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glennisleblanc's review
4.0
I read this back in 2006 and just reread it for a review for a reissue.
here is the original review I had on my journal.
Well reading the short story that composes part of this novel sent me reading the full length novel ASAP. I had it but had been saving it. I don't know why I do that but sometimes I do, silly yes I know. Well I liked it so much that I got the paperback so I could finish reading it on the plane without dragging the hardcover with me and having something happen to it. I really like the world setup in this. The in depth setup of the underworld's government and dealings was wonderful. As much as I liked Chen, the hero I really liked Zhu Irzh, the cop from the underworld. He almost seems to be more of a fish out of water than Chen. Of course it is just manifesting with him versus Chen who has been dealing with being on the fringe for a long time. Now to find where I left the sequel somewhere around the house.
And now reading it 7 years later it was just as fun and now I want to dive right back into this world.
here is the original review I had on my journal.
Well reading the short story that composes part of this novel sent me reading the full length novel ASAP. I had it but had been saving it. I don't know why I do that but sometimes I do, silly yes I know. Well I liked it so much that I got the paperback so I could finish reading it on the plane without dragging the hardcover with me and having something happen to it. I really like the world setup in this. The in depth setup of the underworld's government and dealings was wonderful. As much as I liked Chen, the hero I really liked Zhu Irzh, the cop from the underworld. He almost seems to be more of a fish out of water than Chen. Of course it is just manifesting with him versus Chen who has been dealing with being on the fringe for a long time. Now to find where I left the sequel somewhere around the house.
And now reading it 7 years later it was just as fun and now I want to dive right back into this world.
teawolf's review
4.0
I love the worldbuilding in this book. The crazy bureaucracies of Heaven and Hell, and of course Earth, the characters trying to deal with them, the names and descriptions of the settings, the mish-mash of mythologies... it was very engaging. I was mostly engaged in the world, but I rather enjoyed the characters, especially Chen and Kuan Yin, and was surprised by how attached I felt to some of them and their adventures.
I think I understand why some reviewers said it didn't deliver the way they expected; I wasn't blown off my feet but it was still a fun whirlwind of adventure, and very memorable. I'm not sure I feel compelled to read the rest of the series, though, and that's partly to do with the writing style. There are several things I'm enjoying about Liz Williams' writing (I'm currently reading Worldsoul), but she has a tendency to write longs strings of long, complicated sentences without enough variation. Short sentences sometimes come as a surprise, in a distracting way that tears me from the story. Definitely not what they should do. There are a few things here and there that bother me but I suspect it's just me being picky and not a detriment to her writing; there are plenty of other things I particularly loved. That's the main reason I give this 4 stars rather than 5, and I would happily recommend it.
I think I understand why some reviewers said it didn't deliver the way they expected; I wasn't blown off my feet but it was still a fun whirlwind of adventure, and very memorable. I'm not sure I feel compelled to read the rest of the series, though, and that's partly to do with the writing style. There are several things I'm enjoying about Liz Williams' writing (I'm currently reading Worldsoul), but she has a tendency to write longs strings of long, complicated sentences without enough variation. Short sentences sometimes come as a surprise, in a distracting way that tears me from the story. Definitely not what they should do. There are a few things here and there that bother me but I suspect it's just me being picky and not a detriment to her writing; there are plenty of other things I particularly loved. That's the main reason I give this 4 stars rather than 5, and I would happily recommend it.
verabklover's review
Dnf @ 15%
This book didn't catch my attention unfortunately. Maybe I'll try it again later.
This book didn't catch my attention unfortunately. Maybe I'll try it again later.
maliajackson's review
4.0
Reread in 2015. This book is so imaginative, it's awesome. The chapters are short and can jump between the parallel plotlines, so that's a little jarring, but the demon's familiar that is both a badger and a teapot has my heart forever.
panxa's review
3.0
The world building was interesting, but the mystery fell a little flat to me. Not going to read more of the series.
mimie7ea4's review
5.0
4½ out of 5 stars
Not many books have moments that both intrigue and disgust me at the same time. And not many books present these moments back to back with little respite in between for squeamish readers to settle their stomachs. That is to say this book is not a good lunch break read.
On the back cover:
I don't usually read cover blurbs anymore because of gimmicky taglines, but this one is a hilarious and accurate description of how I pictured Chen.
Detective Chen Wei works for the Singapore Three police department and oversees supernaturally related investigations. He's also Earth's liaison between Heaven and Hell. Anything weird or out of the ordinary that usually ends in homicide gets sent to Chen's desk, but judging by the amount of weirdness and extraordinary things happening in Singapore Three, it's odd not to see the whole police department trained as supernatural specialists. We don't see or learn much about Heaven in this book (we do in the next one), but we do get to go to Hell, several times over (all puns intended?).
The case is a puzzling one that's much more than it seems. A young girl from a prominent family has died of mysterious circumstances and now her ghost is missing. Ghosts don't usually go missing; they go to either Heaven or Hell. So the girl's mother comes to Chen for help to send her ghost on its way to Heaven, where she thinks her daughter belongs. Chen agrees to look into the matter, but finds almost nothing to go on. Then he finds out there's trouble at the family home and that the family may have questionable ties to Hell. That's when things get weird but in a fun, intriguing way.
The story is set some time in the very near future, and the location of Singapore Three is not mentioned specifically, but we can assume it's where Singapore is. What is mentioned is that the city has a large urban expanse, lively cityscape, coastal region, and a very humid, soggy rain season.
The cast of supporting characters are well developed and easy to like, and they add a lot of color to the plots and dialogues.
- Inari, Chen's wholesome but slightly naive wife and a Hell runaway who's trying to settle into her new life with Chen on earth (and their houseboat).
- The Badger / teakettle is her faithful servant and a grumpy, disgruntled spin on the helpful animal sidekick trope.
- Seneschal Zhu Irzh, an investigator from Hell and Vice (same difference, really), who has been assigned to investigate Hell's side of Chen's missing ghost girl case.
- Sargent Ma of Singapore Three PD is a squeamish cop who views Chen with suspicion and wants nothing to do with the supernatural, least of all Hell.
- Lao, the PD's exorcist and Chen's good friend, who's naturally suspicious of all things Hell and occasionally makes quippy remarks.
- Captain Sung is head of the PD and your average by-the-book, but slightly embattled, leader because he has to deal with Hell occasionally.
And a few more characters too spoilery to mention.
The idea of Heaven and Hell as bureaucracies is amusing to me, and like all dysfunctional bureaucracies, they each have their own versions of petty power struggles and office politics. I find Liz Williams' takes on the denizens of Hell who are stuck in these mind-numbing, paper-pushing thankless jobs just hilarious... and so real. Given that Williams' background as an ambassador's underling, it's no wonder she's captured these nuances so perfectly, right down to the disdain for the office and the job at hand. So of course Hell is a public office drowned in tedious paperwork, but Heaven too? I look forward to Williams' version of that.
It seems Williams' take on Chinese mythology and death magic is a point of discussion (derision?) among readers. Personally, I find her portrayals interesting and familiar and see the writing as an homage to classic tropes. Some might say they're awkward, veering on cultural appropriation, though and I can see where these people are coming from. A few of her descriptions of skin, eyes, and hair seem too forced as though she tries too hard to set a specifically Chinese or East Asian tone in the writing. Her descriptions and metaphors of buildings, streets, offices, and tea, however, paint a nice picture of Chen's adventures.
Williams has done her research for this book and seems to be very familiar with beliefs and practices of death ceremonials, and she tied many of the elaborate beliefs neatly into character development and the practices, into plotting. Having these traditions show up at various points in the book help to explain to otherwise clueless readers the long-winded processes of death, the afterlife, reincarnation, and the connections between Heaven and Hell. I think Williams did an admirable job incorporating so many intricate pieces of Chinese folktale and mythology together to tell a colorful story.
A point where I think Williams' writing shines
* * * * *
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/review-snake-agent-detective-inspector-chen-1/
Not many books have moments that both intrigue and disgust me at the same time. And not many books present these moments back to back with little respite in between for squeamish readers to settle their stomachs. That is to say this book is not a good lunch break read.
On the back cover:
John Constantine meets Chow Yun-Fat in this near-future occult thriller!
I don't usually read cover blurbs anymore because of gimmicky taglines, but this one is a hilarious and accurate description of how I pictured Chen.
Detective Chen Wei works for the Singapore Three police department and oversees supernaturally related investigations. He's also Earth's liaison between Heaven and Hell. Anything weird or out of the ordinary that usually ends in homicide gets sent to Chen's desk, but judging by the amount of weirdness and extraordinary things happening in Singapore Three, it's odd not to see the whole police department trained as supernatural specialists. We don't see or learn much about Heaven in this book (we do in the next one), but we do get to go to Hell, several times over (all puns intended?).
"I'm going to need a leave of absence."
"To do what?"
"Go to Hell, sir."
There was a short pregnant pause, then Sung said, "You nicked my line, Detective."
The case is a puzzling one that's much more than it seems. A young girl from a prominent family has died of mysterious circumstances and now her ghost is missing. Ghosts don't usually go missing; they go to either Heaven or Hell. So the girl's mother comes to Chen for help to send her ghost on its way to Heaven, where she thinks her daughter belongs. Chen agrees to look into the matter, but finds almost nothing to go on. Then he finds out there's trouble at the family home and that the family may have questionable ties to Hell. That's when things get weird but in a fun, intriguing way.
The story is set some time in the very near future, and the location of Singapore Three is not mentioned specifically, but we can assume it's where Singapore is. What is mentioned is that the city has a large urban expanse, lively cityscape, coastal region, and a very humid, soggy rain season.
The cast of supporting characters are well developed and easy to like, and they add a lot of color to the plots and dialogues.
- Inari, Chen's wholesome but slightly naive wife and a Hell runaway who's trying to settle into her new life with Chen on earth (and their houseboat).
- The Badger / teakettle is her faithful servant and a grumpy, disgruntled spin on the helpful animal sidekick trope.
- Seneschal Zhu Irzh, an investigator from Hell and Vice (same difference, really), who has been assigned to investigate Hell's side of Chen's missing ghost girl case.
- Sargent Ma of Singapore Three PD is a squeamish cop who views Chen with suspicion and wants nothing to do with the supernatural, least of all Hell.
- Lao, the PD's exorcist and Chen's good friend, who's naturally suspicious of all things Hell and occasionally makes quippy remarks.
- Captain Sung is head of the PD and your average by-the-book, but slightly embattled, leader because he has to deal with Hell occasionally.
And a few more characters too spoilery to mention.
The idea of Heaven and Hell as bureaucracies is amusing to me, and like all dysfunctional bureaucracies, they each have their own versions of petty power struggles and office politics. I find Liz Williams' takes on the denizens of Hell who are stuck in these mind-numbing, paper-pushing thankless jobs just hilarious... and so real. Given that Williams' background as an ambassador's underling, it's no wonder she's captured these nuances so perfectly, right down to the disdain for the office and the job at hand. So of course Hell is a public office drowned in tedious paperwork, but Heaven too? I look forward to Williams' version of that.
It seems Williams' take on Chinese mythology and death magic is a point of discussion (derision?) among readers. Personally, I find her portrayals interesting and familiar and see the writing as an homage to classic tropes. Some might say they're awkward, veering on cultural appropriation, though and I can see where these people are coming from. A few of her descriptions of skin, eyes, and hair seem too forced as though she tries too hard to set a specifically Chinese or East Asian tone in the writing. Her descriptions and metaphors of buildings, streets, offices, and tea, however, paint a nice picture of Chen's adventures.
Williams has done her research for this book and seems to be very familiar with beliefs and practices of death ceremonials, and she tied many of the elaborate beliefs neatly into character development and the practices, into plotting. Having these traditions show up at various points in the book help to explain to otherwise clueless readers the long-winded processes of death, the afterlife, reincarnation, and the connections between Heaven and Hell. I think Williams did an admirable job incorporating so many intricate pieces of Chinese folktale and mythology together to tell a colorful story.
A point where I think Williams' writing shines
It was just past six, and the sun was already sinking down over the port in a smear of fire. Chen boarded the first available tram, and stood in the midst of a packed crowd of commuters, noting the exhaustion that seemed to hang like a miasma over each figure. No wonder people seemed to have so little time these days to devote themselves to considerations of the afterlife, Chen reflected, and no wonder Hell was getting out of hand. Even twenty years ago it was still common to see the small shrines outside each door, and for old people to speak of the gods as real, living presences. Now, paradoxically, the other worlds were closer than they had been since ancient times; with new technology to speed up all manner of communication, yet people seemed to take less and less interest in spiritual matters. Perhaps it was simply too much to bear, Chen thought; perhaps it was too much to ask of people to concern themselves with something other than the daily grind. Whatever the reason, it did not make his work any easier.
* * * * *
Cross-posted at https://covers2covers.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/review-snake-agent-detective-inspector-chen-1/
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