This book did not feel like a conclusion. Rather this felt like a book with connected characters and vaguely connected events. Since I at first assumed that Dragon pearl was a standalone, perhaps Lee intended these books to read as connected standalones. My expectations for a conclusion unfortunately affected my experience. Seen as a standalone though, I think I enjoyed this one the most of the three novels. Both previous main characters come together in a way that continues to develop both of their characters while weaving in just a bit of risk of interplanetary war.

A great end to this series. I am so excited to read more from Yoon Ha Lee. The writing, characters, and plots are all amazing.

What makes a space opera better? A Tiger, duh! Yoon Ha Lee and Rick Riordan go together like peanut butter and jelly. I love Lee's style of writing as it weaves a world of wonder.

What an exceptional ending to the Thousand Worlds trilogy. Reading our main characters grapple with black and white thinking, adventure, and conflict was a frustrating and delightful joy. How Yoon Ha Lee so masterfully creates worlds for young people to get lost in time and time again is such a testament to his skill and passion for quality stories for an age bracket that doesn't always get quality stories. Thanks to NetGalley and Rick Riordian Presents for an early read in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

It's been a long ride, but it's been worth it! The first book followed Min, a fox spirit who keeps herself hidden as she ventures out to try clearing her brother's name. Foxes are looked upon with suspicion because they are shapeshifters, and there have been some notorious ones in the past that means people automatically think they're untrustworthy. Thus, her family have always kept a low profile and most outsiders have no idea that a fox family lives in their midst. The second book focused on Sebin, although Min was definitely part of the story. Sebin is a tiger for whom honor is more important than anything else. The only thing he has ever wanted was to become a ship's captain, just like his hero uncle. When his uncle is declared a traitor for going after the Dragon Pearl, he joins the Space Forces to try clearing his name. Min is in this story as the assistant to the lead investigator and eventually they have to work together to figure out what's really going on. In this book, Min is now officially recognized as the bearer of the Dragon Pearl, and Sebin is part of the Thousand Worlds space forces. The story begins with a diplomatic mission between the Thousand Worlds and the Sun Clans at a much-disputed planet, not because of its resources (it is a wild and dangerous planet), but because of its strategic position. They are hoping that if Min uses the Dragon Pearl to terraform this most inhospitable planet into a place of paradise, the two worlds can work together to forge a peace that will benefit everyone. As you can imagine, things do not go according to plan and it's up to Min and her friends to save the universe.

This story did a great job of pulling together all the pieces from the first two books and adding additional plotlines. I thought the author did a great job of introducing conflict amongst the friends as they haven't seen each other since the events of the second book, and they never had a chance to talk about what happened together. Each has gone down their own path, and they now have to decide whether they still trust each other. Of course, there are external forces, but that's what makes it all so interesting.

Overall, this was a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy. I didn't have the audiobook for this one, but I'm kind of glad I didn't--the chapters alternated between Sebin and Min, so it was helpful for me to have the chapter headings and figure out whose point of view I was in. In any case, I found it helpful to have those chapter headings.

I highly recommend this trilogy and love how the author incorporated Korean mythology into futuristic science fiction. Overall, very well done!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Fox Snare book review was bound to be bittersweet because we must say goodbye to Min, Sebin, Haneul, and Jun now that the Thousand Worlds series by Yoon Ha Lee has concluded.

The book gives us POV chapters from both Min, star of Dragon Pearl, and Sebin, star of Tiger Honor, building off of the events of both stories. Fox Snare follows this trio (plus Min’s ghostly brother Jun) as they become part of the peace talks between the Thousand Worlds and the Sun Clans, who have been at odds for generations.

Yoon Ha Lee manages to boil complicated dichotomies down into their simplest parts without losing the nuance found on both sides. Not only do these characters have to contend with a conflict that's been going on for generations, but they must navigate the political implications of their involvement, as well as difficult conversations about who most "deserves" to receive the magic of the Dragon Council.

After everything these characters have been through, I feel as though they got the conclusion they deserved, which was both satisfactory and open-ended. It’s my sincere hope that we’ll get more stories set in the Thousand Worlds universe, as I still have so many questions, but if Fox Snare is truly the end, it’s one that managed to find exactly the right note to finish on.

From start to finish, the Thousand Worlds series has been a unique blend of Korean mythology and science-fiction, set in a vast and colorful world that’s approachable for both kids and adults.

Fox Snare is the third book in the Thousand Worlds series, which puts traditional Korean mythology in a futuristic setting. Fox Snare picks up where the previous volume, Tige Honor, leaves off, but shifts much of the focus from Juhwang Sebin, tiger shifter, back to Min, the primary character of the first volume, Dragon Pearl, who is a fox shifter. Min and Sebin are both cadets on a military vessel, with all the formality and tradition of any Asian culture. They have been parted by their various duties, but are brought back together when they once again serve on the same vessel, as part of a diplomatic mission to attempt peace with their enemies, the Sun Culture. But a saboteur explodes the space station the peace talks are taking place on, and their mission of peace becomes a frantic attempt to survive.

As with the previous volume, I greatly enjoy this novel with a basis in the mythology of various cultures, and this was no exception; the intertwining of Korean mythology with a futuristic space adventure was very well done. While there are non-binary characters in this story (Sebin is one), there are not, as there were in the previous volume, so many that the constant use of "they" as a pronoun is confusing; rather, the non-binary usage is done in so matter-of-fact a manner that it could go unnoticed; having been confused by the proliferation of "they" in the previous novel, this change was welcome, and made the book more readable. Recommended for readers ages middle school to adults.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Min is executing her role as Bearer of the Dragon Pearl at a peace meeting between the Thousand Worlds and Sun Clans when she smells another fox. Not only is the fox, Miho, a high ranking government official, she has nine tails! Min and Miho join other diplomats on the Haetae where Sebin and Haneul are stationed. They are all going to a highly contested planet to further peace talks. They arrive when suddenly the base is attacked, and Min, Jun, Sebin, and Haneul must use an escape pod. They crash land on the planet and try to make their way to a long ago crashed ship so they can call for help. Who else survived, and will Miho's true colors be revealed?

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for this DRC.
My favorite space adventurers are back again. Min the fox spirit, Sebin (tiger spirit) and Haneul (dragon spirit) all end up back on the Haetae. The spaceship is carrying ambassadors from the Thousand Worlds to meet with the Sun Clans to broker a peace agreement. Things go awry and three of them end up on a death planet, strategically located between the warring nations.

This is a wonderful end to the trilogy of adventures. The characters are warm and wonderful and the adults are just off-stage enough. I love the way they use their ingenuity and both sides of their human/spirit selves to solve problems and keep their friends safe. I am hoping the promise made at the end has left the door open for future adventures.

#RickRiordanPresentsFoxSnare #NetGalley

This story is an absolutely unique combo of scifi and fantasy, magic and myth and realism, a blend of modern ideas and Korean mythos, in a queer-normative universe.

I originally thought it was going to be a fun witchy story about a young woman learning how to control her powers (a classic bildungsroman). And in a way, it's just that. Min is indeed on an odyssey of sorts, with other zodiac spirits and an actual ghost. She certainly experiences all the archetypal ups and downs the reader might expect from such a story. Even the ending fits this model.

But this story is told from multiple points of view, through a scfi barrage of locations, including World 4: Jasujeong. "Instead of a place of death, we want it to become a place of life." Of course, what that means to the officials in charge is something different entirely.

Min gets to be the hero, of course, but I loved Sebin and Haneul
and Jun. And the touches of Korean mythological spirits made the story more rich and interesting. Especially since the Pearl Min carries has a mind of its own.

"I was in over my head. That, at least, should have been familiar territory. And I'd always been able to think my way out of trouble before."

This third book in the Thousand Worlds series brings together the plots of the first two books and gives us our first dual pov entry. Having Segin and Min's povs together was great, they're both so different so their reactions to what was going on was almost always polar opposites. This book moves the over all plot forward, with Min working with the Dragon Council and Segin serving on a ship. Both get entangled in a mission to preserve peace between the Sun Clans and the Thousand Worlds, but things take a drastic turn when an attack leaves them and their dragon friend Haneul stranded on a dangerous planet. I really enjoyed the plot of this book, and felt that it expanded on the world well. It also did a good job of reminding readers of what happened in the previous books, as it had been a while since I read the first two and couldn't remember what happened. My only issue was it felt like it took the story too long to get where it was going, there was a lot of build up only for things to get resolved quickly. The ending was left open, so i'm looking forward to hopefully seeing another book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley, Disney Publishing Worldwide and Rick Riordan Presents for allowing me to read this arc.

I read and loved the first two books of this series. Dragon Pearl and Tiger’s Honor when I read them last year. Fox Snare is a wonderful edition to the series.

We find the main characters Min and Sebin on different paths since Tiger’s Honor.. Min has become a person of great importance and Sebin is still on his ship serving as a cadet. Things come to a head when peace between the Thousand Worlds and Sun Clan is possible. Only forces are trying to stop this fragile alliance from forming, which endangers all involved.

I liked how the main characters are portrayed despite being slightly older than before. They still read like the earlier books with only a bit more maturity. Not much by any means. Just enough to see that their earlier experiences affected them.

This new adventure expands the universe with introducing a new government official, people from the Sun Clan, and some military history from long ago. I liked the expansion. It fleshed out the universe and made the stakes higher.

I have no complaints about the book. I would read the series again and I wish there was another book.

Thank you again NetGalley, Disney Publishing Worldwide and Rick Riordan Presents for this e-arc of the book.

Yoon Ha Lee has crafted a fantastic series for young readers, drawing on mythology and exploring characters and a creative universe. Yet another wonderful and engaging contribution to the Rick Riordan world from this author. I’m looking forward to seeing what Riordan and Yoon Ha Lee have in store next.

I think this is my favorite book of the Thousand World series so far. I love the Min and Jun's relationship and how they look out for one another. The three friends must learn to work together when they are stranded on an unfamiliar planet and they don't know who to trust. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Min is learning to work with the Dragon Council as the Bearer of the Dragon Pearl. After an attack on the space station, she, Sebin and Haneul escape and must navigate a new planet to try to get some help. It is told from Min and Sebin's perspectives. It is slower paced than I would have liked, but it is still engaging and had me interested through the end. I would recommend this series to anyone interested in space operas.

An enjoyable conclusion to really good middle grade space opera. Yoon Ha Lee combines Korean Mythology with science fiction in a seamlessly.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a good sequel to the first book. The story did get a tad confusing trying to figure out who was speaking in each chapter. I sometimes had to go back to the start of the chapter to figure out which character was talking. I like than Min realizes that there are both good and bad people in the world; even if both characters have the same traits.

This is another great addition to this series. The main characters continue to develop, new characters add some intrigue, and the varied settings of the series is delightful. My only complaint would be the alternating points of view chapters between Sebin and Min. For a couple of chapters it worked, but then it became annoying to continually have to figure out who was in the first-person position when they were in the same place doing the same activity. I found it did not add anything to the story, but rather was a distraction. Nonetheless, overall a fun, intriguing read.