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Dark Heavens #0
Small Shen
SMALL SHEN is the amazing story of Gold -- a stone spirit and a chronic troublemaker in the court of the great Gods of Chinese mythology.
A mix of Kylie Chan′s brilliant storytelling and Queenie Chan′s beautiful illustrations, SMALL SHEN is a fantastic treat for fans of WHITE TIGER. Readers will be thrilled to discover the events leading up to John Chen and Emma Donahoe′s story in this wonderful prequel.
Shown through Queenie Chan′s stunning illustrations and comics, the story follows the stone spirit Gold′s entertaining adventures throughout history. His escapades include seducing a dragon princess, attempting to steal one of the Tiger′s wives, making bets with demons, and working for the Blue Dragon of the East.
Eventually, as a result of his crimes against Heaven and his constant philandering, Gold is ordered to join the household of Xuan Wu, the Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens. Xuan Wu is also known as John Chen, a Hong Kong businessman.
The story then follows Gold and Jade -- the dragon princess - in contemporary Hong Kong. The two small shen must help guard John Chen′s beloved human wife and baby daughter from demon attack. John Chen is vulnerable to attack while living on Earth, but his family are in the most danger of all...
SMALL SHEN is a unique piece of work for fans of Kylie Chan to treasure, but also a fantastic introduction to this gripping series.
A mix of Kylie Chan′s brilliant storytelling and Queenie Chan′s beautiful illustrations, SMALL SHEN is a fantastic treat for fans of WHITE TIGER. Readers will be thrilled to discover the events leading up to John Chen and Emma Donahoe′s story in this wonderful prequel.
Shown through Queenie Chan′s stunning illustrations and comics, the story follows the stone spirit Gold′s entertaining adventures throughout history. His escapades include seducing a dragon princess, attempting to steal one of the Tiger′s wives, making bets with demons, and working for the Blue Dragon of the East.
Eventually, as a result of his crimes against Heaven and his constant philandering, Gold is ordered to join the household of Xuan Wu, the Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens. Xuan Wu is also known as John Chen, a Hong Kong businessman.
The story then follows Gold and Jade -- the dragon princess - in contemporary Hong Kong. The two small shen must help guard John Chen′s beloved human wife and baby daughter from demon attack. John Chen is vulnerable to attack while living on Earth, but his family are in the most danger of all...
SMALL SHEN is a unique piece of work for fans of Kylie Chan to treasure, but also a fantastic introduction to this gripping series.
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2012
About the author
Kylie Chan
26 books594 followersKylie doesn't participate in the Goodreads network. You can find her fanpage on Facebook or visit her website at www.kyliechan.com.
Kylie Chan married a Hong Kong national in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony in Eastern China, lived in Australia for ten years, then moved to Hong Kong for ten years and during that time learnt a great deal about Chinese culture and came to appreciate the customs and way of life.
In 2003 she closed down her successful IT consultancy company in Hong Kong and moved back to Australia. She decided to use her knowledge of Chinese mythology, culture, and martial arts to weave a story that would appeal to a wide audience.
Since returning to Australia, Kylie has studied Kung Fu (Wing Chun and Southern Chow Clan styles) as well as Tai Chi and is now a senior belt in both forms. She has also made an intensive study of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy and has brought all of these together into her storytelling.
Kylie is a mother of two who lives in Queensland's Gold Coast. She is the best-selling author of the Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilogies, which tell the story of Emma, an ordinary Australian woman thrown into the world of Chinese Gods, martial arts, and magic. Emma must deal with a bewildering variety of Chinese mythological creatures from dragons to the Monkey King as she learns martial arts from her employer John Chen, who is really the God of Martial Arts, Xuan Wu.
Kylie Chan married a Hong Kong national in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony in Eastern China, lived in Australia for ten years, then moved to Hong Kong for ten years and during that time learnt a great deal about Chinese culture and came to appreciate the customs and way of life.
In 2003 she closed down her successful IT consultancy company in Hong Kong and moved back to Australia. She decided to use her knowledge of Chinese mythology, culture, and martial arts to weave a story that would appeal to a wide audience.
Since returning to Australia, Kylie has studied Kung Fu (Wing Chun and Southern Chow Clan styles) as well as Tai Chi and is now a senior belt in both forms. She has also made an intensive study of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy and has brought all of these together into her storytelling.
Kylie is a mother of two who lives in Queensland's Gold Coast. She is the best-selling author of the Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilogies, which tell the story of Emma, an ordinary Australian woman thrown into the world of Chinese Gods, martial arts, and magic. Emma must deal with a bewildering variety of Chinese mythological creatures from dragons to the Monkey King as she learns martial arts from her employer John Chen, who is really the God of Martial Arts, Xuan Wu.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 21, 2014
Small Shen is a short graphically-enhanced novel written by Kylie Chan and illustrated by Queenie Chan. The text is interspersed with graphic novel-style illustrations, particularly in the scenes flashing back to Gold's earlier days (hundreds of years earlier), whereas the main story takes place in the 1990s Hong Kong.
Small Shen follows Gold, a minor deity who featured in Kylie Chan's Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilgies. I've read the Dark Heavens trilogy and the first book of Journey to Wudang and I have to admit I never paid a huge amount of attention to Gold. But Small Shen endeared him to me significantly. He's a bisexual, gender-swapping rock in human form. What's not to like?
There are two story threads in Small Shen: flashbacks to Gold's earlier days starting back in the 1700s and the story of Gold's service to Xuan Wu and John Chen and his wife in the 1990s. The flashbacks are mostly about Gold committing mischief and getting into trouble but also sketch out the series of events that led to him and Jade (a dragon) being in Xuan Wu's employ. The 1990s storyline tells the story of Xuan Wu/John Chen and his life with his wife Michelle from Gold's point of view. Anyone who's read White Tiger (Dark Heavens book 1) knows how that story must end (big spoiler for Small Shen).
What I found sort of interesting is how unlikeable Michelle was. She spent a lot of time complaining about Xuan Wu's godly responsibilities (he's the second most powerful god after the Jade Emperor) and how hideous his True Form (and basically anything other than human form) is. While I sort of already knew about that it was kind of horrifying seeing it on the page. Like why did they stay together/bother getting married? It does not strike me as a very healthy relationship at all. And that's without the more benign diva qualities Michelle brings in. I have to say, she wasn't supposed to be a likeable character (I'm pretty sure) and that bothered me a bit on principle (only partly because it made their marriage a bit baffling).
I particularly liked the way in which the story was broken up with illustrated flashback vignettes which mixed things up a bit. One aspect which was nice was the way in which Gold's historical shenanigans touched on Chinese history in a real-world sense, rather than just a mythological sense.
Small Shen was a fun read and I highly recommend it to all Kylie Chan fans and to anyone wanting to get a taste of her longer series. Although the trilogies are pure prose, the story in Small Shen — especially the 1990s story — gives a good idea of the sort of thing you can expect in the Dark Heavens trilogy (not to mention all the foreshadowing). Fans of Queenie Chan who aren't familiar with Kylie Chan's writing will, I'm sure, find more to like than just the illustrations.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
Small Shen follows Gold, a minor deity who featured in Kylie Chan's Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilgies. I've read the Dark Heavens trilogy and the first book of Journey to Wudang and I have to admit I never paid a huge amount of attention to Gold. But Small Shen endeared him to me significantly. He's a bisexual, gender-swapping rock in human form. What's not to like?
There are two story threads in Small Shen: flashbacks to Gold's earlier days starting back in the 1700s and the story of Gold's service to Xuan Wu and John Chen and his wife in the 1990s. The flashbacks are mostly about Gold committing mischief and getting into trouble but also sketch out the series of events that led to him and Jade (a dragon) being in Xuan Wu's employ. The 1990s storyline tells the story of Xuan Wu/John Chen and his life with his wife Michelle from Gold's point of view. Anyone who's read White Tiger (Dark Heavens book 1) knows how that story must end (big spoiler for Small Shen).
What I found sort of interesting is how unlikeable Michelle was. She spent a lot of time complaining about Xuan Wu's godly responsibilities (he's the second most powerful god after the Jade Emperor) and how hideous his True Form (and basically anything other than human form) is. While I sort of already knew about that it was kind of horrifying seeing it on the page. Like why did they stay together/bother getting married? It does not strike me as a very healthy relationship at all. And that's without the more benign diva qualities Michelle brings in. I have to say, she wasn't supposed to be a likeable character (I'm pretty sure) and that bothered me a bit on principle (only partly because it made their marriage a bit baffling).
I particularly liked the way in which the story was broken up with illustrated flashback vignettes which mixed things up a bit. One aspect which was nice was the way in which Gold's historical shenanigans touched on Chinese history in a real-world sense, rather than just a mythological sense.
Small Shen was a fun read and I highly recommend it to all Kylie Chan fans and to anyone wanting to get a taste of her longer series. Although the trilogies are pure prose, the story in Small Shen — especially the 1990s story — gives a good idea of the sort of thing you can expect in the Dark Heavens trilogy (not to mention all the foreshadowing). Fans of Queenie Chan who aren't familiar with Kylie Chan's writing will, I'm sure, find more to like than just the illustrations.
4.5 / 5 stars
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
February 6, 2017
This was a pretty good story. It was great to get a background on Gold and Jade and to watch them evolve into the characters we know and love. However, I really did not like Michelle. She was constantly barking orders at people and was extremely self centered. The only time that any form of courage was shown was when the demon king crashed Simone's birthday party. She was always fainting and throwing tantrums. This is the character who is spoken with reverence in the other books. Also, everything bad thing that resulted in the series is a direct result of Michelle's selfishness. She didn't want Xuan Wu to transform into his True Form because "it scared her." As a result he was severely weakened and thus the events of the series. Emma is by far and large a better character than Michelle. Emma is truly what Xuan Wu wanted to see in Michelle.
December 15, 2012
loved it loved it LOVED IT !
You may have guessed already I am a huge Kylie Chan fan and this one didnt disappoint.
I enjoyed going back in time to get the back fill on many of the stories already told. Her character development is always strong and her writing style has lovely explosions of humour. Considering she is writing about some unbelievable stuff, she makes it all appear to be perfectly normal.
You may have guessed already I am a huge Kylie Chan fan and this one didnt disappoint.
I enjoyed going back in time to get the back fill on many of the stories already told. Her character development is always strong and her writing style has lovely explosions of humour. Considering she is writing about some unbelievable stuff, she makes it all appear to be perfectly normal.
March 25, 2017
Disappointingly uneventful compared to the rest of the series.
October 20, 2017
Small Shen in the prequel to White Tiger, telling the story behind how Gold and Jade came into the service of the Dark Lord.
Having read no Kylie Chan before this I felt her writing style was very easy to read but at times could be overly detailed and repetitive. I enjoyed the illustrations by Queenie as they helped with character descriptions and settings. My fave by far of Gold and his tea plantation.
I adored the back and forth between the time periods- it helped with world building and they complex and dense nature of the world. Chan creates this whimsical world that I got swept up in it. The backstory of Gold was told in a vignette style, short stories with a lesson that Gold learns. Also love his friendship with Jade.
The pacing was a little off a time as it picks up and then slams to a holt. which made it harder to invest in. Michelle while at first wasn't overly annoying as the character got more involved with the Shen/Mystic World she became unbearable and downright bratty at some points.
I understand that the world scared her and she was wanting to protect her child but seriously, your husband says it would be safer to go with him but you want to stay for a party? and press, those vultures rather than safety?
I digress. I overall found this book entertaining with good characters and intriguing plot.
June 6, 2018
I love the combination of mediums in this novel. Flicking between prose and images makes this journey really fun and different. Especially when you place it within the context of the Dark Heavens series. Following Gold through the years and his ability to get into all kinds of trouble is entertaining to say the least. The fact that his numerous mistakes are accompanied by actual facial expressions, well, it’s priceless.
As well as the mixed medium, the storyline jumps between time periods. When it is telling the more modern-day story of Michelle and John, there is only prose. The characters that I have grown to love throughout the series are still only witnessed in my mind’s eye. Which I like, nothing destroys a series I have long loved more than being shown another’s image of what the character looks like… only to find out that someone else’s idea is completely different to my own. Yet, when the past is visited and the Gods are seen, there is some vivid and thoroughly enjoyable pictures which can accompany this. Not only do I like the fact that Leo, Emma and Simone aren’t really witnessed throughout this tale, but using pictures to tell a lot of one storyline and not another help to further distinguish between the two timelines and reduce the confusion.
I can remember reading White Tiger years and years ago. And I did kind of wonder just what Gold and Jade had done to be forced into servitude. I also wondered at what kind of woman Michelle was and how the relationship with her was so different to that of Emma’s relationship. This small prequel helps to answer a lot of the questions that I had when I started this series. It’s enjoyable to read this before or after reading the Dark Heavens trilogy. Or really at any point within the great Dark Heavens series.
As well as the mixed medium, the storyline jumps between time periods. When it is telling the more modern-day story of Michelle and John, there is only prose. The characters that I have grown to love throughout the series are still only witnessed in my mind’s eye. Which I like, nothing destroys a series I have long loved more than being shown another’s image of what the character looks like… only to find out that someone else’s idea is completely different to my own. Yet, when the past is visited and the Gods are seen, there is some vivid and thoroughly enjoyable pictures which can accompany this. Not only do I like the fact that Leo, Emma and Simone aren’t really witnessed throughout this tale, but using pictures to tell a lot of one storyline and not another help to further distinguish between the two timelines and reduce the confusion.
I can remember reading White Tiger years and years ago. And I did kind of wonder just what Gold and Jade had done to be forced into servitude. I also wondered at what kind of woman Michelle was and how the relationship with her was so different to that of Emma’s relationship. This small prequel helps to answer a lot of the questions that I had when I started this series. It’s enjoyable to read this before or after reading the Dark Heavens trilogy. Or really at any point within the great Dark Heavens series.
January 5, 2024
This book is unique with a combination of cartoon storytelling and flashbacks to follow the characters.
Small Shen is called 'Gold' and is a 'stone' in his true form as he can shapeshift to male or female form, on the Earthly Realm. In the Heavenly Realm, he is an oval stone. He and his friend 'Jade' are the characters we follow throughout the story.
'Gold' is a very naughty small shen at the beginning and he goes through many life reincarnations to learn the error of his ways. He has many abilities with mathematical and recording skills that prove useful for his various masters. He is sent to Hell for his mistakes and put into servitude by the masters.
The Dark Lord is his master who as a God requested life on an Earthly plane as he falls in love with a human woman. He gives up everything for Michelle. Gold and Jade protect their master's wife from attacks by the demons who wish to attack him.
The ending is well done. I like the thought that even after losing his human wife the Dark Lord could soften to the joy of finding another on the Earthly plane.
It's the combination of flashbacks with comic book sketches that I found disconcerting at first, then enjoyable.
Certainly worth reading the Chinese and Hong Kong stories of the Gods and their Realms. The fantasy is mixed with history and crazy fantastic creatures.
Small Shen is called 'Gold' and is a 'stone' in his true form as he can shapeshift to male or female form, on the Earthly Realm. In the Heavenly Realm, he is an oval stone. He and his friend 'Jade' are the characters we follow throughout the story.
'Gold' is a very naughty small shen at the beginning and he goes through many life reincarnations to learn the error of his ways. He has many abilities with mathematical and recording skills that prove useful for his various masters. He is sent to Hell for his mistakes and put into servitude by the masters.
The Dark Lord is his master who as a God requested life on an Earthly plane as he falls in love with a human woman. He gives up everything for Michelle. Gold and Jade protect their master's wife from attacks by the demons who wish to attack him.
The ending is well done. I like the thought that even after losing his human wife the Dark Lord could soften to the joy of finding another on the Earthly plane.
It's the combination of flashbacks with comic book sketches that I found disconcerting at first, then enjoyable.
Certainly worth reading the Chinese and Hong Kong stories of the Gods and their Realms. The fantasy is mixed with history and crazy fantastic creatures.
June 16, 2018
This is a departure for Kylie Chan. I adored her Dark Heavens series about the Chinese pantheon of gods - all disturbed in some weird ways. I confess that I am more than a little in love with Xuan Wu/John Chen. He has the alpha traits - after all, he is the god of the Northern Heavens, the premier martial arts practitioner, over 3000 year old god of war. The other gods are loyal and hilarious - White Tiger of the West, with his harem of over 300 mostly human women and hundreds of children, most in his service; the Blue Dragon who breathes fire and dreads anyone finding out how kind he is; the Red Phoenix. Well, I digress. This is a great story explaining Gold, a small stone shen, and how he came to be in Xuan Wu's service. It gives the back story to Xuan Wu's human wife, Michelle. She is a noted opera singer and they have fallen in love. They have a new baby, Simone. This sets the stage for the other books.
September 5, 2020
Love this little prequel book. When I first brought it, I thought it was just a little filler to hold us over until the next set of books, but I love the story of Jade and Gold, and how they formed from hating each other to almost a sibling relationship. I was always interested in them in the Dark Heavens trilogy, but now I understand more about them. Love the illustrations as well. Great job to Queenie and Kylie.
December 14, 2020
This was a very interesting prequel to a series I love and adore so much. Whilst you can read this without reading the series, you actually have a better experience with it if you have read the entire series (from White Tiger to Journey to Wudang to Celestial Battle) then read this book. The story was interesting, you come to either love or hate characters in this prequel and the art by Queenie Chan is phenomenal. This series will stay with me for a very long time.
May 2, 2016
I'm a fan of Kylie Chan's series about the Taoist Gods. The series starts with White Tiger.
White Tiger by Kylie ChanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
"A young woman accepts a position as nanny to the young daughter of a handsome, wealthy, and mysterious Chinese businessman only to discover her new employer is really a god and every foul demon in creation is out to destroy him!"
This is a very complex world that is developed through a lot of books. I was excited to see that there was a standalone story about Gold. I wanted to get it to read for Weirdathon in March. So when March came around I went to try to find it. That's when I discovered that I wasn't allowed to have it.
This book is not available outside of Australia. Ok, but there is this thing called the Internet and you can buy anything... or not. It turned out to be surprisingly difficult. By this time I was determined. Nothing will make you want something like being told you can't have it.
I finally found a store willing to sell me a copy and based on the cost of shipping they must have sent it on the back of a flying unicorn to get to my house.
It was worth it though. I love the style of having a written novel interspersed with sections of graphic novel. I want the rest of the series like this. For a series based on gods who have any different aspects and presentations this is a big help.
A photo posted by @dvmheather on Apr 17, 2016 at 4:08pm PDT
The cover copy says that this is a good introduction to the series. I don't think so. It does take place before the series starts but you don't get the gentle introduction and world building that happens in the first book. If you feel like seeing a floating stone carrying towels to the human wives of a white tiger and then finding a snake and a turtle lounging in the pool would leave you with some questions, read the White Tiger first. For fans of the series this is a fun read about one of the essential secondary characters that you really don't get to know much about. This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story
June 18, 2014
I’d like to start off to say that this book has adult themes. The cover, title and the fact that it has illustrations has previously confused some readers, but Small Shen is not a kid’s book. If you’re thinking of giving this to a child, I’d suggest reading it first.
I bought Small Shen at Supanova this weekend since it’s the only Kylie Chan book I don’t have, and I was lucky enough to have her sign it for me :)
I’ve wanted to read Small Shen for a long, long time. It’s a prequel to the Dark Heavens series and shows how Gold and Jade came to work for the Dark Lord. The story alternates time periods, telling us what happened just before White Tiger and also about what’s happened to Gold and Jade since the 1700s. I think it was a clever way to tell this story because it answers all the questions we’ve ever had in a new format and also plants a few clues for the next series.
Small Shen isn’t wholly a graphic novel, nor is it wholly written in prose: the two styles are cleverly mixed to provide readers with a unique experience. I love Queenie Chan’s illustrations: they’re gorgeous and vividly bring the past to life. I wish that we could have been treated to a few of those images in colour, however, since the cover gives us a glimpse of how they might have looked and I wanted more.
I think my only disappointment in this book is the Michelle, who is a truly annoying character. She seemed like such a diva that I quickly began to dread when she came on scene, which isn’t how I wanted to feel about her. I did also think everyone worried a little too much about Simone’s safety – it got very repetitive when readers had to be reminded in almost every chapter how precious she is and how important it is to keep demons from finding her. It’s not that I think she’s unimportant, but I think readers are smart enough to have grasped that early on and the useless repetition jarred the reading experience for me.
Small Shen is not to be missed by fans of Chan’s works, but it’s also a perfect jumping off point for those who have never tried her before. Although stylistically quite different from her other works, the quality of the storytelling and amazing characters are all present, and I think readers will thoroughly enjoy the multimedia element.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .
I bought Small Shen at Supanova this weekend since it’s the only Kylie Chan book I don’t have, and I was lucky enough to have her sign it for me :)
I’ve wanted to read Small Shen for a long, long time. It’s a prequel to the Dark Heavens series and shows how Gold and Jade came to work for the Dark Lord. The story alternates time periods, telling us what happened just before White Tiger and also about what’s happened to Gold and Jade since the 1700s. I think it was a clever way to tell this story because it answers all the questions we’ve ever had in a new format and also plants a few clues for the next series.
Small Shen isn’t wholly a graphic novel, nor is it wholly written in prose: the two styles are cleverly mixed to provide readers with a unique experience. I love Queenie Chan’s illustrations: they’re gorgeous and vividly bring the past to life. I wish that we could have been treated to a few of those images in colour, however, since the cover gives us a glimpse of how they might have looked and I wanted more.
I think my only disappointment in this book is the Michelle, who is a truly annoying character. She seemed like such a diva that I quickly began to dread when she came on scene, which isn’t how I wanted to feel about her. I did also think everyone worried a little too much about Simone’s safety – it got very repetitive when readers had to be reminded in almost every chapter how precious she is and how important it is to keep demons from finding her. It’s not that I think she’s unimportant, but I think readers are smart enough to have grasped that early on and the useless repetition jarred the reading experience for me.
Small Shen is not to be missed by fans of Chan’s works, but it’s also a perfect jumping off point for those who have never tried her before. Although stylistically quite different from her other works, the quality of the storytelling and amazing characters are all present, and I think readers will thoroughly enjoy the multimedia element.
You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic .
January 13, 2014
This and more reviews, interviews etc are on Dark Matter Zine, an online magazine. http://www.darkmatterzine.com. This review was written by Nalini Haynes for Dark Matter Zine.
A mythic tale of Chinese gods, Small Shen explores how Gold and Jade met and later came to work for the Dark Lord.
Gold is a minor Chinese god whose natural form is a piece of quartz with veins of gold but he can take human form at will, including changing his appearance. Think Monkey, the TV series. Gold is sexually voracious and capricious, causing trouble in the Celestial Heavens before being forced into slavery. Gold’s sexual preferences are somewhat flexible, aided by his ability to manifest as either male or female. Jade, a princess dragon, also takes human form at will, but when she’s a dragon it seems humans don’t notice her flying around.
John Chen, Xuan Wu, is the Dark Lord who left his exalted place in the Celestial Heavens for love of a woman, Michelle. Wu even summons a flying cloud for celestial travel, squee!
Gold assumes the role of lawyer and ICT expert for Chen while Jade’s draconic affinity with numbers makes accountancy her perfect role.
Small Shen unfolds in 2002 with scenes from various stages in the characters’ history juxtaposed throughout, setting up the ongoing series (this is a prequel) while building the characters.
Kylie Chan lived in Hong Kong for some time, inspiring her to begin the series for which Small Shen is a prequel. The descriptions of Hong Kong and its surrounds – including the harbour – are vividly painted in Kylie’s prose. Small Shen isn’t just aspirational writing inspired by Chinese mythology, it’s a truly cross-cultural product.
What sets Small Shen apart from your average novel or graphic novel is the combination of traditional prose written by Kylie Chan and manga drawn by Queenie Chan. Yunyu performed the soundtrack for the book trailer (below) that’s a free extra when you purchase the book (scan the code to download the song ‘Butterflies’). Small Shen is a truly multimedia experience.
When I finished Small Shen I figuratively rolled up my sleeves thinking ‘Right. Now to get the rest of the series.’ I think I’m hooked. Highly recommended for fans of Eastern-inspired fantasy.
A mythic tale of Chinese gods, Small Shen explores how Gold and Jade met and later came to work for the Dark Lord.
Gold is a minor Chinese god whose natural form is a piece of quartz with veins of gold but he can take human form at will, including changing his appearance. Think Monkey, the TV series. Gold is sexually voracious and capricious, causing trouble in the Celestial Heavens before being forced into slavery. Gold’s sexual preferences are somewhat flexible, aided by his ability to manifest as either male or female. Jade, a princess dragon, also takes human form at will, but when she’s a dragon it seems humans don’t notice her flying around.
John Chen, Xuan Wu, is the Dark Lord who left his exalted place in the Celestial Heavens for love of a woman, Michelle. Wu even summons a flying cloud for celestial travel, squee!
Gold assumes the role of lawyer and ICT expert for Chen while Jade’s draconic affinity with numbers makes accountancy her perfect role.
Small Shen unfolds in 2002 with scenes from various stages in the characters’ history juxtaposed throughout, setting up the ongoing series (this is a prequel) while building the characters.
Kylie Chan lived in Hong Kong for some time, inspiring her to begin the series for which Small Shen is a prequel. The descriptions of Hong Kong and its surrounds – including the harbour – are vividly painted in Kylie’s prose. Small Shen isn’t just aspirational writing inspired by Chinese mythology, it’s a truly cross-cultural product.
What sets Small Shen apart from your average novel or graphic novel is the combination of traditional prose written by Kylie Chan and manga drawn by Queenie Chan. Yunyu performed the soundtrack for the book trailer (below) that’s a free extra when you purchase the book (scan the code to download the song ‘Butterflies’). Small Shen is a truly multimedia experience.
When I finished Small Shen I figuratively rolled up my sleeves thinking ‘Right. Now to get the rest of the series.’ I think I’m hooked. Highly recommended for fans of Eastern-inspired fantasy.
May 8, 2016
I rather enjoyed this book. It was a refreshingly well paced book integrating two stories of unique characters. I found it enjoyable how the story alternated between their past and their present, and in doing so answered any questions that came up along the way. The integration of manga panels and illustrations throughout added another dimension to the story, allowing the characters to really come to life.
Although I enjoyed this book, I also had some small issues with it. The timing for starters. Often it was difficult to tell just how much time had been passing within each chapter of the book. While this doesn't detract in any major way from the story it still caused a little confusion at times.
Another had to be the character of Michelle. I just found I could not sympathize with her. I found her to be rude and ungrateful not to mention completely non-understanding, too wrapped up in herself to really care about anyone else. At times another more relatable and compassionate side of her is shown she never truly looks far enough beyond herself or makes any attempt to understand the predicament of her husband and the shen.
Still I found this book to be vibrant and beautiful, a truly enjoyable read.
Although I enjoyed this book, I also had some small issues with it. The timing for starters. Often it was difficult to tell just how much time had been passing within each chapter of the book. While this doesn't detract in any major way from the story it still caused a little confusion at times.
Another had to be the character of Michelle. I just found I could not sympathize with her. I found her to be rude and ungrateful not to mention completely non-understanding, too wrapped up in herself to really care about anyone else. At times another more relatable and compassionate side of her is shown she never truly looks far enough beyond herself or makes any attempt to understand the predicament of her husband and the shen.
Still I found this book to be vibrant and beautiful, a truly enjoyable read.
July 27, 2013
Small Shen is the prequel to the Dark Heavens series of novels by Australian author, Kylie Chan, and is illustrated by Queenie Chan. The narrative alternates between the time period just before White Tiger (1995-2002) and times before this (1720-1995), and ostensibly tells the story of Gold, the small shen who ends up working for John Chen (Xuan Wu), the Dark Lord of the Northern Heavens, but also details the events surrounding Simone’s birth and her mother, Michelle’s death, ending with the introduction of Emma Donahoe. Chan gives the reader lots of background to the Dark Heavens stories and even a clue to John’s Yang serpent. The “times before” sections are lavishly illustrated by Queenie Chan’s graphics, although the last chapter shows that Queenie’s forte is illustrations of sumptuous scenes of times ago. The cover demonstrates just how gorgeous these illustrations would have been in colour. Fans of this series will be grateful for this taster while they wait for the first of the Celestial Battle series, Dark Serpent.
April 2, 2015
I am a fan of Kylie Chan but I only really picked up this book because I had finished the rest of the books she has written and am waiting for the next book to come out and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I found it to be a bit of a different style to previous books but I quite liked that. The illustrations were really nice and fresh, so much that I was enjoying the story of Gold's past more than the present story about John and Michelle. Considering how in the Dark Heavens and Wudang trilogies, everyone talks about Michelle with awe and respect, I was surprised by just how annoying and frustrating she was. It made her and John's marriage seem weird and I found myself wondering what John saw in her besides her singing voice (although she does get a bit nicer after Simone is born). Overall, this was a really enjoyable and fun book and is great for fans of Kylie Chan to learn a bit more about Gold and Jade, characters that many may have overlooked in the other books.
February 7, 2013
Fantastic, it answered a lot of questions, but left some a mystery. I am now re-reading for probably the 10th time, the next book "white tiger" then will progress through the rest, which I will be finished in time for book 1 "dark serpent" of the last series with it all still fresh in my mind. BTW I wasn't too fussed on the illustrations through out the book, either a written story or a graphic story over the two combined, however I did enjoy seeing what the characters actually looked like in Kylie's mind, mine wasn't too much dissimilar, goes to show how her writing style portrays the characters and brings them to life in the mind of the reader
February 20, 2015
I love all of Kylie Chan's books but i have to say i'm really impressed with small shen!! I like how the book was written back and forth in time where you can still keep track of events. As it's a pre sequel, everything came together as a puzzle and made things more clear out of Dark Heaven and Journey to Wudang trilogies. However the trilogies and Small Shen can be read separately while still understanding the story. I thought the graphic illustrations were great even though i'm not one for reading comics. It would of been cooler if the illustrations were in colour but still awesome either way - a 6/5 stars!!
January 21, 2013
I have all 6 of the Wudang series on my shelf waiting to be read, I really hope they are better. Its not that Small Shen was a horrible story I just was very confused on how to read this. What I mean is that it dealt with some very adult concepts, and some very respected spiritual matters but it felt very comic like and immature as well. I don't mean the short graphic parts I'm fine with that, I love graphic novels and comics I'm referring to tone and style it just felt very odd to me, like I was reading a kids book based on adult material.
August 1, 2013
This is a prequel to Kylie Chan trilogies. There is a over arcing story line in the books. It's something different in urban fantasy because it is set in modern day Hong Kong with Chinese celestials.
What I found jarring about this book is that graphic novel style had been used to delineate the past and prose the present. I don't mind non chronological stories but I'd rather have stuck to one or the other
What I found jarring about this book is that graphic novel style had been used to delineate the past and prose the present. I don't mind non chronological stories but I'd rather have stuck to one or the other
January 29, 2016
Different. Not sure I liked it. I thought I was reading something young adult, then adult, then teen, then back to adult - it confused me in that sense. The story was good, I liked the structure - how it was like a collection of short stories to make up a whole, and how it came back around on itself.
December 4, 2012
This was a really good book that has left me eager for the next book in the series. It fills in a lot of details that have only been hinted at in previous books, and also gives some other events a different perspective.
February 20, 2013
It was good to read the back story to the series of novels that I've enjoyed. I found the manga cartooning interspersed throughout irritating and would have enjoyed the book a lot more if she had written it as a standard novel like her others.
April 23, 2013
If you've read all of kylie's books chances are you know part of the storyline. But presenting it as a graphic novel was an excellent idea. Very engaging and I couldn't put it down. Makes me want to reread the other books.
June 10, 2013
I've loved the series for which this book is a prequel. I did, however, find the manga/text format a bit irritating. The Chinese mythology coupling with contemporary Hong Kong and Western life is both frenetic and fun.
April 24, 2014
This was a great standalone interlude between series books. With a spattering of manga at the start of chapters it added a little more to the story. It was great to go back to a time before Emma arrived and see how the characters met and their relationships grew.
October 13, 2014
I just finished reading this for the second time. I call this book my "peaceful place". The humour and action and love of Kylie Chan books along with the manga inserts make you feel like you indeed have taken a walk into Kwan Yin's garden for a little while. Thank you.
December 1, 2012
Such a good book with two of my minor characters
December 2, 2012
Although this book was a little slow, the artwork of the novel was truly stunning. Queenie Chan did a wonderful job on bringing the characters to life.
May 11, 2013
Wasn't sure I'd like going back to before the original book. It was fantastic. Well done Kylie!
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