3.5
Demon Song
ByPublisher Description
A young woman discovers the terrifying secrets lurking within the walls of a Beijing opera house, in this addictive Gothic horror novella inspired by Chinese mythology about the price of fame, and the bonds between mothers and daughters. Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Cassandra Khaw.
Places like this have a history. Desires. And this one is famished.
Megan and her mom are on the run after narrowly escaping the clutches of an abusive man who dragged them from Portland to Beijing. With few options, Megan’s mom turns to an old friend who offers them room and board in Huihuang Opera Theater in exchange for cleaning the ancient building.
Between her rusty Mandarin and constant reminders that she’s an outsider, Megan struggles with loneliness—until she meets Kristy, the glamorous young lead in the operatic adaptation of “The Monkey King and the White Bone Demon”. Soon, Megan’s free time is split between reading a battered copy of the Chinese classic that inspired the opera and her budding new friendship; Kristy’s love of singing brings out Megan’s long-buried ambitions.
But the opera house has its secrets. There are passages within the walls that shouldn’t be there, and the more Megan delves into that old book, the more the myths begin to bleed into real life. As Megan finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from folklore, she must uncover a decades-old mystery to discover the true, horrifying secret of the opera house before it casts its hungry eyes on her.
Places like this have a history. Desires. And this one is famished.
Megan and her mom are on the run after narrowly escaping the clutches of an abusive man who dragged them from Portland to Beijing. With few options, Megan’s mom turns to an old friend who offers them room and board in Huihuang Opera Theater in exchange for cleaning the ancient building.
Between her rusty Mandarin and constant reminders that she’s an outsider, Megan struggles with loneliness—until she meets Kristy, the glamorous young lead in the operatic adaptation of “The Monkey King and the White Bone Demon”. Soon, Megan’s free time is split between reading a battered copy of the Chinese classic that inspired the opera and her budding new friendship; Kristy’s love of singing brings out Megan’s long-buried ambitions.
But the opera house has its secrets. There are passages within the walls that shouldn’t be there, and the more Megan delves into that old book, the more the myths begin to bleed into real life. As Megan finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from folklore, she must uncover a decades-old mystery to discover the true, horrifying secret of the opera house before it casts its hungry eyes on her.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesDemon Song Reviews
3.5
“There are parts of this that I really enjoyed. The premise and setting are super cool! But in the end the writing was very confusing the way it jumped around and there were just too many detractors for me. Not a big fan of this overall unfortunately.”
About Kelsea Yu
Kelsea Yu is the Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of Bound Feet and It’s Only a Game. She has over a dozen short stories and essays forthcoming or published in various magazines and anthologies. Find her on Instagram as @anovelescape or visit her website kelseayu.com.
Other books by Kelsea Yu
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