In Prophecy, this is further supported when Kira is the only major female character among a cast of guys. But by setting the heroine apart in this way, by inadvertently pitting her against the other female characters in the narrative, the story reinforces the notion that you can only have one “type” of Strong Female Character and dismisses anything else. Make the protagonist a girl who’s not like all those other girls. It’s a trap many supposedly girl-positive narratives fall prey to. This is all meant to be empowering, I’m sure. You see, Kira is what I call the Exceptional Girl. But right from the beginning, we hit a speedbump. Kira seemed like she’d be a protagonist right up my alley. I love women warriors and I especially love female bodyguards.

According to an ancient prophecy, Taejo may be the world’s only savior - and Kira is the only one who can protect him. As one neighboring kingdom after another falls to the onslaught, it becomes increasingly apparent that demonic influences are at work. When their kingdom is attacked, she is forced to take the prince and escape. In addition to being the King’s demon slayer, Kira is also the bodyguard of the crown prince, her cousin Taejo. (Side note: Why do rulers always insist on keeping crucial life-threatening things secret?) The imposed ignorance only serves to ostracize Kira and make everyone think she’s cursed.

This duty is made more difficult because the King insists upon keeping the looming demon threat a secret from the general populace. Able to see the demons that can possess humans, she is also charged with the task of dispatching them. Golden-eyed Kira is the only woman in the King’s army. While your short story about a World War II that never ended didn’t impress me, I had hopes that your full-length debut drawing upon Korean culture and mythology would fare better. My first exposure to your writing was through the Diverse Energies anthology. But I keep trying because I’m hopeful (and stubborn). This desire is not without its pitfalls, of course. I’m on an endless quest to find traditional fantasies featuring worldbuilding not based on Western culture. Jia Book Reviews / C- Reviews Asian heroine / Fantasy / Harper-Teen / POC / POC author / prophecy / Young-Adult 12 Comments

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