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brianrenaud's review
4.0
This mini-review covers the 3 volume kindle omnibus edition, containing the separate novels Snake Agent, The Demon and the City, and Precious Dragon.
I enjoyed the books more as the series went on. I found Snake Agent just sort of ok, generally enjoyed The Demon and the City and thought that Precious Dragon was engaging and imaginative. (I'm sure my 4 star rating for the omnibus is mostly recency bias influenced by Precious Dragon.)
I've seen comparisons to Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series, but I don't feel there's a lot of similarity. (Well, they're both magical fantasies set in a vaguely contemporaneous setting with police protagonists. But the Detective Inspector Chen stories really seem more like fantasy adventures, without much of the police procedural aspect.)
Overall, I'd say the first three books in this series are worth reading.
I enjoyed the books more as the series went on. I found Snake Agent just sort of ok, generally enjoyed The Demon and the City and thought that Precious Dragon was engaging and imaginative. (I'm sure my 4 star rating for the omnibus is mostly recency bias influenced by Precious Dragon.)
I've seen comparisons to Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series, but I don't feel there's a lot of similarity. (Well, they're both magical fantasies set in a vaguely contemporaneous setting with police protagonists. But the Detective Inspector Chen stories really seem more like fantasy adventures, without much of the police procedural aspect.)
Overall, I'd say the first three books in this series are worth reading.
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