The Secrets of Jin-Shei (historical fantasy)

[Teleute]

Has anyone else read this book? It's one of my favorite books, ever. And yet, I cannot find a single person who has read it.

So I'm throwing it out there, as it's very, very good. It's set in a place that is like Tang dynasty-era China but not quite China, and involves an empress that is like Empress Wu but is not quite Empress Wu. It's mostly realistic, except that alchemy is a central plot element, and the religion people follow appears to be a Taoism/Hinduism hybrid. It's quite gynocentric.

I don't normally do fantasy (I like historical fiction though), but I picked this up on a whim a couple of years ago while it was still in hardback, and it blew me away.

[Wavy_Blue]

I actually checked out this book once because I thought it sounded very interesting. I read the first ten pages or so, then became daunted by the length, and my attention deficit disorder rang in and I started reading something more lightweight.

I was interesting, but just not the right time for me to read it. It's still on my to-read list. I love both fantasy and Chinese history, so I'm sure its something that I'd love. It's just a matter of actually getting around to reading it.

[Teleute]

You'd probably really enjoy it then, Wavy. It starts getting really engrossing a few chapters in. I started reading it at 11:00 p.m. one night, and finished that morning at about 8:00 a.m.

I don't think it sold very well relative to some other books I read that year--well, it sold extremely well for someone's first (U.S.) published novel, I expect, but not nearly as well as Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which is IMO of similar quality. (Though not fantasy, I also highly recommend it, and it's much shorter!) I just wish it had gotten more attention, because I want more books like this on shelves. It's creative, character-based fantasy that's not British high fantasy--with morally ambiguous characters and power struggles and inner conflict--and that's rare. I like fantasy when it's not elves and dragons and quests...