The Heavenly Sword (Sword Maiden from the Moon #1), by Alice Poon

The Heavenly Sword is the first book in the Sword Maiden from the Moon wuxia duology, from the Canadian author Alice Poon. It follows the story of Tang Sai'er, a martial maiden who is the reincarnation of Chang'e, in her quest to dethrone the Sky Wolf Zhu Di, the cruel prince that has dethroned the emperor, trying to protect her village and her beloved ones from the violence and the consequences of the civil war that has arisen due to the ambition of Zhu Di.

Our novel starts with Tang Sai'er in her village, fighting with her foster brother, Binghong; as an excuse to show that she's a learning student trying to get control over her qi. Soon, she's sent by her father to take lessons from Master Zhang Sanfeng in the Wudang Mountains; marking the start of what I would call the first arc of the novel, a learning one, focused on the progress of Sai'er as a martial artist, improving her techniques, being a more relaxed one, and where she will discover her actual nature as Chang'e reincarnated. 

In comparison with Occidental novel tradition, we get many exposition parts, where we are introduced to the Chinese traditions and myths, in a more relaxed style. The novel is divided into three different arcs, being the first one about the formation and the real nature of Sai'er; the second one is more about the civil war and the desire of protecting her beloved ones; with the third one involving more the mythical figures and finally, being able to know Zhu Di directly.

Sai'er is a really compelling character, an excellent martial artist who is compelled to fulfill a task that she hasn't chosen due to her celestial nature; sometimes the dimension of this task overwhelms her, as she's only a simple village girl in her human nature. The rest of the secondary characters around her are also relatable, mostly supporting to keep the story flowing, and sometimes the reason why Sai'er takes different decisions. Zhu Di is portrayed as a really cruel person, and to be fair, once we get to know him, it's even worse that it was portrayed, becoming the big Evil (yes, with caps) to defeat, justifying the sacrifices that our character will have to make.

Alice Poon weaves in a great way historical fiction with traditional myths, portraying a civil war whose stakes are bigger than the country's leadership, but also implying a war between different powers in the pantheons, powers that will fight in order to stop the Sky Wolf from taking the power. The novel is also a tribute to martial traditions, featuring several great scenes of fighting and the use of different techniques, especially great the ones that feature Sai'er after the first arc of training.

I enjoyed my time with Sai'er in The Heavenly Sword. Despite I'm not familiar with the wuxia tradition, that hasn't been a problem to find myself always craving for a chapter more; I can recommend this novel to people who enjoy epic fantasy, and that want to read a different kind of story. I really want to see what will happen in the second book of this duology.