According to Time Magazine this month, I’ve apparently written two of the 100 best fantasy novels of all time. The list had this to say about The Dragon Republic: “The story Kuang weaves around Rin and her battle-hardened comrades-in-arms in The Dragon Republic builds upon the reputation Kuang earned with her debut as one of contemporary fantasy’s most promising writers.”
So that felt pretty good!
“Best of” lists are always kind of silly from conception, and I know there’s no objective way to determine the best 100 fantasy novels of this time, but I see this list as a badly-needed nod to not only where the genre’s been, but also the excitingly diverse directions in which it’s going. There are a lot more women, BIPOC writers, and queer writers on this list than almost any other declaration of the Anglophone fantasy canon that I’ve seen. The composition has a lot to do with that (they actually asked BIPOC writers to consult! imagine!). So that’s why this is an honor. It’s made my month, really.