Dragons. Art. Revolution. Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint. One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers. But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics. What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight… This week’s review is the new fantasy novel Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee. In many respects the novel’s main protagonist, Gyen Jebi, is an innocent. They are so caught up in their desire to create, they are oblivious to the political upheaval going on all around them. Circumstance leads Jebi to find a new job in a government ministry. They meet a strange woman called Dzuge Vei. The intense relationship that develops between them changes them both at a fundamental level. Politics plays an important part in the novel’s narrative. The story chronicles events unfolding in a country under occupation. The Razanei forces are keen to…