One of the things I love about Doctor Who as a franchise is its diversity. Every episode brings something different to the table, and you have no idea what you're in for each week. As its esoteric offspring, Faction Paradox very much inherits this quality, and turns it up to eleven... which leads us to the fact that the fifth published Faction Paradox novel, Warring States, is the first one to actually focus on a member of the titular Faction. Going into this, there's an inherent excitement in seeing what a more "traditional" Faction Paradox story might look like, and yeah, Warring States delivers. It's in no way without its flaws, but it follows up to the same standard that Of the City of the Saved set, with wild ideas abound and a rich tapestry of setting and culture to back it up. It's a more-than-worthwhile read.
Now, let's get to the customary plot overview. Warring States, written by Mags L. Halliday, is about a Faction Paradox member, Cousin Octavia, visiting Boxer Rebellion–era China to recover a casket stolen by some British archæologists, as she believes it holds the secret to true immortality. As the book progresses, we meet Liu Hui Ying, a Chinese translator with a background in martial arts who's also oddly driven to find this casket. The book is split into three chunks: the first from Octavia's perspective, the second from Liu's perspective over the same span of time, and the third depicting the events afterwards, rapidly switching between perspectives. The two characters cross paths and form an uneasy alliance; they discover they're alike in that they both have witchblood, which grants the rare ability to look into timelines. Eventually we learn that they've been put in a time loop, used as human batteries for the human–timeship hybrid known as Compassion. This is the first loop where the two have truly formed a personal connection, though, and as neither is willing to sacrifice the other, they embrace and break the loop before abruptly disappearing.
It's solid stuff, with a good level of mystery throughout as to what's truly going on. The quest for the casket, and the mysteries surrounding it, help things keep moving forward. If there's one big flaw, it's that the structural choice to abruptly switch gears halfway through does take a fair bit of steam out of the plot, seeing as it requires some mental adjustment to see things through a radically different character's eyes. It is worth it, though: by the end of the second half, you've got a good feel for both characters and their situations. The convergence in the final third would not work nearly as well if not for the time we'd spent from both sides, with how it ties things together and lets our characters bond after readers have already gotten to know them both.
The climax in general really gets going and captures interest with every new development, from Liu's developing witchblood to the time train crash to the two women's uneasy alliance to their bonding through building a clay soldier to their confrontation with Compassion and if you'll allow me to just gush for a second aaagh this book gets so good near the end. I didn't even care about the pacing up til that point, because I was just so enraptured and enthralled by the everything of the climax. It comes together really fast, and introduces a lot of things very quickly, with the first two parts feeling quite slow in contrast. So, yes, it does come dangerously close to feeling overwhelming and out of left field, but with all the hints scattered beforehand, it ultimately succeeds in feeling like it's tying the characters, setting, and plot together into a wonderful little bow. I do wish certain parts were explained more (namely how Octavia and Liu traveled to the pyramid's construction, and what happened to the two women when they escaped the loop), but the climax has enough meat on the bone to make it work. The ambiguity seems fairly intentional, besides.
But where the ending is solid-yet-slightly-lacking, the characters are probably the book's weakest point. There's plenty of positives: you get attached to Liu and Octavia purely by spending so much time with them, and frankly after the sexist mess of Warlords of Utopia it's wonderful to read a Faction book with so many bold female characters – and written by a woman, no less! The probable strongest element is the way they bond in the final third, with some really beautiful scenes (and, like, it's incredibly sapphic, so of course I was a fan). Still, the characters are a little thin; one review I read described them as overly stoic, and that's not wrong exactly. They're a bit too self-serious and distant, which makes their eventual bonding especially compelling, but does leave them somewhat lacking in strong personality. The most we learn about them as people is through their backstories, and the relationships they have as a result of that. Liu's is given in breadcrumbs throughout her section, which works reasonably well, but Octavia's falls behind... Personally, I appreciate Octavia's backstory a lot, probably more than Liu's, but that's because I went out of my way and did extracurricular reading. Her backstory and motivations are explored more deeply in this book's prologue and the Thirteen-Day Republic content in The Book of the War, two pieces that make her that much more compelling. It's a real shame, then, that that context is buried in other Faction content, given how much it helps Octavia stand out.
But let's be honest with ourselves here: at its core, plot and characters aren't the star of the show in Faction Paradox. It's all well and good that those components are relatively well-oiled here, but this is a franchise where setting and scope and ideas and atmosphere come first. And indeed, where the plot and especially characters are lacking, the setting fills in the gaps very well. The prose is all very clear and easy-to-digest, while simultaneously giving a litany of details to make the setting of historical Beijing feel rich. It's a tough balance to strike, and one which Warring States hits beautifully. Even the fight scenes work great, which are tricky to depict no matter the medium. And with the focus on a Cousin of Faction Paradox, the sci-fi concepts come fast and hard while never feeling overbearing: the emphasis on ritual is great stuff, and the scenes involving ghost stations and time trains were dazzlingly creative. Particular props go to the scenes where Liu or Octavia use their witchblood to look into the timelines of people and objects, which evoked the vision of a twisting, turning path throughout history fantastically. Perhaps my favorite moment hands-down was the scene when Liu and Octavia look into each other's timelines, and their pasts blend into a mishmash of both characters' upbringings. It's convoluted, beautifully intimate, and trippy in just the right way.
As for Beijing itself? It feels plenty detailed and vibrant. Mags L. Halliday's passion for Chinese culture and history is more than evident, and there's lots of little details sprinkled throughout that make the setting feel alive. It's thoroughly researched, to good effect. The frequent references to historical events and Chinese cultural objects and titles do result in the book feeling somewhat dense, particularly Liu's section – but honestly, I can't complain too much about that. It shouldn't really be the author's job to handhold someone through another culture, and my own background research definitely helped. I do think certain aspects were laid on thick enough to feel almost stereotypical, mostly to do with family honor and all the superstition and metaphors... does make me wish there were more Chinese hands in the writing of this book. But in spite of that, there's a good attempt to be respectful and treat the Beijing of 1900 as more than just an exotic set piece. Definitely helps that half the book is from the perspective of a Chinese woman.
All in all, this book has ended up being my favorite Faction Paradox novel so far. I'd call it generally on par with Of the City of the Saved, but the sapphic elements bump it up a notch or so, which I'll freely admit is entirely my own bias... but putting that aside, there's a lot else to love. The plot's solid, the characters are compelling, the setting is vibrant and exciting, and the wuxia fight scenes are great. Most especially, the mysteries, their solutions, and the worldbuilding are top-tier, as always for this franchise. And all of this is backed by quality prose that makes sure it all pops. There's some faults here and there, mostly in the pacing and character writing, but they've got enough to stand on their own two legs and let the other elements do the heavy lifting.
God. I already loved this series well enough, but Warring States sealed the deal.
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