I have to admit this is the first Aussie author I have had the pleasure of actually reading. Kylie Chan is an Aussie whose hubby is from Hongkong. Having lived in China for many years, she actually did a lot of research into Chinese mythology and brings Chinese deities to life in modern day Hongkong in a thrilling series of books, the first of which is the trilogy, "Dark Heavens".
Xuan Hu, the North Wind and god of the martial arts, is in his human form a Chinese business man in love with a human. In his human form, he is weak and the target of attack by demons. The interesting thing is the hybrid demons being made by a super-evil super-demon thirsting to become King of Demons. (This in itself is a powerful campaign against bioengineering.)
Books in the trilogy introduce each of the deities, "White Tiger", "Red Phoenix" and "Blue Dragon", the three other Winds, depicted as interesting lovable characters with lives and tales of their own, centered around the main theme of protecting Xuan Hu's progeny and ridding the world of evil.
Not quite pulp fiction, but an interesting genre in itself. Light reading, keeps you hanging out for more.
I'm now onto the next series "Journey to Wudang", Xuan Hu's celestial abode. The third book comes out in July, completing the second trilogy. Hope to finish the first two before then.
Have a go mate, good stuff.
Whatever the fiction genre, I have always liked an author who has put some work into the environment they create. If it's about ballooning or car racing or World War II, they learn about it and infuse the story with history and detail to give the story more depth. For those who are familiar with the subjects they write about, the reading pleasure is enhanced. There is a lot of detail in Chan's books which makes them fun to read and lose a few hours in the stories.
ReplyDeleteI agree. She's no Toliken, but for a westerner, she seems to be fluent in Chinese mythology - enough to weave a fairly successful thriller around it... She wouldn't be writing her sixth book in the series if the precedents hadn't sold. Nice to read some light fiction/fanfiction once in a while, especially when things get heavy at work ...its called recreational reading!!!
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