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theseventhl's review
3.0
A quick, enjoyable read and a good introduction to Judge Dee. The mysteries themselves weren't terribly difficult to figure, and this ebook had several punctuation / spelling / formatting errors that proved to be distracting. But it has me interested in further writing by van Gulik, which was probably the point.
toniclark's review
3.0
In Elsa Hart’s novel, Jade, Dragon, Mountain, the storyteller Hamza tells a story about Judge Dee. Somewhere else (maybe an interview with Hart?), I found out that there are several novels and some stories by Robert van Gulik about Judge Dee, a magistrate-detective Dee in ancient China.
I tried this title because it was free for Kindle, just to get a taste of Gulik’s character. Quick read. I might like to try a full-length novel about the character sometime. But I’d rather read Elsa Hart’s writing and eagerly await her next one.
I tried this title because it was free for Kindle, just to get a taste of Gulik’s character. Quick read. I might like to try a full-length novel about the character sometime. But I’d rather read Elsa Hart’s writing and eagerly await her next one.
expendablemudge's review
3.0
Short mysteries are almost always slightly disappointing, these too-brief tales are no exception. I enjoyed reading about Judge Dee again. I first encountered the stories thirty-five or so years ago and was captivated by the settings and pleasures of the ancient world van Gulik crafted.
As a place to start reading the Judge Dee mysteries, I wouldn't recommend the reads; but if a quick hit of a time so remote that it feels more like a fantasy world than an historical epoch is needed then here you are. Those of us who, at some murky moment in the past, devoured the books will get a nostalgic pleasure from them.
But don't expect subtle, character-driven development, there just wasn't room for that in such short works.
As a place to start reading the Judge Dee mysteries, I wouldn't recommend the reads; but if a quick hit of a time so remote that it feels more like a fantasy world than an historical epoch is needed then here you are. Those of us who, at some murky moment in the past, devoured the books will get a nostalgic pleasure from them.
But don't expect subtle, character-driven development, there just wasn't room for that in such short works.
lnatal's review
4.0
Free download available at The University of Chicago Press Books.
Contents:
The Murder on the Lotus Pond
This case occurred in the year A.D. 667 in Han-yuan, an ancient little town built on the shore of a lake near the capital. There Judge Dee has to solve the murder of an elderly poet, who lived in retirement on his modest property behind the Willow Quarter, the abode of the courtesans and singing-girls. The poet was murdered while peacefully contemplating the moon in his garden pavilion, set in the centre of a lotus pond. There were no witnesses— or so it seemed.
Murder on New Year's Eve
The scene of this story is laid in Lan-fang. As a rule a magistrate’s term of office was three years. But at the end of the year A.D. 674, when Judge Dee had been serving four years in Lan-fang, there was still no news from the capital.
Contents:
The Murder on the Lotus Pond
This case occurred in the year A.D. 667 in Han-yuan, an ancient little town built on the shore of a lake near the capital. There Judge Dee has to solve the murder of an elderly poet, who lived in retirement on his modest property behind the Willow Quarter, the abode of the courtesans and singing-girls. The poet was murdered while peacefully contemplating the moon in his garden pavilion, set in the centre of a lotus pond. There were no witnesses— or so it seemed.
Murder on New Year's Eve
The scene of this story is laid in Lan-fang. As a rule a magistrate’s term of office was three years. But at the end of the year A.D. 674, when Judge Dee had been serving four years in Lan-fang, there was still no news from the capital.
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