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Chung Kuo Recast #2
Daylight on Iron Mountain
China is on the verge of world domination, but now rebellion threatens its dominion. Can the kingdom weather the storm?
350 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2011
46 people are currently reading
315 people want to read
About the author
David Wingrove
50 books165 followersDavid Wingrove (born September 1954 in North Battersea, London) is a British science fiction writer. He is well-known as the author of the "Chung Kuo" novels (eight in total). He is also the co-author (with Rand and Robyn Miller) of the three "Myst" novels.
Wingrove worked in the banking industry for 7 years until he became fed up with it. He then attended the University of Kent, Canterbury, where he read English and American Literature.
He is married and, with his wife Susan, has four daughters Jessica, Amy, Georgia, and Francesca.
Between 1972 and 1982 he wrote over 300 unpublished short stories and 15 novels.
He started work on a new fictional project called A Perfect Art. Between 1984 and 1988, when it was first submitted, the title was changed twice, becoming first A Spring Day at the Edge of the World and then finally Chung Kuo, under which title it was sold to 18 publishers throughout the world.
A prequel to the Chung Kuo series, called When China Comes, was released in May 2009 by Quercus Publishing, which also re-released the entire series: "The series has been recast in nineteen volumes, including a new prequel and a new final volume. After a series launch in May 2009, Quercus will embark on an ambitious publishing programme that will see all nineteen volumes available by the end of 2012."
He has plans for a further a novels, a a first person character novel called Dawn in Stone City and three very different novels: The Beast with Two Backs, Heaven's Bright Sun, and Roads to Moscow.
Wingrove worked in the banking industry for 7 years until he became fed up with it. He then attended the University of Kent, Canterbury, where he read English and American Literature.
He is married and, with his wife Susan, has four daughters Jessica, Amy, Georgia, and Francesca.
Between 1972 and 1982 he wrote over 300 unpublished short stories and 15 novels.
He started work on a new fictional project called A Perfect Art. Between 1984 and 1988, when it was first submitted, the title was changed twice, becoming first A Spring Day at the Edge of the World and then finally Chung Kuo, under which title it was sold to 18 publishers throughout the world.
A prequel to the Chung Kuo series, called When China Comes, was released in May 2009 by Quercus Publishing, which also re-released the entire series: "The series has been recast in nineteen volumes, including a new prequel and a new final volume. After a series launch in May 2009, Quercus will embark on an ambitious publishing programme that will see all nineteen volumes available by the end of 2012."
He has plans for a further a novels, a a first person character novel called Dawn in Stone City and three very different novels: The Beast with Two Backs, Heaven's Bright Sun, and Roads to Moscow.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
December 24, 2011
And so to Book Two of this revised series.
At the end of Book One, Son of Heaven, our hero, Jake Reed and his friends and family, were being whisked away by the Chinese General Jiang Lei, following the subjugation of the Corfe Castle area.
Whereas the first book concentrated on Reed and the events in England, here, two years later, we are in China. Beginning in Summer 2067, the tale this time around is not only involving Jake and his family but is mainly from the Chinese perspective. We deal with the Emperor Tsao Ch’un and his Generals, as well as the group of advisors known as ‘The Seven’.
Whilst the story focuses on the perspectives of a number of key characters, it is the often brief yet cumulative comments that create a wider picture. Japan has already been destroyed through nuclear weapons, and the Middle East does so here in a matter of sentences, refusing to disavow their religion. Other hints are made along the way: people of a coloured heritage are ruthlessly killed, people with disabilities also. The United States, broken into a group of splintered kingdoms, spend their time fighting amongst themselves until it is too late and they are unable to save themselves from the Chinese invasion, led by General Jiang Lei.
Whilst moving things along in the series on a global scale, this book is where we start to come to grips with the complex politics of the Chinese themselves. Strangely, but effectively, most of the global actions take place off stage, so to speak. We are told of the plans for the invasion but do not experience it directly. The fighting in the US, which was no doubt bitter, is told to us through the conversation made between General Jiang Lei and his mysterious co-worker strategist Amos Shepherd whilst playing the game of Go.
Of the other characters met in Book One, we find that life has also changed. Jake Reed finds himself being employed by SynGen who are trying to use his old skills in the DatScape for new means of global domination, this time in genetics and medicine. Jake’s son, Peter, now an adult, becomes involved in developing sciences for the company. The older Reed finds it difficult to adjust to the new regime whilst, tellingly, Reed the younger accepts it as something that has to be. As Jake has it pointed out to him, every day, through the natural order of things, the older people who are resistant to the new way of life are dying and being replaced by new people being born who know nothing else but the new way. The Chinese are playing the long game and are clearly winning.
This is not without difficulties. Jake is forced to go to court to maintain his pension and ends up confronting a seemingly unbeatable Chinese opposition that thinks of murder and extortion as a valid means of winning court battles. The world of the non-Chinese, the Han, is increasingly of less value.
It is here that we start to see the means by which the Chinese exert and maintain their power on a range of scales, from local politics to global domination, something which will develop more in future books. The actions taken to ensure power are dramatic and quite merciless. The author thinks nothing of killing and torturing characters to serve these means, which reflects the point that although there is a highly sophisticated social structure in this New World Order, the means of maintaining the structure are as brutal as ever.
The final section of the book, concerning an attempted coup, is both exciting and horrifying. The psychopathic Son of Heaven attempts to kill off The Seven, who have become increasingly concerned about his erratic behaviour. The actions taken on both sides are extremely merciless and very nasty. Families, friends and retainers are assassinated and slaughtered as the men of power manoeuvre for position. The ending is not quite what you expect, though it is clearly going to lead to some very interesting developments in future stories.
I did have some issues with the first book, much as I enjoyed it. I’m pleased to say that Daylight is a much more consistent and enjoyable novel for me. The experiences of Chinese society and culture continue to make a refreshing change. The complexities of court are reminiscent of The Godfather or even George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones series (though this has always been a feature of the Chung Kuo books, even twenty years or so ago.) It has reminded me why I liked the original series so much. Daylight on Iron Mountain shows that the new series is starting to step up a gear and has become a must read series for me. You will still need to read Book One first, but this is a glorious development.
This is the second totally new part of the tale. The third book (The Middle Kingdom) is where the old series begins and one that I have read in its initial incarnation. I look forward to reading it a great deal and seeing how the new version fits in with this breathtakingly re-imagined series.
At the end of Book One, Son of Heaven, our hero, Jake Reed and his friends and family, were being whisked away by the Chinese General Jiang Lei, following the subjugation of the Corfe Castle area.
Whereas the first book concentrated on Reed and the events in England, here, two years later, we are in China. Beginning in Summer 2067, the tale this time around is not only involving Jake and his family but is mainly from the Chinese perspective. We deal with the Emperor Tsao Ch’un and his Generals, as well as the group of advisors known as ‘The Seven’.
Whilst the story focuses on the perspectives of a number of key characters, it is the often brief yet cumulative comments that create a wider picture. Japan has already been destroyed through nuclear weapons, and the Middle East does so here in a matter of sentences, refusing to disavow their religion. Other hints are made along the way: people of a coloured heritage are ruthlessly killed, people with disabilities also. The United States, broken into a group of splintered kingdoms, spend their time fighting amongst themselves until it is too late and they are unable to save themselves from the Chinese invasion, led by General Jiang Lei.
Whilst moving things along in the series on a global scale, this book is where we start to come to grips with the complex politics of the Chinese themselves. Strangely, but effectively, most of the global actions take place off stage, so to speak. We are told of the plans for the invasion but do not experience it directly. The fighting in the US, which was no doubt bitter, is told to us through the conversation made between General Jiang Lei and his mysterious co-worker strategist Amos Shepherd whilst playing the game of Go.
Of the other characters met in Book One, we find that life has also changed. Jake Reed finds himself being employed by SynGen who are trying to use his old skills in the DatScape for new means of global domination, this time in genetics and medicine. Jake’s son, Peter, now an adult, becomes involved in developing sciences for the company. The older Reed finds it difficult to adjust to the new regime whilst, tellingly, Reed the younger accepts it as something that has to be. As Jake has it pointed out to him, every day, through the natural order of things, the older people who are resistant to the new way of life are dying and being replaced by new people being born who know nothing else but the new way. The Chinese are playing the long game and are clearly winning.
This is not without difficulties. Jake is forced to go to court to maintain his pension and ends up confronting a seemingly unbeatable Chinese opposition that thinks of murder and extortion as a valid means of winning court battles. The world of the non-Chinese, the Han, is increasingly of less value.
It is here that we start to see the means by which the Chinese exert and maintain their power on a range of scales, from local politics to global domination, something which will develop more in future books. The actions taken to ensure power are dramatic and quite merciless. The author thinks nothing of killing and torturing characters to serve these means, which reflects the point that although there is a highly sophisticated social structure in this New World Order, the means of maintaining the structure are as brutal as ever.
The final section of the book, concerning an attempted coup, is both exciting and horrifying. The psychopathic Son of Heaven attempts to kill off The Seven, who have become increasingly concerned about his erratic behaviour. The actions taken on both sides are extremely merciless and very nasty. Families, friends and retainers are assassinated and slaughtered as the men of power manoeuvre for position. The ending is not quite what you expect, though it is clearly going to lead to some very interesting developments in future stories.
I did have some issues with the first book, much as I enjoyed it. I’m pleased to say that Daylight is a much more consistent and enjoyable novel for me. The experiences of Chinese society and culture continue to make a refreshing change. The complexities of court are reminiscent of The Godfather or even George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones series (though this has always been a feature of the Chung Kuo books, even twenty years or so ago.) It has reminded me why I liked the original series so much. Daylight on Iron Mountain shows that the new series is starting to step up a gear and has become a must read series for me. You will still need to read Book One first, but this is a glorious development.
This is the second totally new part of the tale. The third book (The Middle Kingdom) is where the old series begins and one that I have read in its initial incarnation. I look forward to reading it a great deal and seeing how the new version fits in with this breathtakingly re-imagined series.
December 30, 2016
I first ran across David Wingrove years ago when the first book of this series came out in the early 90's I want to say... Nine books all well more than 700 pages in length. It was the Epic scale of the story he had written that had me waiting for the last three books in the series, I mean it took me years just to get through the series as you may imagine with the length of each volume. Wingrove's world and the characters he created came so alive for me that I was compelled to stay with the series though.
Yet at the end of the books, waiting for years for the out come... well it was in every sense of the word "Anti-Climatic" the resolution at the end was some how unfulfilling! After so much time I found myself a bit disappointed. Then about five years ago I found myself with the hard cover of Chung Kuo in my hands again, my time was vast and my computer was down so I decided to delve once more into this future world. Again I was consumed!
Recently I found the pleasure of the audiobook, and with Podcasts first and then the inexpensive finds I get from my audio book club, I've spent the last three years listening to wonderful actors read me awesome stories, both classic and contemporary. Then about eighteen months ago I was looking around the net for any sign of Wingrove's work in audio form.... my search came up with nothing, I was not surprised though, it would be quite the undertaking. But my search did not come up empty, no not at all.
I discovered that Wingrove was to come out with two prequels to his fascinating tale of human endeavor, the scope of which is easily compatible to George R. R. Martin's "Songs of Fire and Ice", yet Wingrove had created this before hand. I think that the reason it has not caught on before now is because the world of Chung Kuo is too horrible to imagine, a future without so many things we take for granted... but to the point!
"Daylight On Iron Mountain" concludes the story of how the world I read about so long ago came to be. When I found all of this out on his web site I was so happy, for years I wondered if David Wingrove would give me a new book, and provide an ending that would satisfy me. Then "BAM!" Here he was telling us that there would be prequels, and in his blog he explained about the lackluster ending to "Days of Bitter Strength" the final book in the series. (Not to go into detail you can find and read it on his site: http://www.chung-Kuo.net ) Wingrove says he has a new publisher (Corvus books), and they have recast the entire series, split the nine books in half, added two prequels and "wa la" a Twenty book series is renewed! Best of all he said he re-edited the ending!
Okay just about done here, needless to say I'm Mr. Excited.... And yes the book gets better, and sets us up for the grandeur, the scale, the human sadness and raw passions that has been woven for our awe and delight. I found a treasure all those years ago, now I get to revisit this world of wonder and horror. I urge you if you ever stop reading this series, please pick it back up at some point.... originally I put it down several times (its long there are some slow parts) yet it is worth it to give the series another try, it gets so much better! Howard DeVore is the greatest villain you will love to get to know! But his story begins after this book has ended and almost 100 years have passed.
Read and Enjoy!
~DA 2013
Yet at the end of the books, waiting for years for the out come... well it was in every sense of the word "Anti-Climatic" the resolution at the end was some how unfulfilling! After so much time I found myself a bit disappointed. Then about five years ago I found myself with the hard cover of Chung Kuo in my hands again, my time was vast and my computer was down so I decided to delve once more into this future world. Again I was consumed!
Recently I found the pleasure of the audiobook, and with Podcasts first and then the inexpensive finds I get from my audio book club, I've spent the last three years listening to wonderful actors read me awesome stories, both classic and contemporary. Then about eighteen months ago I was looking around the net for any sign of Wingrove's work in audio form.... my search came up with nothing, I was not surprised though, it would be quite the undertaking. But my search did not come up empty, no not at all.
I discovered that Wingrove was to come out with two prequels to his fascinating tale of human endeavor, the scope of which is easily compatible to George R. R. Martin's "Songs of Fire and Ice", yet Wingrove had created this before hand. I think that the reason it has not caught on before now is because the world of Chung Kuo is too horrible to imagine, a future without so many things we take for granted... but to the point!
"Daylight On Iron Mountain" concludes the story of how the world I read about so long ago came to be. When I found all of this out on his web site I was so happy, for years I wondered if David Wingrove would give me a new book, and provide an ending that would satisfy me. Then "BAM!" Here he was telling us that there would be prequels, and in his blog he explained about the lackluster ending to "Days of Bitter Strength" the final book in the series. (Not to go into detail you can find and read it on his site: http://www.chung-Kuo.net ) Wingrove says he has a new publisher (Corvus books), and they have recast the entire series, split the nine books in half, added two prequels and "wa la" a Twenty book series is renewed! Best of all he said he re-edited the ending!
Okay just about done here, needless to say I'm Mr. Excited.... And yes the book gets better, and sets us up for the grandeur, the scale, the human sadness and raw passions that has been woven for our awe and delight. I found a treasure all those years ago, now I get to revisit this world of wonder and horror. I urge you if you ever stop reading this series, please pick it back up at some point.... originally I put it down several times (its long there are some slow parts) yet it is worth it to give the series another try, it gets so much better! Howard DeVore is the greatest villain you will love to get to know! But his story begins after this book has ended and almost 100 years have passed.
Read and Enjoy!
~DA 2013
May 13, 2017
The City, 2067. China has overrun and conquered most of Eurasia and the stacks of the City now sprawl across the ruins of old Europe. In the Middle-East, the Chinese meet fanatical resistance in the form of suicide bombers and terror tactics, whilst across the oceans the shattered remnants of the United States try to fight back. But the Son of Heaven, Tsao Ch'un, will brook no opposition and prepares the largest military campaign in human history to bring North American under his rule. But as armies march and missiles fly, Tsao Ch'un himself, now old and paranoid, is becoming increasingly unstable. As the seeds of civil war are sewn, will the new world be destroyed in its infancy?
Daylight on Iron Mountain is the second novel in David Wingrove's 'recasting' of his epic Chung Kuo series, which is now planned to expand across twenty novels. Daylight was originally the closing part of the first book, Son of Heaven, a newly-written prequel novel, but at his editor's suggestion Wingrove pulled out and radically expanded the Daylight segment into a full, 350-page novel. This turns out to have been a masterstroke of an idea: Son of Heaven was effective in a low-key kind of way, but as I said in my review I was concerned that it didn't really seem to be setting the scene for a colossal twenty-book series. Daylight ends such concerns in one fell swoop.
Daylight on Iron Mountain may be (relatively) short on page count but is rammed to overflowing with political intrigue, corporate scheming, desperate struggles for human survival and, in the final section, a mind-boggling war which is vast in scope. One storyline follows the political infighting as the Seven (Ch'ung's key advisors) realise how unstable their leader has become and debate what is to be done, whilst another sees Jake Reed (the main character in the first novel) struggling to survive in the new world of the City. A further subplot sees General Jiang Lai, an honest man in a dishonest world, trying to keep his head above water as enemies gather on all sides.
Wingrove juggles these plots with skill. He doesn't have the page count to indulge them in the way an epic fantasy writer could, so he keeps the storylines moving rapidly and in tandem, flitting from one to another. At times the book feels a little rushed - the concluding conflict feels like it should be unfolding over weeks or months, not just days - but Wingrove doesn't neglect some key scenes of character-building, or employing thematic irony (the epilogue in particular features an element that feels like something out of the Soviet Union, or indeed Chinese Communist history) to hint at greater events to come.
As well as being rather slow, the main criticism that could be aimed at Son of Heaven was that it had a tendency to drift towards stereotyping in its portrayal of the Chinese characters. It's a massive relief that this problem does not exist in Daylight on Iron Mountain. The characters, Chinese or otherwise, are a gallery of heroes, villains, the selfish and the selfless, or people simply trying to survive however they can. Normally cold-hearted lawyers show unexpected compassion, one of the most powerful men on Earth gives way to grief when he pays the ultimate price for victory and generals take time to consider the moral implications of the deaths they are about to cause. Unfortunately, this nuanced approach to characterisation does not extend to the primary 'villain', Tsao Ch'un himself, who is more of a cliched antagonist with a side-line in personally torturing prisoners and smashing up priceless antiques with a baseball bat to show how evil he is.
Beyond this element, Daylight on Iron Mountain improves on Son of Heaven in every single way. There's a larger and far more interesting cast of characters, there's some impressive action and war sequences and there's a relentless drive to the book's pacing as the characters are swept up in the march of history. A few characters (most notably Ch'un) suffer a little from the fast - sometimes rushed - pacing, but overall this is a compelling, page-turning SF epic which leaves the reader eager for more.
Daylight on Iron Mountain (****½) will be published on 1 November 2011 in the UK. There is no American publisher for the series at this time, but copies should be easily available through the Book Depository.
Daylight on Iron Mountain is the second novel in David Wingrove's 'recasting' of his epic Chung Kuo series, which is now planned to expand across twenty novels. Daylight was originally the closing part of the first book, Son of Heaven, a newly-written prequel novel, but at his editor's suggestion Wingrove pulled out and radically expanded the Daylight segment into a full, 350-page novel. This turns out to have been a masterstroke of an idea: Son of Heaven was effective in a low-key kind of way, but as I said in my review I was concerned that it didn't really seem to be setting the scene for a colossal twenty-book series. Daylight ends such concerns in one fell swoop.
Daylight on Iron Mountain may be (relatively) short on page count but is rammed to overflowing with political intrigue, corporate scheming, desperate struggles for human survival and, in the final section, a mind-boggling war which is vast in scope. One storyline follows the political infighting as the Seven (Ch'ung's key advisors) realise how unstable their leader has become and debate what is to be done, whilst another sees Jake Reed (the main character in the first novel) struggling to survive in the new world of the City. A further subplot sees General Jiang Lai, an honest man in a dishonest world, trying to keep his head above water as enemies gather on all sides.
Wingrove juggles these plots with skill. He doesn't have the page count to indulge them in the way an epic fantasy writer could, so he keeps the storylines moving rapidly and in tandem, flitting from one to another. At times the book feels a little rushed - the concluding conflict feels like it should be unfolding over weeks or months, not just days - but Wingrove doesn't neglect some key scenes of character-building, or employing thematic irony (the epilogue in particular features an element that feels like something out of the Soviet Union, or indeed Chinese Communist history) to hint at greater events to come.
As well as being rather slow, the main criticism that could be aimed at Son of Heaven was that it had a tendency to drift towards stereotyping in its portrayal of the Chinese characters. It's a massive relief that this problem does not exist in Daylight on Iron Mountain. The characters, Chinese or otherwise, are a gallery of heroes, villains, the selfish and the selfless, or people simply trying to survive however they can. Normally cold-hearted lawyers show unexpected compassion, one of the most powerful men on Earth gives way to grief when he pays the ultimate price for victory and generals take time to consider the moral implications of the deaths they are about to cause. Unfortunately, this nuanced approach to characterisation does not extend to the primary 'villain', Tsao Ch'un himself, who is more of a cliched antagonist with a side-line in personally torturing prisoners and smashing up priceless antiques with a baseball bat to show how evil he is.
Beyond this element, Daylight on Iron Mountain improves on Son of Heaven in every single way. There's a larger and far more interesting cast of characters, there's some impressive action and war sequences and there's a relentless drive to the book's pacing as the characters are swept up in the march of history. A few characters (most notably Ch'un) suffer a little from the fast - sometimes rushed - pacing, but overall this is a compelling, page-turning SF epic which leaves the reader eager for more.
Daylight on Iron Mountain (****½) will be published on 1 November 2011 in the UK. There is no American publisher for the series at this time, but copies should be easily available through the Book Depository.
January 27, 2023
Secondo prequel della serie Chung Kuo che avevo letto in larga parte alla sua prima uscita, e che forse cercherò di completare ora.
Così come il primo volume, anche questo è estremamente piacevole da leggere, e qui si conoscono i fatti che hanno portato alla Guerra in Paradiso, lo scontro feroce tra i dirigenti del nuovo mondo.
In questo modo si viene ricollegati coerentemente ai vecchi romanzi.
Così come il primo volume, anche questo è estremamente piacevole da leggere, e qui si conoscono i fatti che hanno portato alla Guerra in Paradiso, lo scontro feroce tra i dirigenti del nuovo mondo.
In questo modo si viene ricollegati coerentemente ai vecchi romanzi.
January 9, 2020
A new perspective on an old sci-fi series. I might re-read the whole thing.
February 27, 2021
A great series.
Read the original years ago. This new version does not disappoint. Looking forward to reading the next book. Well done, Mr. Wingrove.
Read the original years ago. This new version does not disappoint. Looking forward to reading the next book. Well done, Mr. Wingrove.
December 18, 2011
I've had some problems with Son of Heaven, mainly in that it started really slow for the first half of the book. I'm glad to say that with Daylight on Iron Mountain (DoIM), the author has managed to not repeat that error. Whereas in Son of Heaven you have the takeover of the entire world by China, here in DoIM, the story is focused more on an internal threat than an external one, sort of. Also, we are introduced to a wider range of characters in this new book.We still have the main protagonist with Jake Reed but the book itself does not revolve around him. What I like most about DoIM is that it focuses a whole lot more on the "other guys" besides just Jake and his family.
Right of the bat, you'll take a closer look at Tsao Ch'un. Being the main figure in this new world dominated by the Chinese, not much was revealed about this great man in the first book. Here, things change for the better. I've always said that in order for a book/story to captivate me, the author must and I repeat must, talk about the "bad guy" as well instead of just focusing on the main protagonist. Well, the author fulfilled that requirement with DoIM. One of the main plot line in this book is the internal struggle between the Tsao Ch'un and the Seven. The struggle for power to control the new world has everyone frightened and not sure of how to react. We also read about Jake's family but it doesn't feel important anymore because the book is not about them anymore.
There are a lot of interesting characters here in DoIM. The bad thing is with all the Chinese names thrown at you, you might have a hard time remembering whose who. Throw in the fact that many of them are related to one another and it can be a nightmare to separate the characters. The good news is you'll eventually get used to it. Although many characters are thrown your way, only a couple of them drives the story forward. We have the mysterious Amos Sheppard, Li Chao Ch'in, and Shen Fu among them. Because the world was dominated by the Chinese against the will of the rest, you are lead to believe that all the Chinese men are evil. However, this is clearly not so What I love about this series is the range of emotions you'll experience. At times you can be happy for the characters, sad, angry, grieving, etc.
One of the negative things I have to say for DoIM is that the author still does not paint a clearer picture of life in the new world. For example, you understand that your status in life now revolves around which "level" you reside in. The lower you are, the less fortunate you are. However, I wish the author would spend more time describing or going over with us more details of the newly forged world built by the Chinese. Also, once again, I do not find Jake or even Peter as interesting characters. I'm sure it can be implied that Jake will no longer be the main protagonist in the 3rd book. I'm guessing his son Peter will take over that duty? If so, I am praying that the author spice things up a bit. In DoIM, I was interested in finding out what would happen to Jake when he was battling the court case but don't you think its sad when you pay more attention to what Jake's lawyers would do than Jake himself? As for Peter's side story attempt to get a contract approved for GenSyn, it was boring reading as well. Luckily those portions are short.
All in all, I still believe that DoIM is very worth reading. I like it a lot better than Son of Heaven because of a more interesting plot line and for the introduction of political intrigue. It was inevitable. I had a feeling that some type of internal struggle would occur in future books but I had no idea it would happen with the second book! Son of Heaven and Daylight on Iron Mountain acts as the prequel to the series and things are just about to get started. With these two out of the way, the original story published by the author a decade or more ago is about to begin! I can proudly say that I am a believer of the Chung Kuo series and will be following it closely as each book releases. Long live Chug Kuo! Oh wait...
Right of the bat, you'll take a closer look at Tsao Ch'un. Being the main figure in this new world dominated by the Chinese, not much was revealed about this great man in the first book. Here, things change for the better. I've always said that in order for a book/story to captivate me, the author must and I repeat must, talk about the "bad guy" as well instead of just focusing on the main protagonist. Well, the author fulfilled that requirement with DoIM. One of the main plot line in this book is the internal struggle between the Tsao Ch'un and the Seven. The struggle for power to control the new world has everyone frightened and not sure of how to react. We also read about Jake's family but it doesn't feel important anymore because the book is not about them anymore.
There are a lot of interesting characters here in DoIM. The bad thing is with all the Chinese names thrown at you, you might have a hard time remembering whose who. Throw in the fact that many of them are related to one another and it can be a nightmare to separate the characters. The good news is you'll eventually get used to it. Although many characters are thrown your way, only a couple of them drives the story forward. We have the mysterious Amos Sheppard, Li Chao Ch'in, and Shen Fu among them. Because the world was dominated by the Chinese against the will of the rest, you are lead to believe that all the Chinese men are evil. However, this is clearly not so What I love about this series is the range of emotions you'll experience. At times you can be happy for the characters, sad, angry, grieving, etc.
One of the negative things I have to say for DoIM is that the author still does not paint a clearer picture of life in the new world. For example, you understand that your status in life now revolves around which "level" you reside in. The lower you are, the less fortunate you are. However, I wish the author would spend more time describing or going over with us more details of the newly forged world built by the Chinese. Also, once again, I do not find Jake or even Peter as interesting characters. I'm sure it can be implied that Jake will no longer be the main protagonist in the 3rd book. I'm guessing his son Peter will take over that duty? If so, I am praying that the author spice things up a bit. In DoIM, I was interested in finding out what would happen to Jake when he was battling the court case but don't you think its sad when you pay more attention to what Jake's lawyers would do than Jake himself? As for Peter's side story attempt to get a contract approved for GenSyn, it was boring reading as well. Luckily those portions are short.
All in all, I still believe that DoIM is very worth reading. I like it a lot better than Son of Heaven because of a more interesting plot line and for the introduction of political intrigue. It was inevitable. I had a feeling that some type of internal struggle would occur in future books but I had no idea it would happen with the second book! Son of Heaven and Daylight on Iron Mountain acts as the prequel to the series and things are just about to get started. With these two out of the way, the original story published by the author a decade or more ago is about to begin! I can proudly say that I am a believer of the Chung Kuo series and will be following it closely as each book releases. Long live Chug Kuo! Oh wait...
December 13, 2012
This was better than "Son of Heaven", but still has many of the same flaws. Thankfully there was a little less of the misogynistic sex scenes. I'm sure that Wingrove would try to justify these by saying he is attacking the Han culture's treatment of women through these scenes but it is a very fine line here - and a number of other Goodreads reviewers have raised concerns at the role woman play- and don't play - in these books.
The series is often compared to George Martins Fire and Ice series - which also features a lot of rape and brutality, but Martin has a number of strong female characters who stand up to the men and emerge as very memorable characters. I'm am sure Wingrove would say that Confucianism is a very patriarchal society, But I strongly reject the simplistic view he puts forward here. Anyone who has had anything to do with traditional Chinese families knows how much power the women wield - even though that power may be confined to the domestic. Wingrove copies the forms of Chinese Epics like the "Romance of The Three Kingdoms" and "The Dream of the Red Chamber" ... but these classic all feature extremely strong women who find ways to give themselves a voice in a male dominated culture. In any culture there is a vast difference between the idealized forms and the actual.
"Daylight on Iron Mountain" tried to address some of the big flaws in the series - especially the recreation of an historical Confucian way of life. I have never seen any justification for this apart from the aesthetics of having folk running about in Kung Fu costumes and flying spaceships- Cmon- It's Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless - silly fun we're not meant to take seriously. There's nothing wrong with that. It only becomes a problem when the writer takes himself seriously. Wingrove has taken a lot of flack for this - so this novel is his exercise in future proofing that was meant to silence all those critics who say this "future" just couldn't happen. Unfortunately the way he tries to address this problem is indicative of his deep flaws as a writer.
He uses a Chinese character to complain about having to wear all the silly historical costumes and go through all the meaningless ancient rituals. This breaks the first rule of writing - don't tell your audience ... SHOW your audience. Alas he never shows.
Great geniuses and generals have a lot of adjectives heaped up to tell us how clever they are- but we never get to read anything that actually validates this. In the original Chinese classics there are many examples of witty brilliant people coming up with creative solutions to problems. Unfortunately Wingrove is just not up to the task ...so we have to sit through lots of fluff about smoldering intensity in their dark beautiful demonic eyes.
I'd really love to know what any Goodreaders of Chinese background think of this series.
The series is often compared to George Martins Fire and Ice series - which also features a lot of rape and brutality, but Martin has a number of strong female characters who stand up to the men and emerge as very memorable characters. I'm am sure Wingrove would say that Confucianism is a very patriarchal society, But I strongly reject the simplistic view he puts forward here. Anyone who has had anything to do with traditional Chinese families knows how much power the women wield - even though that power may be confined to the domestic. Wingrove copies the forms of Chinese Epics like the "Romance of The Three Kingdoms" and "The Dream of the Red Chamber" ... but these classic all feature extremely strong women who find ways to give themselves a voice in a male dominated culture. In any culture there is a vast difference between the idealized forms and the actual.
"Daylight on Iron Mountain" tried to address some of the big flaws in the series - especially the recreation of an historical Confucian way of life. I have never seen any justification for this apart from the aesthetics of having folk running about in Kung Fu costumes and flying spaceships- Cmon- It's Flash Gordon and Ming the Merciless - silly fun we're not meant to take seriously. There's nothing wrong with that. It only becomes a problem when the writer takes himself seriously. Wingrove has taken a lot of flack for this - so this novel is his exercise in future proofing that was meant to silence all those critics who say this "future" just couldn't happen. Unfortunately the way he tries to address this problem is indicative of his deep flaws as a writer.
He uses a Chinese character to complain about having to wear all the silly historical costumes and go through all the meaningless ancient rituals. This breaks the first rule of writing - don't tell your audience ... SHOW your audience. Alas he never shows.
Great geniuses and generals have a lot of adjectives heaped up to tell us how clever they are- but we never get to read anything that actually validates this. In the original Chinese classics there are many examples of witty brilliant people coming up with creative solutions to problems. Unfortunately Wingrove is just not up to the task ...so we have to sit through lots of fluff about smoldering intensity in their dark beautiful demonic eyes.
I'd really love to know what any Goodreaders of Chinese background think of this series.
June 5, 2014
Along with Son of Heaven, Daylight on Iron Mountain forms a complete prequel to the Chung Kuo series. Not having read any others of the 'Recast' series at this point, I cannot say how much of those are original and how much has been reworked - but these two books are fully original and can be enjoyed not only by readers looking for something new, but also by readers of the original version of this series who are interested to see how it all started.
I felt that some of the character threads got a little lost along the way, though given the time span and the scope Wingrove was looking to cover, that was to be expected. He does a good job of touching on a number of events which will be important later and covering a fair amount of ground to help explain the setting of those later books as well, whether it be the situations in North America or Africa, or some insight into GenSyn. Naturally, the greatest focus falls on the fate of the Tyrant, Tsao Ch'un and the seven Tang.
These two books give me hope that Wingrove will correct the rather dreadful error he was perhaps forced into making with the original series, in particular the abrupt ending which formed such a major departure from the rest of the series, and has rethought the substance of his story, if not the direction. A nice beginning to the 'Recast' series, but I am not in a hurry to delve back into this epic without a little more assurance that I will not be disappointed this time.
I felt that some of the character threads got a little lost along the way, though given the time span and the scope Wingrove was looking to cover, that was to be expected. He does a good job of touching on a number of events which will be important later and covering a fair amount of ground to help explain the setting of those later books as well, whether it be the situations in North America or Africa, or some insight into GenSyn. Naturally, the greatest focus falls on the fate of the Tyrant, Tsao Ch'un and the seven Tang.
These two books give me hope that Wingrove will correct the rather dreadful error he was perhaps forced into making with the original series, in particular the abrupt ending which formed such a major departure from the rest of the series, and has rethought the substance of his story, if not the direction. A nice beginning to the 'Recast' series, but I am not in a hurry to delve back into this epic without a little more assurance that I will not be disappointed this time.
April 26, 2021
First Line
It was the summer of 2067, that bright, hot summer before the beginning of the American campaign.
So Book 1 establishes the collapse and aftermath, first glimpse of the Chinese rise up. Book 2 breezes through the total world dominion and then the general state of things in the new Chung Kuo. In so doing, we get a prologue to the world of Chung Kuo as originally written and how the world is by following along with a few choice people: Jake Reed, Jiang Lei, and a few other high up politicals.
All in all, it makes me very excited to get into the Chung Kuo books, and yet a little sad that a) the recast was canceled and so we will not have 20 slipcased volumes with colorful foil stamping, or b) the final book will not be redone as originally intended. Maybe b) can come about, but a) must be a lost cause.
At times some of the story was a bit slow, but as a whole, the entire thing is just one big world building event. Do I really care about the legal system? No. Do i care to see how far the defendants of a large corporation will go to silence the plaintiff and how that looks within the society of Chung Kuo? Yes, I do.
As the story follows around Seven families plus a variety of other characters, the names were hard to keep straight, especially with the father and sons. Aside from that, an excellent entry into the series, and a satisfying conclusion to the two prologue novels. Onwards!
Corvus 101/250
Summary Haiku
How it all begins
War against the Seven ends
With a lot of blood
It was the summer of 2067, that bright, hot summer before the beginning of the American campaign.
So Book 1 establishes the collapse and aftermath, first glimpse of the Chinese rise up. Book 2 breezes through the total world dominion and then the general state of things in the new Chung Kuo. In so doing, we get a prologue to the world of Chung Kuo as originally written and how the world is by following along with a few choice people: Jake Reed, Jiang Lei, and a few other high up politicals.
All in all, it makes me very excited to get into the Chung Kuo books, and yet a little sad that a) the recast was canceled and so we will not have 20 slipcased volumes with colorful foil stamping, or b) the final book will not be redone as originally intended. Maybe b) can come about, but a) must be a lost cause.
At times some of the story was a bit slow, but as a whole, the entire thing is just one big world building event. Do I really care about the legal system? No. Do i care to see how far the defendants of a large corporation will go to silence the plaintiff and how that looks within the society of Chung Kuo? Yes, I do.
As the story follows around Seven families plus a variety of other characters, the names were hard to keep straight, especially with the father and sons. Aside from that, an excellent entry into the series, and a satisfying conclusion to the two prologue novels. Onwards!
Corvus 101/250
Summary Haiku
How it all begins
War against the Seven ends
With a lot of blood
January 28, 2012
Not bad, nice to be back in the Chung Kuo books but really doesnt add anything to the whole lore of the books.
It pretty much continues from where Son of Heaven leaves off. Jake Reed and family have made it into Han society. Jake is asked to set up and train people in his previous job as a Web Dancer until it goes horribly wrong. We are also given a look at the bad and the good in Han society through the eyes of Jake in his efforts to follow the rules and get what he is owed. We are introduced to Amos Sheppard who helped Tsao Ch'un take over the world. We also see the fall of Ch'un and the rise of the Tangs.
The writing was engaging and kept me turning the pages. My fault is with the story. It was kinda jarring. The book was all over the place. Between the final consolidation of Earth's last hold out North America to the War between Ch'un and the Council of Seven and Jake Reed's story. It was a bit much and not enough. After finishing the two books I realized that this was a story not really needed. Kinda like the Star Wars prequels. The previous stories gave us all we really needed to know. While it was nice to be back in Wingrove's future I guess I would of rather just started with The Middle Kingdom.
It pretty much continues from where Son of Heaven leaves off. Jake Reed and family have made it into Han society. Jake is asked to set up and train people in his previous job as a Web Dancer until it goes horribly wrong. We are also given a look at the bad and the good in Han society through the eyes of Jake in his efforts to follow the rules and get what he is owed. We are introduced to Amos Sheppard who helped Tsao Ch'un take over the world. We also see the fall of Ch'un and the rise of the Tangs.
The writing was engaging and kept me turning the pages. My fault is with the story. It was kinda jarring. The book was all over the place. Between the final consolidation of Earth's last hold out North America to the War between Ch'un and the Council of Seven and Jake Reed's story. It was a bit much and not enough. After finishing the two books I realized that this was a story not really needed. Kinda like the Star Wars prequels. The previous stories gave us all we really needed to know. While it was nice to be back in Wingrove's future I guess I would of rather just started with The Middle Kingdom.
July 21, 2013
The second of the prequels to the original, and now rewritten, Chung Kuo series. This series is probably the most ambitious I’m aware of in future world-building. China rules everything in a way which makes Orwell’s Oceania look like dictator day-camp. Though not nearly comparable in nuance to 1984, Wingrove nevertheless designs a sprawling dystopia.
This is more epic writing than character driven. Characters slide in and out of the story for their significance to the plot more so than to drive it. Which is okay as long as you go into it expecting it. I never read the original series, so things may change once out of the prequel novels, but so far it seems like a massive attempt to imagine an over-the-top, Chinese dominated future. Firefly fans can think of this as backstory.
______________________
As a side note, though it probably won’t matter to most, Wingrove chooses to use the Wade-Giles spelling instead of Pinyin when he incorporates Mandarin into the story. It seems oddly anachronistic to use an outdated spelling for a book about the future. It’s surprisingly distracting.
This is more epic writing than character driven. Characters slide in and out of the story for their significance to the plot more so than to drive it. Which is okay as long as you go into it expecting it. I never read the original series, so things may change once out of the prequel novels, but so far it seems like a massive attempt to imagine an over-the-top, Chinese dominated future. Firefly fans can think of this as backstory.
______________________
As a side note, though it probably won’t matter to most, Wingrove chooses to use the Wade-Giles spelling instead of Pinyin when he incorporates Mandarin into the story. It seems oddly anachronistic to use an outdated spelling for a book about the future. It’s surprisingly distracting.
February 18, 2014
The second volume of Wingrove's rebooted epic of Chinese world domination sees the completion of T'sao Chun's plan. The Middle East is nuked, leaving only America to be conquered. T'sao Chun sends General Lei. the warrior-poet, along with Amos Shepherd, his strategic genius, to deal with the US as well as a vast army.
However. T'sao Chun is no longer the rational strategist he once was. Corrupted by power, he has become paranoid and vindictive, abusing and insulting the Seven Tangs who rules the world as his subordinates.
After the rather bland scene-setting of the first book, it is good to see Wingrove back on form and relishing the intrigue, the politics and the battles as the Chung Kuo knew from the original books slowly emerges.
Jake Reed, mired in a complex compensation case against a powerful Han family finds unexpected allies and friends in Amos Shepherd and Gensyn.
His son, now fully acclimatised to the Han world, finds himself working for Gensyn and the Eberts.
The Seven, finally pushed to the limit by by T'sao Chun's madness, begin to plot to have him brought down…
However. T'sao Chun is no longer the rational strategist he once was. Corrupted by power, he has become paranoid and vindictive, abusing and insulting the Seven Tangs who rules the world as his subordinates.
After the rather bland scene-setting of the first book, it is good to see Wingrove back on form and relishing the intrigue, the politics and the battles as the Chung Kuo knew from the original books slowly emerges.
Jake Reed, mired in a complex compensation case against a powerful Han family finds unexpected allies and friends in Amos Shepherd and Gensyn.
His son, now fully acclimatised to the Han world, finds himself working for Gensyn and the Eberts.
The Seven, finally pushed to the limit by by T'sao Chun's madness, begin to plot to have him brought down…
April 8, 2012
I really enjoyed the two new prequel novels in the Chung Kuo Recast series. As noted elsewhere, comparable to George RR Martin's Song of Fire and Ice series, in that political intrigue plays a large part in the story. Unlike Song of Fire and Ice, there are zero strong female characters. This could obviously change as I get into the main series, but not impressed that the main female characters are very much dependant on their husbands/partners etc.
Only thing now is can I wait for the rereleases (due to conclude in 2015!) or do I read the original novels with the apparently disappointing ending?
Only thing now is can I wait for the rereleases (due to conclude in 2015!) or do I read the original novels with the apparently disappointing ending?
September 12, 2012
1 star - binned it before half way, please don't write anymore!!!
2 stars - finally binned it after really trying, I mean really trying and I hate to not finishing someth....
3 stars - finished it but boy was that hard work on times, it just about hooked me back in as I was about to dump it
4 stars - great book but it lacked something, something, can't put my finger on it but.... something
5 stars - want more, more books, more movies about the books, more movies about the authors and the making of the movie, just more!!!
January 12, 2013
Much of the world is now part of the giant city Tsao Chun is building, but this book chronicles the war with China and the difficulty of warrior leading in a time of peace (cf. David and Solomon). Can the person who has ruthlessly built a united world also be the person to lead it?
Wingrove's world is engaging and the challenges the characters face are quite real. I keep reading because I want to know what happens to the characters and whether the evil and the good get justice. I'll be interested to see how the prequels transition into the older books when I go to book #3.
Wingrove's world is engaging and the challenges the characters face are quite real. I keep reading because I want to know what happens to the characters and whether the evil and the good get justice. I'll be interested to see how the prequels transition into the older books when I go to book #3.
January 27, 2016
Better than the new series opener, Son Of Heaven, this book continues the tale of Jake and his family, now integrated into the world of levels within the vast Chinese city that has advanced across the globe. As a middle-aged Jake battles within the Han judicial system, a wider narrative details the power struggle between the brutal Tsao Ch'un and his once loyal Council of Seven. More representative of what I recall of the series, this book provides glimpses of the dark brutality and sociopolitical intrigue to come.
September 27, 2012
I gave this up after a few pages. I enjoyed the first in the series, however preposterous the idea seems. However I could not get away with this. Apart from the narrative, the editing of the page layout was so irritating - it had been justified, but with huge gaps between words which was most off putting. I see that the author proposes 15 novels in the series. Please, Mt Wingrove, why? less is often more.
January 26, 2012
i am thrilled that wingrove decided to expand and rewrite this series. i loved the original seven books released in the usa during the 90s. so far these two prequels have been fantastic. can't waite for the remaining 18 books from Corvus (if they actually follow through and print them all). so far i hav had to order them from AmazonUK. they dont seem to be available through AmazonUSA.
May 4, 2019
5/4/19 - Read again. Going to reread all and pick up newly published volumes (Vol 11 set to release in July) as Wingrove publishes them.
Excellent read. Enjoyed more than the previous book. Lots of intrigues about the perils of bureaucracies, politics, and corruption yet still action packed twists and turns. This was one of those books that caused havoc to my routine and responsibilities.
Excellent read. Enjoyed more than the previous book. Lots of intrigues about the perils of bureaucracies, politics, and corruption yet still action packed twists and turns. This was one of those books that caused havoc to my routine and responsibilities.
April 6, 2014
The second book in Wingrove's re-casting of the Chung Kuo series. This takes us through the rest of Jake Reed's life as he sees the changes to the world as China "rises". Wingrove is equally happy writing epic battles as well as tender moments between loved ones. I think my favourite, most poignant moment is the epilogue...but I won't spoil it!
July 2, 2015
The more I read of this series the better it gets. Although the series started slowly, the second book takes the reader to an unmistakable future that is easy to imagine. I hope that the last books in this re-release of the original series make it into the shelves. The latest additions and 'updates' are very good and make the story more relevant from a closer-to-the-future view.
September 17, 2013
The lesson I took from this book was that forgetting our past is the biggest error we could make - once the old people die, there will be no one left to remember the world and it once was and thus the world changes.
June 14, 2014
Not quite the same emotional intensity, but even better on the world-building front - specific character lenses into a much larger whole. Flows nicely from the first book into a more permanent state for the rest of the series (presumably).
June 16, 2012
Not bad. An investment in the whole series.
June 20, 2012
A really awful book -- disappointing considering that the first in the series was enjoyable (enough to make me want to continue on). So much for the next 18!
October 15, 2013
so so follow up to the first
Read
May 26, 2014Second book of the recast series. I like it!!
Getting into the original story now with the next. Looking forward to it.
Getting into the original story now with the next. Looking forward to it.
July 10, 2014
Get's weirder. I'm in.
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