The Order of the Pure Moon reflected in water /

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A 2021 Locus Award Finalist!

A Lambda Literary Award Finalist

A Book Riot Must-Read Fantasy of 2020

Amazon's Best of 2020 So Far

"Fantastic, defiant, utterly brilliant." --Ken Liu

Zen Cho returns with The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water , a found family wuxia fantasy that combines the vibrancy of old school martial arts movies with characters drawn from the margins of history.

A bandit walks into a coffeehouse, and it all goes downhill from there. Guet Imm, a young votary of the Order of the Pure Moon, joins up with an eclectic group of thieves (whether they like it or not) in order to protect a sacred object, and finds herself in a far more complicated situation than she could have ever imagined.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

With this whimsical fantasy novella, Hugo Award--winner Cho (The True Queen) delivers a wuxia-tinged tale of banditry and brotherhood. After a group of bandits save Guet Imm, a young nun of the Pure Moon Order, from harassment, she joins them and tags along on their exploits. The bandits have recently come into possession of a sacred object of the Pure Moon Order, which they intend to sell, but their endeavors both to find a buyer and to steal more goods consistently go awry. When Guet Imm, whose true motivations come as a late reveal, discovers a fellow devotee of the Pure Moon Order within the bandits' ranks, both characters must reckon with and reevaluate their faith. This quirky sketch of the Tang Dynasty offers more mischief than martial arts or magic, which will disappoint readers hoping for action, but fans of found family narratives will enjoy the band-of-brothers dynamic of the bandits. This cheeky take on old-school tropes is pleasant but slight. Agent: Caitlin Blasdell, Liza Dawson Assoc. (June)Correction: An earlier version of this review misgendered a character.

Booklist Review

Cho's (The True Queen, 2019) newest novella is set in a wuxia-style world where the scattered remnants of the Tang independence movement battle with their former allies and "liberators" from the Protectorate. Tet Sang, the level-headed second in command of a group of Tang rebels turned "contractors" intervenes when his handsome but impulsive superior starts a fight with a rude customer harassing a waitress. To Sang's surprise the waitress, Guet Imm, a former member of the Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, shows up the next day demanding to become a part of their group. Sang must try to not only keep Guet Imm from disrupting the group's latest mission but also prevent her from learning some secrets about Tang's own origins and history with the Pure Moon. A slim but eventful story, Cho's latest combines the pace and action of the wuxia tradition with a fantasy world reminiscent of occupied Manchuria. Recommended not only for Cho's existing fans but for anyone who enjoys wuxia-style stories written, filmed, or otherwise.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Zen Cho was a finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and her short story collection Spirits Abroad was a joint winner of the William L. Crawford Fantasy Award. Her debut novel Sorcerer to the Crown won a British Fantasy Award for Best Newcomer and was a Locus Awards finalist for Best First Novel. She lives in the UK.