Review: The Hand, the Eye and the Heart

The Hand, the Eye and the Heart by Zoë Marriott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Zoe Marriott returns to low fantasy in this loose retelling of Mulan. No quipping dragons or cheerful training montages here, this is a gritty, serious look at a war with constantly shifting alliances. Set in the same world as Shadows on the Moon and Barefoot on the Wind, in an unspecified time that may be before, after or during either, neither or both of those titles, this expands Zoe's world beautifully.

This book touches on themes of bisexuality and transgenderism, but with a very light hand, never sounding preachy or forced. There was a twist I didn't see coming but very much enjoyed - it's unusual for a twist to surprise me like that one, so well done! - and the characters were intriguing and well thought out. I hope Zoe returns to this world, but if she doesn't, this was an excellent swan song.

I made an effort to put my own worries and misgivings aside as we headed to the barracks together. But even as I chatted companionably to him and went through the motions of settling into the camp, a sense of foreboding descended over me. I had succeeded in convincing my family to let me come here and succeeded in convincing the camp officials to accept me into the ranks of the army. At home, when I planned this, those had seen the biggest obstacles.
But this morning the enemy had been close to killing me without coming anywhere near me. I had made my first and only friend and then almost lost them again, because of who my father was. And nearly incurred the wrath of the first senior official I spoke to without even trying.
With a sensation like falling, I realized that, despite all my preparations to come here, I wasn't prepared for this. I hadn't been prepared for anything that happened today. I wasn't prepared for tomorrow, or the next day, or the one after that. I had no idea what challenges were ahead.

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