Terracotta Bride / Zen Cho

Title / The Terracotta Bride

Author / Zen Cho

First Published / 2011

Page no. / 51

Overall Rating / ★★★.5

This is a short story drawing on Chinese mythology and set in the afterlife, specifically  the Chinese version of Hell. The story is told through the eyes a Siew Tsin, a young woman who died and is married off to as the second wife in a rich main in the afterlife. Although she isn’t happy with her situation she has reconciled herself to it, until a third wife comes along.

While it took me a little while to get into this short story, after the first few pages I was hooked. It’s impressive how much depth this story is considering it is just over 50 pages long. I love the setting and concept of this story. I don’t know much about Chinese mythology, but after reading this I definitely want to know more – I found it so interesting. Cho has done a great job at creating a vivid and complex world. The characters were all well written and the plot is engaging throughout. I’m not going to go into any detail concerning the story because I don’t want to spoil it, but just know it is well worth a read. I don’t read many short stories so I am very glad that I picked this one up.

Overall this is a fantastic short story and I cannot wait to check out more from Zen Cho. I’m planning to read Sorcerer to the Crown sometime this year. Have you guys read this book? I would love to know what you thought. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.