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S.A.I.N.T.S. Song of Winds
Song of Winds is a fast-pace adventure mystery thriller for older young adults and the young at heart – a sort of Indiana Jones meets Dan Brown and Jackie Chan, yet very different.
Two thousand years ago, a geomancer leads a tribe out of the tomb of Emperor Qin. One thousand years later, a treasure is lost to the Incas.
Today, an unusual terracotta soldier is unearthed in China.
A mild mannered Korean boy can fly. A beautiful American girl finds lost souls in Peru. The richest man in Asia turns to the I Ching for clues. An old Mexican man is selling hot dogs in the streets of New York. And they are all connected in a fate that began in ancient China and ends in the mountains of present-day Peru.
Meet the SAINTS (the Syndicated Alliance of Irregular and Talented Specialists): Song, the master of the mystic Tao of Twelve Winds; Diego, a clairvoyant who can see past events and past lives; Ronny, a man of unparalleled intuition; Audrey, the ultimate exponent of the healing arts of the Ayurveda; and Zengo, the enigmatic founder of SAINTS.
Using sheer intellect and mastering their subtle supernatural forces, SAINTS is called upon to stop an equally formidable force, Los Payasos. But before they can succeed, in a race against time, one team must unlock the cryptic codes of Emperor Qin’s tomb while the second must find the Lost Treasure of the Incas, for so it seems, one needs the other. Yin and Yang.
SONG OF WINDS is a 120,000 word quasi-historical novel; a complex and thought provoking mystery that might topple all common thinking about the relics of a rich past. It is also an adventure, a romp and a love story, a tale steeped in history and geography and magical what-if’s.
Like the The DaVinci Code or National Treasure, readers will find themselves believing in the possibilities just beneath the inexplicable and, moreover, realizing there may very well be mystery in what people often consider mundane.
Available in Singapore at Kinokuniya and Popular bookstores. Also available online internationally at Amazon.com and the Straits Times Press website.
Two thousand years ago, a geomancer leads a tribe out of the tomb of Emperor Qin. One thousand years later, a treasure is lost to the Incas.
Today, an unusual terracotta soldier is unearthed in China.
A mild mannered Korean boy can fly. A beautiful American girl finds lost souls in Peru. The richest man in Asia turns to the I Ching for clues. An old Mexican man is selling hot dogs in the streets of New York. And they are all connected in a fate that began in ancient China and ends in the mountains of present-day Peru.
Meet the SAINTS (the Syndicated Alliance of Irregular and Talented Specialists): Song, the master of the mystic Tao of Twelve Winds; Diego, a clairvoyant who can see past events and past lives; Ronny, a man of unparalleled intuition; Audrey, the ultimate exponent of the healing arts of the Ayurveda; and Zengo, the enigmatic founder of SAINTS.
Using sheer intellect and mastering their subtle supernatural forces, SAINTS is called upon to stop an equally formidable force, Los Payasos. But before they can succeed, in a race against time, one team must unlock the cryptic codes of Emperor Qin’s tomb while the second must find the Lost Treasure of the Incas, for so it seems, one needs the other. Yin and Yang.
SONG OF WINDS is a 120,000 word quasi-historical novel; a complex and thought provoking mystery that might topple all common thinking about the relics of a rich past. It is also an adventure, a romp and a love story, a tale steeped in history and geography and magical what-if’s.
Like the The DaVinci Code or National Treasure, readers will find themselves believing in the possibilities just beneath the inexplicable and, moreover, realizing there may very well be mystery in what people often consider mundane.
Available in Singapore at Kinokuniya and Popular bookstores. Also available online internationally at Amazon.com and the Straits Times Press website.
544 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2013
46 people want to read
About the author
Julian Kim
4 books28 followersJulian Kim was born in Seoul, Korea. Owing to his father's work in the diplomatic service, Julian spent his formative and adolescent years in many different countries around the world, especially Latin America. After completing his BS in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado and an MBA at Duke University, Julian's career in investment banking led him to travel extensively and reside in cities such as New York, London, Hong Kong and Seoul.
From an early age, Julian was fascinated and influenced by the diversity of cultures from around the world. He was often exposed to new tastes, smells, colors, music, sports, languages and stories. As an adult, his profession allowed him to travel even more extensively, adding to his collection of experiences. After retiring from an extended career in the financial industry, Julian decided to try his hand on a lifelong ambition, writing fiction.
Julian now lives in Singapore, dividing his time between writing, managing business projects with friends and doing some financial consulting work.
SAINTS, Song of Winds, is Julian's first novel.
From an early age, Julian was fascinated and influenced by the diversity of cultures from around the world. He was often exposed to new tastes, smells, colors, music, sports, languages and stories. As an adult, his profession allowed him to travel even more extensively, adding to his collection of experiences. After retiring from an extended career in the financial industry, Julian decided to try his hand on a lifelong ambition, writing fiction.
Julian now lives in Singapore, dividing his time between writing, managing business projects with friends and doing some financial consulting work.
SAINTS, Song of Winds, is Julian's first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 10, 2013
Without ever leaving your most faithful, comfy, old recliner, you can sink in and be transported across many lands and do a little time traveling in one of the greatest adventures in the world. Within the first few chapters of the book, I thought to myself, “Uh ohhh, what have I gotten myself into? This story line is incredibly complex.” However, Author Julian Kim develops his characters so well that his book captivates you providing seamless reading as you travel across centuries while immersing the reader into the various plots. Although this is what I would consider an adventure, there is a little something for everyone in this book: history, fantasy, romance, intrigue, spiritual awareness, complex puzzles. It truly is a book for all ages. I highly recommend this book, and I’m hoping for a sequel!
June 2, 2016
Working on the sequel... tentatively, S.A.I.N.T.S. The Code of God
January 14, 2025
updated 2021:
by my estimation this is my 8th or so read of SAINTS. i find it really amazing how despite knowing the major plot points and being so familiar with the characters, i still feel my pulse speeding up at the intense action scenes and still tear up at the exact same moments, which i guess is a testament to the descriptive, clear writing :-)
wonderful cast, all were really well developed and easy to root for. audrey's lame confucius jokes, ronny and song's banter, diego's wisecracking,, i adored every single one of the character relationships too. but apart from the story and characters, the amount of detail in this book continues to bowl me over, and i can't imagine how much research into ancient Chinese history, Peruvian culture and the Incan empire it must have taken. i'm also impressed by the themes and messages included, even if they were only short snippets, such as happiness being a direction rather than a destination, sad truths about the fight for gender equality, and how money and wealth can't bring you inner peace. overall, i haven't read anything since that's checked all my boxes - adventure, special abilities, foreign lands/historical elements, puzzles, humour, romance - as well as this did.
by my estimation this is my 8th or so read of SAINTS. i find it really amazing how despite knowing the major plot points and being so familiar with the characters, i still feel my pulse speeding up at the intense action scenes and still tear up at the exact same moments, which i guess is a testament to the descriptive, clear writing :-)
wonderful cast, all were really well developed and easy to root for. audrey's lame confucius jokes, ronny and song's banter, diego's wisecracking,, i adored every single one of the character relationships too. but apart from the story and characters, the amount of detail in this book continues to bowl me over, and i can't imagine how much research into ancient Chinese history, Peruvian culture and the Incan empire it must have taken. i'm also impressed by the themes and messages included, even if they were only short snippets, such as happiness being a direction rather than a destination, sad truths about the fight for gender equality, and how money and wealth can't bring you inner peace. overall, i haven't read anything since that's checked all my boxes - adventure, special abilities, foreign lands/historical elements, puzzles, humour, romance - as well as this did.
December 25, 2013
What an amazing story! I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I could not put down the book. If you enjoyed Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, Ian Fleming's James Bond series, Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Bruce Lee's action films, this book is for you. I would like to see this book made into a movie. Mr. Spielberg, are you listening?
September 11, 2013
2 words. James Rollins-lite.
I am probably 'not with it' for the current action based novels that crosses time/geographical periods in the style of a Rollins or a Matthew Reilly (self-proclaimed australian action writer) so reading this is actually a chore (nothing against the writer/book/plot) for me.
This YA (with decidedly adult theme in language/action) debut wears its literary influences lightly but betrays it with quick switches between locations and diagrams and maps (reminiscent of Dan Brown/Matthew Reilly) which pops up mysteriously in the last 1/4 of the book.
Unfortunately, there is no conviction on the part of the editors to present a coherent structure to the book so it feels like a story in the first 1/4, another one in the middle 1/2 and then another direction is taken in the last 1/4.
It lost me when the 'superpowers' came into play.
The strength of James Rollins' adventure thriller is that it just skirts around the edge of credibility by anchoring all the characters/action in reality and have incredible things happening to them.
The trouble/problem with S.A.I.N.T.S is that it loses that credibility thread by letting the characters run away with it and then spin their alternative history and then some.
All in all, it is an interesting debut but it could be so much better with a tighter, more coherent plot and serious editing. It could lose 100 pages and make more sense.
I am probably 'not with it' for the current action based novels that crosses time/geographical periods in the style of a Rollins or a Matthew Reilly (self-proclaimed australian action writer) so reading this is actually a chore (nothing against the writer/book/plot) for me.
This YA (with decidedly adult theme in language/action) debut wears its literary influences lightly but betrays it with quick switches between locations and diagrams and maps (reminiscent of Dan Brown/Matthew Reilly) which pops up mysteriously in the last 1/4 of the book.
Unfortunately, there is no conviction on the part of the editors to present a coherent structure to the book so it feels like a story in the first 1/4, another one in the middle 1/2 and then another direction is taken in the last 1/4.
It lost me when the 'superpowers' came into play.
The strength of James Rollins' adventure thriller is that it just skirts around the edge of credibility by anchoring all the characters/action in reality and have incredible things happening to them.
The trouble/problem with S.A.I.N.T.S is that it loses that credibility thread by letting the characters run away with it and then spin their alternative history and then some.
All in all, it is an interesting debut but it could be so much better with a tighter, more coherent plot and serious editing. It could lose 100 pages and make more sense.
April 8, 2015
Don't get me wrong, it is a very good storyline, but i cannot seem to get done with it, I like the parts with stories ancient China and finding the clues to the puzzle.
I would give it 5 stars for the plot but I guess it is just so annoyingly tiring to read this book. I literally felt tired and fell asleep or get distracted many times, I guess I am just not used to reading a book that a scene drags without action.
I would give this book a second chance in the future.
I would give it 5 stars for the plot but I guess it is just so annoyingly tiring to read this book. I literally felt tired and fell asleep or get distracted many times, I guess I am just not used to reading a book that a scene drags without action.
I would give this book a second chance in the future.
January 26, 2014
It's a great piece of work! I love how the protaganists are to solve riddles according to real historical and cultural context. I especially enjoyed the revelation of each protaganist's past life in the form of story told by Diego. I highly recommend this book. I like the high action adventure and find it fun to read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews