In the Starsriver (月祈) by Yue Xiao Yi (月小伊): Review

[douqi]

I got this Taiwanese baihe space fantasy because I was already ordering a load of books from Taiwan anyway and thought I might as well take full advantage of having to pay the shipping fee. According to the cover copy and author's foreword, this is the first in a planned series of novels set in the same universe, and possibly involving the same characters.

In the Starsriver (月祈, pinyin: yue qi. The literal title translation is 'moon prayer'; In the Starsriver is the English title chosen by the author) is fundamentally a space fantasy f/f YA novel. The plotline is almost painfully simple: it's the story of space princess Cynthia, her space knight Leona, her space arranged marriage fiancée Flora (also a space princess, but the butch kind), and their joint coming-of-age. And there's not really a whole lot more to it than that.

( very vague, almost homeopathic spoilers )

I read the print edition of the novel from Must Muster Publisher, a Taiwanese outfit that seems to specialise in lesbian literature.