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Dark Heavens #1
White Tiger
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!
546 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 24, 2006
209 people are currently reading
3112 people want to read
About the author
Kylie Chan
26 books590 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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February 22, 2017
I picked this book up because the title caught my attention. "White Tiger? One of the four guardians? Sweet!" Alright, my thought process wasn't exactly like that, but the gist is there. So I see that. There were also two other books out on the shelves, each with a name similar to the first. Hm. A series. Could be interesting.
Well, then I start reading. Let's get into that.
Emma Donahoe is an Australian living in Hong Kong. She finds herself in the employ of Mr. John Chen, a wealthy man who needs a nanny for his young daughter, Simone. John is really the Black Turtle, a powerful Chinese god, guardian of the north. They have the American bodyguard, Leo. He's said to be a big, black ugly guy. Who's gay. He's been with John for years now and has been well-trained by him to protect Simone.
The setting is fantastic. I've never read a book that takes place in Hong Kong. Not and be this authentic. The characters go to and talk about real locations with the fluency of locals. They eat the food and live the life style and there's no sense of force behind it. The author has a love of this place and its people and it shows. I enjoy that. Too often, I read a book about a foreign locale and they stereotype it because, and it's painfully obvious, they've never been there. I'm not talking about fantasy locations. Those play by different rules. Real life locations are much harder to write about, I believe, if you've never been there to experience the place.
I also love the author's attention to the mythology. I love Asian mythology. Well, let's face it, I love mythology of all sorts. Chinese, I haven't had as much experience with by itself, only insofar as it was transferred over to Korea or Japan. I am familiar with some basic characters. I've watched enough Chinese movies over the years to absorb that much. I'll admit that most of my Chinese mythology I know from watching Forbidden Kingdom and from reading Japanese manga. The Monkey King has always been a great favorite of mine. But I like learning more. Kylie Chan did a wonderful job of coloring in my knowledge of some of the Chinese gods.
That apart, I've had some serious issues with this book.
First off, the main character, Emma Donahoe. Late-20s Australian woman working as an English teacher in Hong Kong. Neat. Since I usually see American or British books, this is a new venture for me. Kind of plain, doesn't wear make-up, isn't really into clothes or shoes, slightly overweight. Oh, I'm beginning to like this character. She's going to have to live off her personality. I always love to see that. And then ...
... why in the world does she not have a personality?
No joke. The character has got to be the dullest person in first person and I'm stuck with her for 500 pages. I know I've cracked on Stephenie Meyer's Bella Swan as being an empty shell before but Emma makes Bella into an ocean of personality. There are not even any quirks to this character. It's disheartening. She has no hobbies, aside from a rather amusing game of finding the strangely named locals. She has no spark to her. I can't feel her living. I think she might be a piece of paper ... except I can do more with that. I'm pretty sure I know how to make a boat with a piece of paper.
And the weirdest thing, the other characters make a habit of saying "You're so cold-blooded, Emma." whenever she does anything that speaks of common sense. Or even better: "You're not a normal woman." She never really does anything to warrant either of these comments. She does the sensible thing and she's "cold-blooded?" She uses her brain and she's not a normal woman? I think I might be insulted but it's hard to tell. I'm having problems determining if the other characters are really just idiots. Granted, I'm aware I'm not a normal chick. That's never been in question. But then, I enjoy comic books and video games and can keep up with my guy friends in some friendly insult tossing. I'm also aware there are plenty of other varieties of "not normal women" out there. What really gets me is that Emma doesn't do anything for this label to be given to her. Once she joins the Chen household, she acts like a woman. Down to clothes shopping with glee and doing the weird emotional flip-flops of insanity.
No. Seriously. Flip-flops of insanity. Because there's nothing else to call telling her friends and herself, "I respect his decision, I will not pursue him." and then trying to shove yourself into his arms on the next page. Literally. Crying out stupid lines like "We can make the best of the time we have" and "Don't give up on us." That's really ... enlightened, my girl.
Let's not even start on how she orders a god around.
There's Simone as well. I think the girl is a plot point. I mean, she's a major reason for everything in the book but the character herself is so strange. She talks like a preteen oftentimes but behaves like a toddler. I get it. She's half-god. We'll let the brilliance behind her pass. And she's four so we'll let the behavior pass too. Beyond that, she's a cuteness pull. She gets written off into a myriad of classes until The Cuteness is needed to fill in a blank space in the story. But, like I said, she's a main plot purpose.
Leo, I like. He's amusing. He has random lapses of common sense that make, well, no sense. Forget that he's operating under the same protective faculties for years. He'll breach security because "my fault. I forgot to be more careful." Now, granted, people tend to get complacent after awhile. But this tends to happen when things get more quiet, not as they get more intense. Usually, the attacks go up, the alertness does too.
Ah. We're onto the last main character, Mr. Chen. Not too long ago, I read a book that was told from the point of view of a god. It was very well done. He was arrogant, though he never saw it that way, but mostly fair in his dealings with other people. I say mostly because he was a known brat but he understood fairness. Mr. Chen lacks all godly qualities other than power. Then again, he seems to lack that too, since that's a plot point. He spends most of the book acting aloof as befits a thousands-years-old god, but he has these utterly random moments that seem to be written by a fangirl. If he'd been the White Tiger or the Monkey King, I could accept him laughing himself out of his chair. As the Turtle, it's just jarringly out of character. I'll allow that he can dress like a slob. He's a god; they can dress how they want. But he's thousands of years old. Shouldn't he have ... I don't know, some common sense? There's demons attacking his only kid but he wants to send her to a school? In what universe is that smart. Said demons just got into his home and nearly killed everyone. In what way would a school be safer? And then there's the whole reason for the family's predicament.
He made a promise to a scared woman that he wouldn't change to his True Form. This is essentially killing him. First off, why in the world wold he make this promise? The argument that he was in love doesn't really fly. Buddhism applies to his world view; she'll come back eventually. It's not like he really dies. Second thing, why is he still complying with such an idiotic and dangerous promise? I get the honor thing is strong for the Chinese but I also remember Asians, like pirates in movies, are sticklers for wording choice. Said person the promise was made to has been dead for years, if that doesn't negate the promise, he should have found a loophole by now. I mean, some of the best trickster creatures came from Chinese mythology. He's a danger not only to his daughter but to all the people who fall under him in the pantheon, and considering the close tie of the guardians to each other, he's a danger to them as well. By this point, the Jade Emperor should have stepped in and ordered him to restore his power, promise be damned.
The action is another big let-down. I picked up this book expecting martial arts goodness. I mean, what else do you expect with a cover showing a girl in a martial arts pose. The back flap kind of gives that illusion too. However, much of the action is ghosted over. I can understand not being able to write action but I wouldn't have marketed it as being an action book. It doesn't stand up to that. Besides which, it barely has tension. You'd think with a war brewing and demons popping up more often throughout the book that it'd have more tension. It's strangely lacking. Even the romance lacks spark. It all came across as very forced to me ... but that may have been an extension of Emma's wild mood swinging aggressive "I respect you/take me now!" attitude. I think that was incredibly disappointing.
Overall, this wasn't a very good read. It had a great potential to wow but somehow mismanaged that potential. The pros of gaining knowledge and insight into another culture and society just didn't outweigh the bad character development for me.
Well, then I start reading. Let's get into that.
Emma Donahoe is an Australian living in Hong Kong. She finds herself in the employ of Mr. John Chen, a wealthy man who needs a nanny for his young daughter, Simone. John is really the Black Turtle, a powerful Chinese god, guardian of the north. They have the American bodyguard, Leo. He's said to be a big, black ugly guy. Who's gay. He's been with John for years now and has been well-trained by him to protect Simone.
The setting is fantastic. I've never read a book that takes place in Hong Kong. Not and be this authentic. The characters go to and talk about real locations with the fluency of locals. They eat the food and live the life style and there's no sense of force behind it. The author has a love of this place and its people and it shows. I enjoy that. Too often, I read a book about a foreign locale and they stereotype it because, and it's painfully obvious, they've never been there. I'm not talking about fantasy locations. Those play by different rules. Real life locations are much harder to write about, I believe, if you've never been there to experience the place.
I also love the author's attention to the mythology. I love Asian mythology. Well, let's face it, I love mythology of all sorts. Chinese, I haven't had as much experience with by itself, only insofar as it was transferred over to Korea or Japan. I am familiar with some basic characters. I've watched enough Chinese movies over the years to absorb that much. I'll admit that most of my Chinese mythology I know from watching Forbidden Kingdom and from reading Japanese manga. The Monkey King has always been a great favorite of mine. But I like learning more. Kylie Chan did a wonderful job of coloring in my knowledge of some of the Chinese gods.
That apart, I've had some serious issues with this book.
First off, the main character, Emma Donahoe. Late-20s Australian woman working as an English teacher in Hong Kong. Neat. Since I usually see American or British books, this is a new venture for me. Kind of plain, doesn't wear make-up, isn't really into clothes or shoes, slightly overweight. Oh, I'm beginning to like this character. She's going to have to live off her personality. I always love to see that. And then ...
... why in the world does she not have a personality?
No joke. The character has got to be the dullest person in first person and I'm stuck with her for 500 pages. I know I've cracked on Stephenie Meyer's Bella Swan as being an empty shell before but Emma makes Bella into an ocean of personality. There are not even any quirks to this character. It's disheartening. She has no hobbies, aside from a rather amusing game of finding the strangely named locals. She has no spark to her. I can't feel her living. I think she might be a piece of paper ... except I can do more with that. I'm pretty sure I know how to make a boat with a piece of paper.
And the weirdest thing, the other characters make a habit of saying "You're so cold-blooded, Emma." whenever she does anything that speaks of common sense. Or even better: "You're not a normal woman." She never really does anything to warrant either of these comments. She does the sensible thing and she's "cold-blooded?" She uses her brain and she's not a normal woman? I think I might be insulted but it's hard to tell. I'm having problems determining if the other characters are really just idiots. Granted, I'm aware I'm not a normal chick. That's never been in question. But then, I enjoy comic books and video games and can keep up with my guy friends in some friendly insult tossing. I'm also aware there are plenty of other varieties of "not normal women" out there. What really gets me is that Emma doesn't do anything for this label to be given to her. Once she joins the Chen household, she acts like a woman. Down to clothes shopping with glee and doing the weird emotional flip-flops of insanity.
No. Seriously. Flip-flops of insanity. Because there's nothing else to call telling her friends and herself, "I respect his decision, I will not pursue him." and then trying to shove yourself into his arms on the next page. Literally. Crying out stupid lines like "We can make the best of the time we have" and "Don't give up on us." That's really ... enlightened, my girl.
Let's not even start on how she orders a god around.
There's Simone as well. I think the girl is a plot point. I mean, she's a major reason for everything in the book but the character herself is so strange. She talks like a preteen oftentimes but behaves like a toddler. I get it. She's half-god. We'll let the brilliance behind her pass. And she's four so we'll let the behavior pass too. Beyond that, she's a cuteness pull. She gets written off into a myriad of classes until The Cuteness is needed to fill in a blank space in the story. But, like I said, she's a main plot purpose.
Leo, I like. He's amusing. He has random lapses of common sense that make, well, no sense. Forget that he's operating under the same protective faculties for years. He'll breach security because "my fault. I forgot to be more careful." Now, granted, people tend to get complacent after awhile. But this tends to happen when things get more quiet, not as they get more intense. Usually, the attacks go up, the alertness does too.
Ah. We're onto the last main character, Mr. Chen. Not too long ago, I read a book that was told from the point of view of a god. It was very well done. He was arrogant, though he never saw it that way, but mostly fair in his dealings with other people. I say mostly because he was a known brat but he understood fairness. Mr. Chen lacks all godly qualities other than power. Then again, he seems to lack that too, since that's a plot point. He spends most of the book acting aloof as befits a thousands-years-old god, but he has these utterly random moments that seem to be written by a fangirl. If he'd been the White Tiger or the Monkey King, I could accept him laughing himself out of his chair. As the Turtle, it's just jarringly out of character. I'll allow that he can dress like a slob. He's a god; they can dress how they want. But he's thousands of years old. Shouldn't he have ... I don't know, some common sense? There's demons attacking his only kid but he wants to send her to a school? In what universe is that smart. Said demons just got into his home and nearly killed everyone. In what way would a school be safer? And then there's the whole reason for the family's predicament.
He made a promise to a scared woman that he wouldn't change to his True Form. This is essentially killing him. First off, why in the world wold he make this promise? The argument that he was in love doesn't really fly. Buddhism applies to his world view; she'll come back eventually. It's not like he really dies. Second thing, why is he still complying with such an idiotic and dangerous promise? I get the honor thing is strong for the Chinese but I also remember Asians, like pirates in movies, are sticklers for wording choice. Said person the promise was made to has been dead for years, if that doesn't negate the promise, he should have found a loophole by now. I mean, some of the best trickster creatures came from Chinese mythology. He's a danger not only to his daughter but to all the people who fall under him in the pantheon, and considering the close tie of the guardians to each other, he's a danger to them as well. By this point, the Jade Emperor should have stepped in and ordered him to restore his power, promise be damned.
The action is another big let-down. I picked up this book expecting martial arts goodness. I mean, what else do you expect with a cover showing a girl in a martial arts pose. The back flap kind of gives that illusion too. However, much of the action is ghosted over. I can understand not being able to write action but I wouldn't have marketed it as being an action book. It doesn't stand up to that. Besides which, it barely has tension. You'd think with a war brewing and demons popping up more often throughout the book that it'd have more tension. It's strangely lacking. Even the romance lacks spark. It all came across as very forced to me ... but that may have been an extension of Emma's wild mood swinging aggressive "I respect you/take me now!" attitude. I think that was incredibly disappointing.
Overall, this wasn't a very good read. It had a great potential to wow but somehow mismanaged that potential. The pros of gaining knowledge and insight into another culture and society just didn't outweigh the bad character development for me.
December 16, 2012
This is the first book in the Dark Heavens trilogy. This is a tough review for me to write because I am a bit torn about this book. I loved the idea and the Chinese mythology...but the writing is just sooooo bad. It’s almost like Chan has trouble with her English and didn’t have a decent editor.
Emma is a native Australian teaching English as a second language in Hong Kong, she also teaches private lessons after hours. John Chen, a client of hers, wants to hire her to be a full time nanny for his daughter Simone. For Emma it’s the chance of a lifetime, she loves teaching Simone and John is paying her really good money. Then Emma finds out that John isn’t exactly human and that her life may be in more danger than she ever dreamed.
Okay let’s start with what I loved about this book. I absolutely loved learning about the Chinese mythology; it was fascinating and super interesting. I loved the characters. Emma is spunky, yet nurturing, and just a neat character. John Chen is amazing; I love that he’s a God yet is so down to earth and love to spend time with his daughter. Simone adds a ton of laughter and fun to the story, she is four years old and an absolute delight to read about.
The gods that flit in and out of their lives are fun to read about. John’s predicament of not being able to take True Form until Simone is grown is an interesting one and lends a fascinating aspect to the story. The tension between John and Emma is delightful, and I was really rooting for them to work things out.
There are a ton of action scenes and lots of martial arts training both of which I enjoy reading about. I loved the exotic settings that the stories take place in as well.
So what’s wrong with this book? Well it is just absolutely horribly written. Hands down it is one of the most awkwardly written books I have ever read. The language and dialogue between characters is very uncomfortable and stilted throughout.
Chan repeats herself a lot which causes the story to move slowly. Chan also uses the same descriptors over and over and over again. Emma is constantly described as cold-hearted...which doesn’t really make sense and sounds awkward. John and Emma constantly say they are fools, people around then call them fools....I get it they are fools. These descriptors are just really awkward and uncomfortable to read. The English sounds very broken throughout and there are a lot of things technically wrong with this book...and by I lot I mean pretty much the whole book.
I kept reading this book in hopes that Chan would find her stride at some point. She just never does...in fact the book got worse the longer I read it. I just loved the idea behind this story so much, I really wanted to love it.
I really really want someone who can actually write to write a book with this idea behind it. Maybe a great urban fantasy writer like Ilona Andrews, Jennifer Estep, or Kim Harrison can cut a deal with Chan and write this awesome story in a way such that it is actually readable.
Overall a pretty bad read. There are some great characters and ideas here; I wanted to love this book. I did enjoy the tension between John and Emma, the mythology, and the action scenes. However, the writing is some of the worst I have read this year. The language is broken, awkward, and stilted. Chan repeats herself over and over using the same adjectives over and over and they are awkward sounding adjectives. The pacing is slow because of Chan’s language and writing struggles.
Maybe future works by Chan will be better written. Chan has some great ideas, she just can’t quite seem to get them on paper in a way that’s readable. Not recommended. Instead check out other urban fantasy such as books by Ilona Andrews, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, or Jennifer Estep.
Emma is a native Australian teaching English as a second language in Hong Kong, she also teaches private lessons after hours. John Chen, a client of hers, wants to hire her to be a full time nanny for his daughter Simone. For Emma it’s the chance of a lifetime, she loves teaching Simone and John is paying her really good money. Then Emma finds out that John isn’t exactly human and that her life may be in more danger than she ever dreamed.
Okay let’s start with what I loved about this book. I absolutely loved learning about the Chinese mythology; it was fascinating and super interesting. I loved the characters. Emma is spunky, yet nurturing, and just a neat character. John Chen is amazing; I love that he’s a God yet is so down to earth and love to spend time with his daughter. Simone adds a ton of laughter and fun to the story, she is four years old and an absolute delight to read about.
The gods that flit in and out of their lives are fun to read about. John’s predicament of not being able to take True Form until Simone is grown is an interesting one and lends a fascinating aspect to the story. The tension between John and Emma is delightful, and I was really rooting for them to work things out.
There are a ton of action scenes and lots of martial arts training both of which I enjoy reading about. I loved the exotic settings that the stories take place in as well.
So what’s wrong with this book? Well it is just absolutely horribly written. Hands down it is one of the most awkwardly written books I have ever read. The language and dialogue between characters is very uncomfortable and stilted throughout.
Chan repeats herself a lot which causes the story to move slowly. Chan also uses the same descriptors over and over and over again. Emma is constantly described as cold-hearted...which doesn’t really make sense and sounds awkward. John and Emma constantly say they are fools, people around then call them fools....I get it they are fools. These descriptors are just really awkward and uncomfortable to read. The English sounds very broken throughout and there are a lot of things technically wrong with this book...and by I lot I mean pretty much the whole book.
I kept reading this book in hopes that Chan would find her stride at some point. She just never does...in fact the book got worse the longer I read it. I just loved the idea behind this story so much, I really wanted to love it.
I really really want someone who can actually write to write a book with this idea behind it. Maybe a great urban fantasy writer like Ilona Andrews, Jennifer Estep, or Kim Harrison can cut a deal with Chan and write this awesome story in a way such that it is actually readable.
Overall a pretty bad read. There are some great characters and ideas here; I wanted to love this book. I did enjoy the tension between John and Emma, the mythology, and the action scenes. However, the writing is some of the worst I have read this year. The language is broken, awkward, and stilted. Chan repeats herself over and over using the same adjectives over and over and they are awkward sounding adjectives. The pacing is slow because of Chan’s language and writing struggles.
Maybe future works by Chan will be better written. Chan has some great ideas, she just can’t quite seem to get them on paper in a way that’s readable. Not recommended. Instead check out other urban fantasy such as books by Ilona Andrews, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher, or Jennifer Estep.
December 3, 2009
I bought this book believing it would be a gripping, fast paced, action packed story with martial arts, Chinese culture and mythology.
Basically, it's not.
It's someone who has experienced chinese culture, and wanted to write a book about it. However, they cannot write a story and it has ended up reading more like a non fiction book.
The actual story is completely ridiculous; The development of the plot and the characters were stupid to the point where I was actually laughing at it. The protagonist of the story is an Australian nanny who is reckless and completely divorced from reality, moving in with a man she barely knew, who was dangerous and armed with lethal weapons.
It would not happen in real life, a vulnerable woman living alone in Hong Kong would not be so stupid. I did like her Australian-isms but her personality was so 2-dimensional. There was nothing to her, she was as shallow as a puddle so it was just absurd that the Chinese God she worked for would fall in love with her! The fact that she could also take the most frightening and other-worldly situations in her stride made her even more distant from reality and unrelatable. She even managed to have hidden martial art talents which just made me laugh more. I was giggling when I read one part and said out loud "Oh come on! Is she going to turn out to be a God too!?" Next few passages, they explored that idea!
The God himself is static, 2-dimensional and talks like an encyclopedia. The dialogue between the characters is almost like the author is trying to stuff in as much information as possible, which makes it completely unnatural. The only real characters I liked were the bodyguard Leo, whose backstory is never truely explored (Which REALLY annoyed me), and the child, only because she had the potential to be something alot better.
I literally had to force myself to finish this book, purely because I wanted to see if there was any salvagable part of the story that I could enjoy. Turns out there wasn't.
Basically, Kylie Chan is not a storyteller, but someone who has a profound knowledge of Chinese culture and would do so much better with non fiction writing. I almost want to read the next books just to see where the child's story will go, but I wouldn't waste my money.
Basically, it's not.
It's someone who has experienced chinese culture, and wanted to write a book about it. However, they cannot write a story and it has ended up reading more like a non fiction book.
The actual story is completely ridiculous; The development of the plot and the characters were stupid to the point where I was actually laughing at it. The protagonist of the story is an Australian nanny who is reckless and completely divorced from reality, moving in with a man she barely knew, who was dangerous and armed with lethal weapons.
It would not happen in real life, a vulnerable woman living alone in Hong Kong would not be so stupid. I did like her Australian-isms but her personality was so 2-dimensional. There was nothing to her, she was as shallow as a puddle so it was just absurd that the Chinese God she worked for would fall in love with her! The fact that she could also take the most frightening and other-worldly situations in her stride made her even more distant from reality and unrelatable. She even managed to have hidden martial art talents which just made me laugh more. I was giggling when I read one part and said out loud "Oh come on! Is she going to turn out to be a God too!?" Next few passages, they explored that idea!
The God himself is static, 2-dimensional and talks like an encyclopedia. The dialogue between the characters is almost like the author is trying to stuff in as much information as possible, which makes it completely unnatural. The only real characters I liked were the bodyguard Leo, whose backstory is never truely explored (Which REALLY annoyed me), and the child, only because she had the potential to be something alot better.
I literally had to force myself to finish this book, purely because I wanted to see if there was any salvagable part of the story that I could enjoy. Turns out there wasn't.
Basically, Kylie Chan is not a storyteller, but someone who has a profound knowledge of Chinese culture and would do so much better with non fiction writing. I almost want to read the next books just to see where the child's story will go, but I wouldn't waste my money.
March 6, 2013
This is one of those books that while I read it I didn't think much about it and just mindlessly drove through. On reflection, I realized I had just read through Twilight: Chinese Mythology Edition.
Stop me when this sounds familiar:
1) Otherwise unremarkable girl (read: Mary Sue) encounters attractive guy
2) Guy has mysterious but poorly concealed supernatural tendencies
3) They fall in love for no clearly defined reason
4) Once they do, they can't be together physically because supernatural powers would harm her
It goes on and on, really. The only plus side to this comparison is at least they're in a fairly unusual (for a western written PNR book) of China.
Emma as a character is annoying. She runs in circles for the first half of the book because she can't be told about the really really obvious fact that Mr Chen is a Chinese deity. Then when she finally is told she pretty much instantly integrates with that world, picks up martial and magical arts with pretty much no effort (which is, for me, where she REALLY starts running into Mary Sue territory) somehow becomes irresistible to the millennia old Chinese immortal and the envy of all the other women in the book, and magically acquires a masters degree by virtue of "oh, I was totally doing that the whole time in addition to everything else despite it never being mentioned prior to this moment."
The writing isn't great, but I wouldn't call it terrible either, it managed to keep me turning pages through it at least. I would rate it two stars, but the lying cover and blurb annoy me to no end. Seriously, here's a bit of the cover blurb: "fantasy aficionados and die-hard action lovers alike will no doubt be expecting something exceptional and Australian author Kylie Chan delivers big time!"
B. S. So very much. I'm willing to admit this is probably okay PNR for the Twilight pablum eating crowd, but it is not of interest to anyone who would call themselves either an aficionado of fantasy or a die-hard action fan. I picked this up expecting a martial arts adventure and got a damn romance with precious few martial arts moments, and they largely consisted of Mary Sue to the rescue!
Stop me when this sounds familiar:
1) Otherwise unremarkable girl (read: Mary Sue) encounters attractive guy
2) Guy has mysterious but poorly concealed supernatural tendencies
3) They fall in love for no clearly defined reason
4) Once they do, they can't be together physically because supernatural powers would harm her
It goes on and on, really. The only plus side to this comparison is at least they're in a fairly unusual (for a western written PNR book) of China.
Emma as a character is annoying. She runs in circles for the first half of the book because she can't be told about the really really obvious fact that Mr Chen is a Chinese deity. Then when she finally is told she pretty much instantly integrates with that world, picks up martial and magical arts with pretty much no effort (which is, for me, where she REALLY starts running into Mary Sue territory) somehow becomes irresistible to the millennia old Chinese immortal and the envy of all the other women in the book, and magically acquires a masters degree by virtue of "oh, I was totally doing that the whole time in addition to everything else despite it never being mentioned prior to this moment."
The writing isn't great, but I wouldn't call it terrible either, it managed to keep me turning pages through it at least. I would rate it two stars, but the lying cover and blurb annoy me to no end. Seriously, here's a bit of the cover blurb: "fantasy aficionados and die-hard action lovers alike will no doubt be expecting something exceptional and Australian author Kylie Chan delivers big time!"
B. S. So very much. I'm willing to admit this is probably okay PNR for the Twilight pablum eating crowd, but it is not of interest to anyone who would call themselves either an aficionado of fantasy or a die-hard action fan. I picked this up expecting a martial arts adventure and got a damn romance with precious few martial arts moments, and they largely consisted of Mary Sue to the rescue!
July 7, 2011
Set in Hong Kong, this book tells the story of Emma Donahoe, an Australian nanny, and her new employer, a very rich Hong Kong businessman. The blurb talks about the possible targeting of his daughter Simone by kidnappers and Emma's entry into a world of martial arts, magic and extreme danger.
Emma is a bossy young women who thinks that the world should revolve around her. In spite of the fact that she has absolutely no personal charm, the world seems to comply. Inexplicable really. She would have driven me away on day one.
On page 79 John Chen speaks of Emma:
" 'I don't want to lose her. I'd love to teach her. She moves with natural grace and would probably be a formidable warrior… She's agile and fearless. She's Intelligent too, it sparkles in her eyes.' His voice becomes wistful again. 'She has wonderful eyes.' "
To this time there has been absolutely no evidence of any of these qualities in anything that Emma has said or done. 'Wonderful eyes'? really!
I couldn't bear it any longer. A complete waste of money.
Emma is a bossy young women who thinks that the world should revolve around her. In spite of the fact that she has absolutely no personal charm, the world seems to comply. Inexplicable really. She would have driven me away on day one.
On page 79 John Chen speaks of Emma:
" 'I don't want to lose her. I'd love to teach her. She moves with natural grace and would probably be a formidable warrior… She's agile and fearless. She's Intelligent too, it sparkles in her eyes.' His voice becomes wistful again. 'She has wonderful eyes.' "
To this time there has been absolutely no evidence of any of these qualities in anything that Emma has said or done. 'Wonderful eyes'? really!
I couldn't bear it any longer. A complete waste of money.
September 1, 2012
No. Just. No.
I can't take anymore of this. I've read 188 of the 516 pages of this nonsense. I can't fathom what was going on with the publishers to make them think this book was worth publishing.
Characters
All of the characters were dull and needed some serious development.
We know little about the main character, Emma, who is about as boring as they come in terms of a protagonist. All we know is she's from Australia and moved to Hong Kong to teach English. We know nothing about her family or friends back home. The friends she has in Hong Kong are just as compelling as Emma, really. And then the author bothers to write a sidestory about tertiary characters? Really? When we don't know enough about them to care?
Anyway, Emma has no real drive in this story. Nothing. For some reason she cares about a little girl she's been babysitting for a couple months and apparently wants to protect with her life (because she's fun to take care of? Really?). She has no overarching dreams about her life. Honestly, her care for this girl is obviously just a plot device.
Also, Emma is described as not so pretty and chubby and even dotes on her looks, and yet many guys hit on her a tell her she's goregeous? What? Either she has low self esteem or this book is inconsistent. This leads me to wonder why the love interest, Mr. Chen (who so happens to be a god. ooooh the plot thickens) gives a crap about this boring woman! Chen is often making annoying comments about how remarkable Emma is and how special she is even though she does nothing out of the ordinary and doesn't demonstrate any noble characteristics. This was one of the most annoying aspects of this book. Don't get me started on the whole "I'm not going to teach you martial arts or get involved with you because I need to protect you" BS.
Simone, Chen's daughter, is actually the creepiest four year old I've ever read about. Her language and deductive skills are far too advanced for a four year old, and not in a cool The Mysterious Benedict Society kind of way.
Chen himself is the lamest excuse for a god I've ever seen. This guy needs to take a leaf from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson. First of all, he's supposed to be thousands of years old and the inventor of all marital arts, capable of controlling the elements. Why is it that he acts like a wuss? No cool points whatsoever. It is never explained what was so special about his wife that made him give up some of his power. His feelings toward Emma make no sense, considering how dull she is.
Plot
The pacing of this book is atrocious. The author fails to set up an urgent feel to the story. Demons are supposed to be hunting a little girl and yet all the attacks are next to nothing of a threat. Everything is predictable.
I can't really talk about plot because there is no plot. The author wastes too many pages writing the back and forth conversation between Emma and Chen about how impossible their relationship is and before that, the first 100 pages is an annoying period where Emma struggles to realize that Chen and his daughter are supernatural even though it's RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER EYES. It's a wonder the idiot managed to find a teaching job.
And then, Emma quickly becomes a decent fighter even though she never was physically fit in the first place. WHAT? I'm done with this book.
On a side note, the demons are really lame. Poor written fight sequences and creatures that turn to dust after dying are NOT COMPELLING.
Other
This book is a mess. It seems as though the author was trying to show off her knowledge of martial arts and Chinese mythology.
Horrible. Not worth reading at all.
0/5
I can't take anymore of this. I've read 188 of the 516 pages of this nonsense. I can't fathom what was going on with the publishers to make them think this book was worth publishing.
Characters
All of the characters were dull and needed some serious development.
We know little about the main character, Emma, who is about as boring as they come in terms of a protagonist. All we know is she's from Australia and moved to Hong Kong to teach English. We know nothing about her family or friends back home. The friends she has in Hong Kong are just as compelling as Emma, really. And then the author bothers to write a sidestory about tertiary characters? Really? When we don't know enough about them to care?
Anyway, Emma has no real drive in this story. Nothing. For some reason she cares about a little girl she's been babysitting for a couple months and apparently wants to protect with her life (because she's fun to take care of? Really?). She has no overarching dreams about her life. Honestly, her care for this girl is obviously just a plot device.
Also, Emma is described as not so pretty and chubby and even dotes on her looks, and yet many guys hit on her a tell her she's goregeous? What? Either she has low self esteem or this book is inconsistent. This leads me to wonder why the love interest, Mr. Chen (who so happens to be a god. ooooh the plot thickens) gives a crap about this boring woman! Chen is often making annoying comments about how remarkable Emma is and how special she is even though she does nothing out of the ordinary and doesn't demonstrate any noble characteristics. This was one of the most annoying aspects of this book. Don't get me started on the whole "I'm not going to teach you martial arts or get involved with you because I need to protect you" BS.
Simone, Chen's daughter, is actually the creepiest four year old I've ever read about. Her language and deductive skills are far too advanced for a four year old, and not in a cool The Mysterious Benedict Society kind of way.
Chen himself is the lamest excuse for a god I've ever seen. This guy needs to take a leaf from Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson. First of all, he's supposed to be thousands of years old and the inventor of all marital arts, capable of controlling the elements. Why is it that he acts like a wuss? No cool points whatsoever. It is never explained what was so special about his wife that made him give up some of his power. His feelings toward Emma make no sense, considering how dull she is.
Plot
The pacing of this book is atrocious. The author fails to set up an urgent feel to the story. Demons are supposed to be hunting a little girl and yet all the attacks are next to nothing of a threat. Everything is predictable.
I can't really talk about plot because there is no plot. The author wastes too many pages writing the back and forth conversation between Emma and Chen about how impossible their relationship is and before that, the first 100 pages is an annoying period where Emma struggles to realize that Chen and his daughter are supernatural even though it's RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER EYES. It's a wonder the idiot managed to find a teaching job.
And then, Emma quickly becomes a decent fighter even though she never was physically fit in the first place. WHAT? I'm done with this book.
On a side note, the demons are really lame. Poor written fight sequences and creatures that turn to dust after dying are NOT COMPELLING.
Other
This book is a mess. It seems as though the author was trying to show off her knowledge of martial arts and Chinese mythology.
Horrible. Not worth reading at all.
0/5
February 17, 2011
OK, I can see why many of the reviewers below complained so bitterly about this book. It *does* read as though written by a fairly young author who's writing her very first novel; and especially towards the last third of the book, the Mary-Sueing with the main character (whom everyone loves and everyone is always praising, and who's just perfect at martial arts and energy work to the point that *I* wanted to slap the author upside the head) starts bordering on obnoxious.
And I also understand too the frustration of the reviewer who commented that the main characters never *really* seem to be in danger... the main threats of the book (demons) can't *actually* physically hurt the female protagonist or the child she's meant to be protecting - and when three of the other key characters are badly injured (or killed), they just end up healed or brought back to life again fairly easily, so there's just no tension there.
I think a big part of the reader disappointment the book has generated is that it's woefully miscategorised. It's billed as a martial-arts, mythological urban fantasy. It's not. It's actually primarily a romance (with a romantic A plot that's, let's be honest, no worse than many paranormal romances I've picked up in the past), with a little martial arts and a LOT of chinese mythology thrown in for good measure. And really, the romance was the only plot thread that had any tension attached to it.
This is a book where I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the mythological background. It was different, interesting, and made me want to learn more about the mythology behind the story. And there are a whole load of very interesting characters in the story that just beg to be explored more deeply, that, had Ms Chan's storytelling skills had a little more sophisticated back when she wrote this, she could have done some awesome work with.
And yet, despite all the complaints above, some part of me did enjoy the book enough to suck down the first 400 pages of it in 24 hours. On a workday. I think maybe it was the potential I could see in it. I have a feeling that IF Ms Chan actually develops her skills as a writer, and her ability to characterise in 3D, this series could become amazing - to the point that I'm willing to at least try Book 2.
But yes, if had to describe this one, it would be "Mortal Kombat meets Labyrinth in downtown Hong Kong", and I'm giving it a mere 6/10 because of the issues mentioned above. Caveat Lector (and Orannia, I strongly suspect that between the Mary-Sueing and the way that the heroine becomes invincibly kick-ass towards the end that, no, this is NOT a you book).
And I also understand too the frustration of the reviewer who commented that the main characters never *really* seem to be in danger... the main threats of the book (demons) can't *actually* physically hurt the female protagonist or the child she's meant to be protecting - and when three of the other key characters are badly injured (or killed), they just end up healed or brought back to life again fairly easily, so there's just no tension there.
I think a big part of the reader disappointment the book has generated is that it's woefully miscategorised. It's billed as a martial-arts, mythological urban fantasy. It's not. It's actually primarily a romance (with a romantic A plot that's, let's be honest, no worse than many paranormal romances I've picked up in the past), with a little martial arts and a LOT of chinese mythology thrown in for good measure. And really, the romance was the only plot thread that had any tension attached to it.
This is a book where I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the mythological background. It was different, interesting, and made me want to learn more about the mythology behind the story. And there are a whole load of very interesting characters in the story that just beg to be explored more deeply, that, had Ms Chan's storytelling skills had a little more sophisticated back when she wrote this, she could have done some awesome work with.
And yet, despite all the complaints above, some part of me did enjoy the book enough to suck down the first 400 pages of it in 24 hours. On a workday. I think maybe it was the potential I could see in it. I have a feeling that IF Ms Chan actually develops her skills as a writer, and her ability to characterise in 3D, this series could become amazing - to the point that I'm willing to at least try Book 2.
But yes, if had to describe this one, it would be "Mortal Kombat meets Labyrinth in downtown Hong Kong", and I'm giving it a mere 6/10 because of the issues mentioned above. Caveat Lector (and Orannia, I strongly suspect that between the Mary-Sueing and the way that the heroine becomes invincibly kick-ass towards the end that, no, this is NOT a you book).
June 20, 2020
06/20/2020 Mini-Review:
4.5 Stars for Asian Myths/Philosophies/Religions/Culture
4 Stars for Concepts
3 Stars for Plot
1.5 Stars for Writing Quality
Short Story Blurb:
Two spontaneous decisions changed Emma's life completely. The first one was easy. While she loved teaching English to children, the owner of the school was terrible and Emma was relieved to quit. The second decision was a bit more chancy but it gave her the opportunity to take care of an adorable child and make more money to boot. She just didn't count on old myths being real.
If you enjoy Jane Eyre or Anna & the King of Siam, you will probably enjoy this book. The White Tiger is a mix of those plot lines with a twist of Chinese Gods & myths.
Recommendations:
- Do not expect polished writing. At best, it's decent fanfiction. The writing was like what you would get for translated manga online. The fan-translated scans.
- There's a glossary of terms & etc at the back. Skim it after reading a few chapters or bookmark it & check out terms when you need to. There are many phrases or words that will not make complete sense within the context written because it was not written for people who are not familiar with them.
Pros:
- Easy to read. While the story is easy to read, my brain was very engaged in figuring out why certain words were used, what the phrase may mean, and how the ideas/lores were a part of the story.
- Simplistic characterizations of complex characters.
- Great mix of myths/folklore/philosophies/religions/cultural slang/customs.
- One of the best Asian drama style written stories I've read. This was like watching a fun K/J/C-Drama with wire-fu and CGI hijinks for sparkles, blood splatter and goofy pranks.
- You will want to eat Dim Sum & other Chinese food when you read this book.
Cons:
- I could tell that the writing could be better when I read the summaries for the Chinese Gods/Goddesses or when something research based was paraphrased into the story. 80% of the book is not written in a polished manner.
- Writer takes it for granted that the reader will be familiar with a lot of different slang, cultural proceedings, physical descriptions of various settings and etc. To the point that it detracts from the story.
- The writing is rough. There are some spelling errors. Awkward sentence/dialogue structure. Abrupt transitions between events/time.
- Leo is great but I can't see him as an American in my head. It would have been more believable if he was European or Australian.
4.5 Stars for Asian Myths/Philosophies/Religions/Culture
4 Stars for Concepts
3 Stars for Plot
1.5 Stars for Writing Quality
Short Story Blurb:
Two spontaneous decisions changed Emma's life completely. The first one was easy. While she loved teaching English to children, the owner of the school was terrible and Emma was relieved to quit. The second decision was a bit more chancy but it gave her the opportunity to take care of an adorable child and make more money to boot. She just didn't count on old myths being real.
If you enjoy Jane Eyre or Anna & the King of Siam, you will probably enjoy this book. The White Tiger is a mix of those plot lines with a twist of Chinese Gods & myths.
Recommendations:
- Do not expect polished writing. At best, it's decent fanfiction. The writing was like what you would get for translated manga online. The fan-translated scans.
- There's a glossary of terms & etc at the back. Skim it after reading a few chapters or bookmark it & check out terms when you need to. There are many phrases or words that will not make complete sense within the context written because it was not written for people who are not familiar with them.
Pros:
- Easy to read. While the story is easy to read, my brain was very engaged in figuring out why certain words were used, what the phrase may mean, and how the ideas/lores were a part of the story.
- Simplistic characterizations of complex characters.
- Great mix of myths/folklore/philosophies/religions/cultural slang/customs.
- One of the best Asian drama style written stories I've read. This was like watching a fun K/J/C-Drama with wire-fu and CGI hijinks for sparkles, blood splatter and goofy pranks.
- You will want to eat Dim Sum & other Chinese food when you read this book.
Cons:
- I could tell that the writing could be better when I read the summaries for the Chinese Gods/Goddesses or when something research based was paraphrased into the story. 80% of the book is not written in a polished manner.
- Writer takes it for granted that the reader will be familiar with a lot of different slang, cultural proceedings, physical descriptions of various settings and etc. To the point that it detracts from the story.
- The writing is rough. There are some spelling errors. Awkward sentence/dialogue structure. Abrupt transitions between events/time.
- Leo is great but I can't see him as an American in my head. It would have been more believable if he was European or Australian.
July 20, 2016
**3.5 Stars** **Minor Spoilers**
I cannot begin to describe the shit storm of hateful feelings I had for this book. So prepare for a rant. Emma is an English teacher in Hong Kong. She is super employable coming from an English background, and her employer Kitty Kwok asks her some apparently offensive questions about what her other employers do for a living. So she ups and quits. *Snaps for Emma*
All of a sudden, this super hot Chinese guy Mr. Chen whom she has been working for, makes her an extraordinary offer if she works full time as his daughter, Simone's, nanny. Fast forward through her dramatic self discovery, and she agrees to work full time because apparently she has so much love for his daughter Simone, and I quote, "She is a delight." *Rolls eyes*
So now we have the back story, I can properly drag this book to hell. What a load of SHIT. Honestly, this book got SO bad, that I had to crate a new note in my phone, and I started typing out everything that irritated me.
So here goes:
1. First 30% of the book is boring. Takes too long to set it up, and nothing really happens. I have now wasted 2 hours of my life reading about an even shittier and more boring life.
2. Sentence structure is driving me crazy. Apparently. Full. Stops. After. Every. Thought. Is. Okay. Honestly, this needed way more editing to create flowing sentences.
3. Strange things begin to happen, and this mighty Emperor that we don't know about just yet, accepts having his BODYGUARD, Leo, 'yelling', and, 'shouting', at him. Yeah okay.
4. Secrets are starting to come out - Mr. Chen has feelings for Emma as does she for him. Almost addicting, but also irritating as hell.
5. Emma doesn't understand what, "We can never be together", means. It seems as this is repeated multiple times, she thinks calling Mr. Chen, 'John', will be enough for his weakened state not to kill her.
6. Inconsistencies - Demons always trying to kill them, but once Simon Wong first attacks and breaks the shields of the apartment, no demon tries getting in again?
7. More flirting from these, 'pair of fools'.
8. Oh look, 'Pair of fools', was used to describe their love for the hundredth time. Super original.
9. 85% Complete - "We can never be together", turns into a marriage proposal and a mighty oath the John will be back for her.
10. JADE CRIES MORE THAN FUCKING SIMONE WHO IS FIVE YEARS OLD.
So basically, this book SUCKS until it doesn't suck for a few sentences. Surprise though ->> It goes straight back to sucking. SO I sit here and give it a 3.5 stars. Why you may ask? BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON I NOW NEED TO READ THE SECOND BOOK, WHICH IS PISSING ME OFF ON AN ENTIRELY NEW LEVEL.
100% Do not recommend - this is book bullying at its best.
I cannot begin to describe the shit storm of hateful feelings I had for this book. So prepare for a rant. Emma is an English teacher in Hong Kong. She is super employable coming from an English background, and her employer Kitty Kwok asks her some apparently offensive questions about what her other employers do for a living. So she ups and quits. *Snaps for Emma*
All of a sudden, this super hot Chinese guy Mr. Chen whom she has been working for, makes her an extraordinary offer if she works full time as his daughter, Simone's, nanny. Fast forward through her dramatic self discovery, and she agrees to work full time because apparently she has so much love for his daughter Simone, and I quote, "She is a delight." *Rolls eyes*
So now we have the back story, I can properly drag this book to hell. What a load of SHIT. Honestly, this book got SO bad, that I had to crate a new note in my phone, and I started typing out everything that irritated me.
So here goes:
1. First 30% of the book is boring. Takes too long to set it up, and nothing really happens. I have now wasted 2 hours of my life reading about an even shittier and more boring life.
2. Sentence structure is driving me crazy. Apparently. Full. Stops. After. Every. Thought. Is. Okay. Honestly, this needed way more editing to create flowing sentences.
3. Strange things begin to happen, and this mighty Emperor that we don't know about just yet, accepts having his BODYGUARD, Leo, 'yelling', and, 'shouting', at him. Yeah okay.
4. Secrets are starting to come out - Mr. Chen has feelings for Emma as does she for him. Almost addicting, but also irritating as hell.
5. Emma doesn't understand what, "We can never be together", means. It seems as this is repeated multiple times, she thinks calling Mr. Chen, 'John', will be enough for his weakened state not to kill her.
6. Inconsistencies - Demons always trying to kill them, but once Simon Wong first attacks and breaks the shields of the apartment, no demon tries getting in again?
7. More flirting from these, 'pair of fools'.
8. Oh look, 'Pair of fools', was used to describe their love for the hundredth time. Super original.
9. 85% Complete - "We can never be together", turns into a marriage proposal and a mighty oath the John will be back for her.
10. JADE CRIES MORE THAN FUCKING SIMONE WHO IS FIVE YEARS OLD.
So basically, this book SUCKS until it doesn't suck for a few sentences. Surprise though ->> It goes straight back to sucking. SO I sit here and give it a 3.5 stars. Why you may ask? BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON I NOW NEED TO READ THE SECOND BOOK, WHICH IS PISSING ME OFF ON AN ENTIRELY NEW LEVEL.
100% Do not recommend - this is book bullying at its best.
February 9, 2016
UPDATE: With a re-read years later I can see a lot of flaws. This book is bulky and at times quite awkward, but at the same time still very enjoyable for me. It definitely doesn't have enough world-building and Emma is way too perfect (even if I know now the reasons for it). It needed to be more human, show more faults in Emma's characters, show more intimacy between her and John. At the same time, the martial arts and the immersion in Chinese mythology is still fab. 4 stars instead of original 5.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
How can I describe the sense of wonder I experienced when I finished this book? I can not. This was a wonderful, glorious journey, but this book is not for everyone.
I think that people who like me grew up on enormous amount of Hong Kong movies will love it. People who went to Asia and saw with their own eyes that alien for Westerners multi-layered culture will love it. For everyone else it's a gamble.
I spent 9 months in Asia, and still pretty much don't know anything of the culture and way of thinking, but I can recognise what Kylie Chan showed to us in White Tiger, and I think it took an enormous amount of research and talent to do it.
It's a beautiful book, which if you are patient enough will give you a glimpse of Chinese culture and mythology which you practically don't see in modern literature.
It's slow, it's evenly paced and that's why the relationship which develops between Emma and John Chen is completely believable. An employer and and employee first, friends second, master and his student third... It's gradual, but never boring. Leo, Mr.Chen's bodyguard and Simone - John's daughter are absolutely delightful, and Emma herself is a strong character who I totally fell in love with from the very beginning when she resigned from her job as a teacher.
There are so many mythical characters, Chinese gods and demons, traditions and complicated teachings. It's beautiful how John teaches Emma martial arts and how to work with her chi, how she becomes so much more than she thought she'd ever be.
I'm not going into details of the plot, I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I'm in awe of this book and I'm so relieved that book #2 Red Phoenix comes out in October, and book #3 Blue Dragon comes out in November. I need to know more.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
How can I describe the sense of wonder I experienced when I finished this book? I can not. This was a wonderful, glorious journey, but this book is not for everyone.
I think that people who like me grew up on enormous amount of Hong Kong movies will love it. People who went to Asia and saw with their own eyes that alien for Westerners multi-layered culture will love it. For everyone else it's a gamble.
I spent 9 months in Asia, and still pretty much don't know anything of the culture and way of thinking, but I can recognise what Kylie Chan showed to us in White Tiger, and I think it took an enormous amount of research and talent to do it.
It's a beautiful book, which if you are patient enough will give you a glimpse of Chinese culture and mythology which you practically don't see in modern literature.
It's slow, it's evenly paced and that's why the relationship which develops between Emma and John Chen is completely believable. An employer and and employee first, friends second, master and his student third... It's gradual, but never boring. Leo, Mr.Chen's bodyguard and Simone - John's daughter are absolutely delightful, and Emma herself is a strong character who I totally fell in love with from the very beginning when she resigned from her job as a teacher.
There are so many mythical characters, Chinese gods and demons, traditions and complicated teachings. It's beautiful how John teaches Emma martial arts and how to work with her chi, how she becomes so much more than she thought she'd ever be.
I'm not going into details of the plot, I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I'm in awe of this book and I'm so relieved that book #2 Red Phoenix comes out in October, and book #3 Blue Dragon comes out in November. I need to know more.
December 20, 2011
Kylie Chan’s Dark Heavens trilogy has been a popular bestseller in Australian and Asia, with its fascinating portrayal of Chinese mythology in a modern setting, combined with martial arts, some strong women characters, and an entertaining diverse cast. White Tiger is a thrilling fantasy with a great story, which definitely sways over to the romantic side at times, but overall keeps readers hooked with a fascinating world, compelling and complex characters, and a gripping storyline that will have readers wondering what will happen next.
Emma Donahoe is an Australian living in Hong Kong, teaching kids English. She has had enough of Miss Kwan and quits her teaching job, and then on the same day is offered to become a full time nanny for darling Simone, daughter to John Chen, a rich and powerful Honk Kong businessman, who also happens to be very good looking. She is offered the job for a large amount of money and thinks she’s getting the best gig possible, and loves working with and looking after Simone. Then there’s Leo – a big American hunk who happens to be gay but keeps Emma very entertained; he also is apparently Simone’s bodyguard. This is just the first weird step Emma takes into a world she knows nothing about, while John decides how much to reveal to her of his world, and whether her life will be at stake.
But the decision is made and Emma begins to learn of the world of Chinese gods and goddesses who are alive and well in the present day; John happens to be one of them in fact, while Simone is the offspring of a god and a human. Emma also begins to learn martial arts, training under John and Leo, revealing and flourishing in her full potential. And yet John is weakened, having spent so long on Earth, but needs to make sure Simone is protected, which means Emma needs to be ready for anything.
Kylie Chan has done her work and research, having lived with her Chinese husband in Honk Kong for a decade, as well as engaging in thorough study of Chinese mythology and culture, as well as martial arts. At times the love story between John and Emma drags on to an irritating degree, but then great action scenes involving mighty gods and demons takes over. Readers will be hooked to the end, ready for the sequel, Red Phoenix.
Originally written on October 13, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews and exclusive interviews, go to the BookBanter site.
Emma Donahoe is an Australian living in Hong Kong, teaching kids English. She has had enough of Miss Kwan and quits her teaching job, and then on the same day is offered to become a full time nanny for darling Simone, daughter to John Chen, a rich and powerful Honk Kong businessman, who also happens to be very good looking. She is offered the job for a large amount of money and thinks she’s getting the best gig possible, and loves working with and looking after Simone. Then there’s Leo – a big American hunk who happens to be gay but keeps Emma very entertained; he also is apparently Simone’s bodyguard. This is just the first weird step Emma takes into a world she knows nothing about, while John decides how much to reveal to her of his world, and whether her life will be at stake.
But the decision is made and Emma begins to learn of the world of Chinese gods and goddesses who are alive and well in the present day; John happens to be one of them in fact, while Simone is the offspring of a god and a human. Emma also begins to learn martial arts, training under John and Leo, revealing and flourishing in her full potential. And yet John is weakened, having spent so long on Earth, but needs to make sure Simone is protected, which means Emma needs to be ready for anything.
Kylie Chan has done her work and research, having lived with her Chinese husband in Honk Kong for a decade, as well as engaging in thorough study of Chinese mythology and culture, as well as martial arts. At times the love story between John and Emma drags on to an irritating degree, but then great action scenes involving mighty gods and demons takes over. Readers will be hooked to the end, ready for the sequel, Red Phoenix.
Originally written on October 13, 2011 ©Alex C. Telander.
For more reviews and exclusive interviews, go to the BookBanter site.
February 25, 2022
DNF, slow
May 7, 2013
My visceral hatred for this book is completely irrational and out of proportion to its actual offensiveness. It's not an offensive book - it's just insipid and stupid.
86 pages of Mary Sue-I-mean-Emma's first-person narrator stomping around the house, demanding to be told what's going on, even though Kylie Chan drops anvils so often and so hard that I'm going to seek medical help for my concussion as soon as I post this. Emma is an effing idiot who can't see what any reader with half an IQ point can see by - oh, I don't know - the first time the kid opens her mouth on page 7.
Add to this a bunch of "Mr. Chen smiled into my eyes" - sometimes two or three times on a page - and some more trash of a completely unlikely romance budding...? WTF? They barely speak. God.
Oh - and her friend April must also be really stupid because she was at some lunch with Emma and another friend who have some not-racist-at-all game where they make fun of the Hong Kong locals' kids' unlikely-sounding English names, the two white girls explain it to April and another character, then 30 pages later April doesn't know what Emma and the other friend are playing even though SHE WAS THERE WHEN IT WAS EXPLAINED THE FIRST TIME. Fire the editor.
And now Emma & co drink lots of tea, Leo yells at her to stop asking questions, they drink more tea and eat Chinese food, and Mr. Chen gazes into her eyes and she's about to learn martial arts and this book has covered almost a year IN REAL TIME and I...just...can't. I am literally fantasizing about tearing pages out of this book and setting it on fire. Every time I try to read another page, my hands tighten on the cover and I just picture the oh-so-satisfying sound of paper being ripped from its gluey binding, and it's time to step away before I do something more rash than toss it in the Goodwill pile.
I barely made it to page 145 and can't bear the thought of another 350. This book is driving me to Spaniel Rage.
86 pages of Mary Sue-I-mean-Emma's first-person narrator stomping around the house, demanding to be told what's going on, even though Kylie Chan drops anvils so often and so hard that I'm going to seek medical help for my concussion as soon as I post this. Emma is an effing idiot who can't see what any reader with half an IQ point can see by - oh, I don't know - the first time the kid opens her mouth on page 7.
Add to this a bunch of "Mr. Chen smiled into my eyes" - sometimes two or three times on a page - and some more trash of a completely unlikely romance budding...? WTF? They barely speak. God.
Oh - and her friend April must also be really stupid because she was at some lunch with Emma and another friend who have some not-racist-at-all game where they make fun of the Hong Kong locals' kids' unlikely-sounding English names, the two white girls explain it to April and another character, then 30 pages later April doesn't know what Emma and the other friend are playing even though SHE WAS THERE WHEN IT WAS EXPLAINED THE FIRST TIME. Fire the editor.
And now Emma & co drink lots of tea, Leo yells at her to stop asking questions, they drink more tea and eat Chinese food, and Mr. Chen gazes into her eyes and she's about to learn martial arts and this book has covered almost a year IN REAL TIME and I...just...can't. I am literally fantasizing about tearing pages out of this book and setting it on fire. Every time I try to read another page, my hands tighten on the cover and I just picture the oh-so-satisfying sound of paper being ripped from its gluey binding, and it's time to step away before I do something more rash than toss it in the Goodwill pile.
I barely made it to page 145 and can't bear the thought of another 350. This book is driving me to Spaniel Rage.
August 31, 2012
It took me ages to read this one. It started off well: exotic Hong Kong setting, original Chinese fantasy elements, cool magic, sympathetic main character (Emma, an Australian nanny) and then I started to notice something annoying. SPOILER WARNING.
The same conversation would repeat. For the first 90 pages Emma would ask various people what her employer (John) did for a living. No one would tell her. "Later, Emma." No additional clues, no forward progress. By the time the truth was revealed both Emma and I as reader had long figured it out.
I kept reading. And then it happened again. Emma started to fall in love with John. He seemed to reciprocate her feelings, but everyone assured her the relationship would never happen. Over and over. Yet no one would tell her why FOR TWO HUNDRED PAGES. When the truth is revealed, Emma says, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" And there WAS no reason other than that the author desired it so.
Every so often demons attack, but we also eat endless meals, do lots of martial arts training, go to the beach and buy swimwear... There was some tension at the climax when Emma and the little girl are kidnapped, but it lasts for only 5 pages (out of a 484 p. book) and it's ruined by a deus ex machina ending.
The same conversation would repeat. For the first 90 pages Emma would ask various people what her employer (John) did for a living. No one would tell her. "Later, Emma." No additional clues, no forward progress. By the time the truth was revealed both Emma and I as reader had long figured it out.
I kept reading. And then it happened again. Emma started to fall in love with John. He seemed to reciprocate her feelings, but everyone assured her the relationship would never happen. Over and over. Yet no one would tell her why FOR TWO HUNDRED PAGES. When the truth is revealed, Emma says, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" And there WAS no reason other than that the author desired it so.
Every so often demons attack, but we also eat endless meals, do lots of martial arts training, go to the beach and buy swimwear... There was some tension at the climax when Emma and the little girl are kidnapped, but it lasts for only 5 pages (out of a 484 p. book) and it's ruined by a deus ex machina ending.
September 29, 2011
Very fun read, I love the play between Leo and Emma.
January 25, 2012
Lots of potential, greatly disappointing
This book is like popcorn. It's hard to stop eating even though you know it's not good for you, and at some point you'll realize that you should have stopped some time ago.
There's are some really interesting ideas in here, especially the idea of using Chinese mythology for urban fantasy instead of the usual vampire thing, but really, it's still cut and paste urban fantasy. We have a smart-ass first person viewpoint from a female main character who skates frequently into tedious Mary Sue territory, and a love interest who is a dangerous immortal, and they cannot be together because there is some mysterious mythological reason why that would be Bad. Toss in a too-perfect child and some genuinely interesting minor characters, and it may keep you reading just to see if things are going to improve. (Hint: they didn't.)
I also wonder if a professional editor even looked at this book. There are places where the story suddenly repeats itself or makes no sense. The great revelations between the characters need to be worked out at least two or three times, for some reason. The dialogue also becomes really repetitive by the end.
I am really sorry that I can't give this a better review, but I said, "What the hell was that? Didn't we already learn that? Why don't the characters seem to know that they already know this? What, what?" way too many times.
That said, it's a quick read that doesn't require a lot of brain engagement. If you can stomach shaky writing and chopping storytelling as long as the characters are mostly appealing, this will do for beach reading or airplane reading. Considering that I got it for 99 cents for Nook, I think I just about got my money's worth. That said, I doubt I will read the rest of the series.
This book is like popcorn. It's hard to stop eating even though you know it's not good for you, and at some point you'll realize that you should have stopped some time ago.
There's are some really interesting ideas in here, especially the idea of using Chinese mythology for urban fantasy instead of the usual vampire thing, but really, it's still cut and paste urban fantasy. We have a smart-ass first person viewpoint from a female main character who skates frequently into tedious Mary Sue territory, and a love interest who is a dangerous immortal, and they cannot be together because there is some mysterious mythological reason why that would be Bad. Toss in a too-perfect child and some genuinely interesting minor characters, and it may keep you reading just to see if things are going to improve. (Hint: they didn't.)
I also wonder if a professional editor even looked at this book. There are places where the story suddenly repeats itself or makes no sense. The great revelations between the characters need to be worked out at least two or three times, for some reason. The dialogue also becomes really repetitive by the end.
I am really sorry that I can't give this a better review, but I said, "What the hell was that? Didn't we already learn that? Why don't the characters seem to know that they already know this? What, what?" way too many times.
That said, it's a quick read that doesn't require a lot of brain engagement. If you can stomach shaky writing and chopping storytelling as long as the characters are mostly appealing, this will do for beach reading or airplane reading. Considering that I got it for 99 cents for Nook, I think I just about got my money's worth. That said, I doubt I will read the rest of the series.
October 4, 2012
Juvenile! I was waiting after every sentence for the main character to giggle, bat her eyelashes at the handsome boss, swoon at his return smile and just be oh so taken with his irresistibility. She did all that and more. All the females in the book seem obsessed with upward mobility by hanging on tight to the handsome well off male characters. There’s the usual “I don’t like her boyfriend cause he gives me this vibe” and sure enough chapters later turns out the guy is a cad. Shocking! The main character is firm friends with almost everyone almost as soon as she meets them. Positively charming! There’re tantrums thrown because secrets are being kept; foot stomping and threats to resign if secrets are not revealed and side poking whispered giggles on how cute the boss is. There’s a lot of: Stop it; No, you stop it; No you first. What absolute banality!
Incredibly, a surprising amount of said secret is discovered by overhearing conversations between the secret keepers which says a lot on the intelligence of the secret keepers. Worse still is the fact that the “secret” is revealed almost from the onset but the author drags it out for ages. Apparently, the heroine chose not to analyze the overheard facts and was content to wait out the big reveal. And wait for it she did, the reveal was postponed at least a dozen times over months! Of course each postponement was an opportunity for throwing a hissy fit! Sigh!
Incredibly, a surprising amount of said secret is discovered by overhearing conversations between the secret keepers which says a lot on the intelligence of the secret keepers. Worse still is the fact that the “secret” is revealed almost from the onset but the author drags it out for ages. Apparently, the heroine chose not to analyze the overheard facts and was content to wait out the big reveal. And wait for it she did, the reveal was postponed at least a dozen times over months! Of course each postponement was an opportunity for throwing a hissy fit! Sigh!
August 24, 2013
White Tiger is the first novel in the Dark Heavens fantasy sequence by Kylie Chan. It starts as an engaging story set in contemporary Hong Kong and becomes an epic adventure in a world where gods and demons exist alongside humankind.
Protagonist Emma takes a job as nanny to Simone, the daughter of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, John Chen. Emma's position in the household gradually becomes more as she grows to love Simone and, piece by piece, learns the mind-boggling truth about the nature of John and his unusual circle of friends.
I loved the way this story grew and continued to surprise. The characters are well-drawn, the love story is convincing and the author really knows her stuff, creating the contemporary setting and the magical, mythological elements with equal assurance. It's worth noting that Kylie Chan lived in Hong Kong for a considerable period and has studied both martial arts and Chinese history. And she knows how to tell a great story. Highly recommended.
Protagonist Emma takes a job as nanny to Simone, the daughter of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, John Chen. Emma's position in the household gradually becomes more as she grows to love Simone and, piece by piece, learns the mind-boggling truth about the nature of John and his unusual circle of friends.
I loved the way this story grew and continued to surprise. The characters are well-drawn, the love story is convincing and the author really knows her stuff, creating the contemporary setting and the magical, mythological elements with equal assurance. It's worth noting that Kylie Chan lived in Hong Kong for a considerable period and has studied both martial arts and Chinese history. And she knows how to tell a great story. Highly recommended.
February 25, 2010
It's addictive. I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to go to Hong Kong immediately, even if only to smack the heroine on the head because she veered waaaaay into Mary Sue territory with no hope of extraction.
From my review:
Ever read a book that drove you nuts in some parts, to the point that you wanted to roll your eyes for a solid hour, but yet you were compelled by curiosity, fascination, and plain old WTF to keep going? This is one of those books. I could not stop reading - it was compulsive, and when I got to the ending, which is not the ending really because this is book one of a trilogy, I was bummed that the ride was over.
Really Long Review at SB-TB.com: C-
September 10, 2011
I picked up this book and I loved it from the get go. Simone the kid that everyone loves I admit sounded a bit wishie washie but it was about right. From what I gather the author does know about chinese culture having lived as an english teacher herself for many years.
It was a well written book and I enjoyed the triology as well.
It was a well written book and I enjoyed the triology as well.
December 2, 2023
Slow to get into, but highly enjoyable once you do.
Ends on a cliffy, but this part of the series is complete.
I read this sooo many years ago. Need to re-read.
Can fit under the UF label, as well as mystical, magical, slow burn romance.
Highly recommend for those who like a deeper read.
Ends on a cliffy, but this part of the series is complete.
I read this sooo many years ago. Need to re-read.
Can fit under the UF label, as well as mystical, magical, slow burn romance.
Highly recommend for those who like a deeper read.
November 8, 2015
Like Jane Eyre meets a chop-socky flick, fantastic fun
March 29, 2016
Ordinarily there's a couple of things in White Tiger that would make me get frustrated pretty quickly. Rapid fire information dump, multiple radical changes in a character's life in less than a dozen pages and abrupt transitions. What saves White Tiger however comes down to 2 important details: 1) I've been waiting for this series to have domestic publication in America for four years and 2) contextually a lot is explained because of the character's personality. I probably would have forgiven Chan almost anything, which probably makes me sound like an unreliable reviewer, but I felt I should be honest about that.
What exactly made me want this series like burning? The premise for one--Chinese mythology, martial arts and kick ass heroine. Though Emma has a lot of rough edges to her characterization--inconsistent decision making, demanding attitude, lack of listening skills during very important moments--she has a very appealing personality to me. She loves kids and wants to do her best by them, she's loyal to her friends, she's inquisitive and understanding. She is also one of the few heroines I've come across who, though she states it at least 5 times in the beginning, doesn't bemoan her state of 'plainness'. Does she wish she was as sophisticated looking as her friends? Sometimes, but she's comfortable in her casual clothes and with who she is. Later, when given the chance, she improves herself through hardwork and a chance to "show off" that she could clean up well.
My total lack of studying in regards to Chinese Mythology and practices bites me in the butt throughout this novel. I have a very, very limited knowledge of Chinese Mythology and I feel that if I understood it a little better I would have gotten some of the more subtle jokes. This book made me want to learn more and expand my knowledge and that is always a delight.
The cast of characters is a little large, but with few exceptions they are easily distinguishable from each other. I took a particular liking to Bai Hui (the White Tiger) and Simone actually, and laughed whenever Bai Hui got up to his tricks. I had, actually still have, severe doubts about Emma's friend April and her "Auntie" Kitty Kwok (Emma's former employer). As for the end of this book it seemed to resolve itself in a perfectly mundane way, but the entire thing nagged at me. April was just a little too insistent about Emma talking "Auntie" Kitty and visiting Emma at Mr. Chen's place. Kitty for that matter was highly suspicious--unless I'm missing something and Emma was the Best Employee Ever, I couldn't understand why Kitty would practically harass Emma about returning to work for her almost a year after she resigned (for very legitimate reasons). Those suspicions may be resolved in one of the two future books in the trilogy, but until that its irksome.
I read an ARC of the title, so I can't say with proper authority, but the transitions were sometimes very abrupt and without any indication that it was a new stream of thought or action. When I'm able to compare the ARC with the finished copy I'll come back and revisit this complaint.
My only real complaint with Emma as a character, that I hope is different in the next book, Red Phoenix, is that Emma would make a firm decision, such as respecting Mr. Chen's wishes, and then in the same chapter push him and ignore his protests. She came off seeming very insincere and wishy-washy for this reason and made me want to smack her around a little. Though to be truthful Mr. Chen wasn't much better, but he at least realized he wasn't being very direct and clear.
Unfortunately I know, in a general way, what happens by the end of this trilogy because I read the blurb about the next trilogy for Dark Heaven (Journey to Wudang Book 1: Earth to Hell) and learned a couple of spoilers. I have some suspicions about the nature of who Emma is however and hope I am correct.
What exactly made me want this series like burning? The premise for one--Chinese mythology, martial arts and kick ass heroine. Though Emma has a lot of rough edges to her characterization--inconsistent decision making, demanding attitude, lack of listening skills during very important moments--she has a very appealing personality to me. She loves kids and wants to do her best by them, she's loyal to her friends, she's inquisitive and understanding. She is also one of the few heroines I've come across who, though she states it at least 5 times in the beginning, doesn't bemoan her state of 'plainness'. Does she wish she was as sophisticated looking as her friends? Sometimes, but she's comfortable in her casual clothes and with who she is. Later, when given the chance, she improves herself through hardwork and a chance to "show off" that she could clean up well.
My total lack of studying in regards to Chinese Mythology and practices bites me in the butt throughout this novel. I have a very, very limited knowledge of Chinese Mythology and I feel that if I understood it a little better I would have gotten some of the more subtle jokes. This book made me want to learn more and expand my knowledge and that is always a delight.
The cast of characters is a little large, but with few exceptions they are easily distinguishable from each other. I took a particular liking to Bai Hui (the White Tiger) and Simone actually, and laughed whenever Bai Hui got up to his tricks. I had, actually still have, severe doubts about Emma's friend April and her "Auntie" Kitty Kwok (Emma's former employer). As for the end of this book it seemed to resolve itself in a perfectly mundane way, but the entire thing nagged at me. April was just a little too insistent about Emma talking "Auntie" Kitty and visiting Emma at Mr. Chen's place. Kitty for that matter was highly suspicious--unless I'm missing something and Emma was the Best Employee Ever, I couldn't understand why Kitty would practically harass Emma about returning to work for her almost a year after she resigned (for very legitimate reasons). Those suspicions may be resolved in one of the two future books in the trilogy, but until that its irksome.
I read an ARC of the title, so I can't say with proper authority, but the transitions were sometimes very abrupt and without any indication that it was a new stream of thought or action. When I'm able to compare the ARC with the finished copy I'll come back and revisit this complaint.
My only real complaint with Emma as a character, that I hope is different in the next book, Red Phoenix, is that Emma would make a firm decision, such as respecting Mr. Chen's wishes, and then in the same chapter push him and ignore his protests. She came off seeming very insincere and wishy-washy for this reason and made me want to smack her around a little. Though to be truthful Mr. Chen wasn't much better, but he at least realized he wasn't being very direct and clear.
Unfortunately I know, in a general way, what happens by the end of this trilogy because I read the blurb about the next trilogy for Dark Heaven (Journey to Wudang Book 1: Earth to Hell) and learned a couple of spoilers. I have some suspicions about the nature of who Emma is however and hope I am correct.
November 30, 2013
A twist of fate puts Australian Emma Donahoe, into a prime position in the John Chen household. As a part time teacher of John's daughter Simone when there is a problem with Mr. Chen's nanny and he needs a new one, Emma steps into the fray. She should have known things were not what they seemed. Mr. Chen is no ordinary Chinese executive. He is ultra rich, highly secretive, ultra worried about his daughters' safety, skilled in Martial Arts and various swords and other tools of the Art. He is extremely mysterious, very handsome, rich, single (what more could a young woman want in a boss?) and to ice the cake, his 4 year old daughter has a rather unusual bodyguard.
Soon Emma finds she has been drawn into a very rare and unusual world that is populated by Celestial beings, Gods, Demons, magic and danger.
This is a 562-page book (paperback edition and allowing for the glossary) and as such should have allowed us ample time to be pulled into what could have been a delightful and rather unique story. Unfortunately, what it did do was to give the author ample time to repeat herself. Unfortunately, we are served up the same dialogue, see the same scenarios, hear the same pleas over and over chapter after chapter,sometimes page after page and occasionally paragraph after paragraph. Once this book decided that it was going to be a romance it just got worse. Using a typical bodice ripper romance technique, the heroine Emma and the hero John may not touch each other...ever, or he will kill her. It is a typical unrequited love scenario that I thought had gone the way of the dodo. In addition, let me tell you this gives the author license to draw out the angst and chest beating on both of the main characters part.
It took me 250 pages before I found something I could enjoy. While I really find the mythology interesting, I felt that if I had wanted to learn `that' much about it I would have chosen a different sort of book. A little of that knowledge would have gone a long way; but as we soon learn, this author does not know the meaning of "less is sometimes more".
The second half of the book does become a bit more exciting although there are so many parts where the author introduces something interesting that should have been fleshed out a bit more, and just abandoned it. I understand that this book is a set up novel and perhaps some of the unfinished mini-stories may yet be concluded or at least explained in later volumes. It's just that with over 500 pages, you would think that the author would have had ample time to conclude the story or at the very least, give a good reason why the tertiary characters where even brought up in the first place.
I can see where these books are headed and it does sound like the rest of the series may be fun to read, but if the rest of the books are going to be like this one, I think I will have to pass.
August 6, 2011
Wow I have never heard anything about the mythology of China. Just a little bits here and there. It was confusing for me to get it straight but sounds like others do to or they mean different things in different regions and different names. I enjoyed reading about them.
Emma is a kindergarden teacher in Hong Kong from down under. Emma has one private student she teaches english to Simone. Simone father is Mr. Chen a rich powerful man. The owner of the school Miss Kwok wants Emma to spy on Mr. Chen. Emma resigns and is offered full time nannie position, which is a livein job for 5000 US dollars a month. Emma wants to know what his work is and is it legal. She is told that it is and after you have been here awhile he will tell her.
Simone is a 4 yr old girl, who is charming and loving. Who is excited to have Emma full time nannie. Emma has different lessons she is learning,piano, violin,horseback riding, english, martial arts and demon fighting.
Leo is called a black Lion he is over 6 foot a big black body gaurd. He will protect Simone with his life he feels quilty he could not save Simone mother life.
Mr. Chen you learn about him the whole book a little at a time. He is a shen. He is a general lived on the mountain thats not on this plain. Till he got Married and stayed humane to take care and protect Simone. He is part turtle and snake. He is dark Lord. Because he cant go to the mountain he is getting weaker and weaker thinks he has two more years left before he will have to leave this plain and has no idea how long it will be before he is strong enough to come back to earth. He is god of martial arts infact he invented most of them.
Emma fits right in as the nannie but it is driving her crazy not to know who or what John does. Who are the badguys. Why are they trying to kidnap Simmone. About 6 months after she is fulltime she learns the main secrets. She asks to learn martial arts to help protect Simone and herself. She is falling in love with John but can never be with him without killing herself.
The story draws you into the world of Chinese gods. They come and visit John and to be trained by him. It feels real and natural how the story unfolds it goes in great detail of life everyday and training of martial arts and demon fighting. It has a lot of love between the characters, family bonds, friends bonds and even romantic love. It has a lot of demon fighting and killing. Rich lifestyle, full of mythology of China.
Its a nice size book of 528 pages. Their are two more books in this series cant wait to read them. Would recommend this book. I was given this ebook in exchange of honest review.
Emma is a kindergarden teacher in Hong Kong from down under. Emma has one private student she teaches english to Simone. Simone father is Mr. Chen a rich powerful man. The owner of the school Miss Kwok wants Emma to spy on Mr. Chen. Emma resigns and is offered full time nannie position, which is a livein job for 5000 US dollars a month. Emma wants to know what his work is and is it legal. She is told that it is and after you have been here awhile he will tell her.
Simone is a 4 yr old girl, who is charming and loving. Who is excited to have Emma full time nannie. Emma has different lessons she is learning,piano, violin,horseback riding, english, martial arts and demon fighting.
Leo is called a black Lion he is over 6 foot a big black body gaurd. He will protect Simone with his life he feels quilty he could not save Simone mother life.
Mr. Chen you learn about him the whole book a little at a time. He is a shen. He is a general lived on the mountain thats not on this plain. Till he got Married and stayed humane to take care and protect Simone. He is part turtle and snake. He is dark Lord. Because he cant go to the mountain he is getting weaker and weaker thinks he has two more years left before he will have to leave this plain and has no idea how long it will be before he is strong enough to come back to earth. He is god of martial arts infact he invented most of them.
Emma fits right in as the nannie but it is driving her crazy not to know who or what John does. Who are the badguys. Why are they trying to kidnap Simmone. About 6 months after she is fulltime she learns the main secrets. She asks to learn martial arts to help protect Simone and herself. She is falling in love with John but can never be with him without killing herself.
The story draws you into the world of Chinese gods. They come and visit John and to be trained by him. It feels real and natural how the story unfolds it goes in great detail of life everyday and training of martial arts and demon fighting. It has a lot of love between the characters, family bonds, friends bonds and even romantic love. It has a lot of demon fighting and killing. Rich lifestyle, full of mythology of China.
Its a nice size book of 528 pages. Their are two more books in this series cant wait to read them. Would recommend this book. I was given this ebook in exchange of honest review.
April 12, 2011
White Tiger is a delightfully original story, not only blending east and west, but also blending fantasy and romance in ways I’ve never truly encountered before; Kylie Chan shows how perfectly it really can be done.
Although at times the dialogue seemed a little stilted, rather than being distracting it actually fit in with the story and location, giving credence to the language flow, dialogue and accent of Chinese speaking English. Of course, as the story progressed this became less and less noticeable.
My introduction to Kylie Chan was actually through “Earth to Hell’, which forms part one of the “Journey to Wudang Trilogy’, but is also book four of this series, Dark Heavens. But as much as I enjoyed the writing style of that book, I found myself out of my depth trying to catch up on the plot and lacking in understanding around Chinese mythology, which meant I knew I was missing a lot of the understory. I am so delighted I went back and started with book one, White Tiger, as it beautifully introduces Chinese mythology, as well as properly introducing the characters.
Although this is usually promoted as Fantasy (or Urban Fantasy), one of the things that brought the characters to life was the romantic tension between nanny, Emma Donahoe, and her employer, John Chen; and it is a romantic tension beautifully written, rather than an attempt at a purely sexual tension.
The story is written in quite a forthright manner, but our Emma is a very forthright sort of woman, so the writing style really emphases her personality the whole way through the book. This is balanced by the almost staid nature of Mr Chen, the cuteness of his adorable daughter Simone, and the subtle humour brought into the mix by American bodyguard Leo.
There are quite a few sub plots going on, with Emma’s friends, with temple politics, demon in-fighting, but they’re all delivered as subtle background information, that acts as a teaser to the main plot. One major bonus is that despite the rather large number of characters that get introduced, there isn’t any confusion in trying to work out who’s who, which is often a problem in fantasy’s of this length.
If you’re after a fantasy that has a unique story, delightful characters, a bit of kick-butt action and a new mythology from the Greek/Norse styles we’ve seen in a lot of fantasy’s in the last few years, White Tiger is the perfect place to start; the series is only going to get better.
http://www.fangtastic.com.au/books/in...
Although at times the dialogue seemed a little stilted, rather than being distracting it actually fit in with the story and location, giving credence to the language flow, dialogue and accent of Chinese speaking English. Of course, as the story progressed this became less and less noticeable.
My introduction to Kylie Chan was actually through “Earth to Hell’, which forms part one of the “Journey to Wudang Trilogy’, but is also book four of this series, Dark Heavens. But as much as I enjoyed the writing style of that book, I found myself out of my depth trying to catch up on the plot and lacking in understanding around Chinese mythology, which meant I knew I was missing a lot of the understory. I am so delighted I went back and started with book one, White Tiger, as it beautifully introduces Chinese mythology, as well as properly introducing the characters.
Although this is usually promoted as Fantasy (or Urban Fantasy), one of the things that brought the characters to life was the romantic tension between nanny, Emma Donahoe, and her employer, John Chen; and it is a romantic tension beautifully written, rather than an attempt at a purely sexual tension.
The story is written in quite a forthright manner, but our Emma is a very forthright sort of woman, so the writing style really emphases her personality the whole way through the book. This is balanced by the almost staid nature of Mr Chen, the cuteness of his adorable daughter Simone, and the subtle humour brought into the mix by American bodyguard Leo.
There are quite a few sub plots going on, with Emma’s friends, with temple politics, demon in-fighting, but they’re all delivered as subtle background information, that acts as a teaser to the main plot. One major bonus is that despite the rather large number of characters that get introduced, there isn’t any confusion in trying to work out who’s who, which is often a problem in fantasy’s of this length.
If you’re after a fantasy that has a unique story, delightful characters, a bit of kick-butt action and a new mythology from the Greek/Norse styles we’ve seen in a lot of fantasy’s in the last few years, White Tiger is the perfect place to start; the series is only going to get better.
http://www.fangtastic.com.au/books/in...
December 20, 2019
** 4.25 stars **
I bought this book about 10 years ago but for some unknown reason never once wanted to pick it up and I'm not even sure if I unhauled it or not. I randomly came across it in the library and just suddenly thought 'I want to read that'. I was immediately engrossed in the story and didn't want to put it down at all.
I felt such a strong connection to Emma because that's basically my situation right now, an Australian living and working in Hong Kong. I was so excited to find out the the book was set in Hong Kong and it made me so happy that the author got everything spot on. The descriptions of places and the way of life in Hong Kong was so accurate. This book was published in 2006 so some aspects have now changed, but others remain exactly the same. Because I've experienced it myself I was able to picture things just as they are, which only added to my reading experience. I also appreciated that for the most part the language used was Cantonese (which I speak) rather than Mandarin (which I don't speak or understand).
However where the book fell down a little for me was with the characters.
The characters were absolutely ridiculous. I find it completely implausible that Emma would agree to her new job at all.
It also annoyed me to no end that the other characters flat out refused to share vital information about potential life or death situations with Emma. Things just can't work like that.
I really enjoyed the fantasy and mythology aspect of it and even though I'm Chinese, I admit that I don't know much about Chinese mythology at all. That's why I thought that things could have been elaborated on or explained more clearly. I found that quite a lot to do with the magic and mythology was explained on a very basic level or just not at all. Just whatever happened to be more convenient for the author was what it felt like to me.
Despite all that, the story definitely hooked me. I'm definitely invested in the characters and because there were quite a lot of unexpected things that went down at the end I'm dying to know what happens next. This is only the first book in a trilogy of trilogies so I'm in for a long ride!
I bought this book about 10 years ago but for some unknown reason never once wanted to pick it up and I'm not even sure if I unhauled it or not. I randomly came across it in the library and just suddenly thought 'I want to read that'. I was immediately engrossed in the story and didn't want to put it down at all.
I felt such a strong connection to Emma because that's basically my situation right now, an Australian living and working in Hong Kong. I was so excited to find out the the book was set in Hong Kong and it made me so happy that the author got everything spot on. The descriptions of places and the way of life in Hong Kong was so accurate. This book was published in 2006 so some aspects have now changed, but others remain exactly the same. Because I've experienced it myself I was able to picture things just as they are, which only added to my reading experience. I also appreciated that for the most part the language used was Cantonese (which I speak) rather than Mandarin (which I don't speak or understand).
However where the book fell down a little for me was with the characters.
The characters were absolutely ridiculous. I find it completely implausible that Emma would agree to her new job at all.
It also annoyed me to no end that the other characters flat out refused to share vital information about potential life or death situations with Emma. Things just can't work like that.
I really enjoyed the fantasy and mythology aspect of it and even though I'm Chinese, I admit that I don't know much about Chinese mythology at all. That's why I thought that things could have been elaborated on or explained more clearly. I found that quite a lot to do with the magic and mythology was explained on a very basic level or just not at all. Just whatever happened to be more convenient for the author was what it felt like to me.
Despite all that, the story definitely hooked me. I'm definitely invested in the characters and because there were quite a lot of unexpected things that went down at the end I'm dying to know what happens next. This is only the first book in a trilogy of trilogies so I'm in for a long ride!
July 9, 2016
I happen to be the kind of person who likes slow books. I enjoy descriptions of daily life, and I don't need the action exploding around me. My feelings about White tiger are a bit ambiguous though. The book is slow, albeit for a definition of slow that includes fights with demons, but in some respects it felt too slow even for me, where the aforementioned fights with demons became too repetitive. So how come, even though I think the book was too slow, I still like it? I thought the love affair was too corny, and the main character Emma, the nanny who finds out her employer is a god, too unfazed. Still, I read it in two evenings. The setting is definitely original with a lot of Chinese mythology that was enjoyable and the story is engaging. I liked the descriptions of Emma's martial arts training. And the side characters particularly are vividly described. I hope some of the side story lines (like the ones with Emma's friend) will turn out to have a point in the next books. And I hope there will be a bit more story and a little less repetitiveness in the fighting (yes, I know Emma is getting better and better in these fights, but still) in the next books. But in spite of some flaws, I rather liked this one and I guess I'm going to buy number two soon...
Second read: I didn't have the best recollection about this book, but I was really tired this week and I needed to read something non-taxing. This was perfect. Admittedly, there are some incredibly boring bits in the beginning of this book. Especially before Emma finds out about the divinity of her employer and the parts where she meets with her friends. It turns out they have a role to play in the later books, but still, I can't really see why they are friends at all sometimes...
After Emma finds out, it gets better, though. Not a whole lot, it's still slow and repetitive, but this was exactly what I needed. The characters are nice, there's no need to worry about something bad happening, and how many fantasy books do you know with Chinese mythology? That bit was interesting and nicely done. Nr. 2 had been sitting on my shelf for ages, but I got that one out too, and am currently reading nr. 3 and enjoying myself.
Second read: I didn't have the best recollection about this book, but I was really tired this week and I needed to read something non-taxing. This was perfect. Admittedly, there are some incredibly boring bits in the beginning of this book. Especially before Emma finds out about the divinity of her employer and the parts where she meets with her friends. It turns out they have a role to play in the later books, but still, I can't really see why they are friends at all sometimes...
After Emma finds out, it gets better, though. Not a whole lot, it's still slow and repetitive, but this was exactly what I needed. The characters are nice, there's no need to worry about something bad happening, and how many fantasy books do you know with Chinese mythology? That bit was interesting and nicely done. Nr. 2 had been sitting on my shelf for ages, but I got that one out too, and am currently reading nr. 3 and enjoying myself.
November 29, 2012
The cover sold the book to me, it looked like a Jet Li extravaganza!
The story is of Emma an australian teacher in Hong Kong who is persuaded to become a full time nanny for a very strange family. Then follows the revelations of why they are a bit odd (no spoilers though...) although it was obvious anyway, quite how she didn't know for so long I don't know!
The writing was a little odd, I actually went to look up to see if it was translated into english, as at times it did appear to be. The same phrases were repeated alot, either to hammer the point home or because of Chan's lack of descriptive ability, I'm not sure which. My particular favourite was about Emma being cold blooded, I am presuming this is hinting at her being Chen's other half, his lost serpent but again, I presume that was for later books.
The romance between Emma and Chen was unbelievable and far too sudden, they went from longing glances to true love in a few pages, it was far too fake for my liking, and took alot away from the story, which should of been more about the Gods. There was also too much in the book, it went from plodding along to a sudden rush of events, seemingly squished together, just to fit them into one book.
I'm a little torn with the starring for this one, I did give it three, but then when writing the review I changed it to two. The poor writing pushed me to amend it, the story was interesting, the information about the Gods and demons was fascinating, but the love story overwhelmed it, and ruined all the good about it.
Such a shame as its put me off reading further books in the series, as I know the same old phrases will be used.
The story is of Emma an australian teacher in Hong Kong who is persuaded to become a full time nanny for a very strange family. Then follows the revelations of why they are a bit odd (no spoilers though...) although it was obvious anyway, quite how she didn't know for so long I don't know!
The writing was a little odd, I actually went to look up to see if it was translated into english, as at times it did appear to be. The same phrases were repeated alot, either to hammer the point home or because of Chan's lack of descriptive ability, I'm not sure which. My particular favourite was about Emma being cold blooded, I am presuming this is hinting at her being Chen's other half, his lost serpent but again, I presume that was for later books.
The romance between Emma and Chen was unbelievable and far too sudden, they went from longing glances to true love in a few pages, it was far too fake for my liking, and took alot away from the story, which should of been more about the Gods. There was also too much in the book, it went from plodding along to a sudden rush of events, seemingly squished together, just to fit them into one book.
I'm a little torn with the starring for this one, I did give it three, but then when writing the review I changed it to two. The poor writing pushed me to amend it, the story was interesting, the information about the Gods and demons was fascinating, but the love story overwhelmed it, and ruined all the good about it.
Such a shame as its put me off reading further books in the series, as I know the same old phrases will be used.
April 27, 2010
The author is very knowledgeable about Chinese Mythology and martial arts. It was very interesting to learn about it because it’s new territory for me. I loved some, not all the characters though. I loved the little girl, she was just a cute character and a very strong one as well. Although I really wish that the author would have explored her character a little more. It has a pretty awesome storyline, although it kind of drifted off coarse here and there but it got right back on. Ok on to some of the things I didn’t enjoy about this novel. It was very long and it took a lot of pages to explain a single concept. One thing that annoyed me the most was the fact that every time the Emma asked John or his employees what was going on, she kept getting told the same thing over and over again and it bored me. Sometimes the actions of the characters confused me as to why they would do that particular thing. Ex: When Emma moves into John’s house not knowing anything about him really (oh and not to mention he has a lot of weapons and martial arts stuff), just that she has to tutor his daughter. That so would not happen in real life. Overall it’s an okie read. I give this novel 2.5 out of 5 paws.
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