This caught my eye as Waterstones Fantasy & SF book of the month, and aided by the fabulous cover art I thought I'd give it a go.
The story follows PenThis caught my eye as Waterstones Fantasy & SF book of the month, and aided by the fabulous cover art I thought I'd give it a go.
The story follows Penny as she gets hired to man the desk of Dallergut's Dream department store. Apparently once you fall asleep you go to a dreamstore and purchase your dreams - payment deferred as the emotions you feel afterwards. We explore this wimsical and quirky world along with Penny meeting the dream creators (sort of Hollywood directors) and learn the importance of dreams. WE sometimes shift into the real world and see into the lives of some of the people who purchase dreams.
Astonishingly, for a novel in which virtually nothing happens, I was totally hooked and enchanted with this world, its mechanics and characters.
I finished this with a lot of questions - The customers are dreamers in the real world. Got that. But who/what exactly are the staff, and Penny? Is Penny asleep and merely dreaming all this? Is she a lucid dreamer (able to come and go at will between the realms?) - a concept brought in right at the very end. Are they all minor gods or supernatural beings? I mean one of the big five is Santa Claus... And we do have leprechans flying about.
Despite my questions I really enjoyed this - It's like the reverse of magical realism - Instead of making the ordinary seem magical, this makes the magical seem ordinary.... I have a feeling that people like Neil Gaiman would really enjoy this.
It lacks external plot and action, but makes up for it in character development - we see Penny become wiser and wonderful world exploration. I'm going to grab the sequel as soon as it comes out next month.
Sandy Joosun Lee has done an excellent translation job, it doesn't feel stilted at all, and honestly I was so engroosed with this I hardly felt that it had been written first in another language.
This is the 3rd book in the Master Li trilogy and tragically the last book Barry Hughart ever wrote due to problems with his publishers - There was noThis is the 3rd book in the Master Li trilogy and tragically the last book Barry Hughart ever wrote due to problems with his publishers - There was nothing out there like these at the time and I think the publishers had no idea how to market them - A crying shame because these novels are the top end of the Asian fantasy grenre and had they been published today would have been in bookstore windows along with the glut of writers in the field now: Elizath Lim, Liz Williams, Axie Oh, Sue Lynn Tan - to name a few others I've enjoyed recently.
In this one Master Li (Imagine if Durnken Master was Lam Ching Ying) and Number 10 Ox, his hunky muscle apprentice have to solve the mystery of various manderins being murdered by different demons - the first gets decapitated by a Kyonsi, the next dances himself to death.... The whole plot revolves around a Holmes esque conspiracy for unsrupulous Eunuchs to run a fake tea racket weaved in with a supernatural plot of magic cages that house demons and a supernatural boat race.
This volume was my least favourite of the trilogy, I think because the plot was so convoluted and some of the verse so obscure that it lessened the impact of some of the action sequences. There were less laugh out loud moments than the lighter Bridge of Birds and we get much more gore including a Titus Andronicus cannibal scene where a gay Manderin ends up eating his lover and a gormet butcher who would give Lecter a run for his money.... However saying this is the weakest of the three books isn't much of a criticism because honestly the whole trilogy is brilliant and I loved the lot, but I probably put this one down to stop for dinner, whereas the other two it was like dinner - meh, got to finish this.....
If you like Pu Song Ling and Asian fantasy films of the 80's you'll love this trilogy which is criminally underrated. I wish Hughart had written more. ...more
**spoiler alert** I'm a massive fan of Asian fantasy cinema and Bridge of Birds is like many beloved HK fantasy films in novel form. The main story is**spoiler alert** I'm a massive fan of Asian fantasy cinema and Bridge of Birds is like many beloved HK fantasy films in novel form. The main story is a quest narrative - All the children between 8-13 in pure-hearted hero, Number Ten Ox' village fall into a coma after ingesting a pesticide. Ox is sent into town to find a sage and teams up with Master Li (basically Drunken Master) and they go on a fantasy quest to find the ultimate root of power which is the only thing that will cure the kids.
The writing is fantastic: You'd think that being set in Ancient China with a bunch of unfamiliar names and terms it could be quite dry but Hughart is an absolute master - this is pacy and funny broken into little vignettes in the style of Pu Song Ling's 'Strange Tales of a Chinese Studio' - Its a mix of myth and strange but true style realism.
One of the fairytale elements this brings in is the Ginseng root becoming human - Used in several Taiwanese fantasy films, Magic of Spell (1986) and the Ginseng King (1988) this always held a sense of wonder for me as a child and its fantastic to have that included in here along with the heavenly romance tale of the princess of birds. We also have a wicked immortal emperor in a fearsome tiger mask, who keeps his beating heart hidden like Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, a giant invisible spider, lots of treasure hunting adventure worthy of Indiana Jones and a daring escape by a DIY gyrocopter.
I adored every second of this. It's magical, funy and everything you could want in an Aisian fantasy novel. I can't believe Hughart only wrote 3 books - Easily the best in the field. ...more
I found this 4th Inspector Chen novel much more fun and less complex than the last book. We have three major plot lines: 1) Upset over her son Mhara's I found this 4th Inspector Chen novel much more fun and less complex than the last book. We have three major plot lines: 1) Upset over her son Mhara's radical reorganization of Heaven, The Empress sends out an ancient dual-sex assassin: The Lord-Lady Seijin 2) Bollywood producer Go summons a Tiger demon, Lara from hell, but finds he's bitten off more than he can chew when she becomes a diva and makes unreasonable demands. 3) Jhai's cousin Agni kidnaps Zhu Irzh and Badger and takes them to his hunting reserve in hell where they are prey for Lara's sisters.
I love the word building here and the fusion of Asian mythologies - We get some Indian in here with the Indian Hells, tiger demons, Devas and Krishna making a cameo as well as the Chinese stuff.
It's very pacy and readable with short chapters and lots of action. There are some nice surprises too - I was taken aback by Inari's fate and it was great to see Demon Hunter No Ro Shi back again.
The Inspector Chen novels are a breath of fresh air in the urban fantasy genre - The mythology is unique and the world building excellent. They also really don't follow 'format' - Nominally they are called Inspector Chen novels - but whilst he is the glue around which the other characters come into play, he is actually quite minor - The supporting cast are much larger than life and star in more of the action.
This retelling of a classical Korean folktale is a beautiful fantasy adventure akin to something like Spirited Away. Mina jumps into the sea sacrificiThis retelling of a classical Korean folktale is a beautiful fantasy adventure akin to something like Spirited Away. Mina jumps into the sea sacrificing herself to become the bride of the sea god, in order that the chosen sacrifice can live and marry her beloved brother.
Upon entering the spirit realm however Mina finds that things are far from OK. The Sea God is cursed and the gods her people have worshipped forever, cruel, warring and largely uncaring. She has to go on a magical adventure to lift the curse.
Adored this, its fast paced and just... magical....more
The shortlist for this year's Booker Prize came up on my feed and Cursed Bunny immediately grabbed my attention.
All I can say is wow, this ticks so maThe shortlist for this year's Booker Prize came up on my feed and Cursed Bunny immediately grabbed my attention.
All I can say is wow, this ticks so many of my boxes - It's a magic realism anthology with touches of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, feminism and just plain weird. I loved every minute of it. There's shades of Angela Carter and Tanith Lee here but with a Korean flavour.
Fans of Asian horror cinema are going to love tales like Home Sweet Home, which reminded me if the J-Horror Dark Water, and the titular Cursed Bunny - Which is a fantastic cursed object tale. There's ghosts here too with the Frozen Finger and Reunion.
We also delve into the weirder side of dark fantasy/horror: Snare looks at incest with a fantasy horror twist and The Head and The Embodiment are feminist body horror.
Goodbye, My Love has sci-fi elements, looking at android companions. And ruler of the Winds and Sands is a fairytale fantasy with steampunk elements and a sting in the tail moral.
Every story in here is good and I was blown away by the originality, versatility, black humour and just plain weird - I hope that more of Bora Chung's work gets translated into English.
In this 3rd Inspector Chen novel, Chen and Zhu Irzh get sent on a diplomatic mission to Hell along with a warrior nun representative of Heaven - Miss In this 3rd Inspector Chen novel, Chen and Zhu Irzh get sent on a diplomatic mission to Hell along with a warrior nun representative of Heaven - Miss Qi. Zhu has to visit his relatives much to his dismay and finds his mother has divorced his father and taken up with the Minister of War. A huge scale battle between heaven and Hell is brewing....
There's an awful lot going on in this one, and it jumps around between several sets of characters so you really do need your wits about you and a good knowledge of the previous book. We have: 1) Chen/Zhu/Miss Qi visiting Hell 2) Old Mrs Pa (human realm) who has been given guardianship of her grandson, 'precious dragon' born in hell by her newly married dead daughter 3) Pin a young opera dancer/male prostitute who's spirit gets trapped in hell after a bungled seance - he meets up with Mai, Mrs. Pa's daughter in hell. 4) Mhara (son of the celestial emperor) and his lover ghost Robin from the previous book 5) Jahi - Zhu's Devas girlfriend 6) Embar Dea and the ancient dragons
And then you have all Zhu's family scheming behind the scenes. Chen himself is rather superfluous - there's so much other stuff going on and you do have to keep referring back to certain passages to keep things straight.
Scenes of this I absolutely adored - the destruction of the ministry of lust in particular is fantastic. However it is overly complex and really doesn't work that well as a stand alone - still if you are a fan of the other Inspector Chen novels there's lots to enjoy and I have to say these are a breath of fresh air in the urban fantasy genre using Asian mythology and a staggering imagination. ...more
Inspector Chen is absent for half of this one - he's on holiday with his demon wife. Instead we follow his partner demon Zhu Irzh. Zhu is frustrated -Inspector Chen is absent for half of this one - he's on holiday with his demon wife. Instead we follow his partner demon Zhu Irzh. Zhu is frustrated - he was a demon working for Hell's Vice division (promoting it not stopping it) and now he's on Earth as a police detective. The police don't trust him and won't let him on the interesting cases and Chen is away. Still a brutally murdered lesbian socialite prompts Zhu to investigate leading him straight to Jhai Tserai - Jhai is a Devas (Indian tiger courtesan) although she takes drugs to supress her demonic side. Zhu is instantly smitten, but the problem is that the beautiful biochemist is up to her neck and experimenting with some very dangerous supernatural entitles.
There's so much to enjoy here. The world building is fantastic and such a breath of fresh air for the urban fantasy genre - Set in a slightly futuristic Singapore three, it mixes cyberpunk elements with Asian mythology and low tech.
The characters are also excellent - I love Zhu, and the supporting cast are great as well.
The writing is good and despite how much strange and unfamiliar things this throws at you, it remains pacy and easy to follow.
The chapters are short and the pace sometimes a little too breakneck. In places this feels like a screenplay rather than a novel and that's why i only gave this 3* even though the imagination and originality probably deserves higher. Robin just suddenly blurts out at one point she's in love with Mhara and although she definitely showed sympathy when she freed him, I just felt eh? that's a bit abrupt. Scenes cut out and we jump back in further on... it just feels a little disjointed in places.
Still on the whole I loved this one and it really is something a bit different for the urban fantasy genre. Hurry up and make a TV series! ...more
As movie novelizations go, The Golden Child falls right in the middle of the pile. It's based on the original screenplay, so while for the most part iAs movie novelizations go, The Golden Child falls right in the middle of the pile. It's based on the original screenplay, so while for the most part it follows the film exactly, there are some differences
The biggest difference is the character of Chandler Jarrell - the character was not specifically written for Eddie Murphy and when he came to the project he put his own spin and a whole lot of ad libs to it. So most of the quotable lines and humour are missing. Scenes like the TV interview are completely omitted. The initial character sketch was a weary PI - he's named Chandler after Raymond Chandler.... I think the first actor suggestion was Mel Gibson, although the screenplay draft this is based on is obviously later than that because Chandler is dark skinned and the biker thugs use the N-word to insult him. But he's still no Eddie Murphy.
The novel does flesh a few things out - I love the nature of the songs, those that sing and the three different dimensions (which basically seem to be heaven, earth and hell, but with an Asian mystical twist). Motivations are also a bit more solid.
Writing is fine; there aren't too many mistakes and this is really pacey, although in some cases a little too much so and you can clearly see its been adapted from a screenplay as there are abrupt changes in scene rather than smooth linking narrative. Particularly towards the end it feels very rushed indeed.
This also doesn't have any stills from the film which is disappointing for fans. Many novelizations of this era have an insert in the middle with photos, either stills or production - Nothing like that here, its just the novelization with no bells or whistles.
Over all I enjoyed it, but I think it really helps if you've seen the film first as the reader does have to do some of the work in picturing the characters. If you're unfamiliar with Eddie Murphy in the role then the character of Chandler falls somewhat flat from the novel alone. Still there's plenty here for fans of the movie and its worth checking out. ...more
In a nutshell: Imagine John Constantine played by Chow Yun Fat in a futuristic setting with a Chinese mythology base.
So the Inspector Chen novels wereIn a nutshell: Imagine John Constantine played by Chow Yun Fat in a futuristic setting with a Chinese mythology base.
So the Inspector Chen novels were recommended to me because I'm a fan of Barry Hughart's Master Li and although they are vastly different I guess they are both fantasy paranormal investigators using a basis of Chinese mythology - It's just that Master Li is Ancient China and entrenched in literature & myth while Chen is futuristic occult/mystic with a Chinese flavour.
I read and watch an awful lot of urban fantasy featuring paranormal detectives and while each series has its own distinctive flair they do usually work on similar lines - Modern, generally American city setting and werewolves, vampires, demons, angels, succubi etc... All very western creatures with some South American thrown in. Inspector Chen is a breath of fresh air for the genre - Its set in a futuristic world that mixes both low and high tech and we get ghosts and demons but the hell dimension is Chinese with all the different levels and ministries.
The biggest selling point on this is the world which is both alien and familiar at the same time, a really difficult thing to pull off yet Liz Williams does so with ease. I also love the plot with the ministry of epidemics planning a coup.
While Chen himself really isn't that interesting, (he's not particularly handsome, clever, wise cracking, funny, amazingly athletic or an action hero) he is really competent and most of the sympathy comes from the situations he gets himself into and his struggle to stay good in a world of grey. More interesting by far are all the supporting characters - his demon wife Inari with her badger/tea kettle familiar, demon partner Zhu Irzh (so looking forward to seeing him in subsequent books) Patron goddess Kuan Yin and obsessive demon hunter No Ro Shi.
Writing is really good and the pacing is excellent I like how the story unfolds and how we break off to follow different characters. This is a series is begging to be filmed!
A friend lent me a copy of this and said 'here this is right up your street' - I was a bit sceptical but he turned out to be right on the money - It'sA friend lent me a copy of this and said 'here this is right up your street' - I was a bit sceptical but he turned out to be right on the money - It's a murder mystery set in fantasy Ancient China imagine Brother Cadfael meets Mr. Vampire written in the style of Pu Song Ling. Ooooh indeed.
Drunken Master Li and his peasant assistant Number ten Ox are called to a monastery where the head scholar has been found dead clutching the scrap of an apparently forged manuscript in his hand - the figures of an ancient cult of monks of mirth have been seen, even though they supposedly died with their insane master the laughing prince and sections of the landscape have been completely leached of life. Li and Ox along with sound-master Moon Boy (the apotheosis of beauty, irresponsibility and unbridled sensuality on the rampage) and prostitute Grief of Dawn must travel to hell and back to solve the mystery that all centres around one magical stone.
This is so rich in myth and Chinese literature its an absolute joy to read. I love the fact that it's also allegorical and the characters themselves don't fully understand the import of the story they are telling. There's cinematic influence here as well - Jigoku, Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires... Anyone who like Asian Supernatural stuff should check this out. I loved it. ...more
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