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Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha LeeThousand Worlds #2
Published by Rick Riordan Presents on January 4, 2022
Age Group & Genres: Middle Grade, Mythology, Science Fiction
Representation: Korean cast, nonbinary protagonist
Format: Physical
Source: Publisher
Sebin, a young tiger spirit from the Juhwang Clan, wants nothing more than to join the Thousand World Space Forces and, like their Uncle Hwan, captain a battle cruiser someday. But when Sebin's acceptance letter finally arrives, it's accompanied by the shocking news that Hwan has been declared a traitor. Apparently, the captain abandoned his duty to steal a magical artifact, the Dragon Pearl, and his whereabouts are still unknown. Sebin hopes to help clear their hero's name and restore honour to the clan.
Nothing goes according to plan, however. As soon as Sebin arrives for orientation, they are met by a special investigator named Yi and his assistant, a girl named Min. Yi informs Sebin that they must immediately report to the ship Haetae and await further instructions. Sebin finds this highly unusual, but soon all protocol is forgotten when there's an explosion on the ship, the crew is knocked out, and the communication system goes down. It's up to Sebin, three other cadets, and Yi and Min to determine who is sabotaging the battlecruiser. When Sebin is suddenly accused of collaborating with the enemy, the cadet realizes that Min is the most dangerous foe of all...
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.
I remember virtually nothing from Dragon Pearl, the first book in the Thousand Worlds series and predecessor to Tiger Honor, possibly just because it was published in 2019 and it’s currently 2022. (Three years is a long time, friends.) So really, the big question going into this novel for me was, “do I remember anything that happened, and does this even matter in the long run?”
Yoon Ha Lee’s latest novel follows Sebin, a nonbinary tiger spirit who aspires to join the Space Forces and become a captain one day like their Uncle Hwan, complete with a battlecruiser. But when they receive their acceptance letter to join as a cadet, they also receive news Uncle Hwan has been deemed a traitor for attempting to steal the Dragon Pearl and a search is currently out for him. Sebin joins in the hopes of proving Hwan’s innocence and bringing back honor to the Juhwang clan.
But nothing really goes to their plan, though, and they quickly find themselves improvising despite wanting to follow everything by the book – in the training they had growing up and through the stories from their role model. It definitely shows in the way Sebin observes their surroundings and makes notes of them.
I had a lot of fun reading Tiger Honor; I found the pacing a lot better balanced than in Dragon Pearl and just as adventurous with a dose of humor. I also felt as though I was missing important information from the first novel, and ended up backtracking to snag a copy of Dragon Pearl to recap since there isn’t one in Tiger Honor. While it’s unnecessary to read the first before diving into this one, I highly recommend it if you’re like me and prefer to go in with some context. (I’m sure I would’ve been fine if I kept going, but unfortunately, it’s not exactly my style.) In a way, it’s both a sequel to Min’s story and being primarily Sebin’s story as both her and Uncle Hwan play important parts in the plot.
Lee’s latest novel asks, what happens when you find out you don’t know someone as much as you think you do? Just how far will you go for them when you find out they’re in the wrong, even if they’re your family and you’ve looked up to them all your life? Throughout the book, Sebin is forced to confront everything they know and grow up believing in and use that information to determine whose side they should take at the end of the day.
Tiger Honor was a fun trip back into the Thousand Worlds universe Lee initially set up in Dragon Pearl. With new and old characters alike, we’re taken back into the Space Forces and introduced to familiar and new aspects of Korean mythology.
About Yoon Ha Lee
Yoon Ha Lee (yoonhalee.com) is the New York Times best-selling author of Dragon Pearl, a companion to this book and winner of the Locus Award and the Mythopoeic Award. He has also published several books for adults, including a standalone fantasy entitled Phoenix Extravagant, and the Machineries of Empire space opera trilogy: Ninefox Gambit, Raven Strategem, and Revenant Gun. Yoon draws inspiration from a variety of sources, e.g. Korean history and mythology, fairy tales, higher mathematics, classic moral dilemmas, and genre fiction. His website can be found at yoonhalee.com and his Twitter handle is @deuceofgears.
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