Cindy Pon makes a triumphant return to the literary world with Fury of the Phoenix, the sequel to her first young adult fantasy novel, Silver Phoenix. Her second book continues the adventures of heroine Ai Ling where she follows Chen Yong from the land of Xia to find his true father. Their adventures are intertwined with the story of Zhong Ye, who we first met as the evil soul-eating advisor to the Xian emperor from Silver Phoenix but this time, we learn the origins of his character as a young man who must decide between settling for love or pursuing his rise to power. I caught up with Cindy Pon to talk about the premise of her new book and reuniting with her characters.
This double narrative reflects Ai Ling’s growth as a young woman: Pon allows us to reflect that Ai Ling is still facing the tragedy and guilt that culminated at the end of her first adventure. We see her struggle internally as she learns that her fate is still strongly tied to Zhong Ye’s past and that his quest for love mirrors her own attachment to Chen Yong.
Silver Phoenix treated us to a fantasy world based on Chinese culture; I found it refreshing to venture into an imaginative world with familiar settings–not that I know what it’s like to live in China, but for once, it’s nice to read about a world where people eat dumplings with chopsticks over the typical European fare that one would find in generic fantasy novels. This time, Fury of the Phoenix takes us away from Xia and across the ocean to Jiang Dao, where Chen Yong’s father resides. Though the book still embraces Xian culture, Cindy Pon says that Jiang Dao is “where the story made sense to go.” While the new land sounds European in looks and culture, she states that the place “is not actually based on any country like Xia is based on China.”
The other highlight about Fury is Cindy’s gift of adding a more sympathetic angle to Zhong Ye. Instead of seeing a familiar enemy, we meet a more humane character who faces the same problems anyone would face. His aspirations for power are more understandable as he slowly falls in love with Silver Phoenix and we see his hesitations on deciding between his fate and his relationship. As Pon describes, “Fury of the Phoenix is about choice and consequence. I didn’t feel it was right to have the second narrative from Silver Phoenix’s perspective, it seemed too close to Ai Ling’s… [Zhong Ye] also has more to lose, which always makes for the more interesting storyline. I really enjoyed juxtaposing the two narratives, because neither Ai Ling or Zhong Ye are perfect. I wanted to show the human and humane side of him, before he became something monstrous.”
I also have to gush over the relationship between Ai Ling and Chen Yong–without giving away any spoilers. As much as I admire Cindy Pon for taking on the fantasy genre with her unique cultural take, I love her direct approach to love and sex. In an age where popular young adult novels seem to use of abstinence to increase sexual tension, Pon is unabashed in talking about physical relationships, in a tasteful way, of course. She says, “I’m very direct because it is a very direct topic in Xia. A girl reaches womanhood, she’s told how to have sex and make babies–that is her place…So to me, there’s no tiptoeing around the topic. I see it through how the characters would have seen it.” Sex exists in Xia and for Ai Ling, it’s a genuine concern when it comes to her thoughts on marriage, love and Chen Yong–not that parents have to worry about approaching such delicate matters if their teens pick up Fury of the Phoenix. All they have to do is be honest that such matters exist. Pon focuses on the message that with love, romance and sex are real matters that affect our decisions, whether in real life or in a fantasy world like Xia.
Her look into the multidimensional character of Zhong Ye also teaches an important lesson about our human nature. We are not so black and white, just as Zhong Ye is not so simply evil as he seemed in Silver Phoenix. Love pushes him forward as it does for Ai Ling. While Pon does offer a happy ending for our cast of characters, her exploration into the “gray” areas of her characters offer a satisfactory follow-up to Silver Phoenix.
If you’ve already read Fury of the Phoenix, Cindy Pon offers her own picks of diverse fantasy writers for young adults, like Akata Witch and Who Fears Death (for adults) by Nnedi Okorafor, Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves, Huntress by Malinda Lo, Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare, Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill and The Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan.
Fury of the Silver Phoenix is now available online and in select stores. Call your local Borders and Barnes & Noble to see if they have the book in stock!
