The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

A quick, light-hearted, and entertaining romp through a unique fantasy world inspired by Malaysian culture, lingo, and wuxia dramas. An easy 5 stars for me, for so many reasons.

Guet Imm accidentally incites and gets involved in a coffeehouse brawl that loses her her job as a waitress, so she decides to fall in with the gang of bandits, led by Lau Fung Cheung and Tet Sang, who had began the brawl defending her honour. She is also a votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, a nun inducted into a Buddhist-esque religious faith. Although falling in with Lau's gang had been an impulse decision, Guet Imm isn't so sure that the Goddess of her Order isn't sending her on a mission along the way.

As a Singaporean, I was already strongly impressed and pleasantly surprised in Chapter 1 of this book. For those who may not be familiar with this region of the world, Singapore and Malaysia are geographical neighbours and share a lot of history and culture - and slang. I had gone into this book expecting an East Asian/Chinese-inspired setting which would've been par for the course for such a premise. But instead, I was treated to something completely unique in all the fantasy/wuxia books I've read - and something so unexpectedly close to home.

Being ethnically Chinese, I enjoy reading East Asian or Chinese voices in literature as the closest approximation to my own lived experience. But being born and raised in South-East Asia, which has a very populous Chinese diaspora, my actual lived experience is very much different. I never expected to see anything close to that because it's so niche. Order of the Pure Moon is the first time I've ever felt seen in a fairly mainstream fantasy book that's entertaining in its own right and isn't just about history or politics. The vernacular used by the characters (the syntax and some jargon) is common in this region, known as Malaysian or Singaporean-English, and is what I use on a daily basis to everyone around me. I just never expected to read it in a book like this, wielded in dialogue by wuxia-like characters. It's an amazing feeling to finally feel like these characters are just like you and speak like you - something I had never even entertained any hopes of reading in mainstream lit.

Aside from all of this, Zen Cho builds a compelling world that's clearly inspired by an immediate post-WW2 Malaysia, with thinly veiled historical references like the Protectorate being colonial Britain, the Yamatese occupation being the Japanese Occupation, and the Reformist probably being an approximation of the Communist guerillas. The book also had a surprisingly nuanced take on LGBTQ+ characters and relationships; it never felt like the topic was shoehorned in for diversity points, or that it was put on some kind of pedestal to be objectified. Gender fluidity and identity is dealt with in a sensitive manner - it never felt like the author had an agenda to promote, but was simply put across like a matter of course, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

My only issue with the book was that the ending felt a little abrupt, although to be fair the characters' stories are unlikely to come to any final conclusion while the war in the background is still ongoing. This is one of those uncommon books where I wouldn't have minded if it had gone on for another 400 pages, or if it had developed into a whole series.

This is my very first time reading anything by Zen Cho, and I'd certainly be checking out more of her works.

Reread Review

I don't think my thoughts about this novella have changed much since my first read except I'm upping my rating to a 4. But I do have some things I noticed this time which I seem to have missed before.

I really liked how feminist this book is without ever overtly spelling it out. Right from the first moment Guet Imm hexes a customer because he can't keep his hands to himself, she is a character who exercises her agency and never lets anyone reduce her to her gender. She is smart and resourceful and and when she has ideas, she is bold enough to bring them forth. The author also makes a point to mention how some religious orders are accepting of transgender people but it's all said in a very matter of fact way, which makes it an integral part of world building without putting emphasis on it. I also liked how when the group is in trouble, it's an independent wealthy woman whom they turn towards to for help and who is brave enough to help despite some dangerous times.

After having read more wuxia novels and watched quite a few cdramas, I think I appreciate this story now much more. I can very much see the Jin Yong Condor Heroes vibes this time and that made for a lovely read. While I also enjoyed the author's Black Water Sister, I hope she will also write more books like this.

First Read Review

It's more of a solid 3.5.

To tell the truth, I've not read any of the author's previous novels nor have I ever felt interested to. But this novella instantly captured my interest with that gorgeous cover, and maybe that's me being vain, but I was captivated and the premise also sounded quite promising. So I was very happy when I got the ARC and even more when I picked to read it on the first day of Asian Heritage month.

I have to admit I felt slightly misguided by the blurb. I'm a huge fan of martial arts movies, so I went into this book expecting a lot of fun action sequences but I was disappointed because it isn't that kind of a story. It was much more of a found family type situation, with lots of humorous banter and a perilous journey for survival. I won't say I got bored, but the plot did feel mundane at times; but I was much more fascinated when the discussions turned towards the effects of war and its collateral damage, the innocent lives lost, the loss of faith amounting from such experiences and how it changes a person. I also loved that despite the world building not being the strong suit here(probably because it's such a small book), it's very queernormative.

It's an eclectic group of characters but we only get to know two of them very well. I don't want to talk details and give away spoilers, but they were all on a spectrum from naïveté to shrewdness, patient to temperamental, and it was fun reading their conversations. But I also found it interesting that the author didn't shy away from showing us that survival came first to these characters, and even their bond might strain if circumstances go unfavorable.

In the end, I had fun reading this little novella and the ending in particular was a very nice emotional touch, leaving us with just enough speculation for a possible sequel. I only wish I had gone into it with the right expectations so that I could have appreciated it more.

A wuxia/found family novella. Mostly this was just plain fun. I have found myself really enjoying the new wave of Asian fantasy we are getting. It provides a refreshing change from the typically European fantasy that makes the bulk of the genre. Zen Cho is channeling nuns and bandits in a war torn Chinese style land - you get some of the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon vibes. The main part of this novella is a character study of a nun who somehow avoided a massacre and the leaders of the bandit group she joins and how she gains acceptance into the gang. A fun read