Last Dragon of the East

English language

Published 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

ISBN:: 978-1-6680-5124-5

(1 review)

Inspired by Chinese myths of ancient dragon gods and threads of fate, Katrina Kwan’s dazzling fantasy debut is a propulsive adventure perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Hannah Whitten.

At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.

But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle …

Inspired by Chinese myths of ancient dragon gods and threads of fate, Katrina Kwan’s dazzling fantasy debut is a propulsive adventure perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Hannah Whitten.

At the spry young age of twenty-five, Sai has led a quiet life, keeping the family teahouse up and running—even if that means ignoring the past-due notices—and taking care of his ailing mother. But he has a not-so-secret gift that he’s parlayed into a side career: he was born with the ability to see the red threads of fate between soulmates, which lends itself nicely to matchmaking. Sai has thus far been content not to follow his own thread, the only one he’s ever seen that’s gray and fraying.

But Sai’s ordinary existence is about to be turned upside-down by a pair of shining dragon scales. When his mother’s doctor sells them to him, claiming them as a miracle cure, Sai is pretty sure he’s being scammed. When the medicine actually works—and the terrifying, ruthless emperor catches wind—Sai is thrust into the search for a dragon long thought extinct that will lead him into the throes of a brewing war and deep into foreign lands, facing down challenges both magical and mortal on an unexpected adventure. And for the very first time, as his own thread of fate begins to move, he may be able to solve the mystery of his Fated One at the other end of the line.

1 edition

Soh Kam Yung reviewed Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan

A tale about the Thread of Fate that leads towards a dragon.

4 stars

A story based on an East Asian mythology about the Red Thread of Fate, it involves Sai, a poor man running a teahouse with his ailing mother. He has the ability to see people's Red Threads of Fate and, as a side business, he helps and guides people to find their Fated One, who is at the other end of the thread. But a mystery surrounds Sai, for his own Thread is not red, but grey and fraying: and he has never sought out his own Fated One.

But one day, he buys what are purported to be dragon scales, a miracle cure. The scales come to the attention of the cruel Emperor, who orders Sai to find the dragon, or else. His search would take him through a battle, where his thread would suddenly react in an unusual way.

He would, of course, find the dragon. But the search …

A story based on an East Asian mythology about the Red Thread of Fate, it involves Sai, a poor man running a teahouse with his ailing mother. He has the ability to see people's Red Threads of Fate and, as a side business, he helps and guides people to find their Fated One, who is at the other end of the thread. But a mystery surrounds Sai, for his own Thread is not red, but grey and fraying: and he has never sought out his own Fated One.

But one day, he buys what are purported to be dragon scales, a miracle cure. The scales come to the attention of the cruel Emperor, who orders Sai to find the dragon, or else. His search would take him through a battle, where his thread would suddenly react in an unusual way.

He would, of course, find the dragon. But the search would also lead him to discover his Fated One, and go on a journey to escape the Emperor. He would also discover the reason behind his grey Thread, a reason that dismays him. But it is during the final confrontation with the Emperor that Sai discovers who he really is, and the reason for the Emperor's hunt for dragons.

A story in the Fantasy-Romance vein, but laced with scenes of violence (as warned by the author at the beginning) that show off the cruelty of the Emperor, but also the desperation of Sai and the dragon to escape. In the end, they do escape the Emperor, but not before suffering high emotional anguish, which makes the impact of the ending even more fitting.