A Palace Near The Wind by Ai Jang

Book Review

Catherine Berridge

This novella by Ai Jiang is half adventure story, half morality tale. It begins by introducing us to the people of Feng, the people of the Forest, whose biology is related to that of the trees they live amongst. Key among them is Liu Lufeng, the eldest princess of the Feng royalty, who is due to be married to the King of the Human realm, the Land Wanderers. This is to stop the encroachment of the Land Wanders into the realm of the Feng. Many of Liu Lufeng’s sisters have already been married off to the King of the Land Wanderers and have not returned. Chuiliu, Liu Lufeng’s beloved younger sister, is next in line for a sacrificial marriage, but fearing for her sister and wanting to protect her people, Liu Lufeng takes her place and devises a plot to assassinate the Land Wanderer King. The story follows Liu Lufeng as she prepares for marriage to the King. However, nothing is as it seems, and Liu Lufeng must remain brave and strong as she ventures into a new world she does not understand.

Although I finished this novel a few weeks ago, I still remember the description of the human palace from the point of view of Liu Lufeng, as a dark, cold and emotionless place that she cannot relate to. Ai Jiang is quite clever in the way we see everything from Liu Lufeng’s point of view. So, the palace of the Land Wanderers seems as incomprehensible to us as it does to her. We share her confusion. This gives the novella a claustrophobic, paranoid feel, and where Liu Lufeng is invited to eat meat as part of the wedding celebrations, the description conveys the horror of what this means for Liu Lufeng, a vegetarian and denizen of the forest.

There is a clear theme in this novella of a green world pitted against the dark forces of an industrial revolution on an alien planet. Ai Jiang is Canadian author who was born in Fujang, China and emigrated to Canada when she was four years old. There is a clear Chinese influence in this novella, both in the character names and in the interpretation of the relationship between nature and the threatening force of the industrial revolution. It is recognised that China has had, historically, a much better relationship with nature, sometimes represented by the dragon, that is to say China is on better terms with its dragons!, than the West and its extractivist capitalist approach to the natural world.

In addition, Ai Jiang is a rising star of speculative fiction and recent winner of both the Bram Stoker and Nebula Awards. Definitely an author to follow!

Although I enjoyed reading “The Palace Near the Wind,” I do think it would have been better if it had been a longer novel, which would have given the author more scope for character and plot development.  

Ai Jiang uses beautiful, crisp and clear language. The tension increases as the story progresses until I was excited to know what would happen at the end. Well, I won’t tell you! but suffice to say there is a sequel, “Natural Engines – A River from the Sky,” which I await with eagerness and which is due out in April 2026.