The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K.S. Villoso

Thrilling. Bewitching. Marvelous. Astounding. Those are just a few words that I can use to describe K.S. Villoso’s The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng, which concludes the epic trilogy known as Chronicles of the Bitch Queen. I cannot believe that this book blessed my eyes. Just when I thought that K.S. Villoso’s writing couldn’t get better; she proves me wrong by knocking my socks off with this phenomenal book. 

Thank you so much to Angela Man and Orbit for sending me a free copy. My views are my own. 

Oh dear, where do I even begin? 

Title: The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng (Chronicles of the Bitch Queen #3)
Author: K.S. Villoso
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: 4th May 2021
TW/CW: Violence, threats of violence against women, murder, death, threats against children, mentions/threats of rape, animal cruelty, animal death, mention of miscarriage/abortion
Synopsis: The stunning finale to the Chronicles of the Bitch Queen trilogy where the queen of a divided land must unite her people against the enemies who threaten to tear her country apart.

Queen Talyien is finally home, but dangers she never imagined await her in the shadowed halls of her father’s castle.

War is on the horizon. Her son has been stolen from her, her warlords despise her, and across the sea, a cursed prince threatens her nation with invasion in order to win her hand.

Worse yet, her father’s ancient secrets are dangerous enough to bring Jin Sayeng to ruin. Dark magic tears rifts in the sky, preparing to rain down madness, chaos, and the possibility of setting her nation aflame.

Bearing the brunt of the past and uncertain about her future, Talyien will need to decide between fleeing her shadows or embracing them before the whole world becomes an inferno.

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Masterpiece.

Have you ever gone to a museum or a historical monument and just go, “Wow, this is truly glorious,” with jaw dropped and all? Well, that’s me with K.S. Villoso’s The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng. Never has a book filled me with so much awe. The only time I’ve ever felt something like this was when I walked through St. Peter’s Basilica and Notre-Dame de Paris. 

Some books are like Schloss Neuschwanstein: stunning and breathtaking, but unfortunately incomplete. But The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng is like Château de Versailles or Vatican City: built by a master craftsperson who laid solid foundations and created an intricate, awe-inspiring, consummate, and divine piece of fiction. Villoso is that master craftsperson.

Those who read this novel would be blessed.

The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng is the best book I have ever read.

I don’t say this lightly. I’ve read a lot of books, and I have my favorites. But this book is number one. It’s my favorite book of all time. 

Seriously!

Everything — from the worldbuilding to the plot to the characters — took my breath away. I’ve spoken enough about worldbuilding, so let’s focus on the plot and characters.

When we left off in The Ikessar Falcon, Tali had to confront what felt like an endless list of problems. I remember thinking, “How is Villoso going to tie all of these plots up in a satisfying manner?” There was a lot at stake, a ton of questions that needed answering, and plots that needed their conclusions. 

Thankfully, Villoso is a master storyteller.

Not only are the conclusions satisfying, but the intricate plotlines were also all packaged and wrapped up beautifully. Villoso took her time creating this story, and it’s clear just how well everything came together. Everything made sense. Whenever something happened, a new piece of the puzzle fell into its place and fit perfectly. 

It’s a testament to Villoso’s storytelling ability and writing. She crafted such an intricate story with numerous plot lines, and each of them had satisfying conclusions. Things just made sense. As I said, The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng is like a well-built city/palace complex: orate and complex with each part coming together to form a solid, beautiful structure that will take your breath away. 

Though, don’t expect it to be slow. Oh no, no. As with the previous entries, I found myself stopping every so often to catch my breath. Sure, there were those moments where Villoso loosened her grip and let me breathe. But without fail, she’ll squeeze again, and my heart would be racing. I loved it.

It doesn’t help that Villoso is such a damn good writer.

I forced myself not to highlight/use up all my post-it flags because there were so many lines or pieces of dialogue that hit me hard. There were times when I found myself rereading passages simply because I just loved them. Villoso ensured that even if I didn’t necessarily relate, connect, or agree with Talyien, I could still feel and understand her emotions, thoughts, and actions as she’s forced to confront the mess before her. 

And we, too, are taken on this journey. 

Villoso forces us to confront legacy, parenthood, and the impact our parents’ choices make on our lives.

What is legacy? Why must the children suffer the consequences of their parents’ actions/legacy? Are the paths we’re on because we chose this path? Or is it because our parents’ actions forced us onto the road they carved for us? Are we nothing more than extensions of our parents?

Yeshin left Talyien with a total shitshow. In my previous reviews of The Wolf of Oren-Yaro and The Ikessar Falcon, I’ve mentioned that this society is similar to the Filipino mentality. Everyone expects the women to take responsibility and clean up after the men. Rayyel runs off? It’s Tali’s fault, and thus she should be the one to fix it. In this case, Yeshin left a giant pile of shit that he and the warlords expect Tali to clean the mess up in addition to the other dishes that piled up.

Now, it isn’t just Tali who needs to deal with this; Rayyel, Nor, Argos, Huan, and Eikaro also are forced to deal with the consequences of their parents’ choices and inaction. Yes, Tali bears the brunt of everything. We see how the older generation’s choices and inaction have impacted their children’s lives. Look at how this older generation is trying to force their kids to fix everything.

Meanwhile, Villoso forced me to examine parenthood as well. I’m not a parent, but this book had me examining my own beliefs about what makes a good parent. My mom is an amazing parent, so I look to her as an example. She has been there for me and supported me. And Tali is a fantastic mom to Thanh.

But as I read, I stopped and asked a few times, “Is Yeshin a better parent than Rayyel? Or is Rayyel the better father?” When you get the chance to read this book, you’ll hopefully see why I ask these questions. I hope we can take the time to discuss these questions once you do. But this all goes back to that question of legacy.

So, what is legacy?

I can’t help but compare it to some of the attitudes some people have about current problems we face, like climate change and economics. Heck, look at how people are handling the pandemic! For the older generation, they’ll pat themselves on the back for “carving a path” for us while also doing nothing to help alleviate the problems we have right in front of us. Instead, they expect us to complete their work — whatever that may be. 

Who cares what we want, right? Who gives a damn what Tali wants, right?

I can’t help but think about how the Philippines handles its current problems.

Since I grew up here in the states, I can only see it from a foreigner’s standpoint — a diaspora Filipino, sure, but a foreigner nevertheless. Filipinos from back home would have better insight, so forgive me if I make mistakes. Like I said in my The Ikessar Falcon review, the Philippine government parallels with Jin-Sayeng’s government. They both spend more time quarreling amongst themselves than actually facing the problems right in front of them. Here are these privileged warlords — influential leaders who impact policy — doing nothing but fighting and starting fights.

In The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng, I started seeing parallels between the Philippines government’s relationship with an imperialistic power like the US or China and the Jin-Sayeng warlords’ relationship with Yuebek and the Zarojo Empire. Sure, these imperialistic powers will help with a problem, but that comes at a price. So what if it negatively impacts the people somehow if it means “law and order” and that a situation is dealt with? 

Who cares what the people want? Who cares what Tali wants?

And speaking of Tali?

Tali’s development was a sight to behold.

Tali has come a long way. She has gone through so much. Even though she frustrated me initially, I grew to love Tali because she is so utterly human and real. I can’t think of any other character who is as fleshed out, detailed, elaborate, complex, and well-developed as Tali. 

Honestly? Tali sort of reminds me of my own mom. She sacrificed so much for her child, even as the world attempts to shatter the both of them. Even when Tali was forced to confront some harsh truths about her own family, she never gave up on her son. Tali loves her child with her entire being while others saw their children as nothing more than a means to an end — beings who help them fulfill their ambitions.

I think that Tali’s growth from The Wolf of Oren Yaro to The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng is one of the most natural I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. Even within this book, you see a smooth progression in her thoughts and characterization. She doesn’t just grow/change her thoughts overnight, no. Don’t expect her to switch from one position to another in a span of a chapter. No, Villoso laid such a fantastic foundation in the previous entries. By doing this, I thought Tali’s progression felt authentic.  

Again, I may not always agree with the path Tali takes. However, I could still understand because her development had genuine growth from the first page of this series all the way until the very end. 

Hands down, Talyien is my favorite character of all time. 

If you’ve read my previous reviews of The Wolf of Oren-Yaro and The Ikessar Falcon, you’ll know that I adored Tali. However, The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng fully cemented her into my heart and soul as my all-time favorite character. 

I don’t just say this because I felt a connection with Talyien, no. Even if I didn’t connect with her, there’s no denying that she is a well-structured, fully developed character with authentic growth. 

When I think of an example of a strong female character, I think of Talyien. Look, I’m not just saying that because she can wield a sword, fight, and 10/10 would let her stomp on me. I say it because she is soft, makes mistakes over and over again, loves with her entire being, and can be such a fool at times. She sticks by her convictions, protects the people she loves, and admits that she has made mistakes that harmed her loved ones and those she’s responsible for. And God, Tali is such a good mom. I love characters who like kids and who are kind to children, even when they’re not their own.

I could go on and on about why I adore Tali. 

But let’s talk about the other characters real quick. 

Villoso is incapable of writing one-dimensional characters, my friends. 

Even if I don’t like the characters because of the things they do/say or their attitudes, I still found them fascinating, solid characters. 

Rayyel 

When I started this series, I really didn’t like Rayyel. I once said I wouldn’t mind if he got eaten by a dragon. However, as the series went on, I grew to like him to some degree. Look, he’s an ass — an idiotic dumbass, to be honest. I will never agree with his actions or his reasoning. 

He definitely doesn’t deserve praise or forgiveness for what he did to Tali and Thanh. I won’t deny that I’d happily kick him in the balls. But you know what? I can’t deny that he is a good character. He has solid growth. Seriously, I was shocked when I finished the book how much I started liking him because of how much he has grown from his experiences. 

Khine aka Only Man Who Deserves Rights 

Khine remains one of my favorite male characters. It isn’t just because he’s the one man who deserves Rights™. He is emotional yet can see reason. It’s the perfect contrast to Rayyel, who is pure reason with no emotional maturity at all. Khine is also the ideal contrast to Argos, who is pure emotion with no reasoning at all. 

And you know what else? Khine brings the people’s voice to this situation. He isn’t a royal; he’s a common man who has done illegal things to survive. He knows the struggle all too well. No one but him truly understands the price the people pay when royals and warlords get their heads stuck up their own asses. 

It’s thanks to him that Tali sees and understands her privilege. Even with all that she’s experienced, I don’t think Tali would have learned to empathize with her people without Khine. Sure, she could have known about it. But there’s a difference between learning about a problem and understanding/empathizing with the people. We see it all too often with politicians these days. Far too many of them were swaddled in golden blankets and were fed with silver spoons. They don’t understand what it’s like to starve yourself to feed your children or pay for the bills. It’s hard for them to empathize with the working class on why it’s essential to have universal healthcare because they have healthcare and had it all their lives. Tali is this privileged politician (a poor politician, but a politician nevertheless). 

While everyone else around Tali was concerned about power and warfare, Khine cared about the people and the poor. For all the things he did and the flaws he has? Villoso shows time and time again that he is a good man while not once shying away from his faults. 

Final Word

The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng by K.S. Villoso deserves 5.0 stars with an A+ grade. This is hands down the best book I have ever read. I have never been more satisfied. It’s an extraordinary novel with excellent worldbuilding, beautifully written characters, and satisfying conclusions for its intricate plotlines. Villoso shows why she deserves the title of “master storyteller” with this series, especially in this book. 

Please, read this series. 

I can’t recommend Chronicles of the Bitch Queen enough. It’s a Filipino-inspired epic fantasy with intricate plots and intriguing characters. Each book is a work of art with The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng being the pièce de résistance. This epic fantasy will leave your jaws dropped, hearts on the ground still palpitating, and eyes blessed. It has everything you could want in a fantasy novel: action, comedic moments, romance, more action, pining, politics, magic, and dragons. Villoso doesn’t shy away from violence, but she also doesn’t overdo it.

Most importantly, Chronicles of the Bitch Queen gets you thinking. It’s a trilogy that forces us readers to reflect on our privileges, society’s impact on gender roles, politics, parenthood, and legacy.

But if you’re still on the fence, please check out my ARC reviews for the previous books, which I did as part of Caffeine Book Tours’ blog tours:

The Wolf of Oren-Yaro 

The Ikessar Falcon

As I said above, I received my copy for free from Orbit. My opinions are my own. Receiving an ARC did not impact my views in any way.

Coffee Time!

Have you read any of the books in this trilogy yet? What did you think? Who is your favorite character so far?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts when you read this book/series. Feel free to message my IG, Twitter, or comment below should you wish to laugh/cry/scream. Until then, be well and stay safe.