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Fire Dragon
In an exotic and magical land, Shuibai, a lowly bucket-maker, is appointed Fire Warden. He surprises—and annoys—everyone by taking his job seriously. But as he attempts to enforce the fire laws intended to keep his city safe, he finds his own life in peril as he stumbles across dangerous secrets.
Mysterious foes are smuggling illegal guns into his city, and they will stop at nothing, not even arson, kidnapping, and murder, as they wage their secret war. He is helped by the man he loves, the handsome but crippled ex-firefighter, Zashi, a man tormented by demons of his own.
Is the Fire Dragon real, or is the truth far more sinister?
Mysterious foes are smuggling illegal guns into his city, and they will stop at nothing, not even arson, kidnapping, and murder, as they wage their secret war. He is helped by the man he loves, the handsome but crippled ex-firefighter, Zashi, a man tormented by demons of his own.
Is the Fire Dragon real, or is the truth far more sinister?
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
335 people want to read
About the author
M. Kei
65 books63 followersM. Kei is a tall ship sailor and award-winning poet. He lives on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay and apprenticed aboard a skipjack, a sail-powered oyster dredge. He now serves with a fully rigged ship. His publications include over 1200 tanka poems in six languages and ten countries. He is the editor-in-chief of the anthology series, Take Five : Best Contemporary Tanka, and the author of Slow Motion : The Log of a Chesapeake Bay Skipjack, a log he kept in verse form of several extended trips aboard a skipjack. He has edited and authored several other books of poetry and a major journal, Atlas Poetica : A Journal of Poetry of Place in Contemporary Tanka. He is also the author of the award-winning Pirates of the Narrow Seas series of gay naval adventure novels.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 17, 2021
This was an interesting book. Likedhow it developed
January 22, 2022
Fire Dragon
By M. Kei
Published by the author, 2012
Five stars
Why five stars? Because this novel, which is a fantasy that feels like a carefully researched cultural study, carried me away from my own world and into something very different. M. Kei looks like a white guy, although he has Native American roots. The point is that he is not Japanese, and thus the tender care and great skill with which he evokes the world in which his story is set is impressive. If there’s any parallel I can draw here, it’s with the films of Miyasaki, which are both deeply imbued with Japanese myth and culture, and rather completely divorced from them at the same time.
Shuibai is the lowest of the low. He is untouchable, owing to his trade as a leather worker. His is a matriarchal society, in which his family are butchers and he, as the youngest child and only son, is at the bottom of the lowest rung of the social ladder. Shuibai lives in a low-rent suburb of the Capital city called Low Marsh, and his single goal in life is to avoid being noticed by the taran—the aristocrats who rule the larger, mostly unseen world.
Through no fault of his own, Shuibai finds himself, in spite of his low caste, appointed the Fire Warden of Low Marsh, and thus inextricably caught up in the court politics of not just the taran, but of the Golden Emperor himself. Through this appointment, Shuibai meets the noble Fire Lord of the capital district, and the Fire Chief Byan of Alla Far, a fancier neighboring town. More importantly, Shuibai meets Byan’s son Mizaka, a fire-fighter who was badly burned in a fire.
Fire is the unifying plot thread in this compelling, beautifully detailed novel. Fire is the element that even the most powerful aristocrat—indeed, the Emperor himself—cannot control. Flame is the all-consuming Fire Dragon, and only access to water can stop it. Even the most powerful nobles are helpless in the face of fire unless they have water.
The author spends an incredible amount of time considering the clothing that the various characters wear in his story. In a way that suggests a profound understanding of Japanese material culture, M. Kei tells us who his characters are through the textiles they wear. The rich visuals he provides, with color, texture, and form, create an intense background against which we see Shuibai’s desperate attempts to do the right thing without coming a cropper of aristocratic whims and clan feuds.
What the reader might forget in all of the author’s verbal skill is that this is a love story, in which a young man with a worm’s-eye view of the world is inspired to rise above his station by his admiration and love for another young man. The last quarter of the book is action-packed, and also infused with a bit of mythical magic that reminds us that we are not in the world of history and fact. M. Kei has taken us to a different world, filled with its own visual and emotional pleasures.
By M. Kei
Published by the author, 2012
Five stars
Why five stars? Because this novel, which is a fantasy that feels like a carefully researched cultural study, carried me away from my own world and into something very different. M. Kei looks like a white guy, although he has Native American roots. The point is that he is not Japanese, and thus the tender care and great skill with which he evokes the world in which his story is set is impressive. If there’s any parallel I can draw here, it’s with the films of Miyasaki, which are both deeply imbued with Japanese myth and culture, and rather completely divorced from them at the same time.
Shuibai is the lowest of the low. He is untouchable, owing to his trade as a leather worker. His is a matriarchal society, in which his family are butchers and he, as the youngest child and only son, is at the bottom of the lowest rung of the social ladder. Shuibai lives in a low-rent suburb of the Capital city called Low Marsh, and his single goal in life is to avoid being noticed by the taran—the aristocrats who rule the larger, mostly unseen world.
Through no fault of his own, Shuibai finds himself, in spite of his low caste, appointed the Fire Warden of Low Marsh, and thus inextricably caught up in the court politics of not just the taran, but of the Golden Emperor himself. Through this appointment, Shuibai meets the noble Fire Lord of the capital district, and the Fire Chief Byan of Alla Far, a fancier neighboring town. More importantly, Shuibai meets Byan’s son Mizaka, a fire-fighter who was badly burned in a fire.
Fire is the unifying plot thread in this compelling, beautifully detailed novel. Fire is the element that even the most powerful aristocrat—indeed, the Emperor himself—cannot control. Flame is the all-consuming Fire Dragon, and only access to water can stop it. Even the most powerful nobles are helpless in the face of fire unless they have water.
The author spends an incredible amount of time considering the clothing that the various characters wear in his story. In a way that suggests a profound understanding of Japanese material culture, M. Kei tells us who his characters are through the textiles they wear. The rich visuals he provides, with color, texture, and form, create an intense background against which we see Shuibai’s desperate attempts to do the right thing without coming a cropper of aristocratic whims and clan feuds.
What the reader might forget in all of the author’s verbal skill is that this is a love story, in which a young man with a worm’s-eye view of the world is inspired to rise above his station by his admiration and love for another young man. The last quarter of the book is action-packed, and also infused with a bit of mythical magic that reminds us that we are not in the world of history and fact. M. Kei has taken us to a different world, filled with its own visual and emotional pleasures.
April 17, 2013
Kei is known as the author of the gay pirate series Pirates of the Narrow Seas, which I have not read. This particular book ended up as an Amazon Prime loan on my kindle, the blurb sounded interesting, so I went for it, having no expectations at all. So it feels kind of weird to be saying that the book didn’t quite meet my expectations, but there you have it.
The book is a Fantasy in an oriental setting, mostly medieval, but with guns. There are rigid castes in this matriarchal society, with the untouchables like Shuibai at the bottom of the heap. The story is a fairly standard ‘young man overcomes the odds to rise above his station and get his boy’ tale. The interesting thing is that the story is set around the development of a fire department in a city built of paper screens and bamboo. And those are the best parts of the story. The fires are described with passion and excitement, the innovations Shuibai implements are fun. The whole story is fun in a rooting for the underdog kind of way. Combined with the barely-there love story (and no sex), I am guessing this is a Young Adult novel, although I haven’t seen it classified as that specifically.
There were a number of things that struck me as weird, though. Shuibai seems so servile and insecure most of the time, but then he just blows up at people without any warning. No seething internally first, or any type of buildup. Also, he is so skeptic that the paranormal stuff comes as a complete surprise about 2/3 into the story. I know, the blurb says ‘magical land’ but that’s really not how it reads for most of the book. For all of the ritualized distance between the common folk and the divine Emperor, it seems completely odd for the latter to just come riding into town to converse with Shuibai at least 3 times in the last bit of the book. And for a society that is supposedly run by women, there sure are a whole lot of men in positions of power, not only the Fire Lord and the Generals, but also the mob ruler on the other side of the law. In fact, the women seem to run the town councils (in a totally obstructionist way, btw, is there even one woman who doesn’t hinder our hero?) and not much else.
Personally, I also could have done without all the paragraphs-long descriptions of what everyone is wearing. In a society obsessed with status, it is probably important to know how to read people’s status from their clothes, but it stops the narration dead in its tracks for almost a page or so every time someone arrives on the scene. Even people we’ve met before, including Shuibai himself, needs to have his clothes mentioned every time he goes out. Even when we’re already familiar with the outfit.
The end feels abrupt and a bit sloppy. As if the author got tired of telling the story and wanted to move on to something else. So this happened, that happened, we suddenly have some random POV shifts to secondary characters, yada yada yada…. happily ever after. This story deserved a more fleshed out conclusion.
Kei’s writing overall is vivid and engaging (if we ignore the long winded clothing descriptions), and he does construe a decent plot, so I am probably going to read the pirate books too.
The book is a Fantasy in an oriental setting, mostly medieval, but with guns. There are rigid castes in this matriarchal society, with the untouchables like Shuibai at the bottom of the heap. The story is a fairly standard ‘young man overcomes the odds to rise above his station and get his boy’ tale. The interesting thing is that the story is set around the development of a fire department in a city built of paper screens and bamboo. And those are the best parts of the story. The fires are described with passion and excitement, the innovations Shuibai implements are fun. The whole story is fun in a rooting for the underdog kind of way. Combined with the barely-there love story (and no sex), I am guessing this is a Young Adult novel, although I haven’t seen it classified as that specifically.
There were a number of things that struck me as weird, though. Shuibai seems so servile and insecure most of the time, but then he just blows up at people without any warning. No seething internally first, or any type of buildup. Also, he is so skeptic that the paranormal stuff comes as a complete surprise about 2/3 into the story. I know, the blurb says ‘magical land’ but that’s really not how it reads for most of the book. For all of the ritualized distance between the common folk and the divine Emperor, it seems completely odd for the latter to just come riding into town to converse with Shuibai at least 3 times in the last bit of the book. And for a society that is supposedly run by women, there sure are a whole lot of men in positions of power, not only the Fire Lord and the Generals, but also the mob ruler on the other side of the law. In fact, the women seem to run the town councils (in a totally obstructionist way, btw, is there even one woman who doesn’t hinder our hero?) and not much else.
Personally, I also could have done without all the paragraphs-long descriptions of what everyone is wearing. In a society obsessed with status, it is probably important to know how to read people’s status from their clothes, but it stops the narration dead in its tracks for almost a page or so every time someone arrives on the scene. Even people we’ve met before, including Shuibai himself, needs to have his clothes mentioned every time he goes out. Even when we’re already familiar with the outfit.
The end feels abrupt and a bit sloppy. As if the author got tired of telling the story and wanted to move on to something else. So this happened, that happened, we suddenly have some random POV shifts to secondary characters, yada yada yada…. happily ever after. This story deserved a more fleshed out conclusion.
Kei’s writing overall is vivid and engaging (if we ignore the long winded clothing descriptions), and he does construe a decent plot, so I am probably going to read the pirate books too.
June 12, 2012
Overall review: This was a very enjoyable read and a great story. Whether completely historically accurate or not, the author did a fantastic job of creating an authentic-feeling atmosphere.
First, I want to thank the author, M. Kei, for giving me a copy of the book to review. I just finished this a couple of days ago. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of historical accuracy or if it would be a superficial story, etc. I had read Pirates of the Narrow Seas 1 : The Sallee Rovers a while ago and really enjoyed it. But that first book was purely historical and based on the turbulence between 18th century England and the Corsairs. Fire Dragon is based on a society very much like Imperial China.
So in the first two-thirds of Fire Dragon, we meet our hero, Shuibai, a lowest-of-the-low peasant. He's just starting out in life without high expectations except to get his new seller's stall running. By coincidence, he's randomly picked out to be his district town's fire warden, a completely new position, not for any qualification other than his trade as a bucket and leather worker. As the story develops, politics, intrigue, the class system, and a slowly blooming love launch us into the frightening world of battling fires in poor wooden cities with few resources. Kei really makes a point about mixing people and change.
The historical narrative felt like an authentic portrayal of the disparity between classes and matches some of what I know of the class system in Imperial China. Kei weaves together that with the action, so I felt the pace picked up at just the right point, enough to balance laying the groundwork with jumping into a riveting story. It was well written and compelling to follow Shuibai on his journey.
First, I want to thank the author, M. Kei, for giving me a copy of the book to review. I just finished this a couple of days ago. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of historical accuracy or if it would be a superficial story, etc. I had read Pirates of the Narrow Seas 1 : The Sallee Rovers a while ago and really enjoyed it. But that first book was purely historical and based on the turbulence between 18th century England and the Corsairs. Fire Dragon is based on a society very much like Imperial China.
So in the first two-thirds of Fire Dragon, we meet our hero, Shuibai, a lowest-of-the-low peasant. He's just starting out in life without high expectations except to get his new seller's stall running. By coincidence, he's randomly picked out to be his district town's fire warden, a completely new position, not for any qualification other than his trade as a bucket and leather worker. As the story develops, politics, intrigue, the class system, and a slowly blooming love launch us into the frightening world of battling fires in poor wooden cities with few resources. Kei really makes a point about mixing people and change.
The historical narrative felt like an authentic portrayal of the disparity between classes and matches some of what I know of the class system in Imperial China. Kei weaves together that with the action, so I felt the pace picked up at just the right point, enough to balance laying the groundwork with jumping into a riveting story. It was well written and compelling to follow Shuibai on his journey.
July 14, 2012
A very good M/M fantasy romance novel revolving around Shubai, a bucket maker who is rather unexpectedly appointed as Fire Warden to his district of Low Marsh.
In a matriarchal society, Shubai is a lowly leather worker who, upon hearing of the Golden Emperor's new Fire Edict, risks everything he has to turn his leather into the strong buckets every dwelling now needs. Unfortunately for him, most are content to ignore the new edict, and it seems his risk is going to be his ruin. However, his well-made buckets bring him to the attention of the Fire Lord, who appoints him as the Fire Warden, then leaves Shubai with the responsibility but doesn't explain just how he is supposed to go about it.
Fortunately for him though, members of another area's Fire Company accompany the Fire Lord, and one, Zashi, remains behind for a moment after the Lord's departure, staying long enough to give a few tips, and where he may be found for further advice if he needs it.
The world and society in which this story takes place is reminiscent of historical Japanese and, perhaps, Indian cultures (well, apart from the matriarchal bit) and Shubai is almost the lowest of the low, an untouchable due to his work with dead animal skins. Zashi is of a slightly higher caste, but after being crippled by severe burns received while fighting a fire, is now also considered untouchable. These two outcast men - Shubai through his appointment and Zashi due to his injuries/scars - find friendship in each other's company now that they now longer fit into their own societies. As Shubai, with Zashi's advice, learns to find his way through the political quagmire his appointment brings, he in turn brings a sense of usefulness to Zashi once again, deepening their friendship.
This is a sweet no-sex story (what there is, is implied only) with characters that grow in both depth and maturity as they navigate the unfamiliar waters of Shubai's new life. The pacing is slow and steady and the plot is fairly straight forward, yet for me, seeing these characters growing into their potential was endearing, particularly as their new circumstances allowed them to explore and evolve parts of themselves that had previously been either locked down tight or hidden from themselves, so that I ended up enjoying this story rather more than I would have expected. Don't expect an action-packed story with unexpected twists and turns, as you certainly won't get it, but it is still a strong story of growing up, having the courage of one's own convictions, moral integrity, of friendship, and of love of happily-ever-after kind.
In a matriarchal society, Shubai is a lowly leather worker who, upon hearing of the Golden Emperor's new Fire Edict, risks everything he has to turn his leather into the strong buckets every dwelling now needs. Unfortunately for him, most are content to ignore the new edict, and it seems his risk is going to be his ruin. However, his well-made buckets bring him to the attention of the Fire Lord, who appoints him as the Fire Warden, then leaves Shubai with the responsibility but doesn't explain just how he is supposed to go about it.
Fortunately for him though, members of another area's Fire Company accompany the Fire Lord, and one, Zashi, remains behind for a moment after the Lord's departure, staying long enough to give a few tips, and where he may be found for further advice if he needs it.
The world and society in which this story takes place is reminiscent of historical Japanese and, perhaps, Indian cultures (well, apart from the matriarchal bit) and Shubai is almost the lowest of the low, an untouchable due to his work with dead animal skins. Zashi is of a slightly higher caste, but after being crippled by severe burns received while fighting a fire, is now also considered untouchable. These two outcast men - Shubai through his appointment and Zashi due to his injuries/scars - find friendship in each other's company now that they now longer fit into their own societies. As Shubai, with Zashi's advice, learns to find his way through the political quagmire his appointment brings, he in turn brings a sense of usefulness to Zashi once again, deepening their friendship.
This is a sweet no-sex story (what there is, is implied only) with characters that grow in both depth and maturity as they navigate the unfamiliar waters of Shubai's new life. The pacing is slow and steady and the plot is fairly straight forward, yet for me, seeing these characters growing into their potential was endearing, particularly as their new circumstances allowed them to explore and evolve parts of themselves that had previously been either locked down tight or hidden from themselves, so that I ended up enjoying this story rather more than I would have expected. Don't expect an action-packed story with unexpected twists and turns, as you certainly won't get it, but it is still a strong story of growing up, having the courage of one's own convictions, moral integrity, of friendship, and of love of happily-ever-after kind.
August 22, 2020
I feel as though this book could have been written in homage to the great Sir Terry. This is not Ankh Morpork and we are not floating on the back of the Great A'Tuin - rather, the author has chosen a pre-industrial Asian country, largely isolated from Western culture, operating in a rigid matriarchal caste-system and populated by characters bearing names drawn from various Eastern, SE and Western Asian cultures. However ... there are just so many parallels!
We get MC Shuibai - a hapless bumbling protagonist with a heart of gold (Moist von Lipwig / Rincewind / William de Worde) who's reluctantly caught up in socio-cultural instability and somehow (by stroke of luck or inspired design) delivers an effective change - in this case effective fire-fighting services facing conditions not unlike Edo or London in the mid-seventeenth century (I'm reminded of Going Postal or Guards! Guards!). The Golden Emperor is a seemingly all-powerful ruling figure who may or may not have come legitimately to power (The Patrician). Otherworldly/supernatural entities intrude unexpectedly into day to day life (yes! there be dragons). All these elements added up to a fast paced action-driven plot with numerous conflagrations, deaths and murder of innocents, nasty crime-lords, political shenanigans, personal attacks on life, snide humor and of course romance.
The M-M romance is subtle - full of deep longings and repressed feelings and like the Disc-world, any action is discreetly taken off-screen - this did not detract from my reading enjoyment. A couple of scenarios did stretch my credibility but hey - this is a fantasy-of-sorts right? A sequel please Mr Kei?
4.5 stars for a new author (to me) and whilst there does not seem to be more of this type of offering, I might give his naval adventure series a go.
We get MC Shuibai - a hapless bumbling protagonist with a heart of gold (Moist von Lipwig / Rincewind / William de Worde) who's reluctantly caught up in socio-cultural instability and somehow (by stroke of luck or inspired design) delivers an effective change - in this case effective fire-fighting services facing conditions not unlike Edo or London in the mid-seventeenth century (I'm reminded of Going Postal or Guards! Guards!). The Golden Emperor is a seemingly all-powerful ruling figure who may or may not have come legitimately to power (The Patrician). Otherworldly/supernatural entities intrude unexpectedly into day to day life (yes! there be dragons). All these elements added up to a fast paced action-driven plot with numerous conflagrations, deaths and murder of innocents, nasty crime-lords, political shenanigans, personal attacks on life, snide humor and of course romance.
The M-M romance is subtle - full of deep longings and repressed feelings and like the Disc-world, any action is discreetly taken off-screen - this did not detract from my reading enjoyment. A couple of scenarios did stretch my credibility but hey - this is a fantasy-of-sorts right? A sequel please Mr Kei?
4.5 stars for a new author (to me) and whilst there does not seem to be more of this type of offering, I might give his naval adventure series a go.
August 26, 2018
Just when you thought there was no such thing as entirely original fantasy novel, here comes M. Kei -- better known for "iron men in wooden ships" tales of gay heroes under sail -- with a most enjoyable book.
The novel is described as a "gay Asian fantasy," but if you’re looking for a specifically gay story set against a fantasy backdrop, this might not be the read you’re looking for. In fact, this is a mainstream fantasy in which the delicately understated romantic thread doesn’t involve a female type. If you have any experience with classic Asian cinema, you’ll recall how the love interest in these films is so subtle, occidental eyes can easily miss it. The romance in Fire Dragon is cast from this mold: a warm friendship that barely spills over into sensuality, while the novel has bigger fish to fry -- literally.
The plot is the rags-to-riches story of a young man, Shuibai -- and even the name is cunning, at least in Cantonese. It translates out a half dozen ways, with untold layers of meaning, all keenly apropos of Shuibai. He’s poor and uneducated, but neither stupid nor craven, and when an opportunity comes to better himself and serve the greater good of the community at the same time, he’s quick to pick up the gauntlet. The narrative often has a "naïve" quality, an almost "Once upon a time" flavor, reflecting the simplicity and inexperience of the central character, from whose perspective most of the story is told.
Shuibai lives in an impoverished but free town on the skirts of the city, close by the river port; and he’s a leatherworker by trade. One of the book's strengths is Kei's attention to the minutiae of his world-building, and we soon learn that Shuibai is an "untouchable," as are all those who work with dead and broken things, and refuse. The society in which he lives is overburdened with a caste system such as existed in India until a date far more recent than we might like to remember.
Through an act more of fate than altruism, the visiting Fire Lord confers upon Shuibai the office of Fire Warden, a position carrying a great deal of responsibility but no financial compensation. He’s on his own in a make-or-break venture, but Dame Fortune is on his side. In a series of lucky breaks he’ll be pushed to his limits, given chances to make good -- or not, according to his own courage, ingenuity and intelligence. Shuibai is given a mystery to crack, as well as solving the problems of doing a hard, dangerous job for which the machinery doesn’t (yet) exist; and he’ll do it under the knives, literally, of enemies with their own agenda.
The city and its satellite "free towns" are crowded together with a big, still growing, population; and they’re built of wood, bamboo and paper. The greatest hazard they face isn’t invasion by foreign warlords … it’s fire. As the story opens, there’s no such thing as an established fire service, but this will change, largely through the invention and dedication of Shuibai, who finds himself inspired not merely by an ambition to succeed, but by the painfully obvious need for a fire service.
Almost as the story begins, he meets the crippled son of a regional Fire Chief. The character of Zashi is delicately drawn, in sharp contrast to the robust, rustic Shuibai. Zashi is an artist and poet; also moody and inclined to a certain melancholia, due to the fact of his crippled left side, which has robbed him of his youth, endurance and employment prospects. Zashi has a dimension more education than Shuibai, and Shuibai comes to admire him for his learning and artistry as much as for his beauty.
But Zashi is hiding an immense secret -- which I’m even going to hint at here. The last thing you’ll thank me for it plot spoilers! Suffice to say, these young men are halves of one whole, in a comfortable and almost entirely platonic relationship. When sensuality blossoms at last, it’s a simple expression of the warm friendship they’ve shared for so long, quite without fireworks or melodrama; and this friendship is the relationship on which much of the novel is predicated.
The great strengths of Fire Dragon are in the sheer originality of the idea: the formation and development of a fire service in a frighteningly vulnerable city, and the author’s creative decision to stage the project in a fantasy Asian setting. Picture a lavish cross between China and Japan, anything between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries, in which the height of technology is gunpowder for fireworks. Over the border are enemy hordes … showing up in the city are quite advanced and totally illegal firearms -- not pistols, but revolvers (telling us clearly, this land of swords, clan politicking and bushido has been left behind, in an industrial sense, by the world outside). The Emperor himself is concealing an enormous secret, while the feudal nature of this society is built, pagoda-fashion, from the untouchables on up to the Celestials ... with one more twist.
The power has always rested with women. It’s a matriarchy, and Kei toys fleetingly with what could have been a clever exercise in role reversal. A half dozen chapters in, I was looking forward to seeing this explored. It’s seldom done properly or effectively. However, after touching briefly on this aspect of the framework for the story, Kei set it aside, never returned to it. He defines the role of the male in this society as the more or less "miserable beast of burden," while several of the female characters -- notably Shuibai’s mother -- are depicted as "harridans." Men, at least of Shuibai’s caste, genuinely believe they don’t have the brains to be educated, conduct business, become independently wealthy … they have the brawn, and are fated to do the heavy lifting. Early hints are given, regarding Shuibai’s rebelliousness about the male predicament, but this avenue of plot peters out as events pivoting on the formation of the fire service gather momentum. It’s a pity the role reversal aspect was abandoned because, given the freshness of the rest of the project, I’d been fascinated to see how this was worked out.
The book does have problems on the technical level -- niceties of editing which have gone overlooked. Also, I confess, I did begin to skim the descriptions of the costuming, which could become a tad over-enthusiastic; and I do have reservations about expressions that seem inappropriate in a fantasy staged in a late Iron Age setting. For example, "do the math," "pyrotechnics," "pneumonia" and so forth are contemporary terms that sit uncomfortably in a quasi-historical narrative. One or two of the plot developments stretched my "suspension of disbelief" just a tad too far. For instance, I found it implausible when a lad as simple and circumspect as Shuibai deliberately wrecked the establishment of the local yakuza boss … and then he and his men didn’t wake up very dead the next morning, after the kind of vengeance spree for which yakuza are infamous.
However, if you can turn the proverbial blind eye where necessary, Fire Dragon has much to offer, and comes recommended. It’s fresh and color-saturated, with an enormous depth of world building, and endearing characterization. There’s a lot in it to enjoy. Four stars.
The novel is described as a "gay Asian fantasy," but if you’re looking for a specifically gay story set against a fantasy backdrop, this might not be the read you’re looking for. In fact, this is a mainstream fantasy in which the delicately understated romantic thread doesn’t involve a female type. If you have any experience with classic Asian cinema, you’ll recall how the love interest in these films is so subtle, occidental eyes can easily miss it. The romance in Fire Dragon is cast from this mold: a warm friendship that barely spills over into sensuality, while the novel has bigger fish to fry -- literally.
The plot is the rags-to-riches story of a young man, Shuibai -- and even the name is cunning, at least in Cantonese. It translates out a half dozen ways, with untold layers of meaning, all keenly apropos of Shuibai. He’s poor and uneducated, but neither stupid nor craven, and when an opportunity comes to better himself and serve the greater good of the community at the same time, he’s quick to pick up the gauntlet. The narrative often has a "naïve" quality, an almost "Once upon a time" flavor, reflecting the simplicity and inexperience of the central character, from whose perspective most of the story is told.
Shuibai lives in an impoverished but free town on the skirts of the city, close by the river port; and he’s a leatherworker by trade. One of the book's strengths is Kei's attention to the minutiae of his world-building, and we soon learn that Shuibai is an "untouchable," as are all those who work with dead and broken things, and refuse. The society in which he lives is overburdened with a caste system such as existed in India until a date far more recent than we might like to remember.
Through an act more of fate than altruism, the visiting Fire Lord confers upon Shuibai the office of Fire Warden, a position carrying a great deal of responsibility but no financial compensation. He’s on his own in a make-or-break venture, but Dame Fortune is on his side. In a series of lucky breaks he’ll be pushed to his limits, given chances to make good -- or not, according to his own courage, ingenuity and intelligence. Shuibai is given a mystery to crack, as well as solving the problems of doing a hard, dangerous job for which the machinery doesn’t (yet) exist; and he’ll do it under the knives, literally, of enemies with their own agenda.
The city and its satellite "free towns" are crowded together with a big, still growing, population; and they’re built of wood, bamboo and paper. The greatest hazard they face isn’t invasion by foreign warlords … it’s fire. As the story opens, there’s no such thing as an established fire service, but this will change, largely through the invention and dedication of Shuibai, who finds himself inspired not merely by an ambition to succeed, but by the painfully obvious need for a fire service.
Almost as the story begins, he meets the crippled son of a regional Fire Chief. The character of Zashi is delicately drawn, in sharp contrast to the robust, rustic Shuibai. Zashi is an artist and poet; also moody and inclined to a certain melancholia, due to the fact of his crippled left side, which has robbed him of his youth, endurance and employment prospects. Zashi has a dimension more education than Shuibai, and Shuibai comes to admire him for his learning and artistry as much as for his beauty.
But Zashi is hiding an immense secret -- which I’m even going to hint at here. The last thing you’ll thank me for it plot spoilers! Suffice to say, these young men are halves of one whole, in a comfortable and almost entirely platonic relationship. When sensuality blossoms at last, it’s a simple expression of the warm friendship they’ve shared for so long, quite without fireworks or melodrama; and this friendship is the relationship on which much of the novel is predicated.
The great strengths of Fire Dragon are in the sheer originality of the idea: the formation and development of a fire service in a frighteningly vulnerable city, and the author’s creative decision to stage the project in a fantasy Asian setting. Picture a lavish cross between China and Japan, anything between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries, in which the height of technology is gunpowder for fireworks. Over the border are enemy hordes … showing up in the city are quite advanced and totally illegal firearms -- not pistols, but revolvers (telling us clearly, this land of swords, clan politicking and bushido has been left behind, in an industrial sense, by the world outside). The Emperor himself is concealing an enormous secret, while the feudal nature of this society is built, pagoda-fashion, from the untouchables on up to the Celestials ... with one more twist.
The power has always rested with women. It’s a matriarchy, and Kei toys fleetingly with what could have been a clever exercise in role reversal. A half dozen chapters in, I was looking forward to seeing this explored. It’s seldom done properly or effectively. However, after touching briefly on this aspect of the framework for the story, Kei set it aside, never returned to it. He defines the role of the male in this society as the more or less "miserable beast of burden," while several of the female characters -- notably Shuibai’s mother -- are depicted as "harridans." Men, at least of Shuibai’s caste, genuinely believe they don’t have the brains to be educated, conduct business, become independently wealthy … they have the brawn, and are fated to do the heavy lifting. Early hints are given, regarding Shuibai’s rebelliousness about the male predicament, but this avenue of plot peters out as events pivoting on the formation of the fire service gather momentum. It’s a pity the role reversal aspect was abandoned because, given the freshness of the rest of the project, I’d been fascinated to see how this was worked out.
The book does have problems on the technical level -- niceties of editing which have gone overlooked. Also, I confess, I did begin to skim the descriptions of the costuming, which could become a tad over-enthusiastic; and I do have reservations about expressions that seem inappropriate in a fantasy staged in a late Iron Age setting. For example, "do the math," "pyrotechnics," "pneumonia" and so forth are contemporary terms that sit uncomfortably in a quasi-historical narrative. One or two of the plot developments stretched my "suspension of disbelief" just a tad too far. For instance, I found it implausible when a lad as simple and circumspect as Shuibai deliberately wrecked the establishment of the local yakuza boss … and then he and his men didn’t wake up very dead the next morning, after the kind of vengeance spree for which yakuza are infamous.
However, if you can turn the proverbial blind eye where necessary, Fire Dragon has much to offer, and comes recommended. It’s fresh and color-saturated, with an enormous depth of world building, and endearing characterization. There’s a lot in it to enjoy. Four stars.
January 2, 2014
This is one wonderfully crafted fantasy, inspired by ancient Chinese culture and a little folklore. It is amazingly well written with colorful and detailed descriptions which brings this rich fantasy realm alive in my head. Such vivid and colorful characters. Shuibai, an untouchable of the lowest caste in his society is immensely likable. I was completely engrossed in the growth of this character, from an impoverished, ignorant and uneducated peasant of the lowest caste to a responsible and respectable fire chief known for his resourcefulness and who associates with lords and royalties, including the Emperor! All the more hard in a world ruled by women. Shuibai's adventures as he fought with fires and hoodlums, stumbled into court intricacies and betrayals were mesmerizing. I love the fire fighting scenes, the fitting metaphor to the fire dragon. There is of course a lovely romance too as Shuibai saw Zashi much more than just a pitiful cripple. These two complemented each other perfectly and their partnership in their very own fire company, the climatic twist really made wonderful reading. Highly recommended for those of us who love a quality fantasy.
June 9, 2012
Unlike any other! As an enthusiastic reader of M. Kei’s tanka poetry and “Pirates of the Narrow Seas,” I was eager to explore his newest, “Fire Dragon.” The world he has created is beautifully drawn and fanciful, often illustrating the poetry in nature. There is courtly intrigue, and yet “Fire Dragon” is a peasant’s tale. In a time when Spirits rule over humanity, taran rule over commoners, and women rule over men, Shuibai ‘the untouchable’ dares to evolve – empowered by the challenges confronting him. “Fire Dragon” is a rewarding reading experience, and I recommend it highly.
May 29, 2012
This story takes place in a mythical time, but the way M. Kei describes the village(s), the traditions, and each of the players is in a way that makes them very real, and not too fantastical for belief. Shuibai is a poor, simple man who grows not only to stand up to those who need standing up to, but discovers love and honor, as well as his place in his world. A fantastically written tale that I read in one sitting.
October 2, 2017
Extremely well written but a little slow paced
November 4, 2012
I have enjoyed this author's other books in his 'Pirates of the Narrow Seas' series. This book, alas, contained a little too much fantasy for my taste, and is somewhat difficult to categorize.
The tale is set in some mythical kingdom where women dominate, with a hybrid social structure that resembles feudal Japan, while being ruled by human Avatars of mystical forces. The main character is a low-caste leather worker who improbably and suddenly finds himself appointed fire warden for his town by the District Fire Lord. Despite knowing nothing about preventing or fighting fires, our hero takes to the task wholeheartedly, and through a series of misadventures, harrowing catastrophes, and inventiveness -- reforms the fire-fighting business, stops major conflagrations, unveils criminal uprisings, wins the gratitude of the Golden Emperor, and along the way, claims the heart of a fellow fire-fighter and comrade. An implausible fairy tale, although if you can suspend disbelief, it draws you in, and is never dull.
Overall, the book is engaging and well-written, even if dialogue between characters can sometimes tend to be a bit corny. Putting the dialog aside, which isn't a major distraction, this is a fun read, regardless of the overt melodrama and fantasy.
The tale is set in some mythical kingdom where women dominate, with a hybrid social structure that resembles feudal Japan, while being ruled by human Avatars of mystical forces. The main character is a low-caste leather worker who improbably and suddenly finds himself appointed fire warden for his town by the District Fire Lord. Despite knowing nothing about preventing or fighting fires, our hero takes to the task wholeheartedly, and through a series of misadventures, harrowing catastrophes, and inventiveness -- reforms the fire-fighting business, stops major conflagrations, unveils criminal uprisings, wins the gratitude of the Golden Emperor, and along the way, claims the heart of a fellow fire-fighter and comrade. An implausible fairy tale, although if you can suspend disbelief, it draws you in, and is never dull.
Overall, the book is engaging and well-written, even if dialogue between characters can sometimes tend to be a bit corny. Putting the dialog aside, which isn't a major distraction, this is a fun read, regardless of the overt melodrama and fantasy.
August 6, 2016
First I lend it, then I read and then… I bought it as fast as I possibly could, because - quite frankly: this book is very unique annd very re-readable!
Not exactly what I'd call "romance" as it is tagged, but a very unromantic tale of an asian or asian-inspired fantasy-world that invites more than this one visit. More like an actual historical novel, this story is really beautiful in its pure storytelling, with its strong but struggling and imperfect characters and a line of action both dark and violent but still full of hope and enthusiasm. It is very admirable how the author created a very dark and realistic world with political fractions, violence and destruction left and right but still maintained a lightness and a "light" in his story that doesn't feel overwhelming or over-the-top. Here is no glorious battle or victory, no brighly shining hero without fault, or a heroic last man standing. It's a quiet story with quiet imperfect heroes in a harsh world - and I loved it!
Not exactly what I'd call "romance" as it is tagged, but a very unromantic tale of an asian or asian-inspired fantasy-world that invites more than this one visit. More like an actual historical novel, this story is really beautiful in its pure storytelling, with its strong but struggling and imperfect characters and a line of action both dark and violent but still full of hope and enthusiasm. It is very admirable how the author created a very dark and realistic world with political fractions, violence and destruction left and right but still maintained a lightness and a "light" in his story that doesn't feel overwhelming or over-the-top. Here is no glorious battle or victory, no brighly shining hero without fault, or a heroic last man standing. It's a quiet story with quiet imperfect heroes in a harsh world - and I loved it!
May 31, 2012
I had the good fortune to read this book while it was in one of its last edits and found it engaging and unique. I studied archetypes in literature in school and this novel is rich not just with those elemental (no pun intended) fixtures but actually challenging the most familiar. It is exciting, romantic, and mysterious. it is a look into a different sort of world than you are likely to find again any time soon.
Nan Hawthorne
Editor, Our Story: GLBTQ historical Fiction
GLBT Bookshelf www.glbtbookshelf.com
Nan Hawthorne
Editor, Our Story: GLBTQ historical Fiction
GLBT Bookshelf www.glbtbookshelf.com
January 29, 2012
2.5 This had a good start, but I lost interest as it went along. Mainly because of the low level of emotional interest ... I believed in the character's passion for firefighting much more than in any passion in the lackuster romance.
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