I'm a sucker for a good premise.

Not that premise, obviously.
Now, take the under-used premise of the Faceless Men from Game of Thrones, toss it into a far-east flavoured fantasy kingdom, and give a real plot for an idea like that to shine, and this is what you get. A Thousand Burning Masks is a brilliant premise and a well delivered novel newly returned to Wattpad. seventhstar is back, and sharing generously.

Sarna Jinyu is a travelling theatre actor in a fantasy empire strongly resonant with old kingdoms of the Orient; China during the Yuan or the Han dynasties, the kingdom of Thailand or Korea. Grand imperial entities that seem as eternal as the mountains their palaces sit on. The plays she and her troupe perform — delivered to peasant and prince alike — carry the weight of her world's mythology.

Which, given what happens to her, before and when she performs in the palace, is surprisingly good preparation. Long story short political shenanigans occur, her troupe is held hostage, and a nefarious chancellor (aren't they all nefarious?) gives Sarna an ultimatum: assassinate a prince, or the troupe — which includes her brother — dies.

And in her despair, an offer from one the myths she performs, the High Immortal Dhongwa offers to teach her the tools she'll need to survive in the court and fulfil her end of the bargain.

I'll try to avoid spoiling any more than I have. Sarna's peril is a wonderfully multifaceted thing. The powers she gains, like all good magic, has a price, and her success could mean a loss as complete as her failure. Because as she dons her masks, and depends on the talents and memories of the faces she borrows to survive her situation, the odds are against her surviving her trials as Sarna are slim.

A Thousand Burning Masks a gorgeously rendered premise, narrated with a fine attention to the weight and depth of the emotional impact of the events. Sarna's experiences are vivid and colourful, there's a gravitas to events that she senses instinctively, and we get just the right balance between the mystical and political.

(As an aside, I rarely enjoy first person stories told from the perspective of a teenaged girl. This story had to work hard to get me over that. Like eating a meal where the central ingredient is a food you don't like, it's an extra accomplishment)

So, if you're looking for another strong example of Wattpad helping to take the fantasy genre out of Tolkien's shadow, well, here's one for you.