I was drawn to this book for the intriguing concept, with the promise of an overlap of reality and fantasy. For me, though, it didn’t deliver on the promise. Ultimately, the encroachment of fantasy on reality turned out to be quite pedestrian, albeit in a light fantasy/sci-fi context. The reveal that happens about three quarters of the way through the book is underwhelming and, while it had philosophical consequences, I didn’t find them engaging.

The style of the writing in many places got in the way of the story-telling: use of language was unnecessarily elaborate in places, and the brief explanations of the meanings (and mythical background) of some of the supporting characters and spirits was unnecessary and jarring. Overall I was left with the impression that the author was showing off with use of language and myth, which I found a little alienating rather than impressive.

The plot was split across two worlds - the reality and the fantasy - although very little actually happened in either world. There seemed little purpose to much of the plot, with rarely any conflict or jeopardy. The main protagonist had some interesting characteristics - notably the deliberate distancing from friends and colleagues. These characteristics supported her willingness to engage wholeheartedly in the fantasy world, but ultimately they were under-explored and unresolved, and I found her difficult to relate to.

An interesting concept, but the book was not for me.

Thank you #NetGalley and Fairlight Books for the free review copy of #RedDustWhiteSnow in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

(2.5)

"Red Dust, White Snow" is an intriguing concept for a story. It serves as a critique of capitalism, data ownership, and exploitation. The storyline is very reminiscent of the TV series, Black Mirror. It had an haunting quality which was at times subtly satirical and left me questioning whether this satire was actually intentional or not.

The book revolves around a protagonist who receives a mystery box allowing her to travel to a parallel, fantasy-like world while she sleeps. It switches between her lonely experiences in her real life and her action-filled adventures in the hyper-real fantasy world. These two storylines run in parallel, with minimal cross-over for most of the book but a substantial amount of time was spent in the fantasy world, on quests. As a result, this book may appeal more to readers of high fantasy than science fiction.

I found the writing style very challenging to get into, making it difficult to fully immerse myself in what was foundationally a great story. The use of unusual language was overt, as if someone had relied heavily on a thesaurus to unnecessarily complicate simple points. This contrasted with some passages that felt a bit underwritten and unfinished. Nevertheless, there were moments in the book that truly hooked me to the page. Regrettably, these moments were few and far between. The author shows promise, but I hope their style will be refined in their next work.

Overall, I believe this is a solid concept, but the execution left me wanting more.

This had black mirror vibes which I really loved and the suspense was fantastic. I feel the pacing and the development of the plot felt slightly underwhelming.

This book was a psychedelic exploration of the diminishing gap between the real and digital worlds, reminiscent of Black Mirror, The Woman in the Purple Skirt (Natsuko Imamura) and An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (Hank Green).

I found the design of the dreamscape to be innovative and to effectively convey an ethereal atmosphere to contrast the intentional monotony of daily life. I honestly think that the concepts explored here are very interesting and the protagonist’s removed observations of the world around her seemed appropriate both for her character and for creating an atmosphere where it felt as though everything was bleeding into one.

However, the I found the writing to drag it down. It was charming, but difficult to get into due to its somewhat simple, stilted nature and randomly obscure vocabulary. This was particularly the case in the real world perspectives, as the dreamscape perspectives seemed to have a writing style that was more lucid and self aware. I also found it difficult to place the character in any location that was not her house or office, as there were rarely any orientational markers given (this could be intentional, but it didn’t really work for me).

Overall though, a quick and enjoyable read.
3.5 stars

It's not a review because I didn't finish it. Just sharing some reasons why it didn't work for me.

First of all, the cover and title are lovely. The blurb was intriguing. And it started well, on a very interesting note. I liked Brilliant Jade's introduction, but then, for me, it faltered. To be honest, I didn't know what was going on. I couldn't connect with the main protagonist. Although dialogues are too minimal (no dialogues in the first chapter) but they need to be enclosed in quotation marks.

Thank you for the copy. Sorry I couldn't write a proper review. Not posting anywhere.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me of an eARC of this book, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was initially attracted by the beautiful cover of this book, which then sucked me in with the description. I thought it would be an interesting and quirky short novel, which it is, but I was not expecting the writing. The writing makes me feel like the author was taking the GRE and decided that she needed to study the vocabulary and decided the best way to do that would be to use them in sentences to write a book. Then when finished, she went, "Hey, this isn't bad. I'll get this published." And that is how this book came to be. The concepts and the world-building are interesting, but I found the writing to be fairly insufferable. My dictionary on my kindle got a good workout. Postprandial somnolence? Oneiric? I'm all for learning new words, but having it be a somewhat constant thing really took me out of the reading experience and honestly, I don't feel like these words really provided the writing with any extra beauty, meaning, or flow.

I really wish I would have liked the writing more because I find the ideas in here so interesting. It talks about virtual worlds vs. reality, the evilness of capitalism, digitizing actors for use after their death. I don't disagree with a lot of the ideas in here. And I was really interested in the sort of isekai section, except for the part that they didn't have quotations marks for speech.

Overall, this was a disappointment for me. I learned some new words. The later ones that were rage inducing, because I was just tired of stopping at that point, will probably stick with me. So, thanks for that.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars for me. I think the bones of this story are very cool! Super unique story that’s a little hard to follow at times but I think that may be what the author was going for. Unfortunately, the writing style was just a little hard for me to follow. Though I loved the creativity of the story.

I enjoyed this a lot and it was good when it was good, but its lows were really low. It turned out to be something completely different which was not my taste. I can see why people would love this but it was not up my street and did not work for me.

this was okay, but read a little juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Fairlight Books for the ARC of this book.

I had a difficult time getting into this one. The writing style was detached but also completely embedded within the main character’s mind. The first few chapters were a bit of a challenge, but once I got used to the flow and the two alternating storylines, it became more interesting.

The takeover of technology in the real world was really interesting to read, and the way that the main character seemed to be living life on a conveyor belt and just being pulled along was both sad and intriguing. Through her, we learn about the way things work and how people have become completely dependent on Empi. I enjoyed the parallel world presented at the Academy of Greatest Learning, but I also feel like I didn’t understand any of it. That being said, this was the storyline that I was most invested in.

This book certainly has a fascinating plot, but the writing style was hard to follow. There were a lot of grossly fascinating descriptions of things, which sometimes pulled me out a little bit. I enjoyed the story but not so much the writing, and I would probably read another book in this world. 3⭐️

Red Dust, White Snow is a thought-provoking and tragic novel examining our blue light loneliness and the desire for connection in a world where we finally feel like the main character.

Thumbs up: Definitely a relatable novel about feeling lonely in a world on the brink of destruction and merely existing rather than living. Don't you wish you could transport to another world sometimes? I think I've been feeling very similar to the character named only as "she," which connected me more to the story. I loved the fantasy world/real world parallels and thought that was the novel's biggest success.

Thumbs down: The narrative was quite frustrating to read as it is told from an outside perspective but the character is never named. There is also a lack of knowing who is talking about what, you're left making half guesses with a lot of the "real world" interactions of the protagonist.

Was it a nail biter? I think with some tweaking, there is definitely a powerful story just waiting to be downloaded. Until then, it sits at a 3/5 rating for me.

To start, I must say how well this author did with the story telling with Red Dust, White Snow. The flow of things is nearly perfect, with a dream like quality that never felt to odd or off putting. Comparing this to something like an episode of black mirror is accurate and it leads to many questions about humanity and its future as technology changes. My one complaint is about the end, where things get revealed and dealt with. The argument could be made that it was like waking up from a dream, and in time I may feel a bit better about it as that. For now though, it felt a bit too flat and too solid compared to everything else and didn’t feel quite up to par with the otherwise excellent work done in this story.

Note: arc provided by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for honest review

The writing of this book is very well done and the premise is interesting. But the conclusion is anti-climactic and the book ultimately not a major home run. Not the worst, but not the best.

For a book with such an intriguing premise, Red Dust, White Snow ended up promising more than it gave. While what was there was good, at the end of it all the story felt unconcluded and left me wanting a second act from a story which I doubt will ever give it to me

Featuring:
☆ Anti-capitalism messaging
☆ a xianxia fantasy world
☆ alternate universessssssss
☆ and an open ended story

Red Dust, White Snow, did a lot of things I really enjoyed. For one, I love xianxia, which this story <i>more</i> than delivers upon. The writing style is fresh and compelling, and the author is clearly aware of what genre(s) they’re writing to, balancing the descriptive and fantastical with the mundane and clean. Our main protagonist is fun to read about and <i>utterly</i> relatable, and both worlds we see are different enough from our own that they leave you intrigued and wanting to read more. I enjoyed the anti-capitalist messaging throughout the story, and think Pan did a fantastic job of writing it. And the authors pacing was incredibly well done.

However, while I really enjoyed the story and plot and pacing, the ending of the story and it’s conclusion left much to be wanted. To not spoil much, you find out things at the end of the novel, and instead of concluding any feelings or anything, instead the main character makes a quick decision and we, the reader, have to just read along as she does so. The story somewhat explores the fallout from that, but doesn’t <i>really</i>. Instead just telling us a handful of things and how the MC’s life doesn’t really change. In the end this left me unsatisfied, as the story came to a close and no real emotional or meaningful resolution was came to. The anti-capitalist messaging, while the focus, didn’t have anything summarisation, no declarations of authorial intent were made. The story simply just… ended. And in the end, it left the story feeling meaningless, with the MC ending the same place as she began.

Final Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (7/10)

Thank you to NetGalley, Fairlight Books, and the Author for giving me the chance to read this ARC.

Unfortunately this book is not my style and I could not get behind the writing style. The character is unnamed and the writing style is presented in a way that is similar to stream of consciousness where all the thoughts happening in a day is written down. It feels like a first draft.

The other massive issue is the stylistic choice of the author to not use quotation marks to represent dialogue. Which got confusing fast.

I made it to the split from reality to the parallel universe.. and it completely changed tune - as if two books were being written instead of one. It was a bit jarring of a switch.

These are all personal preference issues and some may find they enjoy this book. I unfortunately did not.

Red Dust, White Snow seeks to tackle the diminishing gap between digital reality and physical reality and the ways that we all but seek out that escape ourselves, and for the most part, it succeeds marvelously. By day, the protagonist is just another office worker, putting more effort into her virtual presence, represented by the all-encompassing Empirean family of apps, seamlessly connecting and offering any convenience a person could want. It's very near-futuristic, with comments of cycles of pandemics, of interconnected social media apps, AI models and CG-created actors. It's all too easy to see how we could get from here to there.

Our protagonist (who does go unnamed, a choice that does heighten the parable-like feeling of the book, but also can be a little jarring as you try to remember if she /has/ a name in the first place) all but eschews making real-life connections in favor of sinking into the stream of digital consciousness. It's less lonely that way, she believes, a theme that comes up against and against as she fails to connect with her co-workers or former classmates, always trying to be an amalgamation of likeable traits instead of a true personality.

In her dreams, however, she begins to travel to another dimension, one full of xianxia tropes and potential she finally feels a chance of fulfilling. As she moves between the two and tries to make sense of her place, the book fills in the background with thoughts on the parasocial relationships between experiences in the digital realm, the shrinking gap between curated experiences and expectations and reality, the unattainability of digital perfection, and what might lie beneath our constant desire to escape into these digital realms. A lot of it made me think of the migration of social spaces into MMORPGs during pandemic lockdown, how many social events had digital parallels and all of the consequences and benefits that came with that.

Just finished the engrossing debut novel "Red Dust, White Snow" and I'm swept away! 🌟🌟🌟🌟 A 4/5 read that effortlessly whisks us between two contrasting worlds, tethered by the relatable journey of the main character. The immersive realms, especially the mythical allure of the Academy of Greatest Learning and its fascinating dragons, will truly captivate your imagination! 💫🐉 The seamless integration of Chinese mythology adds an extra layer of richness, making this tale stand out. Pans' writing is refreshingly eloquent and deep—it's hard to believe this is their first novel! I highly recommend "Red Dust, White Snow" to those who love being transported to alternate realities. Don't miss it when it releases on August 17th!

3.5 /5
this was an enjoyable book. i had a great time reading it.
if you’re into sci-fi definitely put this book on your radar, the world was fascinating especially if you’re into dream-reality jumps in books.
i would say the ending was kinda disappointing for me and i did except something stronger but nonetheless i enjoyed it.

This book wants to tackle a lot by merging the real world with the dream one. That is what made me want to read this book, I thought that was fascinating. However, instead of liking it, I just got confused while reading. and unfortunately it didn't hold my attention enough to keep reading. I dnf at 30%.

I picked this up as it sounded like a mix of fantasy and sci fi. The book itself is told in dual narrative which I think didn't work for this as well as it could have. Our main character goes to another world while she is sleeping, so alternating chapters are told in that world. I feel like we got a good story but it could have been fleshed out more. The character interactions seem superficial as we don't get long enough to really see any bond. I loved the inclusion of creatures from mythology, I would have loved to spend more time in the parallel world as it seemed really interesting. My main critique with this book is that it is very info dumpy, we get lots of descriptions, information that doesn't further the story and most we don't see anything from again. I think people will enjoy this if they like quick reads that explore parallel worlds.