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Storm in Shanghai
"Harry Potter meets The DaVinci Code in this magical mystery thrill ride..."
In modern day China, an American expat leads a law enforcement team of Mages and Wizards, whose sole purpose is to keep Magic hidden from the ordinary world. One morning, Jaret King finds Shanghai facing the return of the most deadly magical terrorist in history, a monster who has long been thought dead. Jaret must now continue to keep the secret of Magic concealed from all Regs, including his wife, while attempting to stop this monstrosity − known only as the MAELSTROM − from murdering thousands more innocent people. Of course, once he discovers the motivation driving this violent lunatic, Jaret may have to step in and help complete the Maelstrom’s plan. But if so, at what cost?
In modern day China, an American expat leads a law enforcement team of Mages and Wizards, whose sole purpose is to keep Magic hidden from the ordinary world. One morning, Jaret King finds Shanghai facing the return of the most deadly magical terrorist in history, a monster who has long been thought dead. Jaret must now continue to keep the secret of Magic concealed from all Regs, including his wife, while attempting to stop this monstrosity − known only as the MAELSTROM − from murdering thousands more innocent people. Of course, once he discovers the motivation driving this violent lunatic, Jaret may have to step in and help complete the Maelstrom’s plan. But if so, at what cost?
388 pages, Paperback
Published March 6, 2016
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27 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 26, 2016
The best thing about Storm in Shanghai is the characters. The cool magic system is a close second. This book is a classic urban fantasy, in which mages and wizards play out a dramatic conflict in a big city while the ordinary people – “the regs” – remain in blissful ignorance.
Jaret King, the protagonist, is a talented mage and the head of the Shanghai, China, office of Mage Order and Protection. MOP is basically the magic police. It makes sure that magic users don’t abuse their power, and that regs don’t find out about magic. Some of Jaret’s colleagues are wizards, purveyors of a different kind of magic, but with the same goal: to make sure magic is safe and secret.
The story begins with some murdered wizards. Mr. Bush builds tension by giving these crimes elements in common with mass-casualty attacks about 20 years before, at least to Jaret’s mind. He has a reason to see the similarities. He witnessed one of the attacks when he was a kid, and it has left its mark on him. Jaret and his colleagues soon discover that these wizard deaths are part of a plan that goes far beyond run-of-the-mill violence. The big-bad villain is a mysterious magic user who has the classic big-bad goal of power, but he also seeks revenge. Mr. Bush does a great job of weaving in the back story so we understand this villain. He’s complex and in some ways, righteous. No cartoonish villain here, and some of the so-called good guys also have blood on their hands.
Jaret is a well-drawn character as well. The flashback scenes between Jaret and his mage father are great. They helped me understand Jaret, and they were fun to read. Mr. Bush has a way with banter, which also comes out when Jaret is interacting with his co-workers. They’re a cool group of magic cops who work well together. I especially liked Mian Mian, a punk rock chick with a spine of steel. Like most good urban fantasy, the sidekicks are important. Jaret has to rely on them.
Fans of urban fantasy should also like the inventive magic system. All the magic draws on the elements of fire, water, rock and storm, with storm seeming to be the most powerful. While these elements are the source of magic for both mages and wizards, the two type of magic users access the power in different ways, which becomes a pivotal plot point. The mages have a natural ability, an innate connection with power, whereas wizards must learn spells. Because of this, the slang term for mage is “caster,” and the slang term for wizard is “crammer.” They peacefully co-exist, at least that’s the way it seems. But this peace comes at a horrible price, one Jaret isn’t willing to pay. The revelations and Jaret’s distress set up the next book quite nicely. I look forward to reading more in this series.
Jaret King, the protagonist, is a talented mage and the head of the Shanghai, China, office of Mage Order and Protection. MOP is basically the magic police. It makes sure that magic users don’t abuse their power, and that regs don’t find out about magic. Some of Jaret’s colleagues are wizards, purveyors of a different kind of magic, but with the same goal: to make sure magic is safe and secret.
The story begins with some murdered wizards. Mr. Bush builds tension by giving these crimes elements in common with mass-casualty attacks about 20 years before, at least to Jaret’s mind. He has a reason to see the similarities. He witnessed one of the attacks when he was a kid, and it has left its mark on him. Jaret and his colleagues soon discover that these wizard deaths are part of a plan that goes far beyond run-of-the-mill violence. The big-bad villain is a mysterious magic user who has the classic big-bad goal of power, but he also seeks revenge. Mr. Bush does a great job of weaving in the back story so we understand this villain. He’s complex and in some ways, righteous. No cartoonish villain here, and some of the so-called good guys also have blood on their hands.
Jaret is a well-drawn character as well. The flashback scenes between Jaret and his mage father are great. They helped me understand Jaret, and they were fun to read. Mr. Bush has a way with banter, which also comes out when Jaret is interacting with his co-workers. They’re a cool group of magic cops who work well together. I especially liked Mian Mian, a punk rock chick with a spine of steel. Like most good urban fantasy, the sidekicks are important. Jaret has to rely on them.
Fans of urban fantasy should also like the inventive magic system. All the magic draws on the elements of fire, water, rock and storm, with storm seeming to be the most powerful. While these elements are the source of magic for both mages and wizards, the two type of magic users access the power in different ways, which becomes a pivotal plot point. The mages have a natural ability, an innate connection with power, whereas wizards must learn spells. Because of this, the slang term for mage is “caster,” and the slang term for wizard is “crammer.” They peacefully co-exist, at least that’s the way it seems. But this peace comes at a horrible price, one Jaret isn’t willing to pay. The revelations and Jaret’s distress set up the next book quite nicely. I look forward to reading more in this series.
May 1, 2016
Mages are born, but Wizards are trained from spell tomes. Simple, right? Not quite. The history between both groups is strained, and in present times, although working together to regulate magic laws, they're still walking the thin line of all out war. The reason is ... no spoilers... a twisted shocker.
The book flits from the main character, Jaret's first person present tense, to the antagonist, Maelstrom's, story written in third person past tense. The transitions seemed to work, and offers addition background story.
I liked Jaret's character- stuck between a rock and a hard place, but still trying to be rational and make the right choices. I didn't fully believe he could maintain his home life the way he did, but that was relieved with another shock revelation that eased the whole situation. I'm a fan of the ol' plot twists.
My favourite character was the antagonist, Maelstrom. He'd be an anti-hero of sorts. I fully understood why he was doing what he was doing. I found myself rooting for him sometimes- is that perverse- it is, isn't it?
The book felt long, but otherwise a solid, fantasy read. I would definitely recommend this series!
The book flits from the main character, Jaret's first person present tense, to the antagonist, Maelstrom's, story written in third person past tense. The transitions seemed to work, and offers addition background story.
I liked Jaret's character- stuck between a rock and a hard place, but still trying to be rational and make the right choices. I didn't fully believe he could maintain his home life the way he did, but that was relieved with another shock revelation that eased the whole situation. I'm a fan of the ol' plot twists.
My favourite character was the antagonist, Maelstrom. He'd be an anti-hero of sorts. I fully understood why he was doing what he was doing. I found myself rooting for him sometimes- is that perverse- it is, isn't it?
The book felt long, but otherwise a solid, fantasy read. I would definitely recommend this series!
June 18, 2017
2015 finds former speedcaster champion Jaret King leading a joint mage & wizard law enforcement team in Shanghai. Sent to investigate the disappearance of a local wizard, a fairly innocuous-sounding missing persons case soon devolves into a hunt for the most deadly magical terrorist in history.
Storm in Shanghai is a story about a white American in China, written by a white American in China. Bush offers you snippets of life in China's biggest city, quick offerings of cultural exchanges, and descriptions of the locale, in the midst of a witch hunt (wizard hunt?) led by a white man with a team of locals. It's an interesting balance he's managed to walk, which should satisfy even the most politically correct of the cultural critics out there (I think. There were several jibes, but nothing I wouldn't say to a fellow Asian. lol).
The novel jumps between several main timelines: the terrorist attacks in 1990, the rise of wizardry in the early 11th century and present day events in 2015. This makes the beginning of the story feel long and rather clunky, making it a little difficult to get into immediately but it's worth it. By the time everything weaves together into one horrific disaster somewhere in the middle of the book, you can't help but feel invested in all that has happened so far and hope for a solution that's not painful or nasty, and certainly please, no more deaths. (Case in point: I read the first maybe 30% sporadically over the span of 5 days, picked it up again today thinking I'd read for short while before doing something else, and then find myself finishing the whole darned thing because... darn it, NO. WHY DID YOU DO IT JARET.)
There's no real explicit or graphic violence though violence (mainly magical) is mentioned and there are epic magical battles. There's also quite a bit of death, including a main character death, though they're not described in detail. Slight allusion to sex, nothing described, a bit of swearing, so this one's probably pretty safe for teens and up. (I.e. nothing that would shock a supposedly innocent 13-YO. I know 13YOs are not innocent. Just saying.)
Bush's writing style is pretty straight-forward and action-driven, so don't expect anything poetically fancy or pointlessly beautiful. His strength is in the plot, action and characterisations, even of the villain. There's a nice complexity to his creation of mage-wizard relations and tensions, making it believable.
Yeah, so all in all, I pretty much liked Storm in Shanghai
Given Bush's nomadic lifestyle, I'm expecting Mage Father #2 to be based in Penang (hinted as much at the end of the book) and Mage Father #3 (if there is one) to be based in Thailand (Bangkok, was it?)
Storm in Shanghai is a story about a white American in China, written by a white American in China. Bush offers you snippets of life in China's biggest city, quick offerings of cultural exchanges, and descriptions of the locale, in the midst of a witch hunt (wizard hunt?) led by a white man with a team of locals. It's an interesting balance he's managed to walk, which should satisfy even the most politically correct of the cultural critics out there (I think. There were several jibes, but nothing I wouldn't say to a fellow Asian. lol).
The novel jumps between several main timelines: the terrorist attacks in 1990, the rise of wizardry in the early 11th century and present day events in 2015. This makes the beginning of the story feel long and rather clunky, making it a little difficult to get into immediately but it's worth it. By the time everything weaves together into one horrific disaster somewhere in the middle of the book, you can't help but feel invested in all that has happened so far and hope for a solution that's not painful or nasty, and certainly please, no more deaths. (Case in point: I read the first maybe 30% sporadically over the span of 5 days, picked it up again today thinking I'd read for short while before doing something else, and then find myself finishing the whole darned thing because... darn it, NO. WHY DID YOU DO IT JARET.)
There's no real explicit or graphic violence though violence (mainly magical) is mentioned and there are epic magical battles. There's also quite a bit of death, including a main character death, though they're not described in detail. Slight allusion to sex, nothing described, a bit of swearing, so this one's probably pretty safe for teens and up. (I.e. nothing that would shock a supposedly innocent 13-YO. I know 13YOs are not innocent. Just saying.)
Bush's writing style is pretty straight-forward and action-driven, so don't expect anything poetically fancy or pointlessly beautiful. His strength is in the plot, action and characterisations, even of the villain. There's a nice complexity to his creation of mage-wizard relations and tensions, making it believable.
Yeah, so all in all, I pretty much liked Storm in Shanghai
Given Bush's nomadic lifestyle, I'm expecting Mage Father #2 to be based in Penang (hinted as much at the end of the book) and Mage Father #3 (if there is one) to be based in Thailand (Bangkok, was it?)
April 20, 2016
i wavered between four and five stars. four - i really like the book, but not sure if i'll read it again. five - i really like the book, and i'll probably read it again. i finally landed on five. interesting and well-thought-out (and well-told) storyline, great characters, and couple of twists i did NOT see coming. if you like modern tales with a bit of supernatural (mages and wizards), you won't be disappointed.
May 6, 2016
I really enjoyed this book! Great, well written story.
January 8, 2018
Loved how the characters and the plot intertwined. Loved the setting too!
April 25, 2016
I was very impressed by this book! Characters are relatable and easy to fall in love with. I loved that I learned some Chinese language and how his book inspired me to research some of the famous locations that set the stage for some of the scenes. One of my favorite things also was visiting his facebook page and learning more about the character inspirations! My favorite was his inspiration for Herod! I see lots of posts eager to read the next book, as well as I am. I have found that he has a couple of short stories and articles out there that are equally impressive and the links can be found on his facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/jmbushauthor/ I highly suggest you check it out to hold you over until the next book!!
May 29, 2016
I'll start by saying that this was a very good fantasy read. It's not the type of thing I would typically read, and Asian culture has never been my thing, but with that aside, I did enjoy the book very much. The main character Jaret was relatable and realistic, and the story arc had a good consistent feel to it. I enjoyed the originality and the way things were explained as well.
4/5
4/5
April 21, 2016
A super solid debut by an author with a great voice. The chapters flow by as the reader gets caught up in the mystery, magic and adventure. Can hardly wait to see where the story goes next.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews