But that's not what my intention was with Huntress.)) Also, there were elements of the fantasy world in Huntress that were simply not Chinese: there is no homophobia, for one thing, and there isn't nearly as much sexism as there was in imperial China.
((Just want to note that I don't think there's anything wrong with those kinds of fantastic "Asia." They can be very entertaining and enjoyable to experience in film or books. So it simply could not be the kind of "Asia" that exists in movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It is a fictional fantasy world that also must eventually become the fantasy world in Ash, because Huntress is set several centuries earlier.
The Kingdom in Huntress is influenced by Chinese and Japanese culture, but it is not China or Japan. However, the lack of exotic details in the text especially means that readers who aren't familiar with Chinese or Japanese traditions like kyudo or Taoism may not understand that's what I'm referencing. I very much wanted to avoid exoticism not only in the text but also in the design elements, and I'm so happy that the designers completely understood that when they were turning the book into a physical object. I think that I read White Cat after I had already seen the cover for Red Glove, so that may be why that image is so firmly stuck in my head.Īnd yet, you'll notice that none of the elements of the Huntress package are over-the-top Asian in an exotic way. :) But apparently I always assumed Lila looked like the girl depicted on the cover of Red Glove. I don't know why this didn't register with me when I read White Cat, especially because I'm a fan of girls with short blond hair. I noticed this recently when I was flipping through White Cat by Holly Black the other night and realized, to my total surprise, that the character Lila has short blond hair. It helps to set the scene for the reader before they even begin with the first sentence. Second, I never realized this line of the cover copy would be so important: "The exciting adventure prequel to … Ash is overflowing with lush Chinese influences, inspired by the I Ching …"Īs much as I think a book should not be judged by its cover, the package that it's presented in, including the jacket illustration and the cover copy, is part of the book reading experience. I know that if the cover had depicted a white girl or even no girl at all, probably even more readers would never have guessed that the characters look Asian. First, I am so glad that the Huntress cover has an Asian girl on it. This is really interesting and makes me think a few things. Since Huntress was published, I've noticed that some reviews mention that the reader didn't realize that many aspects of the fantasy world in the book are based in Chinese and Japanese culture, or that they only realized that because of the cover copy or the cover itself.
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