Early Book Review: Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee

Tiger Honor by Yoon Ha Lee is a companion to the best-selling and award-winning Dragon Pearl  (which I loved) and is currently scheduled for release on January 4 2022. This is another space opera inspired by Korean mythology,but told from the point of view of a nonbinary tiger spirit. 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 honor 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 battle cruiser. When Sebin is suddenly accused of collaborating with the enemy, the cadet realizes that Min might be the most dangerous foe of all.

Tiger Honor was a hard start for me, mainly because I had to go back and reread my review of Dragon Pearl and remember what I knew about some of these characters and this world, and were we all left off in the first book. Once I got back into the setting and characters were settled on my head I was able to get lost in that world again. I liked the character development for Sebin, and seeing a different perspective of the Star Forces and systems and relationships involved. I thought Swbin had a relatable story arc, as we have all had our expectations and thoughts of someone we loved and trusted challenged at some point in our lives. This exploration of world views and the larger picture is important, and well done here. I thought the character building for Sebin's fellow cadets, and the challenges they faced was also well done, with a nice balance of adventure or danger and introspection. I am hoping that the series is continued, as I just felt like I was getting to know the characters as a group when this installment of the story ended. I enjoyed the read, and think it was well done. I do recommend revisiting Dragon Pearl before reading this, or enjoying it on its own with no prior knowledge of the other book. It can be fully enjoyed in either fashion.

Tiger Honor is a well written and entertaining read.