Siren Queen

You know that analogy that's sometimes used to explain gravity and space-time and such: dropping a ball onto a rubber sheet to see how it distorts things? I thought of it while reading Siren Queen.

Nghi Vo's novel takes place in a fantastical version of 1930s Hollywood, where the studio system is as abusive and controlling as it actually was historically, but ghosts walk, actors aspire to literally become stars, and studio bosses double as inhuman leaders of the Wild Hunt. It's a world different enough from our own that you'd expect the presence of all that magic to be like the ball on a rubber sheet, changing things, making it different from "our" world in a way that's more than aesthetic, but I didn't find that here. I don't need to show more know all the ins and outs of how the magic system works in Siren Queen, but I needed to feel like it had heft to it—like it shaped the world around it.

That, coupled with an emotionally flat/detached POV character and no real narrative direction, meant that I struggled to get invested at all in the book. I liked some of the visuals, I respect Vo's commitment to queer narratives, but I felt like she was trying so hard to convey theme (Queer Monstrosity, capitalisation intentional) that she forgot about telling a story. show less

The way the cover feels is the way the story feels—alluring and dangerous. I loved Nghi Vo’s other books, her novellas and “The Chosen and the Beautiful,” so I was really looking forward to this, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s exciting, it's queer, it's magical and monstrous and has a setting to die for. It has a main character who’s ambitious and who I wanted with every fiber of my being as a reader to succeed. "Siren Queen" is very character-driven, and I can see people not having as good of a time with this book if they’re more into plot-driven books. You're also kept a bit at arms length with Luli, but it serves the tone of the story better in my opinion.

I love where the story goes, and how it ends. I wasn't show more completely hooked right from the start; it might’ve taken around 30 pages to really get into the story, but from that point I didn’t want to stop reading and finished it in two sittings.

This book is stunning. I'll read anything Nghi Vo writes in the future. show less

In an alternate 1930s Hollywood populated with otherworldly, demonic studio bosses prowl the lots while young actors risk everything to try to become literal stars. Luli is determined to become a star and willing to do almost anything to achieve her goals -- even steal her sister's name. And she doesn't just want to be typecast as a Chinese actress, either -- she wants to be something else, even if that means she has to become a monster to do it.

Vo's world is twisty, just close enough to ours that you think you know how it works until it becomes clear that you really don't. Somehow she captures the nature of 1930s Hollywood in a fantasy mirror, depicting the execs as the monsters they really were. I don't think this book will work for show more everyone, but it really worked for me. 4.5 stars. show less

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

You might say my family is in the business of immortality.

Divided into three acts and told from her point-of-view, this is the story of a 12 year old Chinese girl who works at her family's laundry in San Francisco in 1932 and dreams of obtaining her own immortality and freedom by making it in Hollywood. The first act shows her family life, quiet mother, emotionally absent father, and younger sister, and how fate has her wandering onto a movie set filming in the streets by her home, the actress that bestows a silvery kiss on her forehead, and the director that wants to use her for his own gains. After show more doing some bit parts as a child, she turns eighteen and having some idea how Hollywood treats Asian actresses, she searches out an older actress to gain some insider knowledge to learn how to navigate the dark waters coming up to face her. With a magical bargain, Mrs. Wiley takes 20yrs of her life and tells her how to gain some power and footing. She blackmails the director to get her a meeting with the head of Wolfe Studios, Oberlin Wolfe, and with her own pride and that silvery kiss, gets him to give her a three year contract. She's on her way but it cost her 20yrs and stealing her sister's name, Luli Wei.

It was done, and I was Luli Wei.
I was going to be a star.

The beginning part was a little tough to get into, the magical realism world is not explained at all and I never had a clear understanding of it. Act 2 has Luli living on the studio grounds and learning the studio life, along with her first romance with a golden siren actress Emmaline. There's talk of Friday Night Fires, people gathered in their groups for parties, and The Hunt where studio heads and big wigs chase down their prey. A lot of this section deals with Luli's roommate, Greta, a half-woman, half-animal being that was kidnapped from a Nordic country and had to have her tail cut to be acceptable for movies. Greta falls in love with someone Oberlin Wolfe has special interest in, winds up getting pregnant, and then has to meet with Mrs. Wiley to gain knowledge to learn how to rescue herself and her love from Wolfe's clutches. Luli is in the middle of it all while trying to gain roles that will lead to what she sees as immortality.

“You better know who you are,” she said, “because you don't look strong enough to be me.”

I would suggest not reading this for the Magical Realism, because, as I said, that aspect of the world-building is not developed. It's clear that beasts and the overall supernatural elements are added to be allegory for the real life predatory Hollywood world. I'm sure it was no accident that author used magical realism and fantasy to portray this world and Wolfe is a beast who preys on young people coming to him to be a star, it's not hard to see a Harvey Weinstein there. Luli also being Chinese adds the layer of racism she must also face and I liked how her stubbornness wouldn't let her play the racist roles she had seen other woman of color play but that when she interacted with actresses that had taken on those roles, they were at turns angry that she wouldn't play the game, jealous, and also supportive and trying to be helpful to the path she was trying to blaze. There was a great scene where an actress tells Luli that she better blaze her own trail because Luli wasn't strong enough to take on the roles the actress had and Luli agreed that she couldn't do what that actress was doing to support her family.

“The world lets you get away with some thngs. Oberlin Wolfe does too. But darling, she's too much, she's too much, and you know it, don't you?”
Too much, too strange, and I knew right away that she had a truth between her teeth. Like I knew earlier that pretty was a painted target that Tara lacked, I knew this too.

Act 3 had Luli achieving success on getting a role she wanted, playing a monster that commanded the screen and audiences. With this success though, all her family and the friends she had made at the studio are all gone. The ending was a speed through of how her life ended up, we learn who the Jane is that Luli has seemingly been telling this life story to, and, as with any life, there were some highs and lows for Luli as she hurt, angered, scared, inspired, and blazed a trail as a woman of color. The first half took sometime to understand the world and realize the role magical realism was playing, the middle was better with Luli making connections with other characters and learning how to live her truthful way in Hollywood, and the ending was rushed. If you go in realizing this is more a commentary on the predatory, racist, and bigotry of Hollywood told in fantasy/magical realism elements, you'd enjoy this more than looking for a magical realism world set in Hollywood. show less

Usually when I read fantasy that has a magic system I rely and need solid stepping stones of "rules". Anytime a book assumes you know what is going on I rate it quite poorly since half the time it's a crap shoot of magical encounters. And this is the first time where an assumed magic system worked for me and added such mystique to the book. Don't think lightening bolts, think back alley magic coins and hair and blood as payment, ethereal otherworldly bonfires that just exist with ghosts in the dark.

You follow the FMC on her journey to become a movie star. Her goal is immortality on the silver screen. This book is a clash of old Hollywood glamour and primal old world magic. It's jarring and beautifully crafted. Once I stopped trying to show more make sense of mechanical wolves and random magical happenings I was able to focus on the core of the story. The racism, misogyny, bigotry all play a huge part of this book and appreciate that Vo wove mysticism and analogies to address them. I also appreciate that she didn't hold back either as these are still issues that run rampant.

Our FMC also has these beautifully exploratory relationships, almost as if each on represent a different type we encounter in our lives. This is a sapphic story and deals with the repercussions of being queer and having to hide who you are. It's heartbreaking and told beautifully.

It's carnivorous, ethereal and slips in and out of your fingers.

It's not something I'd recommend to everyone in my reading circle but the thing is, I can't stop thinking about this book. Sold 4 stars and I look forward to reading more from this author. show less

She’s done it again. Nghi Vo is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Fantastical, imaginative and ominous, Nghi Vo’s latest draws you into a world filled with dark magic and the sinister people who use it.

Luli is a Chinese-American girl who is willing to steal whatever it takes to become a star, including her sister’s name. But she does have her standards. She won’t play a maid on screen, leaving casting directors at a loss with what to do with her, until she’s offered the role of a monster.

The magic that brings its stars immortality weaves through the studio, which draws much of its power from deals with the devil. It’s a dangerous world, where any misstep may see you turned into a puppet, a shadow of what you once show more were. The stars of Hollywood and the wannabes all dance every Friday night around mystical fires, dodging the hunt that ends in a blood sacrifice every year.

Luli’s determined to wrest whatever she wants from the studio, even as she suffers losses along the way, including the girl she loves.

This book draws you into a mesmerizing world, where most things that glitter have been bought at a terrible price.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy of this book. show less

Siren Queen is a dark and haunting fantastical reimagining of the golden age of Hollywood. In this alternate Hollywood, the film studios are run by monsters; they are places of blood contracts, cameras that eat souls, and things that aren't quite human. Immortality is possible, but a price must be paid. The skillful intertwining of the magical elements with the real world, accentuate the horror and sense of danger pervasive throughout the book.
Luli Wei, born to Chinese immigrants, becomes obsessed with the silver screen from a young age. She is willing to sacrifice to become a star, but on her own terms. She refuses roles that reinforce racist stereotypes, defends her friends, and explores her queerness, all at risk to herself.
Vo's show more writing is lyrical and beautiful, her characters complex. She explores themes such as exploitation, power, racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny. The author creates an exquisite irony in writing about a Hollywood controlled by monsters (because isn’t it in reality?). Siren Queen was compulsively readable and utterly spellbinding. I was enraptured by this book. #BookishFirst show less