As a lover of the dark side, I often find myself more intrigued by the villains of a story than by the heroes. Villains have such complexity of character and face the hardest decisions—not to mention that they tend to have a vastly superior wardrobe and aesthetic. I was delighted, then, when it slowly dawned on me while reading Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao that this book is the origin story of a villain—of one of the most classic of villains, in fact. Set in a fantasy world resembling ancient China, this novel re-imagines the tale of Snow White and gives it a new spin by focusing on the ascent of the woman who will ultimately become the “Evil Queen.” Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is the first book in the Rise of the Empress series. Its sequel, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix, comes out tomorrow, November 6, so now is the perfect time to hop on the bandwagon!
If you don’t read any summaries or descriptions of the book beforehand, it is not immediately apparent that Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is going to be a fairy-tale retelling. And it’s certainly not apparent that it’s going to be the story of a villain. At the beginning of the novel, Xifeng lives a humble life with her aunt in a remote peasant village. But Guma insists that Xifeng is destined for greatness—that she will someday become empress and rule over the kingdom of Feng Lu. Though Xifeng detests her aunt’s unsavory form of magic, she can’t help wondering about her prophecy. With the help of her childhood sweetheart, Wei, Xifeng sets out toward the imperial city to take her future into her own hands. But as her destiny finally seems within her grasp, Xifeng learns that she will have to sacrifice more than she expected to achieve it. Is she willing to give up her family, her love, even her innocence in exchange for ultimate power?
My favorite thing about this novel is the way that it traces the tiny little decisions—seemingly harmless at the time—that build up to Xifeng’s ultimate choice of evil over good. At the beginning, Xifeng is a sweet young woman, repulsed by the blood magic practiced by her aunt and utterly unwilling to harm a living thing. But there’s something lurking inside her—a dark voice that she refers to as “the creature,” which whispers temptations and shows her visions of violence. Xifeng resists the voice, but in times of danger or when her destiny is on the line, the creature seems to be the only one who can help her. The change in Xifeng is so slow and infinitesimal that you find yourself still sympathizing with and rooting for her, even as you see her beginning to head down the wrong path.
The parallels to the Snow White story are also slow and subtle. Initially, Xifeng seems like a fairy-tale protagonist—a beautiful woman of humble origins who is rescued from her abusive aunt to win the love of royalty. But Xifeng knows that all of the power she has and opportunities afforded to her are due to her great beauty, and her need to safeguard her greatest asset becomes an obsession with being the “fairest.” Her dark magic is situated within a complex mythology inspired by East Asian traditions, and the story becomes about a much bigger clash between good and evil than just a queen jealous of her stepdaughter. Rather than being a straightforward retelling, the story weaves only the most essential elements of Snow White into the fabric of a vastly different world.
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns is perfect for all those who love fairy tales and villains. But by the end of the novel, you’ll feel that the story is really just beginning. Luckily, you don’t have to wait long for the sequel! If you want to read Forest of a Thousand Lanterns for yourself, you can find it at your local retailer or click this Bookshop.org affiliate link to buy it online and support The Gothic Library in the process. If you’ve read it, be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!