The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox

A wonderful collection of three novels of a "China that never was", featuring the narrator, Number Ten Ox, and Li Kao, an ancient sage and scholar with "a slight flaw in his character". Originally published in the 80s and 90s, this reread still finds the stories enjoyable, humorous and full of wonderful myths and details.

The first book, "Bridge of Birds", is the most enjoyable and introduces us to Number Ten Ox. His village is preparing for a large silk harvest, when disaster strikes. Worse, the children in his village (of a certain age) are struck down with a sickness. Ox is tasked with going to Peking to find a scholar who can figure out what happened and how to cure the children. The person Ox eventually finds is an inebriated Li Kao, which turns out to be the only one willing to listen to Ox and help. From there, the story builds up and gradually turns into a quest to find the Great Root of Power which may be able to cure the children. But this quest is also wound tied up with another quest: the search for the Princess of Birds, for both are part of the same story. Through lots of hilarious twists and turns, and strange coincidences that makes Li Kao wonder if Heaven is also involved, they travel the length and breath of China and finally get a triumphant ending that makes all of China celebrate.

The second book, "The Story of the Stone", is at a smaller scale. The abbot of a village in a valley seeks out Li Kao to investigate the murder of a monk, which the abbot fears may be the work of the Laughing Prince, a historical ruler of the valley that once worked and tortured the villagers for his own gains and amusement. During the investigation, Ox hears a compelling tone (that Li Kao does not hear due to his 'slight flaw'), which Li Kao later deduces is the 'soul sound' of a stone. But the stone that produced the sound that Ox (and other villagers) heard and followed would need an especially powerful 'soul', which Li Kao finds referenced in an ancient tale about a stone that was touched by a Goddess. The story of this particular stone would become linked to the murder when further investigations (including a subconscious trip to Hell) show how that ancient tale is not yet over, but could well cause the deaths of all involved, unless they can separate fact from legend and uncover the reason for the murder of the monk.

The third book, "Eight Skilled Gentlemen", starts with a "vampire ghoul" interrupting an execution. But from there, it builds up into a tale involving "Eight Skilled Gentlemen" and eight special bird cages that arise from the myths of pre-Chinese aboriginal peoples. For some reason, food (cooking and preparation of) plays a large humorous part in the story. The ending would involve a race that would determine whether Heaven would turn its back on Earth, unleashing a calamity.

Bridge of Birds - 5 Stars

Set in mythic China, Bridge of Birds is a picaresque fable with similarities to The Princess Bride, the Sherlock Holmes stories, and Jack Vance's tales of Cugel the Clever. While it starts off with a rather simple premise--involving a search for a magical medicine for afflicted village children--the book's final chapters reveal that the entire story was no simple MacGuffin fetch quest, but in reality something far more original and carefully constructed.

All of Hughart's characters, including the crafty scholar Master Li Kao and earnest bumpkin Number Ten Ox, are well-drawn and appealing, if generally amoral. The heroes are Magnificent Bastards in a corrupt world. Still they manage to do a tremendous amount of good in between heists, swindles, and the occasional murder. The setting is colorful as well, encompassing both the exotic and decadent heights of the imperial lifestyle and the grubby desperation of the peasant class. The book hand-waves historical accuracy, set in "an Ancient China that never was", but Hughart still presents a fascinating world that I enjoyed spending time in.

Packed with cliffhangers and abrupt reversals of fortune, Bridge of Birds is (to borrow cheesy movie review-speak) a romp from beginning to end. I found myself grinning at many points during the story, and never wider than during the book's conclusion, which was thoroughly satisfying. All loose ends are tied up neatly, with characters and locales revisited in such a way that it highlights just how far we've traveled with Li Kao and Number Ten Ox. I rarely give out five stars, but this book is definitely worth sharing.


The Story of the Stone - 4 Stars

It was great to read more about Master Li and Number Ten Ox's exploits, but I can't help feeling like it didn't quite live up to its predecessor.

While Bridge of Birds is more of a traditional fantasy adventure, The Story of the Stone ends up more like a murder mystery. While investigating an apparent forgery, the protagonists come upon the scene of a killing, along with hints that the killer may be the Laughing Prince, a long since deceased despot.

The premise is interesting, but the story that follows has even more meanderings, red herrings, and side treks that Bridge of Birds. The adventures described are always entertaining--the heroes' visit to a number of the Chinese hells stands out in particular--but with so much misdirection and dead ends I found myself losing the plot at times. It turns out there's a reason for all this, revealed (in true mystery novel fashion) as a climactic twist.

Master Li and Number Ten Ox continue to entertain, but Master Li's idiosyncrasies in particular seemed somewhat muted in this novel compared to the first one. Perhaps it was due to the spotlight time given to newly-introduced characters Moonboy and Grief-of-Dawn.

The Story of the Stone didn't wow me as much as Bridge of Birds, but then again very few books do. This is still an interesting novel and very much worth a read.


Eight Skilled Gentlemen - 3 Stars

While still a pleasure to read, Eight Skilled Gentlemen hews disappointingly close to The Story of the Stone's formula. As with the last book, there's a barrage of digressions, false starts, betrayals, and red herrings. While individual scenes are invariably entertaining--one where Number Ten Ox and Master Li have to dispose of a corpse was stomach-churningly hilarious--I felt they didn't quite come together to form a single cohesive book.

That being said, Master Li and Number Ten Ox have earned a place in my heart as two of my favorite characters, and it seems a great loss that there won't be any more adventures starring them.