#the tensorate series

[bibliophilecats]

July 11 2023: Non binary character

I have to admit, it took some getting used to reading "they/them" because I had to pay close attention if it was singular or plural "they." Is it easier for native speakers? Nevertheless, I did enjoy the book and got used to it.

[mapas-fantasticos]

Map of the protectorate from the Tensorate Series by Neon Yang.

[ninsiana0]

I finally finished THE TENSORATE SERIES by Neon Yang! Each book is written in a completely different style than the others, and is told from a different character's perspective. They're magical, queer, and morally gray.

You should read all four novellas, but for the sake of consistency...

Read THE BLACK TIDES OF HEAVEN if you love twins, breaking free, dysfunctional families, tyrants, monasteries, uprisings, discovering your identity, prophesies, genderfuckery & beginnings.

Read THE RED THREADS OF FORTUNE if you love grief narratives, deserts, running away, running forward, scars, discovering new powers, trauma narratives, breaking & entering, and cute enbies.

Read THE DESCENT OF MONSTERS if you love epistolary tales, mysteries, detectives, cover-ups, missing children, destiny, creepy settings, beasts, class dynamics, and heroes.

Read THE ASCENT TO GODHOOD if you love drunk protagonists, reminiscing about the past, dancing girls, espionage, ending at the beginning, f**ked up families, young queer love, unlikable people & beginning at the end.

[sixofravens-reads]

Currently Reading: The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang

[muchotravka]

The sun falls upon an empire stewing in its rot and corruption, upon a Protectorate where well-fed children play in manicured gardens while orphans starve in the gutter, upon mountains full of ugly secrets and cities determined to keep them buried.

- The Tensorate Series: The Descent of Monsters, Neon Yang

[kitschykitchen]

🍽️Hot and Fresh Review🍽️

Ideal Snacks for While You’re Watching: An ice pack for the headache you get while reading.

Main Ingredients:

A set of twins: the rambunctious and rebellious boy twin, and the motherly yet grief-stricken girl twin

A cast of characters that diminishes as the plots progress

A storyline that acts like a roller coaster, taking you to the top before dipping horridly down

I first encountered The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang when I read the first standalone novella, The Black Tides of Heaven, in mid-2020. I was using Kindle on my phone during a power outage and found great joy in immersing myself. The setting was intriguing--a fantasy realm based on the Asian continent with a gender-choosing system where people at a certain age can start hormone therapy when deciding on what they want to be. The plot itself was also a familiar comfort. We have a tyrannical mother who leads her empire with an iron fist, with only the rich having access to the magical powers known as "tensing." Her twins end up going down separate paths when the girl twin, Mokoya, joins the family as a prophet who can predict enemy attacks. In contrast, the boy twin, Akeha, joins the revolutionaries who use machinery to battle against the tensors. On my first read, I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but overall, I found the book enjoyable and knew I had to read the rest of them.

Fast forward to this year, when I decided to buy the complete edition and finish the series. I was surprised to find that every book after the first one took an axe to whatever praises I originally had.

It is not an exaggeration that reading the rest of this book series is like watching a trainwreck--slow but disastrous. The second book, The Red Threads of Fortune is from Mokoya's perspective, an expected change considering the first book was in Akeha's perspective. However, the narrative is jarringly different. We've abandoned the plot of the twins leading different lives to now find Mokoya with the machinists and apparently searching for naga in the desert on a mission. From there, the story unravels to reveal a subplot of how the tensors, the rich and powerful who use tensing, have been experimenting on monsters like naga and raptors by embedding them with human souls. The book does take time to give us a glimpse into Mokoya's psyche. In Black Tides of Heaven, we learn of the tragic passing of Mokoya's young daughter in an accident that also caused Mokoya to have a new arm grafted. In Red Threads of Fortune that, it's revealed that Mokoya's raptor she's riding was embedded with her daughter's soul on Mokoya's orders. The antagonist of this novella is a young girl attacking the city with a naga who has the embedded soul of her late mother. Mokoya is forced to confront her trauma by stopping this girl from going on her rampage due to her grief. While Yang does well to create the link between both characters, we are left with a lot of unanswered questions as a caveat. Like, how many times have they done this experiment? Are there more naga/raptors out there with human souls? Why are the machinists getting involved?

If you thought book three would answer these questions, you'd be wrong. Instead, The Descent of Monsters follows a different character outside of our recurring cast. We follow a detective who is investigating a tragedy at a laboratory where they find that a naga-raptor crossbred monster has wiped out all the scientists. Our main cast gets involved as there are also children being experimented on beneath the lab, one of which is Rider's long-lost twin (Rider being a character introduced in Red Threads of Fortune). The detective struggles to get taken seriously by her upper management and ends up working with the machinists to get to the bottom of it. In the end, she finds that the children are training to be prophets who can predict the future and change the outcome. Sounds cool, right? The detective finds Rider's twin, but she can't save the twin as the detective is attacked by the naga-raptor crossbreed and dies at the novel's end. What a cliffhanger! And even more questions! What are the children going to do? Apparently, they escaped the monster, so where are they being held now? Will the public learn of this soon? How will Rider take the news that their twin is alive?

You thought we were going to get answers to any of that? Fat chance. Last book of the series and--hoo boy! The Ascent to Godhood takes a total nosedive as far as contingency goes. We're away from all of the previous plot threads--no more monsters, no more secret child experimentation, no more machinist revolutions. Instead, we're at the end of the revolution! The machinists have successfully assassinated the current empress, Akeha and Mokoya's mom, though they do this off-screen. Our story now follows a first-person point-of-view conversation with Lady Han, one of the members of the machinists, and a brief character we met in the first book. Lady Han tells us all about how she fell in love with the twin's mom, having been her handmaid and spy. Things became worse in their relationship as the empress hungered for more power. She discarded Lady Han and the two effectively parted ways on tense terms. Our last few moments in this story are spent with Lady Han discussing her appreciation for her time spent there, her love for the empress, and the sadness she feels at her passing, before turning over to us--the grieving lover of the detective from the last book. We don't say a word to her and then the credits roll.

When I tell you I wish I could get the time back that I spent on this book...

It goes without saying that this was a travesty when it comes to craft or context. The longer the stories went on, the more convoluted things became. Neon Yang has acknowledged that the novellas were separate stories that they wrote about the same fantasy world, but if you intend to sell this as a complete series, you should be prepared to edit for continuity. Perhaps it would be better to market this as an anthology, though I still think editing should have been done to make the stories have conclusive ends and beginnings.

Overall, The Tensorate Series is a meal that I would never order again, nor would I recommend it to a friend.

Michelin Stars: 2.75/5 (⭐⭐)

[desastreus]

currently reading the tensorate series book 2, the red threads of fortune

[aandriskobold]

i went to the gay bookshop today and i was just gonna get something for my friend HONEST but... they did have the tensorate collection in, which i specifically asked them to get in for me last time i was there. it would have been rude not to

[yourfriendjulie]

My first instinct was Murderbot, but I feel like those are really having a moment right now anyways so I'm going with this underrated fantasy series:

THE TENSORATE SERIES BY NEON YANG

Start with THE BLACK TIDES OF HEAVEN

Why you should read it:

- amazing thoughts on gender and fluidity

- an exploration of how siblings who grow up together and go through the same trauma can become such different people

- the magic is very cool and there's also a lot of machines to fight the magic! Kind of put me in the mind of Legend of Korra but more serious and grounded politically

The line I wrote down in my reading journal and still think about months later:

"Any creature can look mythical from a distance."

reblog with a book that you have read this year and would like to suggest 📚📖📗📑📔🍵☕

[vividracing]

New Post has been published on https://www.vividracing.com/blog/new-race-proven-utv-wheel-tire-package/

NEW Race Proven UTV Wheel & Tire Package

35″ Tensor Desert Series Race Tires + VR Forged D15 Beadlocks (Swoon)

I think we can all agree that when we see a UTV on a trailer with Tensor DSRs, Regulators, BFG Projects, or any large Baja-proven race tires, it gives us that warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Something about the stance of a UTV or truck with race tires makes us want to turn up some Metallica and do some off-road thrashing. We got to mount up some 35×15 10 Tensor DSR (Desert Series Race) tires to a set of gorgeous VR Forged D15 (5-lug) forged beadlocks. If you aren’t familiar, these D15 Beadlocks by VR Forged are some serious race-proven forged wheels that not only bada** looking, but save a substantial amount of weight. Each wheel weighs in at about 20.7 lbs, but we’ll call it 9.4 kg because we’re MWW. (Motorsports Weight Weenies)

Getting to take this Polaris RZR Pro R out to the desert to hoon and put this wheel and tire package to the test was amazing to say the least. These tires alone compared to the stock rubbers is a night and day difference. The driver characteristics are so positive and can truly feel the energy and capabilities of the machine. Not in a cheesy-sappy way but the assurance of agility and being able to dive into different directions or carve ruts confidently. As for the wheels, the VR Forged D15s really bring everything home with saving weight from adding the big ol’ tires and knowing when SNAFU happens, you have some forged wheels that will still be able to get you home.

Shop These Tensor DSR Tires

Shop These VR Forged D15 Beadlock Wheels

Here are some photos from the shred session:

What Tensor Tires has to say about the DSR Tires:

“Looking for the best competition-legal UTV race tire? Introducing the Tensor Tire Desert Series Race lineup. Whether you’re looking for the lightweight DSR30, the SCORE/BITD legal DSR33, or maximum height at 37in tall with the DSR37, this race proven series is the top choice for those who demand the best.”

What VR Forged has to say about the D15 5-Lug Beadlocks:

“The VR Forged D15 Beadlock UTV wheel is a full 1 piece forged monoblock wheel designed specifically for the new 5 lug Polaris RZR Pro R. You dont have to wait for these to be made like other forged wheels. Just pick your favorite tire and mount it up! This UTV specific wheel was designed to be superior in strength and much lighter than standard cast wheels. Creating this wheel was necessary for those wanting a wheel that will not fail under the harshest conditions as well as look amazing for the everyday UTV owner. The 8 spoke design is a perfect look for UTVs and shows off just enough of the brake caliper. The most important part of this wheel is that it is a TRUE beadlock design. The beadlock allows you to run those low tire pressures without fear of the tire coming off the wheel. Manufactured using a 10,000 ton press, each forged wheel is manufactured to meet the expectations of the highest OEM automobile manufactures.”

In our opinion:

This is a fantastic wheel and tire combo that will ultimate change the way your UTV handles and responds to the abuse you’re going to be putting it through. Before even considering to do any suspension modifications, a proper set of wheels and tires will change the capabilities and reliability of your UTV for the best. Don’t have a RZR Pro R? Don’t worry, there are VR Forged wheels for most UTVs. They can be found here:

VR Forged D15 UTV Wheels

You can also shop all Tensor Tire options here:

Tensor Tires

[athetos]

Just finished tensorate series by neon yang and those novellas were soooo good I devoured them. It’s hard to pick a favorite… some of the things I really liked were Akeha’s relationship with gender (and how in the 3rd one it’s just stated they use they/them now with no further explanation, I fucking love that), the narration of the last 2 novellas (I’m a sucker especially for anything that’s an assortment of academic records or reports), the richness of the worldbuilding, and how you’re given answers that have just enough ambiguity to keep you both satisfied and constantly theorizing. Rider was my favorite character, I got really attached to them and I was so elated when they didn’t die and Mokoya was able to have that prophetic dream about their future (also they (presumably with the help of thennjay) have twins? Nobody tell Sonami.) Rider’s slackcraft was also cool… I hope they managed to rescue their twin… imagine raising your twin sibling who is like 20-30 years younger than you with your polycule… also I want a lizard arm… okay I think red strings of fate is probably my favorite then. Hmm lastly I’ll say that I think these novellas altogether tell a story that is perfectly wrapped up and I’m very satisfied but I do love that but there’s enough stuff to build upon if there were ever more additions and while I don’t think that will be likely I love that I can still think “oh what’s Sonami’s reign gonna be like” and “are they actually clones of Hekate and what does that mean” etc. idk this series is awesome you should read it

[sol-flo]

wrote a long ass review for neon yang's the genesis of misery over at cohost, if you'd like to check it out! spoilers: it's not a good book, but i had a lot to say about it for that very reason

[sixofravens-reads]

Finished my first book of the year, The Unspoken Name! Not sure what to read next, I have The Thousand Eyes, but there's no cliffhanger at the end of the first book so I'm not in any rush to read the sequel. Those books are also kinda slow reads, not in a bad way, but I feel like a change of pace now.

[box-keeper]

[lavenderteacat]

man I wanna re-read The Lays of the Hearthfire Sooo bad but I have. library books I need to finish first and theyre SLOW I gotta HUSTLE and THEN there are MORE BOOKS I want to read!!

[qbdatabase]

Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What’s more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother’s Protectorate.

A rebellion is growing. The Machinists discover new levers to move the world every day, while the Tensors fight to put them down and preserve the power of the state. Unwilling to continue to play a pawn in his mother’s twisted schemes, Akeha leaves the Tensorate behind and falls in with the rebels. But every step Akeha takes towards the Machinists is a step away from his sister Mokoya. Can Akeha find peace without shattering the bond he shares with his twin sister?