The Fallen Hero by Katie Zhao

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The Fallen Hero by Katie Zhao
The Dragon Warrior #2
Published by Bloomsbury Children's on October 13, 2020
Age Group & Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology
Representation: primarily Chinese American cast, multiracial protagonist
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Publisher

This Chinese mythology-inspired middle-grade fantasy series continues as heroine Faryn Liu embarks on a quest to save her brother and defeat the demons.

Faryn Liu thought she was the Heaven Breaker, a warrior destined to wield the all-powerful spear Fenghuang, command dragons, and defeat demons. But a conniving goddess was manipulating her all along . . . and her beloved younger brother, Alex, has betrayed her and taken over as the Heaven Breaker instead. Alex never forgave the people who treated him and Faryn like outcasts, and now he wants to wipe out both the demons and most of humanity.

Determined to prevent a war and bring Alex back to her side, Faryn and her half-dragon friend Ren join the New Order, a group of warriors based out of Manhattan's Chinatown. She learns that one weapon can stand against Fenghuang--the Ruyi Jingu Bang. Only problem? It belongs to an infamous trickster, the Monkey King.

Faryn sets off on a daring quest to convince the Monkey King to join forces with her, one that will take her to new places--including Diyu, otherwise known as the underworld--where she'll run into new dangers and more than one familiar face. Can she complete her mission and save the brother she loves, no matter the cost?

A copy of the book was provided for review purposes - thank you! Receiving a copy does not guarantee a positive review and therefore does not affect the opinion or content of the review.

Trigger & Content Warnings: abandonment, death, violence (fantasy)

The Dragon Warrior is perhaps one of my favorite middle-grade novels of all time – it was a definite favorite from 2019, and it left me with so many questions (along with a need for more). The Fallen Hero is the sequel to The Dragon Warrior, jumping right in. Zhao left the story with Faryn not being too keen about joining the Jade Emperor in his quest to wipe out humanity, but her younger brother (Alex), on the other hand, has no issues. He betrays her to become the new Heaven Breaker, and who can blame him after growing up being treated as an outcast?

This was an adventurous ride from start to finish, and it was everything that I expected from the sequel. Zhao’s writing is just as immersive as the first as Faryn, Ren, and their new companions from the New Order in Manhattan search out Sun WuKong (the Monkey King) to convince him to join their side. This eventually leads them to Journey through Diyu (the Underworld) to retrieve Ruyi Jingu Bang (the Monkey King’s weapon), the only weapon that could stand a chance in stopping Alex.

Like its predecessor, the sequel is full of humor and entertainment that had me laughing out loud multiple times while reading and wanting to continue the story. It was also nice to see inspirations from Journey to the West (among other aspects of Chinese mythology) because it was a huge part of my childhood – or at least, the movie versions were a huge part – and reading The Fallen Hero brought back a lot of those memories. I kind of wish I didn’t finish it as quickly as I did; it’s probably my only complaint. Faryn has quickly become one of my favorite protagonists with her narration and would’ve been someone I looked up to fictionally if The Fallen Hero got published when I was younger.

Zhao also brings back familiar faces from The Dragon Warrior and introduces a few new characters that either aid or hinder Faryn and her companions in their trek to find the Monkey King and through Diyu. There are a few loose ends signaling a continuation of the series, but whether or not a third book makes it into the world, I’m super excited for Zhao’s future works as she’s quickly become one of my favorite authors.