Strange Beasts of China, Yan GE

The novel’s environmental ethos is also very much of the now, with numerous, vivid descriptions of urban decay competing with the natural world. As an example, there’s a wistful moment where the novelist sees a bird rise into the air with…

“an elongated body and exquisite movements, feathers as pale and radiant as a phoenix, all the colours of the world, soaring over Yong’an Forest, letting out a piercing cry, unbearably sad, circling the city once, then disappearing into the clouds.”

–Locus Mag