Sign of the Qin (Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh, No. 1) - Softcover

Bass, L.G.

3.54

383 ratings by Goodreads

9780786855667: Sign of the Qin (Outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh, No. 1)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0786855665 ISBN 13: 9780786855667

Publisher: Hyperion, 2006

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In the first title of a trilogy, a host of warring guardians must unite to help the Emperor's son--the new chosen Starlord--to unlock the kung fu secrets of the Twelve Scrolls and save Earth from destruction, but first the Prince must join the twin leaders of the legendary outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh in a war against the Lord of the Dead. Reprint.

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About the Author:

L.G. Bass is a student of martial arts, a former teacher and journalist, and a fan of kung fu films. The author lives with her husband and two sons in New York City.

From Booklist:

In a post-Potter world where Oscars accrue to films set in Middle Earth, publishers' "big" books (the ones that receive the lion's share of publicity) are often fantasies. Though Sign of the Qin, doesn't boast the celebrity of Harry Potter or G.P. Taylor's Shadowmancer, its lavish galley copy suggests that it has been launched with similarly high expectations. The real question is whether the book will continue to circulate after the initial buzz fades.

Readers whose spirituality inclines toward Eastern traditions may find Bass' treatment of the good-versus-evil theme enticing. Bass draws upon the myths, legends, philosophies, and classic literature of China to craft her complex epic, set during an unspecified period in Chinese history. The first volume in a planned trilogy, the novel introduces the main players, earthly and otherwise, in an epic battle between the King of Heaven and the King of Hell. What works here is Bass' evocative language, her colorful cast of demonic enemies, and scenes of whirling, knife-throwing kung fu warriors that call forth Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. But the story's mythic tone and the sheer number of characters have a distancing effect; the third-person narrator never settles on its primary young protagonists (the child-hero Prince Zong, the outlaw White Streak) long enough for readers to feel involved in their grand struggles. This is a better and more original novel than G. P. Taylor's Shadowmancer , but in the end, it suffers from a similar problem: characters too overshadowed by pyrotechnical plots and thematic enthusiasms to fully fire the imagination. -Jennifer Mattson Jennifer Mattson
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