Scan barcode
pooperscooper3's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Lots of Chinese poetry. The crux of the matter, interview with the accused to add up all
Of the clues, was almost 3/4 through the book; I listened at much speeded up pace, was originally a DNF (did not finish) earlier this year.
Of the clues, was almost 3/4 through the book; I listened at much speeded up pace, was originally a DNF (did not finish) earlier this year.
violentvixen's review
1.0
I'm doing a summer reading challenge through a local bookstore, and one of the challenges was to read a mystery. The library happened to share a summer reading list and this book was on there. A murder mystery based on a historical case in China sounded right up my alley, and since it was at least related to series of books I thought that was a good sign.
But oh man I haven't disliked a book so much in quite a while. The writing is so inconsistent and awkward in tone. Characters don't have unique voices, and internal thoughts are often incredibly unclear. There's far too much unnecessary exposition about everything.
The early scene of the meal in the temple was where the writing issues first jumped out at me. The characters are discussing poetry and their meal when they move to an account of the court case, then start talking about her being beaten in the courtroom. This somehow turns into discussing her pubic hair, fucking and dildos, and I guess this is related to her being loose? What? Then they're back to discussing the vegetarian menu. There were other scenes where the usage of more modern language like that didn't work. Overall it just felt like many sections of the book were written separately then pasted together and there was no final editing pass to create consistency.
I did very much enjoy the appendix of Xuanji's poems with notes at the end, so I'm glad I at least learned about a historical figure I can look into.
But oh man I haven't disliked a book so much in quite a while. The writing is so inconsistent and awkward in tone. Characters don't have unique voices, and internal thoughts are often incredibly unclear. There's far too much unnecessary exposition about everything.
The early scene of the meal in the temple was where the writing issues first jumped out at me. The characters are discussing poetry and their meal when they move to an account of the court case, then start talking about her being beaten in the courtroom. This somehow turns into discussing her pubic hair, fucking and dildos, and I guess this is related to her being loose? What? Then they're back to discussing the vegetarian menu. There were other scenes where the usage of more modern language like that didn't work. Overall it just felt like many sections of the book were written separately then pasted together and there was no final editing pass to create consistency.
I did very much enjoy the appendix of Xuanji's poems with notes at the end, so I'm glad I at least learned about a historical figure I can look into.
annieb123's review
5.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Shadow of the Empire is a Judge Dee mystery and tie-in to Qiu Xiaolong's long running Inspector Chen series. First released in 2020, this reformat and re-release from Severn House 1st Feb 2022 is 192 pages and is available in trade paperback in this edition as well as most other formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is beautifully lyrical and well written story. Most western readers who are familiar with Judge Dee, first came into contact with the character via Robert van Gulik's wonderful stories. The style (and mystery), though semi-fictional is in no way derivative of van Gulik's work. The plotting is intricate and the book is filled with poetry (the main suspect is poet). The settings and character names are exotic and although set in the Tang dynasty, it reads well for modern audiences. I had no trouble immersing myself in the story.
I found the secondary character names confusing and occasionally a little difficult to keep straight in my own mind, so the electronic version of the book was great to be able to easily search back to keep them straight.
This was an engaging and beautifully written book. I'm intrigued enough to search out the tie-in series (Inspector Chen) by the same author. Kudos, also, to the translator/s' work (I can't easily find translation info in the eARC provided for review). The English language version doesn't read as if it's been translated at all, and the story flows quite easily and naturally.
Four and a half stars. Beautifully rendered.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
The Shadow of the Empire is a Judge Dee mystery and tie-in to Qiu Xiaolong's long running Inspector Chen series. First released in 2020, this reformat and re-release from Severn House 1st Feb 2022 is 192 pages and is available in trade paperback in this edition as well as most other formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is beautifully lyrical and well written story. Most western readers who are familiar with Judge Dee, first came into contact with the character via Robert van Gulik's wonderful stories. The style (and mystery), though semi-fictional is in no way derivative of van Gulik's work. The plotting is intricate and the book is filled with poetry (the main suspect is poet). The settings and character names are exotic and although set in the Tang dynasty, it reads well for modern audiences. I had no trouble immersing myself in the story.
I found the secondary character names confusing and occasionally a little difficult to keep straight in my own mind, so the electronic version of the book was great to be able to easily search back to keep them straight.
This was an engaging and beautifully written book. I'm intrigued enough to search out the tie-in series (Inspector Chen) by the same author. Kudos, also, to the translator/s' work (I can't easily find translation info in the eARC provided for review). The English language version doesn't read as if it's been translated at all, and the story flows quite easily and naturally.
Four and a half stars. Beautifully rendered.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
daniellesalwaysreading's review
4.0
Finished it all in one sitting. Based on a real murder case from ancient China, this police procedural mixed detective work with political considerations and lots of history.
annarella's review
5.0
When I saw a new Judge Dee story couldn't help doing a happy dance and reading it as fast as I could.
I was a fan of Robert Van Gulik stories and I think this one is even better as there're some elements that are part of the Chinese culture and I never met them before.
Even if the Judge Dee stories were always a mix of historical facts and fiction the historical background play an important role in this. I learned something new about ancient Chinese poetry and I appreciated it.
I appreciated the realism of the descriptions and the misogyny of the classic Confucianism.
I hope to read other stories in this series as this one was gripping, complex and riveting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I was a fan of Robert Van Gulik stories and I think this one is even better as there're some elements that are part of the Chinese culture and I never met them before.
Even if the Judge Dee stories were always a mix of historical facts and fiction the historical background play an important role in this. I learned something new about ancient Chinese poetry and I appreciated it.
I appreciated the realism of the descriptions and the misogyny of the classic Confucianism.
I hope to read other stories in this series as this one was gripping, complex and riveting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
nsfinch's review against another edition
It’s hard to put my finger on exactly why I couldn’t get into this book. The characters felt flat and all the dialogue felt the same, no matter who was speaking. I’ve read several of the van Gulik Judge Dees, and even the original one translated by van Gulik before he started writing his own. I feel guilty that I like the European ones better than the Chinese one. I flipped to the afterword in the back, and that was way more interesting and written with more emotion than the story seemed to be. I just couldn’t motivate myself to keep reading.
kangetsu's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
octavietullier's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0