Reactor has published an excerpt from Bones of Jade, Flesh Like ICE, a historical fantasy novel by Gracie Marsden inspired by Taiwanese myth. The book is scheduled to be published by Viking on November 10.
Set in Kangzhu in the summer of AD 1061, the excerpt begins when 14-year-old Yu’er sees a jing—a fox-like creature that transforms into a woman. Her parents later reveal that the jing gave them a prophecy: marrying off their daughters would bring the family riches beyond its wildest dreams.
Yu’er and her older sister, Jiajia, learn they are to be married after their family’s fortunes decline under the Jiangnanese occupation. Jiajia reacts with anger and grief, while their mother insists the arrangement is necessary for the family to survive.
During the journey to their weddings, Jiajia tells Yu’er a story about a butterfly jing who falls in love with a fisherman. The tale explores the cost of love and sacrifice, themes reflected in the novel’s premise: a young woman bargains with a shapeshifting demon for power in exchange for giving up love.
The excerpt ends as the wagon stops and Jiajia is called to meet her husband.
Sources: Reactor.