Review Detail

Ai Ling has always led a
straightforward life, but that all changes when first her betrothal is broken
off because shes unacceptable and then her father does not return from a
trip to the Palace of Fragrant Dreams. Determined not to stay at home and worry
like a good female, Ai Ling sets off to the Palace to find out what happened to
her father.

Along the way she meets Chen Yong,
a half-foreign young man who is also on the way to the Palace. Not all the
company Ai Ling happens upon are as good as him, though; in fact, Ai Ling and
Chen Yong find themselves repeatedly engaged in battles with fierce demons that
neither of them had ever believed existed. It seems as if Ai Ling is not the
ordinary girl she thinks she is, and that something is definitely trying to
prevent her from achieving her goal. Armed with her friends, the Immortals
help, and the power of her legacy, however, Ai Ling just might be able to
overthrow the dark forces at work and succeed.

SILVER PHOENIX is first and
foremost a nonstop tale of fantastical adventure. Demons and mythical places
pop out of the pages nonstop, and so there is an almost constant stream of
butt-kicking, done by an extremely appealing heroine. Ai Ling is an enviable
protagonist, with her neverending arsenal of abilities. Even with all the
unwanted problems that destiny has placed upon her shoulders, she forges on,
not relying on others to do what she needs to get done.

The heavy reliance on evil
creatures to move the plot along, however, is also what disappointed me about
the story. The strength of the book lies in the imagined details, but not in
the overarching story line. Characters fall flat in the face of such physical
adversaries; almost all of the challenges that Ai Ling and Chen Yong face can
be overcome with physical actions, leaving very little psychology and mental
study in the story.

Despite the distance I felt from
the characters, however, I know that SILVER PHOENIX will appeal to the tomboy
who wants a different heroine and setting than the norm.