I really, really love Yoon Ha Lee when he writes for adults (Machineries of Empire). I don't like him nearly as much when he writes for children (Dragon Pearl). I figured young adult is closer to regular adult than to children, so gave Phoenix Extravagant a try, and, well... it's not nearly as extreme as Dragon Pearl was, but the things that bothered me about it are in here too: it feels kind of... dumbed-down, overexplained, with a strong tendency towards rhetorical questions. I enjoyed it anyways overall - some great concepts in here and a fantasy robot dragon whom I adored - but the writing style is really not my favourite, and I might have to restrict my enjoyment of Yoon Ha Lee to his work for adult adults from now on.

Also feel like the ending needs a mention. I'm not really sure how to feel about it - on the one hand it's subversive in a way that really highlights the way things don't actually always work out in a clean narrative way, on the other that cheapens everything that came before. I suspect this is, in fact, the point. So - not a satisfying read, but that's maybe not a bad thing? I'm not sure.

Selling points: feels like the exact opposite of science fantasy (this is a sci-fi story with fantasy trappings; the dragon is a robot, which is more important than that it is a dragon); nonbinary protagonist; various queer representation; Korea-inspired setting; emphasis on art; sciencey application of magic

Warnings: destruction of culture, removal of autonomy, torture