Phoenix Extravagant

Phoenix Extravagant is a fantasy novel set in a fictionalized version of 1930s Korea, where queer identities are normalized but colonial occupation and war looms. The protagonist, nonbinary artist Gyan Jebi, is recruited by the occupying power (a fictionalized Japanese government) to magically paint an automaton dragon, a weapon of war. In this world, magic paint is created through the destruction of artwork - the older the artwork, the more potent the magic, and the more powerful the weapon. Lee uses this fantasy setting to skillfully intertwine iconoclasm military violence, considering the ramifications of colonialism on cultural identity while exploring the nature of complicity and agency during colonial occupation. Phoenix Extravagant is a straightforward read, but one whose implications I find endlessly fascinating.