A Tale Burning With Ingenuity // A Review of For A Muse of Fire

Cooking Directions

[scroll-box] A young woman with a dangerous power she barely understands. A smuggler with secrets of his own. A country torn between a merciless colonial army, a terrifying tyrant, and a feared rebel leader. The first book in a new trilogy from Heidi Heilig.

Jetta’s family is famed as the most talented troupe of shadow players in the land. With Jetta behind the scrim, their puppets seem to move without string or stick a trade secret, they say. In truth, Jetta can see the souls of the recently departed and bind them to the puppets with her blood. But the old ways are forbidden ever since the colonial army conquered their country, so Jetta must never show never tell. Her skill and fame are her family’s way to earn a spot aboard the royal ship to Aquitan, where shadow plays are the latest rage, and where rumor has it the Mad King has a spring that cures his ills. Because seeing spirits is not the only thing that plagues Jetta. But as rebellion seethes and as Jetta meets a young smuggler, she will face truths and decisions that she never imagined—and safety will never seem so far away.

Heidi Heilig creates a world inspired by Asian cultures and French colonialism.

[toggle title=”CLICK HERE FOR CONTENT+TRIGGER WARNINGS”] Mental Illness (bipolar), blood use in magic, gun violence, war, colonialism, racism, depictions of dead bodies, mention of reproductive coercion, mentions of torture, mentions of suicide. [/toggle][/scroll-box]

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A FAMILY OF SHADOW PLAYERS – Okay, how cool is this? Our main character, Jetta, and her family are a famed troupe of shadow players; their puppets seem to move without strings or sticks, almost as if they were alive. The secret? THEY ARE. Well… sort of. You see, Jetta has the power to capture the souls of the dead, so naturally, she binds them into her shadow puppets. As one does. I have never read anything quite like this premise before, so ten points for Gryffindor!

#OWNVOICES BIPOLAR REP – I’ve talked about this before, but I’m continuously shocked at how little mental illness representation we get in the Fantasy genre as a whole. The fact that the main character in For A Muse of Fire is bipolar is not only a giant step forward in the representation department, but it’s completely eye-opening. I knew next-to-nothing about this disorder before reading Jetta’s story, and now that I have, I feel a bit more informed.

HIP, HIP, HOORAY FOR DIVERSE FANTASY – For a Muse of Fire is set in a lush fantasy world that draws heavily on the French colonization of Colombia and Vietnam for its inspiration. As somebody who has not read many Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy books (whether due to a lack of effort or a lack of availability, I’m not sure), this diverse setting is a beautifully crafted scrim that makes Heilig’s story stand out in a genre that can often feel same-same. Her high fantasy world is not only complex and nuanced, but it has as many layers as an onion ogre.

IT’S COMPLEX, BUT IT’S ALSO CONFUSING – That being said, I couldn’t always follow the cultural intricacies of the story. The explanations behind some aspects of the world’s fabricated history, such as Maman’s past or even the origin of Jetta’s powers, weren’t as clear to me as I would have liked. However, this could easily have been my own fault. I’m pretty unfamiliar with the history and politics behind the French Colonization of this region, and that plays a large role in the story.

THE USE OF DIFFERENT STORYTELLING MEDIUMS WAS HAPHAZARD –  In For a Muse of Fire, Heilig bends the traditional and embraces the unique by crafting an innovative storytelling method all her own. Through the inventive use of play scripts, stage directions, poetry, telegrams, and even sheet music, the plot progresses in a way that’s reminiscent of the ever-popular Illuminae series. While this is certainly a fun nod to Jetta’s performer profession, the inclusion of these various ephemera was arbitrary. Their placement often felt random, so much so that it broke the flow of the story. It drew me out, instead of pulling me in.

For a Muse of Fire is a lush, uniquely told story that features a Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy world, a bipolar main character, and a distinctive writing style that, for the most part, succeed in (razzle)dazzling me.

My Rating: Me Likey

What are some of your favorite fantasy books with mental illness representation?

Have you read any other Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy books? Share them with me in the comments!