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SL Huang
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Burning Roses Kindle Edition

by S. L. Huang (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 172 ratings
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From Hugo Award Winner S. L. Huang

"S. L. Huang is amazing."—Patrick Rothfuss

Burning Roses is a gorgeous fairy tale of love and family, of demons and lost gods, for fans of Zen Cho and Neon Yang.

Rosa, also known as Red Riding Hood, is done with wolves and woods.

Hou Yi the Archer is tired, and knows she’s past her prime.

They would both rather just be retired, but that’s not what the world has ready for them.

When deadly sunbirds begin to ravage the countryside, threatening everything they’ve both grown to love, the two must join forces. Now blessed and burdened with the hindsight of middle age, they begin a quest that’s a reckoning of sacrifices made and mistakes mourned, of choices and family and the quest for immortality.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

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  1. Print length
    143 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Tordotcom
  4. Publication date
    September 29, 2020
  5. File size
    6562 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Burning Roses by S. L. Huang is a beautiful, deeply affecting novella that braids Western fairy-tale traditions with Chinese mythology in a way calculated to mash my every emotional button."--Amal El-Mohtar, The New York Times Book Review

"S. L. Huang delivers one of the best additions to the fairy tale genre in recent years. Burning Roses presents a compelling tale that favors change, the chance to forgive, and--universally--the desire to be forgiven."--The Chicago Review of Books

"Huang dazzles in this dark, diverse fairy tale remix. . . . Fantasy fans won't want to miss this."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The regret and wisdom of aging monster hunters, who are starting to question who was the monster in the equation anyway, make for a complex and compelling relationship. . . . Huang is clearly an author to watch."--Booklist

"S.L. Huang's Burning Roses is a complex and thought-provoking adventure story following two middle-aged lesbians as they hunt monsters and reckon with their own monstrous pasts."--Shelf Awareness

About the Author

S. L. Huang is a Hollywood stunt performer, firearms expert, Nebula Award finalist, and Hugo Award winner with a math degree from MIT and credits in productions like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Top Shot.” The author of the fantasy novella Burning Roses as well as the Cas Russell novels including Zero Sum Game, Null Set, and Critical Point,Huang’s short fiction has also appeared in Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, Nature, Tor.com, and more, including numerous best-of anthologies.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B082RRGY9W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tordotcom (September 29, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 29, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6562 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 143 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 172 ratings

About the author

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SL Huang

SL Huang

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SL Huang justifies her MIT degree by using it to write eccentric mathematical superhero fiction. In real life, you can usually find her hanging upside down from the ceiling or stabbing people with swords. She is unhealthily opinionated at www.slhuang.com and on Twitter as @sl_huang.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
172 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

delightful.reading
5.0 out of 5 stars A Poignant Mix of Western Fairytales & Eastern Myths
Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2023
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Burning Roses is a novella about two women burdened by their pasts.

Rosa’s past weaves many different fairytales together. I really loved how S. L. Huang connected them all together.

I love the elements of Hou Yi & the Moon Goddess and how this book beautifully connects the folklore of different cultures.

All in all, I really enjoyed this novella! It’s short, poignant, and worth the read, especially if you like older protagonists, shades of grey in your characters, or folklore!
2 people found this helpful
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Rachel Gollub
4.0 out of 5 stars Strange, funny, and sad
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2020
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The premise kept making me laugh, while the regret and sadness of the women was intense. Strange and very good!
3 people found this helpful
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yupikwolf
5.0 out of 5 stars Huang is the real thing
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2022
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I stumbled on to Huang’s “Zero Sum Game” and fell in love with her writing. She is consistently excellent in her other books and short stories.
I was nervous in reading “Burning Roses” because it was not the same flavor as her first works. I am happy to say it is well-developed and well-written. Red Ridinghood with a thoughtful twist.
One person found this helpful
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An Author
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2023
I couldn't finish this book even though it is short. The author doesn't give the reader any clues about where the characters are, what kind of world it is...other than it is a mash of Chinese and European fairytales. Which I would like usually, along with the strong women characters. But in addition to the sad lack of orientation, it felt like the author was either shouting in my face or dragging me around in someone else's psychological tangles before I even know them or care about them. In italics. Which are hard to read in big blocks of text.
And one of my pet peeves, which is using contemporary pop idioms in fantasy, which jolts the mind of the reader out of the creation of an imaginary world with its own integrity and reality (which, see above, this couldn't manage to pull off in the first few pages so, fail). Sadly, some readers probably can't tell the difference anyway.
One person found this helpful
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Quirky Cat
4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely and Fascinating
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2020
Written by S.L. Huang, Burning Roses is a unique fantasy, one that merges elements from classic stories and turns it into something newer.

Rosa is a woman who has been running from her past – the good and the bad. Her flight brought her to Hou Yi, another woman deeply haunted by her past. Together these two forge onward, while trying to come to terms with everything they have done and lost.

“They fit together – tagging onto Hou Yi's obsession gave Rosa's life borrowed meaning, and Hou Yi was growing too old to succeed in such recklessness alone.”

Burning Roses is an absolutely enchanting (and occasionally haunting) read about two women and their joined quests. It's a tale of love and loss, of forgiveness and so much more. Oh, and did I mention it all does so while merging in classic fairy tale elements?

That very well may be my favorite part about this story, if I'm being honest. The subverting of classic stories and turning them into something larger and frequently darker. For example, Rosa is Little Red Riding Hood, but her story is not what you might think. For she has plenty of reasons to feel guilty for what she has done.

Honestly, there's so much to love about this novella. The main characters, the setting, the world-building, and all of the little details that flesh it out. The infusion of Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and Goldilocks only helped to bring the story to life, in my mind.

It also brings Chinese lore and fairytales into the mix, which was delightful and insightful. I'll admit that I don't know as much as I would like about those stories, but even I could spot some of those elements. It was wonderful, and once again worked to enrich the story being told here.

I love that these characters were allowed to exist as they were. Flawed humans with backstories they weren't exactly proud of. I also adore that they were both allowed to actually be older women, instead of the classic trope of having them be young and beautiful. Oh! Did I mention that it's delightfully sapphic as well?

All things considered, I really enjoyed this new telling of fairytales found within Burning Roses. If I'm being completely honest, my only regret is that it ended. I would have happily read more, if there had been any to read. It was that enthralling.
One person found this helpful
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Elizabeth schroder
5.0 out of 5 stars satisfying and challenging
Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2022
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This was a satisfying read. The ending was perfection. And the story as a whole is just what I love - the mix of fairytale characters imagined in a new way, fascinating world building, and emotional growth of characters that challenge my own. It was wonderful.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh divers fairy tail retelling of classics from both the Western World and China
Reviewed in Canada on March 8, 2021
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I liked this adult fairy tale that takes elements of Little Red Ridding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and fairy tales from China put together in a tale about redemption, forgiveness and second chances after making many mistakes in life. The story follows Rosa and Hou Yi as they try to stop Hou Yi, son from unleashing his revenge on the land. It is done in dual time lines both the present and Rosa's past and has f/f relationships. It is one of the most unique takes on these fairy tales I have seen in years. S. L. Huang has made a very good book and she is an author to look out for.
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Amazon Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly fascinating
Reviewed in Germany on December 8, 2020
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This novella had my heart hurting. The prose is amazing, and the world it paints is so gorgeous! The story dibs and flows and you can't help being dragged along, even if it hurts to go on. Highly recommended.
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JS
5.0 out of 5 stars achingly beautiful, don't miss out
Reviewed in Canada on May 25, 2021
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This novella of redemption is achingly beautiful. The characters are broken and yearning, they've made terrible mistakes, but they haven't given up. Huang has woven fairy tales and myths throughout the character's personal histories in a way that I've never read before and has absolutely haunted me.
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Edward
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick but deep fairytale mystery
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
Engaging and twisty flashback led narrative with nuanced characters. Also, cool monsters.
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