B- Reviews / Book ReviewsFantasy / fantasy adventure / First-Person / friendship / Historical / Islam / Middle East / Muslim / POC / scholar / Soldier / sorcerer / swashbuckler4 Comments
As a snowfall blankets 8th century Mosul, a Persian noblewoman arrives at the home of the scholar Dabir and his friend the swordsman Captain Asim. Najya has escaped from a dangerous cabal that has ensorcelled her to track down ancient magical tools of tremendous power, the bones of the old ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviewsfamily relationships / Historical fiction / Historical-China / Jewish characters / Kaifeng Chronicles / Ming dynasty / novella / POC / scholarNo Comments
Li Bing travels from Hangzhou to Beijing along the Grand Canal, planning to stop at Kaifeng along the way. Meanwhile, developments in his new wife’s family take some interesting twists. Unforeseen circumstances have a way of derailing even the best plans. Dear Mr. Campbell, Book three in the Kaifeng Chronicles ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsfamily relationships / Historical fiction / Historical-China / Jewish characters / Kaifeng Chronicles / marriage / Ming dynasty / novella / POC / scholarComments Off on REVIEW: Mandarin Ducks: Kaifeng Chronicles, Book Two by Robert Campbell
In late autumn 1630, Li Bing prepares to depart for Beijing to write the metropolitan examinations. Before he goes, he learns more about his heritage from his maternal grandfather and hopes to marry his childhood sweetheart Xiaoyun. However, political intrigue between his father and hers has the potential to derail ... more >
B- Reviews / Book Reviewsdjinn / Fantasy / First-Person / Islam / Magian / Middle East / Muslim / POC / scholar / Soldier / swashbuckler2 Comments
The glittering tradition of sword-and-sorcery sweeps into the sands of ancient Arabia with the heart-stopping speed of a whirling dervish in this thrilling debut novel from new talent Howard Andrew Jones In 8th century Baghdad, a stranger pleads with the vizier to safeguard the bejeweled treasure he carries, but he ... more >
B Reviews / B+ Reviews / B- Reviews / Book Reviewsarranged-marriage / Asian characters / class-difference / historical romance / Historical-China / Lotus Palace series / mystery / POC / POC author / Reading lists / scholar / Tang Dynasty6 Comments
Several years ago I fell in love with Jeannie Lin’s Lotus Palace novels. Whether you consider them romances or mysteries (I think of them as romances), the setting, a pleasure quarter called the Pinkang Li, part of the Tang Dynasty capital, Chang’an, during the 840s CE, is beautifully rendered and ... more >
B Reviews / Book Reviewsfamily relationships / Historical fiction / Historical-China / Kaifeng Chronicles / Ming dynasty / novella / POC / scholarComments Off on REVIEW: 18 Cranes: Kaifeng Chronicles, Book One by Robert Campbell
In the late summer of 1630, 23-year old Li Bing writes the provincial level imperial examinations, the first step towards entering the Chinese civil service. He is tormented by a dream of 18 cranes, and as he awaits his exam results he seeks out insights from those around him to ... more >