''Blood Heir'' is the 2019

young adult In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

debut novel by Chinese-American author Amélie Wen Zhao. It follows Anastacya Mikhailov, a princess with the magical ability to control blood who searches for her father's killer after being framed for his murder. The novel draws inspiration from the real-world issues of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

and

indentured servitude Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an " indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or s ...

. Prior to its publication by

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, ''Blood Heir'' was subject to controversy due to allegations of racial insensitivity and other issues. Zhao subsequently decided to postpone the book's release to make further revisions. The book has been criticized for supposedly insensitive depictions of

American slavery The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

, but Zhao has clarified that she drew inspiration from China's history of indentured labor and not from its American counterpart.

Plot

Anastacya Mikhailov is the

crown princess A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown princ ...

of the Cyrilian Empire, "a glittering land of ice and snow". Affinites—people with various magical powers allowing them to control their surroundings—are a feared and persecuted

underclass The underclass is the segment of the population that occupies the lowest possible position in a social class, class hierarchy, below the core body of the working class. This group is usually considered cut off from the rest of the society. The g ...

in the empire. Many Affinites are enslaved and exploited for their supposedly unnatural abilities. Ana herself has an extremely rare Affinity to blood: she can sense its presence in others and manipulate it. When she was a young girl, her powers resulted in the accidental deaths of eight people at an outdoor market in the capital city of Salskoff, causing rumors to spread about a vicious "blood witch". Since then, her family has hidden her within the royal palace, claiming that she is ill. When Ana's father, the emperor, is poisoned, she is framed for his murder after she is discovered next to his body, covered in his blood. She recognizes the true killer, an

alchemist Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...

formerly employed at the palace, but does not know his identity. After escaping, Ana is believed to be dead and goes on the run for nearly a year. In need of assistance, Ana breaks the criminal mastermind Ramson Quicktongue out of prison. Ramson was incarcerated after plotting to kill Ana's brother Luka, the new emperor. He was hired for the job by Alaric Kerlan, a powerful businessman and Affinite trafficker. Ana and Ramson reach the

dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...

where Ana lives with her young friend May, a fellow Affinite who can control earth, rocks, and plants. Seeking information about the alchemist, the trio travels to the city of Kyrov, where May is captured by imperial guards. Ramson learns that the alchemist—who now works for Kerlan—is named Pyetr Tetsyev, and that he was responsible for Ramson's arrest by leaking the plot to kill Luka. Ramson also realizes that Ana is the legendary blood witch of Salskoff and considers trading her to Kerlan, but decides to overthrow Kerlan's business empire instead. Ramson and Ana track May to the Playpen, a nightclub in the city of Novo Minsk where Affinites are forced to perform for entertainment and are secretly trafficked. While they watch May's performance, the club is attacked by Affinite rebels called Redcloaks, who attempt to kill Ana. May saves Ana's life but dies in the process. Ana's childhood friend Yuri, a Redcloak, tells her that Luka is ill, and she suspects that Luka is being poisoned, like her father. Ana uses her Affinity to kill the broker who trafficked May at the Playpen. Ana and Ramson attend a ball at Kerlan's estate, where Tetsyev will be present. Ana confronts Tetsyev, who tells her that he was being controlled by Ana's aunt Morganya, an Affinite who can manipulate people's minds. He informs her that Morganya poisoned Ana's mother when Ana was young and that she is planning to subjugate non-Affinites under her rule by assuming power after Luka's death. Morganya has also joined forces with Kerlan and was responsible for the conspiracy to kill Luka. Ramson meets with Kerlan, intending to assassinate him, but he is subdued and tortured. Tetsyev rescues him and tells him about Ana's true identity as the crown princess. Ana and Ramson separately make their way to the palace to confront Morganya, reuniting in Salskoff. Sneaking into the palace, Ana and Ramson encounter Kerlan. Ramson fights him off together with Linn, an Affinite whom he purchased and freed at the Playpen. In the palace's throne room, Ana discovers Morganya and Luka, who is planning to

abdicate Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other soci ...

due to his poor health. After realizing that Morganya is controlling Luka, Ana uses her own Affinity to break the spell. Luka announces that he will cede the throne to Ana instead, but he is killed by the imperial advisor Sadov, Morganya's ally. Ana nearly kills Sadov with her Affinity in retaliation but decides not to. While Morganya assumes the throne, Tetsyev helps Ana fake her death by giving her a paralysis poison. Ana and Ramson escape the palace dungeons with the help of imperial guards who secretly oppose Morganya. Ana informs Ramson that she plans to travel south to find Yuri and the Redcloaks and join the rebellion against Morganya.

Background

Zhao was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and raised in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

; she immigrated from China to the United States at the age of 18. She studied economics at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, before working in the finance industry in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Zhao found her literary agent during a pitching event on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

for writers of marginalized backgrounds. Her proposed fantasy trilogy, described as "''

Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...

'' meets ''

Six of Crows ''Six of Crows'' is a fantasy novel written by the Israeli–American author Leigh Bardugo and published by Henry Holt and Co. in 2015. The story follows a thieving crew and is primarily set in the city of Ketterdam, which is loosely inspire ...

''", sold at auction to Delacorte, reportedly for a high six-figure deal. Prior to the publication of ''Blood Heir'', Zhao had established herself as an active member of Twitter's young adult fiction community, known as "YA Twitter".

Kat Rosenfield Kathryn Rosenfield (born March 16, 1982) is an American culture writer, columnist and novelist. Beginning in 2004, Rosenfield worked in various communications jobs, including a publicist for Penguin Books, copywriter for the Brooklyn Public Librar ...

of ''

Vulture A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to Nort ...

'' wrote that on social media, Zhao was "an enthusiastic, effective communicator who was deeply engaged with issues of

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

and knew how to make herself heard". The idea for ''Blood Heir'' came to Zhao during a family trip to Russia in 2014. She also drew on real-world issues such as

and

in Asia as inspiration for the book. In a tweet, she explained why the book did not feature Chinese themes, writing: "I don't want to be boxed into the permanent 'Other'; I want diverse books written by eople of colorto become part of the mainstream."

Release and reception

Pre-release

''Blood Heir'' was originally scheduled for release in June 2019. Early reviews of the book from readers with advance copies were largely positive. In January 2019, however, some social media users accused the book of racial insensitivity and other issues, causing Zhao to postpone its release until November. The controversy was covered by journalists

Jesse Singal Jesse Singal is an American journalist. He has written for publications including ''New York'' magazine, ''The New York Times'' and ''The Atlantic''. Singal also publishes a newsletter and hosts the podcast '' Blocked and Reported'' with journa ...

in '' Tablet'' and Kat Rosenfield in ''Vulture'', as well as publications such as ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''.

Whisper campaign

In January, a

whisper campaign A whispering campaign or whisper campaign is a method of persuasion in which damaging rumors or innuendo are spread about the target, while the source of the rumors seeks to avoid being detected while they are spread. For example, a political camp ...

began against Zhao on Twitter, with one user claiming that Zhao had been collecting screenshots of readers who disliked ''Blood Heir''. The Twitter user suggested that this constituted a threat to readers, saying that they "should be aware of this for their own protection". Rosenfield said that the Twitter user "declined to offer proof" of Zhao's behavior, while Singal found no evidence to support the claims.

Allegations of racial insensitivity

Circa January 2019, while revision of the book was underway, several users on Twitter accused the author of writing a book that lacked sensitivity towards African-Americans, based on passages about slaves being sold at an auction. Zhao issued an apology and asked the publisher to delay the book's release. According to the author, the slavery passages were based on examples of indentured labor and human trafficking in Asia, including from her native country, rather than American slavery. Katy Waldman of ''The New Yorker'' wrote that " anything, the damning readings of ''Blood Heir'' seem guilty of something that the Y.A. community mitigates against: the misapprehension of a cultural context unfamiliar to one's own."

Plagiarism allegations

Some of ''Blood Heir'''s critics also claimed that the book contained plagiarized material. These allegations were mainly based on a single line from the book, "Don't go where I can't follow", originally from ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

''. Singal and journalist

Robby Soave Robert Emil Soave Jr. (, ; born August 8, 1988) is an American libertarian journalist. He is a senior editor for ''Reason'' and co-host of '' The Hill''s web news commentary series program '' Rising''. Early life and education Soave was born ...

argued that the line was more likely an homage. Aja Hoggatt of ''Slate'' said that the plagiarism accusations had "barely" any merit, while Rosenfield said that they were "shaky at best".

Response from Zhao

In April 2019, Zhao announced that the book's publication had been rescheduled. Despite her views on the prior criticism, she made further revisions. Editor Krista Marino stated that they "worked to further establish the nuances of indentured labor and trafficking within this fantasy world, without changing major plot points". The publisher asked people who were to examine the work for possible representations of racial groups that would upset readers and also asked scholars to review it.

Post-release

''Blood Heir'' was released in November 2019. In its review of the novel, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' concluded that there was "no new ground broken", but that it was "a good read for those looking for bloody action and twisty politics". ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' wrote that "Zhao's plot imperils its protagonists time and again, leading the arc to feel repetitive and the protagonists less than capable", concluding that the novel "may garner readership despite the melodrama".

Series

''Blood Heir'' is the first book in a three-part series of the same name. It is followed by ''Red Tigress'' (2021) and ''Crimson Reign'' (2022).

References

{{reflist

External links

''The Blood Heir Trilogy''

The world of ''Blood Heir''
2019 American novels 2019 debut novels American young adult novels Delacorte Press books Novels involved in plagiarism controversies Race-related controversies in literature Novels about princesses Novels about slavery