The Third Peregrination

Jade Owl Legacy #2

by Edward C. Patterson, Edward C. Patterson

THE SECOND BOOK IN THE JADE OWL SERIES. The world is on the brink, now that the relics flow together again. The new China Hands should have left the Jade Owl in the tomb, to fester silently for another age, but they didn't. Now there is a tapping in the basement and a flowering of new relics, all seeking to move Curator-General Rowden Gray and his crew into the field again to solve the mystery of The Seven Sisters. However, the world has changed since Rowden managed his first task. The new China Hands are sucked into the maelstrom of time, flowing together with the relics, now that the world is at the brink.Rowden Gray and Nicholas Battle, joined by three new stalwarts in pursuit of the next level in the triad, find a fortress in a mystery deeper than the first warrant, something that compels them to return to China and unravel a more difficult truth - one that challenges them beyond time's membrane. This second book in the Jade Owl Legacy Series pushes the new China Hands to the world’s brink - now that the relics flow together again. Review fom Rainbow Rowden Grey is back at the San Francisco Museum of East Asian Arts and Culture, formerly his dream career. The museum has benefited over many decades from artifacts and treasures provided by Rowden's late mentor, John Battle, including the mysterious treasures of China's only Empress, which impelled the events in the initial story. In this second volume, beginning after the "China Hands" return from China, the paranormal element introduced by the Jade Owl artifact becomes increasingly prevalent. Once again, Rowden, John Battle's son Nick, Nick's life partner Simon/Simone, and Rowden's new love Audrey, are put on the spot in a struggle for life, limb, and sanity as stakes escalate. The Third Peregrination, second volume in Edward C. Patterson's The Jade Owl Legacy, is subtitled The Search of the New China Hands. Like its predecessor, The Jade Owl, the novel is riveting as escalating suspense has readers turning pages as fast as they can read. The continuing main protagonists are joined by a revolving cast of well-developed secondary characters who provide human interest as the plot lines begun in The Jade Owl further develop. Author Patterson never drops a stitch nor leaves a subplot dangling. Rife with suspense, character development, and a newly intensified focus on the paranormal, The Third Peregrination is a valid stand-alone novel, but will also inspire readers new to The Jade Owl Legacy to seek out the first volume and to eagerly anticipate the next book in the set. Once again, Mr. Patterson delivers don't miss excitement. Run, do not walk, to your nearest bookselling outlet and enjoy The Third Peregrination.

Genres: Mystery

666 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2009

About the author

Edward C. Patterson has been writing novels, short fiction, poetry and drama his entire life, always seeking the emotional core of any story he tells. With his eighth novel, The Jade Owl, he combines an imaginative touch with his life long devotion to China and its history. He has earned an MA in Chinese History from Brooklyn College with further post graduate work at Columbia University. A native of Brooklyn, NY, he has spent four decades as a soldier in the corporate world gaining insight into the human condition. He won the 1999 New Jersey Minority Achievement Award for his work in corporate diversity. Blending world travel experiences with a passion for story telling, his adventures continue as he works to permeate his reader's souls from an indelible wellspring.

Published Novels by Edward C. Patterson include No Irish Need Apply, Bobby's Trace, Cutting the Cheese, Surviving an American Gulag and Turning Idolater. Poetry includes The Closet Clandestine: a queer steps out and Come, Wewoka - and - Diary of Medicine Flower.

From my mind to your imagination . . .

Reviews

[Todd Fonseca · Rating 5 out of 5]

After vanquishing the evil empress Wu Tze-t’ien, Rowden Gray and Nick Battle believed the Jade Owl to be forever tamed. But both are wrong. One year has passed and Nick receives an artifact, an opal ring, which awakens these ancient relics. Once again The Jade Owl and Joy of Finches are drawn to one another but this time things are much different. Interacting with a silken banner depicting life of long ago China, they unlock a hidden message. Learning this banner is one of seven sisters, they set off on an adventure to find the remaining sisters and solve yet another China mystery.

However, it is not only the relics that have changed, but Nick and Rowden as well. Something is happening to them. Haunted by dreams and mental glimmers which direct their path forward, they soon realize they are not just solving a mystery but are carrying out an ancient prophecy – a prophecy which could destroy the world.

In The Third Peregrination, Edward C Patterson continues The Jade Owl series. This installment brings back the wonderful characters introduced in the first book but also offers some new comers including Rowden’s ex-wife. These characters add to the adventure by providing appropriate emotional conflict and story arcs to augment the driving fantasy mystery they are to solve. Where the first book was more cerebral and even paced, this 600 plus page novel really amps up the action and fantasy elements. As always, Patterson’s accomplished technique and writing style are spot on. His characters are real and descriptions vivid. Similar to the first novel, I enjoyed the historical fiction and cultural lessons imparted throughout this novel.

This is the second of a multiple book series and while the ending is completely satisfying, Patterson introduces the thread which teases at the next installment. The Third Peregrination is a great read – 5 stars!

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a big fan of this author's work ... which is what makes this book so disappointing for me. It is probably telling that it took me two months to finish it.

The "China Hands" of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum are once again drawn into a supernatural mystery because of the Jade Owl and some related artifacts. They all head off to China to try to procure some additional paintings that are related to the mystery ... and of course all hell breaks loose, both literally and figuratively.

What disappointed me about this book (enough so that I'm not going to finish the series, although there are some other books of Patterson's that I plan to read) was the radical changes to the characters ... changes that did not make sense to me as a reader. Certainly it is Patterson's prerogative to do anything he wishes with his characters, but I just didn't find them likable anymore.

[J.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling read once again, pressing against the boundaries of truth and reality, weaving together an interesting tale of fiction interwoven with fact. As a sequel, this book fares very well, building on previous the storyline while retaining the strength to stand alone with only the minimum of explanation necessary.