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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
Thomas Adam, junior Fellow of St. Columb’s College at Oxford University, is one of countless English travellers crossing the channel to explore the reopened Continent after the Napoleonic wars. With Boney imprisoned, there is no time like the present to experience French wine and the Italian countryside — at least, ... more >
Trigger warnings: cannibalism, ableist language Dear Ms. Singh, Archangel’s Enigma, the eighth novel in your Guild Hunter series, surprised me. I went into the book with low expectations because I hadn’t connected with its hero, the mystery-shrouded Naasir, in the earlier books he appeared in. In those earlier books, Naasir’s ... more >