With an armored, oath-bound hero reminiscent of The Mandalorian and the Asian-inspired epic fantasy of She Who Became the Sun, Neon Yang’s Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a stunning queer novella about a dragon hunter finding home with a dragon queen.

Few know the true identity of the masked guildknight of Mithrandon.

She barely remembers herself.

The masked guildknight—Yeva—was thirteen when she killed her first dragon. With her gift revealed, she was shipped away to the imperial capital to train in the rare art of dragon slaying. Now a legendary dragon hunter, she has never truly felt at home—nor removed her armor in public—since that fateful day all those years ago.

Yeva must now go to Quanbao, a fiercely independent and reclusive kingdom. It is rumored that there, dragons are not feared as is right and proper—but instead loved and worshipped. It is rumored that there, they harbor a dragon behind their borders.

While Yeva searches for the dreaded beast, she is welcomed into the palace by Quanbao’s monarch, Lady Sookhee. Though wary of each other, Yeva is shocked to find herself slowly opening up to the beautiful, mysterious queen.

As they grow closer, Yeva longs to let Lady Sookhee see the person behind the armor, but she knows she must fulfill her purpose and slay the dragon. Ultimately, she must decide who—or what—she is willing to betray: her own heart, or the sacred duty that she has called home for so long.

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Praise for this book

“A lovely, intricate gem of a fairy tale about finding yourself in another person and traveling distant lands to finally come home. I loved it.”—Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Atlas Six

“Beautifully written and brimming with lush detail, Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is the sapphic lady knight story of my dreams. A perfectly satisfying tale of knights, dragons, duty, and finding your way home.”—M. Stevenson, author of Behooved

“Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame is a beautiful story of reclaiming one’s heritage to arrive at a new, unimagined place. At times exciting and at times measured, it has both a fast pace and deep characters.”—Sung-il Kim, author of Blood of the Old Kings

PRAISE FOR THE TENSORATE SERIES

“Joyously wild stuff. Highly recommended.”—The New York Times

“Yang captures an epic sweep in compact, precise prose.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

“A fantastic novella . . . I can't wait to see what else Yang will do.”—Locus

“Full of love and loss, confrontation and discovery. Each moment is a glistening pearl, all strung together in a wonder of world-creation.”—Ken Liu, Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award winning author of The Grace of Kings and The Paper Menagerie

“I love Neon Yang’s effortlessly fascinating world-building.”—Kate Elliott, author of Black Wolves and Court of Fives

“A fascinating world of battles, politics, magic and romance.”—Zen Cho, author of Sorcerer to the Crown

“Filled with memorable characters and set in a wonderfully imaginative and original universe.”—Aliette de Bodard, Nebula Award-winning author of The House of Shattered Wings

“Like a Miyazaki movie decided to jump off the screen and sear itself into prose, and in doing so became something entirely new.”—Indrapramit Das, author of The Devourers

“Relentlessly captivating, heartbreaking, and powerful.”—Fran Wilde, award-winning author of Updraft, Cloudbound, and Horizon




About the AuthorNeon Yang (they/them) is the author of four other novellas (The Red Threads of Fortune, The Black Tides of Heaven, The Descent of Monsters, and The Ascent to Godhood) and one novel (The Genesis of Misery). Born and raised in Singapore, they currently live in the UK where they spend their days avoiding productivity by playing video games. Find them on social media @itsneonyang.
Title: Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame
Author(s): Neon Yang
ISBN: 9781250357359
Copyright 2025
Release Date: May 06, 2025
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group
Countries: United States, Canada | Learn more about available countries
Language: English
Format: None available | Learn More about our supported formats
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