The Expert Book Smuggler

Edited by: Emilie Rose

Award-winning author Jay Kristoff’s fantasy and sci-fi work has made him well known within online book spaces. Known for his novels Nevernight and Empire of the Vampire, Kristoff’s career has been quite successful. He is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author with over two million books in print.

Despite strong support from many readers, the author faces criticism regarding his conduct and his writing. Readers and authors alike have accused Kristoff of fetishizing Asian cultures, racist depictions in his books, and antisemitism. Despite this criticism, Kristoff’s career has continued to hold strong.

Stormdancer

Kristoff’s 2012 Young Adult release, Stormdancer, is the first installment of The Lotus Wars series. The book follows 16-year-old Yukiko, who has received a nearly impossible mission. Kristoff describes Stormdancer as “telepathic samurai girls and griffins in steampunk feudal Japan,” and sets it in the fictional world of Shima. While the world may be fictional, reviews and interviews have made it clear that the fictional world Kristoff made borrows heavily from Japanese culture.

Interviewers regularly ask Kristoff how he prepared to write the book. His answers range from flippant and disrespectful to something a bit more serious.

“It’s kinda odd–I’ve had people ask if I did a degree in Japanese studies, but the closest I’ve come is reading all six volumes of AKIRA in a week. Maybe I’d picked up a lot of detail through film and manga that I’ve consumed down through the years, but Wikipedia was really my go-to-guy. I have a friend who lives in Japan who I bounce ideas off too. I pay him with the promise of booze.” (The Qwillery, 2012)

His work reflects this flippant attitude towards researching the culture he borrows from. Many reviewers have pointed to the issues with the use of the Japanese language in the book. One reviewer explained how the Japanese word ‘sama’ is a suffix that goes at the end of a person’s name as an honorific. While the glossary of the book explains this, Kristoff uses the word as a noun throughout the book. However, there are many more issues with the usage of language throughout the book:

• The misuse of the Japanese word ‘hai’ as means of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
• Using random words such as ‘kitsune’ as last names.
• Using modern words such as ‘sararimen’ that would not have been used during this time.
• Utilizing Chinese expressions such as ‘aiya’ despite citing Japan as the influence.
• The fictional island’s name (Shima) comes from the Japanese word for island, making its name “Island Island”.

My culture and heritage is not something you can surface skip through a five minute perusal of links on Wikipedia and splash something together and say it’s a great homage to it. (Krystle on Goodreads)

A lack of research is also clear in the misuse of cultural customs, garments, and more. Krystle explains how Yukiko was dressed in a ‘juunihitoe’, a twelve-layered garment worn only by court ladies. The reviewer also goes on to describe how a kimono is written as thin and something that can be ‘shrugged on’ despite the fact that they are not thin and typically require help to put on.

The criticisms of Stormdancer extend beyond the misuse of language into fetishization of Asian women. In April of 2021, author Ellen Oh tweeted that ‘every Asian woman is either a geisha, prostitute, or impure’ in reference to the book. Ellen goes on to state that ‘every warrior woman might be deadly, but more importantly, they’re HOT!’

Two eleven-year-old boys spy on the teenage protagonist of Stormdancer as she bathes. One of those boys has made a business of drilling holes into the girls bathrooms and allowing other boys to spy on the girls. In the scene, one reviewer discusses how the boy’s eyes lingered on ‘the water dripping over her breasts.’ That same protagonist is also violently brutalized only to immediately wish to sleep with her captor. Kristoff describes another character, Aisha, as being so beautiful all men want a taste of her- including her brother.

“There is a long and brutal history of sexual and physical violence against Asian women and this book exists within the YA stacks. And here’s Stormdancer contributing to that history.” (tweet from @ElloEllenOh)

The hypersexualization of Asian women has caused deadly consequences, such as the March 2021 Atlanta Spa Shootings, where a killer murdered six Asian women. The killer, Robert Aaron Long, blamed his actions on a sexual addiction.¹ United States laws have contributed to this sexualization and violence, such as the Page Act of 1875, which was used to prevent Chinese women from immigrating to the U.S. under the pretense that they were prostitutes.²

While Kristoff appears extremely comfortable borrowing from Asian cultures, many noted that he remained silent after these murders.

Nevernight

Kristoff’s 2016 Adult release, Nevernight, is the first installment of the Nevernight Chronicles in which a teen girl named Mia Corvere joins a school of assassins in order to seek revenge on those who destroyed her family. Her secret weapon? A boob job.

Reviewers have taken umbrage at the heavy sexualization of yet another teen main character who not only has an on page boob job in order to become desirable, but is involved in graphic sex scenes (referred to as smut on his website). One reviewer refers to the scenes as ‘needlessly graphic’ and implies they felt Kristoff was using bisexuality as a means to write a ‘cheap, graphic sex scene’. However, other reviews have stated they enjoyed the bisexual representation within the book.

The criticism of Nevernight does not end with the sexualization of minors. Other reviews have outlined the issues with the Dweymeri, who are a seafaring group of islanders with facial tattoos that are known for raping women. While I have seen claims that Kristoff has stated that the Dweymeri are NOT based off of the Māori people, a LiveJournal post from a Māori reader states otherwise.

While the original post clearly included screenshots, the archived post now only includes the text of the tweet that reads, “@pieraforde Welll, Dweymeri are kind of a Maori analogue. So probably half way between that and British. Which may not be much help 😛”

The reader then outlines their concerns about harmful Māori stereotypes and misuse of sacred practices. They claim a friend helped them get in contact with Kristoff to discuss the issues surrounding the Dweymeri. However, Kristoff responded to the email sent by this reader by requesting a phone call. This is a common tactic meant to avoid screenshots being spread and to gain the upper hand. I’ve had this tactic used on me by two different large male influencers within the book space. It is the sister tactic to ‘come on my podcast’.

The reader declined and instead reverted to Twitter conversations in which Kristoff then repeatedly denies any connection to Māori culture while also stating he can’t say they have no Māori elements. You can view a transcript of the full conversation here.

“From all she’d read, it was the Dweymeri pirate lords and their crews who did the raping and pillaging” – Page 231-232

Regardless of whether the Dweymeri are based on the Maori people, their depiction in the book falls into racial stereotypes. The author depicts them as big, brown tattooed rapist savages with matted, unclean locs. Using the term ‘savages’ to refer to indigenous groups is based on colonial attitudes that actively dehumanize and commit violence against these groups. Colonizers have historically used the term against the Māori people.³

The criticism continues with accusations of antisemitism surrounding the character Adonai, a Sorcerer and a ‘Blood Speaker’ who is master of the ancient Ashkahi art of manipulating human blood. The character’s name is a Hebrew word meaning ‘my lord’ that is only used to refer to God. Readers have expressed that the combination of the character’s desire for blood and this Hebrew word falls into the antisemitic trope of blood libel. Others have expressed that Ashkai is close to Ashkenazi, who were the original Jews targeted with blood libel.

Other readers have pointed toward the representation of two characters in the book with albinism. One review states, “I was uncomfortable with the only two albino characters in the book being emphasised as extremely creepy, with one flirting with teenagers and drinking blood, whilst the other is characterised as sadistic and vengeful.”

It is clear from reading through reviews of his books that Kristoff seems to view marginalized identities as a means of adding flair, danger, and exoticism to his books. It almost reads as though he feels the cultures he steals from are just as fantastical as his Island Island.

After receiving significant backlash from readers, Kristoff issued the following apology.

With sincere thanks to those who highlighted the issue, I’ve been made aware that a
character name was used in Nevernight that shouldn’t have been. In love and support of my Jewish readers, friends, and their communities, I and my publishers commit to changing that name in all future printings of the novels.

The ongoing hate-motivated violence in the U.S. has left me as appalled as any international citizen. To those urging me to be more vocal on this issue, I hear you, and after the amazing success of our recent Sea Shepherd fundraiser, I am even more committed to taking measurable action on global problems. Therefore, all proceeds from our next charity fundraiser will be donated to the Anti-Defamation League, and as always, I will match funds raised. Additionally, out of love and support for my AAPI readers and friends, and to show my respect for their communities in this time of inequity and rising violence in the United States, proceeds from our following fundraiser will be donated to the Stop AAPI Hate fund.
As always, I will match funds raised, and will continue to look for meaningful ways to help fight global injustices.

Thank you all for your honesty, support and incredible generosity.

Special Edition ARCs

A contest announcement revealed in 2021 that Krisoff’s Empire of the Vampire would receive four special edition advanced reader copies (ARCs). A situation like this is exceedingly uncommon within the publishing industry and resulted in an outcry from many in the literary community. Specifically, authors were upset that an already well-established author was receiving special attention while many authors were being told that there simply wasn’t the budget to print advanced reader copies for their books.⁴

In response to this announcement, author Fonda Lee stated the following:

I hear a publisher is offering ARCs of a big name author’s book in multiple collectible editions. Sorry, but that sucks. ARCs are a tool for garnering early industry reviews. They were the one thing every author *used* to be fairly confident their publisher would send out to at least ensure the book was reviewed in trade journals and that librarians and booksellers were aware of it. Then ARCs became part of early marketing. Some authors get shitloads of ARCs stacked in a pyramid at BEA and distributed by the thousands. Many get the bare minimum which these days means an e-ARC available on NetGalley if a reviewer jumps through the right hoops to request it. Weaponizing ARCs as a prestige marketing tool will only exacerbate the author haves vs. have nots, and normalize the sale of ARCs. It’s no surprise, but it stinks.

Others swiftly noted that Kristoff was benefiting from Asian cultures while Asian authors were not receiving the same level of support. As discussed in my Taylor Jenkins Reid post, white authors aren’t adding to the representation of other cultures; instead, they’re taking spots that should go to authors from those cultures.

Publishing: Asian authors, we value u. Pls keep using your voice and telling your stories. We will always support!!

Also Publishing: We can’t print physical ARCs of your books tho, we have to print special ARCs for this [white] man who profits off Asian aesthetics, I hope u understand.

– tweet from author Katie Zhao

Goodreads Awards

In November 2021, Kristoff’s fans expressed outrage at the Goodreads Choice Awards’ exclusion of the author from the Fantasy nominations. When fans began sharing their outrage online, Kristoff took to boosting tweets and posts about the exclusion. One fan questioned the inclusion of Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon. Sorrowland follows a young pregnant teen as she escapes from a religious compound, where her abusive husband controlled her every move. Written by a Black nonbinary author, Sorrowland is a gorgeous piece of work that beautifully handles dark topics.

Kristoff’s Instagram stories featured a screenshot of this conversation, with “Readers Choice Awards” added in quotations. This displays a distinct lack of professionalism and lack of respect for his fellow authors. Instead of handling it with grace, Kristoff threw a tantrum and punched down at a marginalized author. Further, he later directed his followers to vote for The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne, a white male author.

During this time, Gywnne suffered a personal tragedy and Kristoff was likely seeking to support a friend. However, this likely would have come across better if he hadn’t singled out a queer, nonbinary Black author previously.

Where does this leave readers?

For many readers, Kristoff’s works reflect those of a privileged white man who takes what he wants and profits off of those he steals from. His actions off paper display a man who is unable or unwilling to consider a perspective outside of his own and is willing to step over others in order to achieve success. Further, when confronted with potential harm caused, he appears comfortable deflecting concerns until the complaints simply become too loud to ignore.

Although many fans are intensely dedicated to his work, this loyalty shouldn’t allow them to ignore these issues or antagonize those who discuss them.

Citations

1 Robert Aaron Long pleads guilty to four killings and gets life in prison, but still could face death penalty | CNN

2 Digital History

3 https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/savaged-to-suit-book-shows-racism-towards-maori-in-new-zealand-cartoons/VBLNKN32LJGMGXWJZYOSV5XIQA/

4 https://www.ramaponews.com/2021/04/12/literary-community-rocked-by-anti-asian-and-anti-semitic-allegations/