent her entire show more life being told she must uphold the family name and honor against an opponent she would not meet until the day of their duel.

Here is Yuan Kai, not much older than Hua Mulan and spent his entire life being told he must avenge their family and bring honor back to their name in a duel to the death with an opponent he would not see until the duel

While the book is from Mulan's POV, Thomas gives us an understanding of Yuan Kai through Mulan's observations as they fight to aid the empire. Indeed Mulan spends much of the book making observations that make sense in hindsight more often than not.

The first half of this book, is at times more poetic and thoughtful than strategic and eventful. Its only with the unveiling of a spy that the action kicks into gear and even then there is a lot of contemplation about some weighty ideas.

One such recurring question plagues Mulan throughout the rest of the book - if there are two sides to every conflict, why is one venerated above the other? She learned her father's version of the duel that paralyzed him left out A LOT of details. Details that from the one side, Yuan Kai's family's side, made her father out to be dishonorable, murderous and underhanded. How could she trust her father that she MUST fight Yuan Kai to the death?

She spends the latter half of the book struggling to piece together who Hua Mulan was outside of her father's expectations of her, society's expectations of a female, Yuan Kai's family's view of her and her own confused sense of self.

Thomas did a lot of research for this book (some of which she discusses at the end of the book and some I've seen her discuss online) and as someone more familiar with latter dynasties than this early one, I feel I need to do some more reading. The political landscape of the era is treated as a matter of course, debated by many of the characters and considered in almost every decision. Some of it is barely touched on (Mulan mentions briefly the problems of the South) and some there's a lot of detail thrown in. It all boils down to a tale as old as time - someone wants more power, someone wants more glory and someone wants what is right for the country despite the instability at the moment.

All in all, rec it 100% and gosh I want more like it. show less

I think I may have hit a few wrong buttons in my frustration with this book. I read it last night and was determined to do so in one sitting, but kept getting up to do stuff. I had to remind myself to finish this. My reactions were huge letdowns to myself--I had looked so forward to reading this, expecting the pages to just fly by, that I had set it specially aside and planned a whole day to dedicate to it. I had even checked out other works by Sherry Thomas to get myself really looking forward to this one. She has the same name as a romance author, i think, so my reading choices were broader than I anticipated due to a library catalogue entry. I didn't like the romances either, and was disappointed in myself. The book is as promised--a show more Mulan retelling. A medium-paced military drama with a romance firmly planted inside, and examinations of what happens when an army overtakes another nation throughout. I'm not sure if colonialism is the correct term here. I really liked those parts of the book, though, that examined changes to society, last names, and languages. My reaction is absolutely a me thing, not a reflection on the author or her work at all. I hope this will be made into a movie; I think the actions and descriptions would lend themselves quite well to a screen. I found it such an interesting character choice to have the prince suffer anxiety, and I related to his anxiety a lot. I thought the part about the wolf cub was stupid and thought a lion cub would be more likely to climb, whereas a wolf cub would jump. A lion cub would be more likely to scratch enough for forehead scars, whereas a wolf cub would be more likely to bite and leave distinctive scars. And--if my only nitpick is "you picked the wrong wild animal for your romantic interest's mysterious scars," then that's good. I wasn't wild about the casual homophobia in here leading to "oh, but the character is totes gay and hiding it" leading to matchmaking that made me curse for a bit and roll my eyes, but it was there. And the feeling was mutual, and I was really annoyed. I liked the acknowledgments and the afterward about language and research methods. I'm glad I got to read this even if my reaction wasn't what I expected. show less

I loved the final few chapters of this book!!! The rest of the book is solid but the end becomes a meditation on forgiveness and self-acceptance. The characters are all really well drawn and there is such a strong sense of place. Love the choice of first-person narration (it's what I prefer writing) and enjoyed our heroine's journey so much! So happy to have read it.

Reviewed for the VPRC :I loved take on the Mulan story whereby the author looks more in depth at the problems facing Mulan trying to hide as her dead brother in amongst an army of soldiers . I liked how the author researched the topic and realized that unlike the Disney version of the story, Mulan would not have been fighting the Mongols or the Huns, but rather a group of ethnic Chinese called the Rouran who are determined to bring down the curent dynasty.
In this interpretation, we see Mulan battling against a masked family enemy in preparation for a duel that is soon to take place. The prize? Ownership of the Magnolia Sword and its counterpart Sky Blade and an end to the family hostilities. The practice duel ends with her opponent show more saying he wished they had met in another lifetime, so they could be friends.
Then enter soldiers recruiting for the war against the Rouran where a male from every family must volunteer to fight. In Mulan's family, her father is paralyzed from the waist down so he can't fight and her younger brother is too young to go in his place, so Mulan steps in and volunteers pretending to be her brother.
Once in the army, she quickly realizes that she will be discovered to be a woman when she can't go to the latrine pits with the others, so she offers herself as a bodyguard to a touring Princling by displaying her amazing martial art skills. show less

This was a fabulous novel based on "The Ballad of Mulan" and written by Chinese-American author, Sherry Thomas. The research was meticulous adding historical detail to the story which I thoroughly enjoyed. Learning about Ancient Chinese culture and customs was fascinating.

Mulan was an inspirational protagonist. She was fierce, brave, scared and honest, and a skilled fighter. I also loved the romance that developed between her and Kai. They were so cute together and I adored them both. I also liked the relationships which formed between the various soldiers. They added humour, interest and depth to the novel.

Full of action, with loveable characters, martial arts and history, "The Magnolia Sword" was a very entertaining read.

Mulan retelling that felt familiar and exciting at the same time. The characters were fleshed out well. The fight scenes were epic. And we have feuding families that have to work together against a greater enemy. Plus Hua Mulan and Yuan Kai are perfect for each other.