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Gods and Monsters: Rupert Wong #1
Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef
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It’s not unusual to work two jobs in this day and age, but sorcerer and former triad soldier Rupert Wong’s life is more complicated than most. By day, he makes human hors d’oeuvres for a dynasty of ghouls; by night, he pushes pencils for the Ten Chinese Hells. Of course, it never seems to be enough to buy him a new car—or his restless, flesh-eating-ghost girlfriend passage from the reincarnation cycle—until opportunity comes smashing through his window.
In Kuala Lumpur, where deities from a handful of major faiths tip-toe around each other and damned souls number in the millions, it’s important to tread carefully. Now the Dragon King of the South wants to throw Rupert right in it. The ocean god’s daughter and her once-mortal husband have been murdered, leaving a single clue: bloodied feathers from the Greek furies. It’s a clue that could start a war between pantheons, and Rupert’s stuck in the middle. Success promises wealth, power and freedom, and failure... doesn’t.
It’s not unusual to work two jobs in this day and age, but sorcerer and former triad soldier Rupert Wong’s life is more complicated than most. By day, he makes human hors d’oeuvres for a dynasty of ghouls; by night, he pushes pencils for the Ten Chinese Hells. Of course, it never seems to be enough to buy him a new car—or his restless, flesh-eating-ghost girlfriend passage from the reincarnation cycle—until opportunity comes smashing through his window.
In Kuala Lumpur, where deities from a handful of major faiths tip-toe around each other and damned souls number in the millions, it’s important to tread carefully. Now the Dragon King of the South wants to throw Rupert right in it. The ocean god’s daughter and her once-mortal husband have been murdered, leaving a single clue: bloodied feathers from the Greek furies. It’s a clue that could start a war between pantheons, and Rupert’s stuck in the middle. Success promises wealth, power and freedom, and failure... doesn’t.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 23, 2015
106 people are currently reading
1641 people want to read
About the author
Cassandra Khaw
126 books2,938 followersCassandra Khaw is an award-winning game writer.
Their recent novella Nothing but Blackened Teeth was a British
Fantasy, World Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, and Bram Stoker
Award finalist. Their debut collection Breakable Things is now
out.
Their recent novella Nothing but Blackened Teeth was a British
Fantasy, World Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, and Bram Stoker
Award finalist. Their debut collection Breakable Things is now
out.
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August 29, 2017Okay, so either you want to read a book called this or you don't.
A fabulous and entirely gross horror comedy set in Malaysia (and Hell). It's spectacularly icky and kind of oddly sweet and moving, and the use of Malaysian and Chinese mythology is glorious. A wonderfully different-from-the-old-routine fantasy read and yet one more reminder that we need diverse books because (among many other reasons) it's more fun and you read better stuff that way.
Thoroughly recommended unless you're easily grossed out in which case...mate, read the title.
A fabulous and entirely gross horror comedy set in Malaysia (and Hell). It's spectacularly icky and kind of oddly sweet and moving, and the use of Malaysian and Chinese mythology is glorious. A wonderfully different-from-the-old-routine fantasy read and yet one more reminder that we need diverse books because (among many other reasons) it's more fun and you read better stuff that way.
Thoroughly recommended unless you're easily grossed out in which case...mate, read the title.
February 25, 2024
This was a quick and (for me) surprisingly enjoyable read. I bought this as part of a bundle and when comparing shelves a GR friend decided she would like to read this one. So here I am. I’m not a fan of horror, or books that raise my heart rate, so I wasn’t super keen to read this, but I’m glad I did.
Khan’s writing flows well, is pithy and clever, erudite even. The Malay mythology was interesting and in this story there was also Greek mythology. She knows her stuff. It’s a good thing I was reading on the Kindle and could just look up all the terms that were unfamiliar! There were also moments of wry humor, which leavened the gory bits, which didn’t really horrify me as much as they could have, I suppose. Also, most of the gore happened off-screen, with one notable exception. At least it was short-lived.
I’m actually looking forward to the rest of the novella trilogy, which is on Scribd/Everand.
Khan’s writing flows well, is pithy and clever, erudite even. The Malay mythology was interesting and in this story there was also Greek mythology. She knows her stuff. It’s a good thing I was reading on the Kindle and could just look up all the terms that were unfamiliar! There were also moments of wry humor, which leavened the gory bits, which didn’t really horrify me as much as they could have, I suppose. Also, most of the gore happened off-screen, with one notable exception. At least it was short-lived.
I’m actually looking forward to the rest of the novella trilogy, which is on Scribd/Everand.
February 12, 2017
Cassandra Khaw takes us into the magical underbelly of Kuala Lumpur in Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef as part of Abaddon Books Gods and Monsters series. Picture Jet Tila (a Thai chef Food Network fans should recognize) with magical know-how, acting as ambassador for the Ten Chinese Hells in between his culinary duties for a family of mobster ghouls.
Our introduction to Wong finds him tasked with locating the murderer of the Dragon King's daughter. Heady stuff, to be sure, and one that finds Wong calling upon various Chinese deities as he unravels the mystery. As is tradition with the noir tropes that have inspired, and been somewhat upended by Khaw, it doesn't take long for Wong to find himself in way over his head and under assault by various forces, living, dead, and otherwise. And holy crap, does Wong ever get assaulted... [insert maniacal laugh]
Wong is a fun character to spend a few hours with, and this novella is the perfect bite-sized serving of urban fantasy horror mayhem. Khaw does a terrific job creating some uncomfortable scenes, but is even better at bringing to life the mythological denizens inhabiting Kuala Lumpur (the God of Missing People in particular is very neatly crafted). It's this mythology that makes Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef completely aces in my eyes. The cultural and religious practices in which the Chinese honor their dead are vividly realized here, and lay a solid foundation on which to build a superb urban fantasy. I also felt that I got to know a little bit about Kuala Lumpur as a setting, and I could easily picture myself wandering the alleys and Chinatown alongside Wong and some unwelcome companions. All in all, this was a terrifically immersive read!
My only complaint is a slight one, involving my own misreading of the title. I had thought going in that Wong was a cannibal andchef, rather than a chef for cannibals. That said, I still got to read a little bit about the preparation of fat, white tourists for some ghoulish company, even if I had expected way more dishes with long pig as the central ingredient.
... It's also entirely possible I'm just a weird-o.
Our introduction to Wong finds him tasked with locating the murderer of the Dragon King's daughter. Heady stuff, to be sure, and one that finds Wong calling upon various Chinese deities as he unravels the mystery. As is tradition with the noir tropes that have inspired, and been somewhat upended by Khaw, it doesn't take long for Wong to find himself in way over his head and under assault by various forces, living, dead, and otherwise. And holy crap, does Wong ever get assaulted... [insert maniacal laugh]
Wong is a fun character to spend a few hours with, and this novella is the perfect bite-sized serving of urban fantasy horror mayhem. Khaw does a terrific job creating some uncomfortable scenes, but is even better at bringing to life the mythological denizens inhabiting Kuala Lumpur (the God of Missing People in particular is very neatly crafted). It's this mythology that makes Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef completely aces in my eyes. The cultural and religious practices in which the Chinese honor their dead are vividly realized here, and lay a solid foundation on which to build a superb urban fantasy. I also felt that I got to know a little bit about Kuala Lumpur as a setting, and I could easily picture myself wandering the alleys and Chinatown alongside Wong and some unwelcome companions. All in all, this was a terrifically immersive read!
My only complaint is a slight one, involving my own misreading of the title. I had thought going in that Wong was a cannibal andchef, rather than a chef for cannibals. That said, I still got to read a little bit about the preparation of fat, white tourists for some ghoulish company, even if I had expected way more dishes with long pig as the central ingredient.
... It's also entirely possible I'm just a weird-o.
August 10, 2016
This is glorious. For something so short it certainly crams in a lot of ingredients: gods, monsters, down-at-heel ex-mob chefs, gluttons, gourmands, angry ghosts, colonialism, assimilation, ancient vs modern, a bustling cityscape both bright & wild and grimy-drab...
It's got everything and all of it is mixed to perfection to produce a noirish yet numinous tale of one strangely compelling not-exactly-hero caught in the midst of a grand parade of terrifying grotesques.
Cassandra Khaw brings incredible depth to her world; a turn of phrase or well crafted image hinting at onion skin layers of history and politics and meaning and mystery, all waiting to be revealed beneath every place and every action. Despite the supernatural subject matter, this reads always as a story of real place, and real (strange) people.
Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef rattles along in fast and thrilling style and manages to skip from visceral horror to easy violence to genuine heart-breaker pathos whilst never missing a step or leaving you behind. Highly recommended.
It's got everything and all of it is mixed to perfection to produce a noirish yet numinous tale of one strangely compelling not-exactly-hero caught in the midst of a grand parade of terrifying grotesques.
Cassandra Khaw brings incredible depth to her world; a turn of phrase or well crafted image hinting at onion skin layers of history and politics and meaning and mystery, all waiting to be revealed beneath every place and every action. Despite the supernatural subject matter, this reads always as a story of real place, and real (strange) people.
Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef rattles along in fast and thrilling style and manages to skip from visceral horror to easy violence to genuine heart-breaker pathos whilst never missing a step or leaving you behind. Highly recommended.
April 26, 2021
There are just WAY too many ideas shoved into this book. I felt like I was reading the third or fourth in a series and the author expected me to already know about the world and its lore. There was almost no suspense because I didn't understand the parameters of the world so anything could happen at any time. Also, the reason this book intrigued me in the first place was the idea of a working-class character trying to cope with fantasy/horror stuff on the side while holding down a day job. That wasn't the case at all -- there was nothing but a few passing references to the fact that he was a chef. The version I got is actually the first TWO books in the series, and I don't see myself continuing on past the first.
June 4, 2020
As a Brazilian, it's cool to see an author on the other side of the world who's also writing urban fantasy about their country's awesome, distinctively non-European mythology.
Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef has ghostly demon babies trying to unionize on page one and the trick to cooking for Muslim ghûls on page two, so I was hooked from the get-go. Sadly, this gets thrown out shortly afterward as a Dragon King flies into the page and essentially announces himself to be the plot. What follows is an excellent example of using noir-ish tropes to introduce a fantastic universe. Rupert Wong is intelligente, capable and versatile, but way out of his depth, and it's fun to watch him flounder. Unfortunately, I think the book was way too hard on him: the dude can't get a bus ride without almost getting dog piss on him, and this makes the ending feel a bit unearned, especially since he basically solves a mystery by walking up to the people accused and asking what happened, and I may be a bit dumb but I don't know why anyone else had thought of that.
It's still a book I certainly recommend: the writing is fast and snappy, characters are brilliantly developed, and some events are peerless in how they imagine modern-day magic. (The entire sequence with the God of Missing People is one of the best things I've read this year, and I've read a lot of great stuff this year.) It's apparently part of a larger mythos, but I have no idea of what that is and I still found this great. If you want to read some urban fantasy that doesn't rely on good ol' vampires and werewolves and eurocentrism, this one's for you.
Rupert Wong, Cannibal Chef has ghostly demon babies trying to unionize on page one and the trick to cooking for Muslim ghûls on page two, so I was hooked from the get-go. Sadly, this gets thrown out shortly afterward as a Dragon King flies into the page and essentially announces himself to be the plot. What follows is an excellent example of using noir-ish tropes to introduce a fantastic universe. Rupert Wong is intelligente, capable and versatile, but way out of his depth, and it's fun to watch him flounder. Unfortunately, I think the book was way too hard on him: the dude can't get a bus ride without almost getting dog piss on him, and this makes the ending feel a bit unearned, especially since he basically solves a mystery by walking up to the people accused and asking what happened, and I may be a bit dumb but I don't know why anyone else had thought of that.
It's still a book I certainly recommend: the writing is fast and snappy, characters are brilliantly developed, and some events are peerless in how they imagine modern-day magic. (The entire sequence with the God of Missing People is one of the best things I've read this year, and I've read a lot of great stuff this year.) It's apparently part of a larger mythos, but I have no idea of what that is and I still found this great. If you want to read some urban fantasy that doesn't rely on good ol' vampires and werewolves and eurocentrism, this one's for you.
February 17, 2017
Unpopular opinion time:
I think CK is a fantastic writer of one liners and descriptions. She weaves details that keep me glued to the page.
Buuut i have the same problem here I had with her Lovecraft PI story - there's just something off about the pace. The characters all accept their fates too easily, everything cruises along with very little consideration. I get that it's a novella, and there is a lot packed into the story. I feel like it should have been a book, and in trying to make it shorter, CK took out a lot of necessary transitions.
I know I'm in the minority here, CK is riding a rising star right now. I'm hoping to see something full length from her soon.
I think CK is a fantastic writer of one liners and descriptions. She weaves details that keep me glued to the page.
Buuut i have the same problem here I had with her Lovecraft PI story - there's just something off about the pace. The characters all accept their fates too easily, everything cruises along with very little consideration. I get that it's a novella, and there is a lot packed into the story. I feel like it should have been a book, and in trying to make it shorter, CK took out a lot of necessary transitions.
I know I'm in the minority here, CK is riding a rising star right now. I'm hoping to see something full length from her soon.
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February 21, 2021A magical trickster type has some breezy, bloody noir type adventures in a fantastical Kuala Lumpur. I hesitate to use the term palate cleanser for obvious reasons but this was quick and fun and nasty.
June 22, 2023
A dark comedy based on Asian gods, that keeps you on your toes. Pay attention or you’ll miss something. All together a good read.
June 22, 2020
This is a very interesting world, very different from the usial Greco Roman or Norse mythology most urban fantasies rely on. I loved it! It's new and bewildering in a slightly horrifying way.
I am not sure I like Rupert Wong as much as I liked the worldbuilding though. He seemed rather incompetent for most of the story, bumbling along like a drunk baboon. Hopefully, he gets better in future books.
I also felt rather confused which entities he worked for. Seems like the King of Hell is his ultimate boss, but he works for another supernatural monster on Earth as well, and one from a different pantheon no less. How did that happen? A little bit more explanation would have been appreciated by the uncultured foreigner that I am 😅
I also felt that the whole story was rushed, especially towards the end. It could have benefited from about 50 more pages to slwo down and explore some of the concepts that are thrown at the reader piecemeal throughout the story. Let's hope the next book provides more clarity.
I am not sure I like Rupert Wong as much as I liked the worldbuilding though. He seemed rather incompetent for most of the story, bumbling along like a drunk baboon. Hopefully, he gets better in future books.
I also felt rather confused which entities he worked for. Seems like the King of Hell is his ultimate boss, but he works for another supernatural monster on Earth as well, and one from a different pantheon no less. How did that happen? A little bit more explanation would have been appreciated by the uncultured foreigner that I am 😅
I also felt that the whole story was rushed, especially towards the end. It could have benefited from about 50 more pages to slwo down and explore some of the concepts that are thrown at the reader piecemeal throughout the story. Let's hope the next book provides more clarity.
May 26, 2021
A gory novella steeped in folklore and religion. It feels denser than its 90-some pages, but still moves quickly because it, ahem, never throws more at the read than they can chew at once. Also, I got a chuckle when I finally looked up what "ang moh" meant.
February 22, 2021
I enjoyed this. The mythology is excellent but I feel like I want more and at times some extra explanations might help.
But the body gore...man
But the body gore...man
March 31, 2024
2.5. Didn’t love, but a humerous glance at a number of Pantheons.
October 1, 2020
Rupert Wong is a pretty standard urban fantasy novella -- snarky narrator who talks too much for his own good and gets entangled with the seedy underbelly of criminals and power-brokers but human and magical. But it adds a some vibrancy to well-trod ground simply by being set in Kuala Lumpur and using Malaysian mythos-creatures instead of typical European vampires and werewolves.
Unfortunately the vibrancy of a non-Anglo POV can only carry things so far on its own. The story is bit of a disappointing jumble. Rupert is hired to solve a murder. Except the murders don't do think they've done anything wrong -- they aren't hiding or anything and apparently everyone knows where they are. So "solving the case" involves just going to them and asking "Hey, what actually happened?"
What's more, Rupert is able to (through his spirit-world contacts) to track down any ghost in short order. So within a day he's speaking to the ghost of the dead person and asking her what the story is.
Between the two, you realize all of the urgency in the book was a bit manufactured and artificial.
There's also a weird scene where Rupert gets tricked into a spiritual contract with an unpleasant ghost and his girlfriend gaslights him and acts like it is all his fault and moves out? WTF?
Despite my complaints, I think Khaw shows some potential and I'll check out the next installment in the Rupert Wong novellas, Rupert Wong and the Ends of the Earth.
Unfortunately the vibrancy of a non-Anglo POV can only carry things so far on its own. The story is bit of a disappointing jumble. Rupert is hired to solve a murder. Except the murders don't do think they've done anything wrong -- they aren't hiding or anything and apparently everyone knows where they are. So "solving the case" involves just going to them and asking "Hey, what actually happened?"
What's more, Rupert is able to (through his spirit-world contacts) to track down any ghost in short order. So within a day he's speaking to the ghost of the dead person and asking her what the story is.
Between the two, you realize all of the urgency in the book was a bit manufactured and artificial.
There's also a weird scene where Rupert gets tricked into a spiritual contract with an unpleasant ghost and his girlfriend gaslights him and acts like it is all his fault and moves out? WTF?
Despite my complaints, I think Khaw shows some potential and I'll check out the next installment in the Rupert Wong novellas, Rupert Wong and the Ends of the Earth.
November 4, 2015
This novella is a fast read due to word length and its frenetic pace. From the first page, you know it's dark, too--cannibalism jokes are aplenty, and Khaw introduces many disturbing/fascinating creatures not usually depicted in English-language fantasy. That, along with the setting of Kuala Lumpur, add to the fresh and unique feel, though at time I felt a little lost because things did push along so quickly.
I love Rupert Wong and his little asides to the reader. He's a fantastic urban fantasy protagonist, abounding with snark, in love with a living-yet-dead lady, and in way over his head with petty gods and meddlesome ghosts and beasts. I was amused from the first page (and a little grossed out, too, I admit) as he described his dinner menu plans and dealt with some nasty critters that he had accidentally inspired to unionize. That had me laughing out loud.
I have read a novel set in this same Gods & Monsters universe; Mythbreaker by Stephen Blackmoore has common elements like the intense darkness, fast pace, and heavy snark, but they both use very different settings and mythologies; both works stand on their own completely, and it's my understanding that all of the books in the series are set up that way.
January 23, 2018
Khaw is a genius!!! everything about this tale is exquisite... Rupert is supremely developed in every aspect of what a character should be... the story is epically funny and menacing (great internal dialogues and bloody acts of whatever abound)... much to love about the twists and turns of The Old Ones... plenty of detailed references, cultural and mythological and mythical and social and criminal... hard to describe Khaw's use of words and phrases in general since it seems so effortless, and her icky-lethal-awful terminology for the creatures is crazytown beauteous... loved it and am heading right into the follow-up book...
February 13, 2023
If you wish The Dresden Files was Malaysian, actually funny, and didn’t view the female characters as a collection of body parts unless they literally are a collection of body parts (this is also incredibly gory), then you should read this book. It starts with the narrator trying to convince a bunch of ghost babies not to unionize, and kind of goes on from there. I’ve never been quite as entertained and creeped out while actually laughing aloud at some points before. My horror tolerance remains fairly low so I’m probably not going to run out for more of this, but if you do like horror and humor as dark as dried blood, I would say go for it. Two severed thumbs up.
November 27, 2015
Very fun urban fantasy, fast, quick read. The setting is what sells this and even though I knew nothing of the mythology I managed to figure out the pieces. It's also funny and the protagonist's voice amused me. Recommended.
September 24, 2017
Damn. I did not expect that.
I read the sample and knew immediately that this was something that I had to read. Not only because the first scene is Rupert arguing with undead dead babies about unionizing themselves but because of the writing>. It's thick and visceral and gross. I just ... needed to read it.
And I mean that in the best way. I absolutely loved how disgusting this book was. If reading about decomposition, bones, slurping, organs and egg yolks being compared to pustules then you might have a difficult time getting through it but that's absolutely up my alley. I found them ... delicious. (Ha.)
Set in Kuala Lumpur and navigating the gritty magical parts of it, Rupert gets wrapped up in what could be the start a war between pantheons. The daughter of the Dragon King of the South's daughter is dead and he wants Rupert to go after who he believes is responsible and giving him one clue: feathers from the Greek Furies. I went in thinking I was going to be reading about Rupert's (mis)adventures of butchering and serving up human flesh for inhuman ghouls but it was more of a crime, whodunit kind of story. Not exactly what I was expecting but Khaw's writing rolled on in a hot daze and promised me more rotten words. She did not disappoint.
The Malay-Chinese mythology aspect of this novella comes on pretty fast and, if it's something you're not familiar with, confusing. There were a few things I had to stop and look up because I just didn't know what they were. It disrupted the pacing but I do that on my own time anyway so it didn't particularly bother me. And while there were plenty of (fantastic, ugh I'm just not ever going to get over how much I enjoyed this gross writing) gory details, the mythology was kinda just mentioned and then moving forward.
Overall, just an incredibly fun, totally gross but delicious read.
I read the sample and knew immediately that this was something that I had to read. Not only because the first scene is Rupert arguing with undead dead babies about unionizing themselves but because of the writing>. It's thick and visceral and gross. I just ... needed to read it.
And I mean that in the best way. I absolutely loved how disgusting this book was. If reading about decomposition, bones, slurping, organs and egg yolks being compared to pustules then you might have a difficult time getting through it but that's absolutely up my alley. I found them ... delicious. (Ha.)
Set in Kuala Lumpur and navigating the gritty magical parts of it, Rupert gets wrapped up in what could be the start a war between pantheons. The daughter of the Dragon King of the South's daughter is dead and he wants Rupert to go after who he believes is responsible and giving him one clue: feathers from the Greek Furies. I went in thinking I was going to be reading about Rupert's (mis)adventures of butchering and serving up human flesh for inhuman ghouls but it was more of a crime, whodunit kind of story. Not exactly what I was expecting but Khaw's writing rolled on in a hot daze and promised me more rotten words. She did not disappoint.
The Malay-Chinese mythology aspect of this novella comes on pretty fast and, if it's something you're not familiar with, confusing. There were a few things I had to stop and look up because I just didn't know what they were. It disrupted the pacing but I do that on my own time anyway so it didn't particularly bother me. And while there were plenty of (fantastic, ugh I'm just not ever going to get over how much I enjoyed this gross writing) gory details, the mythology was kinda just mentioned and then moving forward.
Overall, just an incredibly fun, totally gross but delicious read.
February 27, 2023
I bought this book as part of a story bundle collection.
I haven't read any of the other books in the "Gods and Monsters" universe, but (as one of the ads at the back of the book says) it's somewhat similar to American Gods. The gods of various religions and traditions are real and interact with humanity. This book (more like novella) takes place in Malaysia where Rupert Wong cooks humans for some gods or demi-gods. Interestingly, this story has almost nothing to do with that.
Instead we follow Rupert Wong throughout the city as he investigates a murder because he was tasked by another god and one does not tell them no. It was perfectly comprehensible to me (American with familiarity with European mythology), but I'm sure I was missing a lot of easter eggs that someone from Southeast Asia would have caught.
Overall, I had fun with the mystery and the various indignities that Wong has to endure in order to get various spirits, gods, etc to help him (a measly human) solve the murder case. If there was one thing keeping it from being 5 stars, it's the fact that it seems like it's just a chunk of a story. As a short story I think I'd be OK with all that's left open-ended. As a novella it's just long enough that I felt there was too much left unresolved at the end of the story.
I haven't read any of the other books in the "Gods and Monsters" universe, but (as one of the ads at the back of the book says) it's somewhat similar to American Gods. The gods of various religions and traditions are real and interact with humanity. This book (more like novella) takes place in Malaysia where Rupert Wong cooks humans for some gods or demi-gods. Interestingly, this story has almost nothing to do with that.
Instead we follow Rupert Wong throughout the city as he investigates a murder because he was tasked by another god and one does not tell them no. It was perfectly comprehensible to me (American with familiarity with European mythology), but I'm sure I was missing a lot of easter eggs that someone from Southeast Asia would have caught.
Overall, I had fun with the mystery and the various indignities that Wong has to endure in order to get various spirits, gods, etc to help him (a measly human) solve the murder case. If there was one thing keeping it from being 5 stars, it's the fact that it seems like it's just a chunk of a story. As a short story I think I'd be OK with all that's left open-ended. As a novella it's just long enough that I felt there was too much left unresolved at the end of the story.
August 25, 2017
Either this seems like a good premise for a book to you, or it doesn't. If it doesn't, out the book down, you're not going to enjoy it.
I LOVED IT. I read a lot. Especially a lot of fantasy and I'm tired of formulas. No formula here. Rupert isn't a good guy. He's just.....maybe less bad. The lesser of a whole lot of evils. The setting is, to me (white American woman), totally alien. The manners are different, the rules are different, it's just about as far from boring supernatural formulaic hero dreck as you can get. This is original and while not perfect, it's a fantastic antidote to "oh my god another book about a Chosen One." I immediately bought all Khaw's other books after reading this one.
There's an "ick" factor. But if you're easily squicked out, don't read a book about a cannibal chef.
I LOVED IT. I read a lot. Especially a lot of fantasy and I'm tired of formulas. No formula here. Rupert isn't a good guy. He's just.....maybe less bad. The lesser of a whole lot of evils. The setting is, to me (white American woman), totally alien. The manners are different, the rules are different, it's just about as far from boring supernatural formulaic hero dreck as you can get. This is original and while not perfect, it's a fantastic antidote to "oh my god another book about a Chosen One." I immediately bought all Khaw's other books after reading this one.
There's an "ick" factor. But if you're easily squicked out, don't read a book about a cannibal chef.
February 22, 2019
Okay, so, the title tells you everything you need to know. This is comic horror, and there will be a very high gross-out factor. (Although the title is a slight misnomer: there’s not actually a ton of cannibalism. Rupert cooks people for non-human entitites to eat, and non-human entitites occasionally eat him, but there’s not a lot of human-eating-human action, which was nice for me.) The worldbuilding is wonderful, the character is fun and morally — well. Dark gray? The humor is solid, even if I was hoping for a bit more humor and less horror.
The one problem I had with this was — wow, there were just SO many dead babies. Dead babies, dead children, dead fetuses everywhere. The number of dead babies I want in my fiction is zero, and this book went waaaaay in the opposite direction of that, so...yeah. It was a bit much.
Other than that, a very enjoyable book.
The one problem I had with this was — wow, there were just SO many dead babies. Dead babies, dead children, dead fetuses everywhere. The number of dead babies I want in my fiction is zero, and this book went waaaaay in the opposite direction of that, so...yeah. It was a bit much.
Other than that, a very enjoyable book.
April 12, 2024
A quirky, fast paced look into Malaysian mythology.
Set in an urban fantasy version of Kuala Lumpur, I was immediately intrigued by this novel. Cassandra Khaw takes full advantage of the unique setting, introducing a pantheon of gods and deities from the culture.
It’s easy to fall in love with the main character, I was immediately desperate to know more about his unusual life. Considering the short length of the book, Khaw does a great job at creating interesting characters. However, I wish there was more time to get to know them.
Overall, the story was too fast paced for me, I never felt a real sense of concern as to the outcome of any given situation. The high speed of the narrative meant that there were no moments that let tension build. I wish the book was a little longer to allow it to impact readers more.
Set in an urban fantasy version of Kuala Lumpur, I was immediately intrigued by this novel. Cassandra Khaw takes full advantage of the unique setting, introducing a pantheon of gods and deities from the culture.
It’s easy to fall in love with the main character, I was immediately desperate to know more about his unusual life. Considering the short length of the book, Khaw does a great job at creating interesting characters. However, I wish there was more time to get to know them.
Overall, the story was too fast paced for me, I never felt a real sense of concern as to the outcome of any given situation. The high speed of the narrative meant that there were no moments that let tension build. I wish the book was a little longer to allow it to impact readers more.
May 20, 2020
Three reasons to read this book:
a. Ms. Khaw has a deep fondness for words. She relishes them. She flings them around with a wild, fierce abandon. This sort of style is not for everyone. For example, Hemingway would not approve. But he was a mean drunk, so to hell with him. Tim Powers probably would approve. So would Charles Stross.
b. Ms. Khaw writes out of the legendarium of the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia. Her creatures can't be shoehorned into the usual categories. Isn't it enough with vampires already? Her gods are not so personable, nor do they play by the usual rules. It's a breath of fresh air. Mmm, possibly not fresh. Rather, full of alarming scents that you have not smelled before.
c I did not know where it was going, but I was satisfied when I got there.
a. Ms. Khaw has a deep fondness for words. She relishes them. She flings them around with a wild, fierce abandon. This sort of style is not for everyone. For example, Hemingway would not approve. But he was a mean drunk, so to hell with him. Tim Powers probably would approve. So would Charles Stross.
b. Ms. Khaw writes out of the legendarium of the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia. Her creatures can't be shoehorned into the usual categories. Isn't it enough with vampires already? Her gods are not so personable, nor do they play by the usual rules. It's a breath of fresh air. Mmm, possibly not fresh. Rather, full of alarming scents that you have not smelled before.
c I did not know where it was going, but I was satisfied when I got there.
May 26, 2025
A supernatural romp through Malaysia! With a bit of Hell thrown in!
Rupert Wong has two jobs: one as an administrator for the underworld, and the other as a chef that cooks tourists. Then a god shows up and demands that he solve a crime - his daughter was murdered. This gets Rupert into all kinds of trouble with just about everyone.
I don't know how a book can be lightweight and gruesome at the same time. There's a lot of death and body fluids here. Yet, Rupert's wry humor kept the story from getting grim.
Also, the writing is done in the author's Baroque style, so get your thesaurus out. Her descriptions are quick and bright splashes with some lingering smells or flash of teeth. Yet, there's something almost cartoony in a few scenes.
Rupert Wong has two jobs: one as an administrator for the underworld, and the other as a chef that cooks tourists. Then a god shows up and demands that he solve a crime - his daughter was murdered. This gets Rupert into all kinds of trouble with just about everyone.
I don't know how a book can be lightweight and gruesome at the same time. There's a lot of death and body fluids here. Yet, Rupert's wry humor kept the story from getting grim.
Also, the writing is done in the author's Baroque style, so get your thesaurus out. Her descriptions are quick and bright splashes with some lingering smells or flash of teeth. Yet, there's something almost cartoony in a few scenes.
February 8, 2018
Cassandra Khaw has a way with words. She strings them up like beads of pearl, creating tactile, olfactory, all kinds of delicious situations, spiced with the magic of the far east, most of which I only touched when watching "Big Trouble In Little China" - ah, now it dawned on me. Maybe the appeal of this book is a complete lack of knowledge about all of the Chinese hells, and names of demons that sound so strange, and magical to my (mostly eastern) European mind. Anyhow - Rupert made me chuckle a few times, the dialogues were a bit too cliche, but what do you expect, reading a supernatural detective story, but to have fun.
April 14, 2018
This is a tad over 3.5 stars for me in my late 30's but probably would have been 5 when I was in high school. That's not to say that it's a YA novel, but that my tastes have changed a lot since then. I think the problem with it for me was that I just didn't like the titular character that much. The world he moved in was fascinating and I loved the richness of his interactions with the various gods and monsters and whatnot. The humor just wasn't what I'm into these days and there was a lot more silly grossness than I like. I'd probably read something else by Khaw and may even read one of the sequel novellas later, but we'll see.
November 8, 2020
That was a very weird read.
It's a short book (100 pages) where lots of things happen. There's lot of folklore. And there's only little information about what's going on, why things are like this. It was weird to me because I recently read epic fantasy so getting so few information is unsettling x)
But the diversity of folklore is welcome. Rupert Wong was an okay main character. The plot remains a bit blurred to me ^^" but maybe I wasn't attentive enough, I read this very fast.
But it was fun and gory and I liked it :)
It's a short book (100 pages) where lots of things happen. There's lot of folklore. And there's only little information about what's going on, why things are like this. It was weird to me because I recently read epic fantasy so getting so few information is unsettling x)
But the diversity of folklore is welcome. Rupert Wong was an okay main character. The plot remains a bit blurred to me ^^" but maybe I wasn't attentive enough, I read this very fast.
But it was fun and gory and I liked it :)
September 2, 2017
A fun, lurid dive into supernatural horror
If a hard boiled style tale about a guy who literally cooks people for his demon employers is your jam, this book will delight you. There are ghouls! Dragons! Gods of every sort! And beneath it all a mash smoky ethnic religious conflicts that flash in and out of focus.
A few of the secondary characters are surprising to the point of confusing, presumably in the service of setting up a serial. All told a fun ride through SFF horror.
If a hard boiled style tale about a guy who literally cooks people for his demon employers is your jam, this book will delight you. There are ghouls! Dragons! Gods of every sort! And beneath it all a mash smoky ethnic religious conflicts that flash in and out of focus.
A few of the secondary characters are surprising to the point of confusing, presumably in the service of setting up a serial. All told a fun ride through SFF horror.
November 2, 2020
Gory, irreverent, and fun. Set in a background of, as it says on the tin, gods and monsters, this was a fun ride, even if I went through the whole thing not quite sure what the main character could get out of and what would be lights-out. Still, Rupert was fun to hitchhike with, and the story wrapped up before I could get too peeved at it or Rupert, despite him doing a boneheaded thing for all the right reasons, which will no doubt come back to bite him in the ass in the next novella.
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