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The Girl from Wudang
"My Name is Tigress and I am immortal. This is my story."
When she's in the cage--fighting, that is--she's called Tigress. But for everyday, she is Claudia--for clouds, so soft and elusive that not even the mountains can stop them. In China, for the same reason, she was called Yinyin.
But, in reality, Claudia was born without much Yin--the soft energy of the universe--and too much Yang--the hardest force. Which made her a beast. Hence the nickname, Tigress, that she brought with her to America, just before her Shifu passed. He told her that her imbalance would kill her someday. Of course that same nature caused her not to listen.
Whenever Tigress had the chance, she would jump into the cage again and fight. Usually the big men had no idea what was coming at them. Until it was too late!
When Claudia is invited to a high tech lab full of nerd types she despises, they ask her to let them install weird little robots inside her head, so her mind can be linked to a super brain. It's the ultimate AI experiment. If the connection is good, she will become the smartest fighter who ever lived. And she thinks, why not? Especially since they promise the experiment will also help her condition--Suicidal Headaches, as she called it. Incurable, until that day.
Then, robots in and…headaches gone! What nobody expects however is that these connections, this super brain, will allow Claudia to uncover an old family skill. One hidden in what she always thought to be a silly fable about a tigress, a beehive and a monkey. In China, they refer to it as The Shadow Leap . In the West, there was a much better name for it… Teleportation.
When she's in the cage--fighting, that is--she's called Tigress. But for everyday, she is Claudia--for clouds, so soft and elusive that not even the mountains can stop them. In China, for the same reason, she was called Yinyin.
But, in reality, Claudia was born without much Yin--the soft energy of the universe--and too much Yang--the hardest force. Which made her a beast. Hence the nickname, Tigress, that she brought with her to America, just before her Shifu passed. He told her that her imbalance would kill her someday. Of course that same nature caused her not to listen.
Whenever Tigress had the chance, she would jump into the cage again and fight. Usually the big men had no idea what was coming at them. Until it was too late!
When Claudia is invited to a high tech lab full of nerd types she despises, they ask her to let them install weird little robots inside her head, so her mind can be linked to a super brain. It's the ultimate AI experiment. If the connection is good, she will become the smartest fighter who ever lived. And she thinks, why not? Especially since they promise the experiment will also help her condition--Suicidal Headaches, as she called it. Incurable, until that day.
Then, robots in and…headaches gone! What nobody expects however is that these connections, this super brain, will allow Claudia to uncover an old family skill. One hidden in what she always thought to be a silly fable about a tigress, a beehive and a monkey. In China, they refer to it as The Shadow Leap . In the West, there was a much better name for it… Teleportation.
352 pages, Paperback
First published October 17, 2023
40 people are currently reading
649 people want to read
About the author
PJ Caldas
1 book12 followersPJ Caldas, also known in his home country as PJ Pereira, was picked by the Dictionary of Brazilian Literature as one of the most important writers of the XXI century. There, he published four books inspired by the mythology carried to the country by the African diaspora. Despite being considered “non-traditional” by the editorial standards in the country, he reached the top five best-selling titles multiple times, often as the highest ranked Brazilian in the list.
He started his career as a computer programer, but it was as an entertainment and advertising executive that he reached international recognition. He’s won hundreds of awards, including an Emmy for Innovation in Storytelling for his web series The Beauty Inside. Another project worth noting is the feature film Lo and Behold, The Reveries of the Connected World, directed by the legendary Werner Herzog and produced by PJ’s company Pereira O’Dell — a project that heavily influenced the story in his upcoming book, The Girl from Wudang.
PJ Caldas is also an avid martial artist with 40 years of experience in combat sports, most of that dedicated to Shaolin Kempo, Wing Chun, and Karate, in which he holds his black belts. But he's also experimented with Tai Chi, Aikido, Judo, Capoeira, Silat, Boxing, Muay Thai, Philipino knife fighting… While researching his next book, he grew interested in grappling again and reconnected with his Rio de Janeiro roots by enrolling in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school in New York, in which he currently holds a purple belt.
PJ lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his son, wife and a golden retriever named Zeus.
He started his career as a computer programer, but it was as an entertainment and advertising executive that he reached international recognition. He’s won hundreds of awards, including an Emmy for Innovation in Storytelling for his web series The Beauty Inside. Another project worth noting is the feature film Lo and Behold, The Reveries of the Connected World, directed by the legendary Werner Herzog and produced by PJ’s company Pereira O’Dell — a project that heavily influenced the story in his upcoming book, The Girl from Wudang.
PJ Caldas is also an avid martial artist with 40 years of experience in combat sports, most of that dedicated to Shaolin Kempo, Wing Chun, and Karate, in which he holds his black belts. But he's also experimented with Tai Chi, Aikido, Judo, Capoeira, Silat, Boxing, Muay Thai, Philipino knife fighting… While researching his next book, he grew interested in grappling again and reconnected with his Rio de Janeiro roots by enrolling in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school in New York, in which he currently holds a purple belt.
PJ lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with his son, wife and a golden retriever named Zeus.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
October 9, 2023
This was quite an enjoyable read for me. Right away it starts with action, but in the middle there was a ton of science and it started dragging for me, but then it picks up again.
There are footnotes that explain a lot, which is great, but they are in the middle of the story…so it pulls you out of the action because you have to pause to read it. I think the footnotes would have been better placed at the end of the story.
The passages about spiritualism in Dao and Tai Chi towards the end of the story are beautifully written and almost reads like poetry.
I would love to see this as a series or movie.
There are footnotes that explain a lot, which is great, but they are in the middle of the story…so it pulls you out of the action because you have to pause to read it. I think the footnotes would have been better placed at the end of the story.
The passages about spiritualism in Dao and Tai Chi towards the end of the story are beautifully written and almost reads like poetry.
I would love to see this as a series or movie.
June 13, 2024
I´m so done.
From this day on, I will never ever ever ever again read a book written by a male author with a female main character, if it is not K. Liu, B. Sanderson or N. Gaiman.
I am so fed up with sexualizing the MC - it makes me so uneasy when a male author writes such stuff.
If you want a taste of what I mean, I highly recommend the subreddit r/MenWritingWomen.
In our case our MC could not eat a peach (!) because it made here feel like having sex with a woman.
I am not making this up.
This is how it´s written.
I mean...
I mean even if a female friend of yours dropped this in real life and you thought "oh, I should put this in my book."
Don´t.
Just don´t.
And somewhere before that he also wrote some bs like "every eyes were on here like a young woman who just got breasts noticed how they were noticed the first time."
dude, just shut the fuck up and stick to jujitsu and ai in your book.
these are just two sentences in a long novel but they ruin everything for me every time.
I came for a story (which was by the way good) so just leave you pervert fantasies out of it.
Oh and to all those reviewers here that complained that they never knew in which timeline they were, if she can hear voices, if it was a dream, a sequence or what the heck is going on....welcome to sci-fi reading. that´s the best part of it.
From this day on, I will never ever ever ever again read a book written by a male author with a female main character, if it is not K. Liu, B. Sanderson or N. Gaiman.
I am so fed up with sexualizing the MC - it makes me so uneasy when a male author writes such stuff.
If you want a taste of what I mean, I highly recommend the subreddit r/MenWritingWomen.
In our case our MC could not eat a peach (!) because it made here feel like having sex with a woman.
I am not making this up.
This is how it´s written.
I mean...
I mean even if a female friend of yours dropped this in real life and you thought "oh, I should put this in my book."
Don´t.
Just don´t.
And somewhere before that he also wrote some bs like "every eyes were on here like a young woman who just got breasts noticed how they were noticed the first time."
dude, just shut the fuck up and stick to jujitsu and ai in your book.
these are just two sentences in a long novel but they ruin everything for me every time.
I came for a story (which was by the way good) so just leave you pervert fantasies out of it.
Oh and to all those reviewers here that complained that they never knew in which timeline they were, if she can hear voices, if it was a dream, a sequence or what the heck is going on....welcome to sci-fi reading. that´s the best part of it.
July 22, 2023
The Girl from Wudang was a book with an intriguing premise and I enjoyed the blending of sci-fi and martial arts, the author's love of which you can definitely feel throughout the story. It started strongly and I was interested in Claudia and her narrative arc. I thought things got a little bogged down with the science in the middle, but once that eased out, I was happy enough with the ending. I did find the footnotes a bit too distracting though. Yes, it helped at times to have some explanation of the science or the mythology, but I think I would have preferred them as end notes. Having footnotes kept pulling me out of the story and the action every time I paused to read them. I am giving this book 4 stars. Worth a read if you like genre-bending fiction.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
June 6, 2023
I was lucky enough to read an advanced copy of this book and it was excellent!! An accurate and detailed portrayal of the martial arts world that incorporates intriguing technological concepts.
October 23, 2023
The Girl from Wudang is a riveting depiction of the future at our doorstep.
It has the human connection points of spirituality and tradition and Asian culture playing alongside the advances in technology.
The reader will be intrigued, curious and somewhat afraid of what AI will do to life as we know it.
I particularly love the line “pizza makes Western civilization worth saving” I agree!
It has the human connection points of spirituality and tradition and Asian culture playing alongside the advances in technology.
The reader will be intrigued, curious and somewhat afraid of what AI will do to life as we know it.
I particularly love the line “pizza makes Western civilization worth saving” I agree!
July 23, 2023
I was lucky enough to get an ARC copy of this book. And I’m glad I did. My expectations weren’t incredibly high, but it proved me wrong, and I am glad it did. This book was excellent. It was an amazing presentation of martial arts, and feminine power. Reading Claudia’s story was amazing. Incredible character arc. Some of the story was a little hard to follow, and got a little boring at times. But other than that I enjoyed it. Incredible work of fiction. So glad I got to read this.
October 15, 2023
This is a phenomenal book about martial arts, daoism and artifical intelligence. I was so enthralled I read half of it in one sitting.
October 10, 2023
This book grabs you from the first sentence and doesn't let go. Author PJ Caldas has always known that the fastest-way to the human heart is through the power of a great story, and he proves it again here. Whether you're in fear of how AI will impact humanity, a fan of martial arts or just someone who can't resist a page-turner, The Girl from Wudang is a must-read.
October 2, 2023
The Girl From Wudang was a very intriguing read and it’s not typically a genre I would read but I’m very glad I was given the opportunity to read this book. This book is sci-fi with a blend of martial arts and artificial intelligence. This book was so intriguing I just couldn’t put it down. I definitely enjoyed it.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tuttle, for sending me an advance reader copy of this book.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Tuttle, for sending me an advance reader copy of this book.
December 4, 2023
This is like no book I have ever read before! The concept, the FMC, the fights and the absolute whirlwind plot, amazing.
Told from the perspective of Tigress, a master of tai chi who has moved to America to teach women how to fight, to be able to defend herself, and hopefully create a new style of martial arts which will make her name live on. She builds her reputation by competing in organised fights, taking on the biggest, toughest opponents possible and kicking their butts! Unfortunately she suffers from crippling cluster migraines (look up the aka for cluster migraines and you'll get the picture!) and during a fight, one of her migraines strikes and she loses the fight, and as such, her undefeated title.
She is approached my two scientists who offer her the chance to take part in an experiment, to have a chip planted in her brain which will connect with them, thus teaching them all she knows about fighting, but can guarantee no more headaches. Teaching men to fight is against everything she stands for but the pain is so bad, she begrudgingly agrees. I mean, what could possibly go wrong!
This is a complex read, a few chapters I had to reread to fully understand but this does not detract from the story itself. This is highly addictive, the idea and plot are so different that you cannot guess what is going to come next. The descriptions of the martial arts throughout are stunning, a focus on the art rather than the damage inflicted. Towards the last 70 pages or so I couldn't read fast enough, so much happened and the anticipation and suspense was astonishing.
And Tigress. This is how to write a strong FMC. The depiction of her character makes this book what it it.
Sci-fi and fantasy
Strong FMC and strong side characters
Amazing fight scenes
Concept
The side notes for further reading and explanations
Drama
Suspense
Little bit of spice
This book lacks absolutely nothing!
Told from the perspective of Tigress, a master of tai chi who has moved to America to teach women how to fight, to be able to defend herself, and hopefully create a new style of martial arts which will make her name live on. She builds her reputation by competing in organised fights, taking on the biggest, toughest opponents possible and kicking their butts! Unfortunately she suffers from crippling cluster migraines (look up the aka for cluster migraines and you'll get the picture!) and during a fight, one of her migraines strikes and she loses the fight, and as such, her undefeated title.
She is approached my two scientists who offer her the chance to take part in an experiment, to have a chip planted in her brain which will connect with them, thus teaching them all she knows about fighting, but can guarantee no more headaches. Teaching men to fight is against everything she stands for but the pain is so bad, she begrudgingly agrees. I mean, what could possibly go wrong!
This is a complex read, a few chapters I had to reread to fully understand but this does not detract from the story itself. This is highly addictive, the idea and plot are so different that you cannot guess what is going to come next. The descriptions of the martial arts throughout are stunning, a focus on the art rather than the damage inflicted. Towards the last 70 pages or so I couldn't read fast enough, so much happened and the anticipation and suspense was astonishing.
And Tigress. This is how to write a strong FMC. The depiction of her character makes this book what it it.
Sci-fi and fantasy
Strong FMC and strong side characters
Amazing fight scenes
Concept
The side notes for further reading and explanations
Drama
Suspense
Little bit of spice
This book lacks absolutely nothing!
August 18, 2024
I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book. I was intrigued into reading it because of its title and cover photo.
Tigress іs a master оf tai chi who has left her homeland tо share her skills with women іn America. She believes that women should be able tо defend themselves and create their own style оf martial arts. She earns fame and respect by entering underground fights, where she faces the most formidable opponents and defeats them with ease. However, she has a secret weakness: she suffers from cluster headaches, also known as suicide headaches, because оf their unbearable intensity. One day, during a crucial fight, she іs struck by a headache and loses her match, along with her unbeaten record.
She іs approached by two scientists who offer her a tempting deal: they will implant a chip іn her brain that will connect her tо them, allowing them tо learn everything she knows about fighting. In return, they promise tо cure her headaches forever. Tigress іs reluctant tо teach men how tо fight, but the pain іs too much tо bear. She agrees tо the experiment, hoping for a better life. Little does she know, she has just made a terrible mistake.
In The Girl from Wudang, the future іs not a distant possibility, but a present reality. The novel explores the complex interactions between spirituality and technology, tradition and innovation, and Asian culture and global trends. The reader will be drawn into a world where AI іs not only a tool, but a force that shapes human destiny. The writing skills of the author are flawless and the World-Building of this book is just fantastic. The book is full of action and adventure and is filled with twists and turns which will not let you get bored at all.
I will definitely recommend this book to all Sci-Fi lovers. Don't miss this masterpiece. You are definitely going to love it.
#TheGirlfromWudang #NetGalley
Tigress іs a master оf tai chi who has left her homeland tо share her skills with women іn America. She believes that women should be able tо defend themselves and create their own style оf martial arts. She earns fame and respect by entering underground fights, where she faces the most formidable opponents and defeats them with ease. However, she has a secret weakness: she suffers from cluster headaches, also known as suicide headaches, because оf their unbearable intensity. One day, during a crucial fight, she іs struck by a headache and loses her match, along with her unbeaten record.
She іs approached by two scientists who offer her a tempting deal: they will implant a chip іn her brain that will connect her tо them, allowing them tо learn everything she knows about fighting. In return, they promise tо cure her headaches forever. Tigress іs reluctant tо teach men how tо fight, but the pain іs too much tо bear. She agrees tо the experiment, hoping for a better life. Little does she know, she has just made a terrible mistake.
In The Girl from Wudang, the future іs not a distant possibility, but a present reality. The novel explores the complex interactions between spirituality and technology, tradition and innovation, and Asian culture and global trends. The reader will be drawn into a world where AI іs not only a tool, but a force that shapes human destiny. The writing skills of the author are flawless and the World-Building of this book is just fantastic. The book is full of action and adventure and is filled with twists and turns which will not let you get bored at all.
I will definitely recommend this book to all Sci-Fi lovers. Don't miss this masterpiece. You are definitely going to love it.
#TheGirlfromWudang #NetGalley
August 27, 2023
The Girl From Wudang, PJ Caldas
Reading this book was not an easy feat for me. It is a novel touching on subject matter about which I have little knowledge, apart from the pain of migraine headaches, from which I suffer, and from which my twin brother suffered. Mine are classified as retinal migraines, but his were of the same nature as the main character’s, which are known as cluster migraines. The pain of these headaches is so unrelenting, they have been known to cause suicides.
The book’s author delves deeply into the fields of martial arts, artificial intelligence and concepts that transcend life, as we know it today. There have already been many experiments into the merging of these fields for technological, health care and military purposes, some of which the author footnotes in the book. As the author marries today’s advanced technology with yesterday’s well known martial arts techniques, she creates a book that also marries fact and fiction, making it not only a thriller, but an adventure that explores the world of science and science fiction, subjects currently very prevalent in the news today. Artificial Intelligence has been described as what could be a dangerous threat to life as we know it, by no less a personage as the famous scientist, Stephen Hawking, and has led others to wonder what Albert Einstein would have thought about it.
Claudia Yang, the main character, known alternately also as the Tigress and Yinyin, studied Tai Chi from early childhood. She believed that it was her destiny to become the greatest teacher of martial arts for women, thus empowering them to protect and defend themselves from the violence of evil men. She believed she would ultimately earn immortality. For this reason, she left China and moved to America to train women in her unique use of the art of self-defense. Claudia had a major problem, however, which interfered in her life at unexpected times. She suffered from a kind of disabling migraine headache that was uncontrollable, from which she sought relief, both physically and psychologically, by engaging in violent fighting. This caused a different kind of pain to herself, pain she believed she could control, pain she also inflicted upon others.
Meanwhile, in the world of scientists, investigations into the merging of the minds of human beings with each other and with programs utilizing artificial intelligence, were being conducted. The ultimate successful “being” created would have to be capable of outsmarting an “actual being” that was created by artificial intelligence. It was thought that the created artificial bot might one day wish to wipe out its original creators, and thus the human race. Could artificial intelligence bots be implanted in the human brain that would someday want to control that human brain for their own benefit? Could they be controlled once unleashed?
When Claudia appeared on the radar of scientists involved in these experiments, she was suspicious. They promised that they could rid her of her crippling headaches if she allowed them to implant bots into her brain. So great was her pain that she agreed. In return, however, she was supposed to teach them how to fight effectively to combat those beings created by artificial intelligence, in case they ever organized against humans. Merging their scientific minds with hers, to learn her fighting skills, would give them the needed advantage. Was that the real end goal of these scientists? Was the government involved? Had AI already escaped the laboratory?
I struggled through page after page, hoping I would understand more than I did. The story bounces around, and the timeline shifts. Sometimes the characters are not fully introduced or developed enough to comprehend their actions, but at the same time, the themes were so interesting that they kept me reading regardless of the effort involved. The footnotes provided by the author refer to many factual experiments in the world of AI. The science involved is very real. The martial arts themes are accurate. If someone takes the time to investigate the terms and the theories brought forth, they will learn a great deal, but it will require research to understand the book completely.
I found the main character to be a contrast in human qualities. On the one hand she was interested in helping women, but on the other her own moral standards seemed non-existent as she bounced from bed to bed, preoccupied with sex, when she wasn’t engaged in life threatening violent fighting. She was a study in contrasts as her base instincts seemed to rule her behavior. Perhaps the author wanted to show the difference in the passion that exists in a human vs a bot created by artificial intelligence, a being with only one purpose, that being to exist. The narrative raises the questions of whether or not AI has already escaped the laboratory and/or its subjects, and the question of which world is the real one, the one we are living in, or the one that artificial intelligence has already created for us.
A smarter person than I am, might be able to understand more of the book than I did, or perhaps a younger person, who is more familiar with the gaming industry, the martial arts world and the experiments in artificial intelligence development. Regardless of who it is that reads this book, I guarantee they will come away with questions they will want answered. The possibilities presented in this marriage of fact and fiction, are capable of becoming reality. That said, you don’t really have to understand every concept presented in the novel to be intrigued by the theme of robots and other technological anomalies overtaking humans in the world, ruling them instead of humans controlling the beings created by artificial intelligence.
The novel is written both intellectually and creatively, even though I won’t pretend to have understood a lot of the technical terms. I had to look up many of the words and had to work at trying to understand the information about the use of AI in our world, but the current scientific approach means that the joining of minds and bots is definitely a possibility, and is an idea currently being explored and exploited by our government and our military.
These are just a few of the words and terms I chose to look up, some of which I could not find a meaning:
Dao, Eclosion/ecloding, Hymenopterans, Anamnodome, Shifu, Wu Wei, GAN (Generative Adversarial Networks).
This was an ARC, so perhaps there will be a glossary in the final copy. I read to learn, so I have to say this was a real learning experience. I recommend it to those who want to learn.
Reading this book was not an easy feat for me. It is a novel touching on subject matter about which I have little knowledge, apart from the pain of migraine headaches, from which I suffer, and from which my twin brother suffered. Mine are classified as retinal migraines, but his were of the same nature as the main character’s, which are known as cluster migraines. The pain of these headaches is so unrelenting, they have been known to cause suicides.
The book’s author delves deeply into the fields of martial arts, artificial intelligence and concepts that transcend life, as we know it today. There have already been many experiments into the merging of these fields for technological, health care and military purposes, some of which the author footnotes in the book. As the author marries today’s advanced technology with yesterday’s well known martial arts techniques, she creates a book that also marries fact and fiction, making it not only a thriller, but an adventure that explores the world of science and science fiction, subjects currently very prevalent in the news today. Artificial Intelligence has been described as what could be a dangerous threat to life as we know it, by no less a personage as the famous scientist, Stephen Hawking, and has led others to wonder what Albert Einstein would have thought about it.
Claudia Yang, the main character, known alternately also as the Tigress and Yinyin, studied Tai Chi from early childhood. She believed that it was her destiny to become the greatest teacher of martial arts for women, thus empowering them to protect and defend themselves from the violence of evil men. She believed she would ultimately earn immortality. For this reason, she left China and moved to America to train women in her unique use of the art of self-defense. Claudia had a major problem, however, which interfered in her life at unexpected times. She suffered from a kind of disabling migraine headache that was uncontrollable, from which she sought relief, both physically and psychologically, by engaging in violent fighting. This caused a different kind of pain to herself, pain she believed she could control, pain she also inflicted upon others.
Meanwhile, in the world of scientists, investigations into the merging of the minds of human beings with each other and with programs utilizing artificial intelligence, were being conducted. The ultimate successful “being” created would have to be capable of outsmarting an “actual being” that was created by artificial intelligence. It was thought that the created artificial bot might one day wish to wipe out its original creators, and thus the human race. Could artificial intelligence bots be implanted in the human brain that would someday want to control that human brain for their own benefit? Could they be controlled once unleashed?
When Claudia appeared on the radar of scientists involved in these experiments, she was suspicious. They promised that they could rid her of her crippling headaches if she allowed them to implant bots into her brain. So great was her pain that she agreed. In return, however, she was supposed to teach them how to fight effectively to combat those beings created by artificial intelligence, in case they ever organized against humans. Merging their scientific minds with hers, to learn her fighting skills, would give them the needed advantage. Was that the real end goal of these scientists? Was the government involved? Had AI already escaped the laboratory?
I struggled through page after page, hoping I would understand more than I did. The story bounces around, and the timeline shifts. Sometimes the characters are not fully introduced or developed enough to comprehend their actions, but at the same time, the themes were so interesting that they kept me reading regardless of the effort involved. The footnotes provided by the author refer to many factual experiments in the world of AI. The science involved is very real. The martial arts themes are accurate. If someone takes the time to investigate the terms and the theories brought forth, they will learn a great deal, but it will require research to understand the book completely.
I found the main character to be a contrast in human qualities. On the one hand she was interested in helping women, but on the other her own moral standards seemed non-existent as she bounced from bed to bed, preoccupied with sex, when she wasn’t engaged in life threatening violent fighting. She was a study in contrasts as her base instincts seemed to rule her behavior. Perhaps the author wanted to show the difference in the passion that exists in a human vs a bot created by artificial intelligence, a being with only one purpose, that being to exist. The narrative raises the questions of whether or not AI has already escaped the laboratory and/or its subjects, and the question of which world is the real one, the one we are living in, or the one that artificial intelligence has already created for us.
A smarter person than I am, might be able to understand more of the book than I did, or perhaps a younger person, who is more familiar with the gaming industry, the martial arts world and the experiments in artificial intelligence development. Regardless of who it is that reads this book, I guarantee they will come away with questions they will want answered. The possibilities presented in this marriage of fact and fiction, are capable of becoming reality. That said, you don’t really have to understand every concept presented in the novel to be intrigued by the theme of robots and other technological anomalies overtaking humans in the world, ruling them instead of humans controlling the beings created by artificial intelligence.
The novel is written both intellectually and creatively, even though I won’t pretend to have understood a lot of the technical terms. I had to look up many of the words and had to work at trying to understand the information about the use of AI in our world, but the current scientific approach means that the joining of minds and bots is definitely a possibility, and is an idea currently being explored and exploited by our government and our military.
These are just a few of the words and terms I chose to look up, some of which I could not find a meaning:
Dao, Eclosion/ecloding, Hymenopterans, Anamnodome, Shifu, Wu Wei, GAN (Generative Adversarial Networks).
This was an ARC, so perhaps there will be a glossary in the final copy. I read to learn, so I have to say this was a real learning experience. I recommend it to those who want to learn.
August 10, 2023
Science Fiction is my favorite genre. The thing about it is that for it to be good, both have to be believable. The science has to be based in some type of logical, explainable system, and the fiction has to have relatable, somewhat realistic characters who respond within and to elements of the scientific system the author has created. Caldas has done well incorporating both within this book.
The pacing was fast overall, with enough breaks in the action for the reader to catch their breath. Some elements of the story could at times be a little tough to follow, but I’m basing my review on an ARC that was intentionally formatted to prevent premature sharing so I attribute part of my struggle to that. I liked the characters, who were flawed and interesting and not completely predictable.
Four and a half stars. I enjoyed both the premise and the characters, with the science being near future and totally plausible. My thanks to Tuttle Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions are mine and offered without compensation.
The pacing was fast overall, with enough breaks in the action for the reader to catch their breath. Some elements of the story could at times be a little tough to follow, but I’m basing my review on an ARC that was intentionally formatted to prevent premature sharing so I attribute part of my struggle to that. I liked the characters, who were flawed and interesting and not completely predictable.
Four and a half stars. I enjoyed both the premise and the characters, with the science being near future and totally plausible. My thanks to Tuttle Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions are mine and offered without compensation.
August 7, 2023
This book caught my attention because the blurb advertised many things I like, such as spec fic with a strong Asian influences and examination of old concepts of immortality via the lens of an AI. My reservations were largely along the lines of — well, faithfulness to ownvoices for the lack of a better world to describe it. I would normally go to Asian (or expat Asian) writers for something engaging with these themes so I could enjoy it without wondering about where this perspective was coming from, and whether I could not give my time to something more nuanced and authentic instead. I couldn’t quite shake off that reservation when reading this. Another hurdle was the chosen style: it heavily leans into the stream of consciousness, and to each their own, but I find that alienating rather than immersive. And as for following martial arts aspect of the book, I can say that I found my golden standard to be Fonda Lee, and this book is way, way more into it than me or my golden standard. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for LA perspective.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an advance copy of the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an advance copy of the book.
October 9, 2023
After reading the blurb for this book, it definitely sounded like something I would enjoy, so I was excited to start reading it. I'll admit that quite a bit of it went over my head, and I found myself having to read and reread sections to try to work through it, which could be why I just couldn't really connect with the story all that much. I wanted to keep reading to see what all happened, but I had to put it down multiple times just to give myself a break every now and then. I'll probably read it again later on at some point, just to see if being in a different headspace offers a better reading experience, at which case I'll update my review accordingly, but for now, it's a middle-of-the-road read for me.
3 stars
**I received an ARC copy and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and comments contained within are my own.**
3 stars
**I received an ARC copy and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and comments contained within are my own.**
October 8, 2023
The Girl from Wudang by PJ Caldas
352 Pages
Publisher: Meryl Moss Media Group, Tutle Publishing
Release Date: October 17, 2023
Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Multicultural Interest, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Artificial Intelligence
Yinyin, also known as Claudia, is The Tigress. She is a fighter and undefeated until she wasn’t. She suffers from a concussion and is taken to an acupuncturist for the pain and headaches. She eventually ends up at an AI (artificial intelligence) research facility. The doctor discusses nanobots and how they can give her relief from the suffering.
She meets Simon and Dr. Lambrecht. They convince her to try the nanobots and shortly after, her mind links with Simon. They feed off each other and feel complete. When government representatives come into the scene, Claudia balks. She never agreed to teach men how to fight. Now she must tap into a legendary skill with her old mentor to break out.
The book has a fast pace, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. There is a lot of cursing and random sexual encounters. The author includes footnotes which reference real-time AI events that are occurring now. It is scary to think how close the AI in this book is to reality.
352 Pages
Publisher: Meryl Moss Media Group, Tutle Publishing
Release Date: October 17, 2023
Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Multicultural Interest, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Artificial Intelligence
Yinyin, also known as Claudia, is The Tigress. She is a fighter and undefeated until she wasn’t. She suffers from a concussion and is taken to an acupuncturist for the pain and headaches. She eventually ends up at an AI (artificial intelligence) research facility. The doctor discusses nanobots and how they can give her relief from the suffering.
She meets Simon and Dr. Lambrecht. They convince her to try the nanobots and shortly after, her mind links with Simon. They feed off each other and feel complete. When government representatives come into the scene, Claudia balks. She never agreed to teach men how to fight. Now she must tap into a legendary skill with her old mentor to break out.
The book has a fast pace, the characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. There is a lot of cursing and random sexual encounters. The author includes footnotes which reference real-time AI events that are occurring now. It is scary to think how close the AI in this book is to reality.
October 5, 2023
The Girl From Wudang is a captivating novel that combines science fiction and martial arts. With a strong female protagonist, this book offers an action packed adventure that will keep you engaged from beginning to end.
This book is different than what I usually read and I’m so glad I did.
Claudia moved to America to be able to teach woman how to fight using marital arts. She was approached by scientists who said they could cure her headaches and make her unstoppable. They would need to implant AI bots into her brain which would also link her brain to the scientists. She would need to teach and show them to fight to combat the AI bots as it was shown that AI is very likely to want to take over the human race.
There was twists at the end that made my jaw drop!
I loved the footnotes with all the extra information. It gave more insight to martial arts and AI technology. It was a truly fascinating story.
This book is different than what I usually read and I’m so glad I did.
Claudia moved to America to be able to teach woman how to fight using marital arts. She was approached by scientists who said they could cure her headaches and make her unstoppable. They would need to implant AI bots into her brain which would also link her brain to the scientists. She would need to teach and show them to fight to combat the AI bots as it was shown that AI is very likely to want to take over the human race.
There was twists at the end that made my jaw drop!
I loved the footnotes with all the extra information. It gave more insight to martial arts and AI technology. It was a truly fascinating story.
October 25, 2023
⭐⭐⭐.75
Very, very crazy book. A little all over the place but very enjoyable. The ending was crazy but I really liked the main character.
The author is going to be visiting my local book store next week so I'll get to meet him and learn more about the story.
Very, very crazy book. A little all over the place but very enjoyable. The ending was crazy but I really liked the main character.
The author is going to be visiting my local book store next week so I'll get to meet him and learn more about the story.
October 17, 2023
I recommend knowing a little about Tai Chi and artificial intelligence if you want to understand much of this book. I really liked Claudia, Tigress, but the story was very confusing at times. I liked much of the science but the fighting was confusing for me. I did like the ending. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
September 23, 2023
Well, it is different. The action starts right away. But it did not hold my interest. The fighting is violent, more than I expected. As I read the book I pictured it in comic book format where the moves would be more graphic. Or even a cartoon movie. Not a bad book, just not my taste.
Read
October 31, 2023Get ready for an unforgettable journey through a landscape where science and spirituality collide! PJ Caldas' genre-bending masterpiece, THE GIRL FROM WUDANG, seamlessly intertwines the worlds of immortality, martial arts, and artificial intelligence.
Read the full review on BookTrib.com
Read the full review on BookTrib.com
July 2, 2023
I requested this book because from net Galley because it sounded fantastic, but I'm 20 percent through it and it is the fever dream of someone having a migraine. The entire narrative is first person stream of consciousness of someone who is inarticulate, sweary, interrupts herself. Most of the :action" has been interminable description of fights and the main charachter getting, or not getting Ubers. . We may be sliding around in time, I'm not sure because I'm disoriented, just like our main character. It's all very odd and not very good.
There are also factual footnotes, but I'm not sure who's footnotes they are. They reference academic articles, but I don't understand them in this context.
What a disappointment. Hopefully some of the issues will be resolved before publication,. because the ideas of this book have a lot of potential.
There are also factual footnotes, but I'm not sure who's footnotes they are. They reference academic articles, but I don't understand them in this context.
What a disappointment. Hopefully some of the issues will be resolved before publication,. because the ideas of this book have a lot of potential.
January 9, 2024
Thank you, Edelweiss, for the ARC and opportunity to read this one.
Really enjoyed the read. A lot.
The merging of martial arts, old traditions, modern/futuristic times, along with advanced tech, AI fears, generalizations, and implications... was so much of a leap that it didn't seem possible to work. And yet, it sure did.
Character driven with exquisite descriptions and notices... combined with vivid action scenes... all with a speculative underpinning that holds it together in a page-turning, moral challenging, and intense brooding/creeping, doom.
Unlike a number of other reviewers, I def don't think readers need a background in AI or martial arts to get it and to enjoy the read. The author's turn of words and style of flowing consciousness and deft weaving of moments, action, and specific illustrative world building nuances a well-crafted work of art. Takes an otherwise unbelievable attempt and successfully pulls, knocks, and qi pushes characters around throughout it all :)
Loved it as much as I hoped.
Cerebral, questioning, reflective, punch-you-in-the-mouth, old-vs-new... there was so much here to reward us readers... that doesn't need to suspend reality in any way... but just lean back, soak the imagery in, not pick apart all the layers/technical aspects/or drive yourself crazy hoping to catch everything explicitly or immediately. Read the footnotes throughout or wait until a break in action. (Doesn't matter. I did both.)
There IS a LOT here. A lot to be praised. Sipped. Slogged down. (in alternating parts!). and... Immerse yourself into one heck of an experience. And for someone who rarely/never fully rereads a book... I am already rereading portions and enjoying it greatly.
Really enjoyed the read. A lot.
The merging of martial arts, old traditions, modern/futuristic times, along with advanced tech, AI fears, generalizations, and implications... was so much of a leap that it didn't seem possible to work. And yet, it sure did.
Character driven with exquisite descriptions and notices... combined with vivid action scenes... all with a speculative underpinning that holds it together in a page-turning, moral challenging, and intense brooding/creeping, doom.
Unlike a number of other reviewers, I def don't think readers need a background in AI or martial arts to get it and to enjoy the read. The author's turn of words and style of flowing consciousness and deft weaving of moments, action, and specific illustrative world building nuances a well-crafted work of art. Takes an otherwise unbelievable attempt and successfully pulls, knocks, and qi pushes characters around throughout it all :)
Loved it as much as I hoped.
Cerebral, questioning, reflective, punch-you-in-the-mouth, old-vs-new... there was so much here to reward us readers... that doesn't need to suspend reality in any way... but just lean back, soak the imagery in, not pick apart all the layers/technical aspects/or drive yourself crazy hoping to catch everything explicitly or immediately. Read the footnotes throughout or wait until a break in action. (Doesn't matter. I did both.)
There IS a LOT here. A lot to be praised. Sipped. Slogged down. (in alternating parts!). and... Immerse yourself into one heck of an experience. And for someone who rarely/never fully rereads a book... I am already rereading portions and enjoying it greatly.
December 3, 2023
This book is simply amazing
I have never loved a Book like I love this one. I devoured it. I wasn't able to sit and read straight through due to work and dojo practice and parenting... But when I wasn't actively reading it, I was looking up info on the footnotes or on the wudang region. I finished it last night and started it again this evening to pick up on anything I may have missed... Yes people.... It is that good.
I have never loved a Book like I love this one. I devoured it. I wasn't able to sit and read straight through due to work and dojo practice and parenting... But when I wasn't actively reading it, I was looking up info on the footnotes or on the wudang region. I finished it last night and started it again this evening to pick up on anything I may have missed... Yes people.... It is that good.
October 17, 2023
According to his book’s sales page, author P.J. Caldas used artificial intelligence to create the trailer for “The Girl from Wudang,” a novel about… artificial intelligence. The trailer is clever and informative. However, Caldas should have used AI to help him write the novel. Any program worth its salt could have written something more coherent and entertaining than “The Girl from Wudang.” Caldas’ novel is 50 pages of primarily dull descriptions of martial arts combat, 50 pages of a thriller about AI run amok and shared intelligence, and 250 pages of pointless ramblings about these subjects and anything else that interested the author at the time.
The titular character in “The Girl from Wudang” is Yinyin, a Chinese émigré to the United States who now teaches Tai Chi classes for women and engages in nightly underground MMA fights for extra cash. She visits a high-tech research facility to get some relief from her severe cluster headaches. There, she learns that the facility’s state-of-the-art AI program has gotten out of control and threatens untold world economic damage. She agrees to help fight the AI by getting injected with thousands of nanobots that allow her to share her consciousness with two of the facility’s scientists.
If this plot description sounds bizarre, it’s actually the most coherent part of “The Girl from Wudang.” We never learn how Yinyin and her nanobots are supposed to defeat the rogue AI, which takes the form of monkeys from a video game. Indeed, the monkeys disappear from the novel for over 100 pages without explanation. In their place, the author throws in lots of Yinyin’s MMA opponents, intent on doing her harm outside the octagon. We also get some sinister U.S. government types who want to recruit Yinyin or kill her. Add in lots of flashbacks to Yinyin’s early Tai Chi training with her now-dead mentor. (Imagine a more ponderous and sillier version of Hilary Swank and Pat Morita in “The Next Karate Kid.”) And most of all, we get page after page of the author’s ramblings about Tai Chi, the Dao, mixed martial arts, and artificial intelligence. I read all 350 pages of “The Girl from Wudang” and still do not know how it actually ends.
Not surprisingly, the author has a great deal of interest in the above subjects and has done a great deal of research into them. The dangers of artificial intelligence are a hot topic right now, both in the press and in movies and literature. However, the author has no idea how to incorporate that research into a cohesive fictional narrative. Further, most of what he says in his endless musings doesn’t make much sense to anyone who’s not already quite familiar with the subject. Fiction writers like Michael Crichton knew how to use cutting-edge science to power thrilling narratives and educate readers at the same time. P.J. Caldas does neither. In fact, “The Girl from Wudang” contains over 50 footnotes explaining some of the subjects he describes in the book. Many of these footnotes reference obscure texts and articles in scientific or medical journals. I doubt many readers will rush out to consult those articles. Instead, they will try to muddle through past the footnotes.
The author clearly had a lot of fun dedicating 350 pages to subjects he loves. In one footnote, he says so: “One of the fun parts of writing this book was the experience of geeking out on so many subjects I love.” Unfortunately, most readers will not have similar fun unless they’ve already geeked out on the same subjects. Caldas had a good idea for a thriller in this book. He also created some descriptive language here and there. So, “The Girl from Wudang” wasn’t a total disaster. But it also wasn’t particularly entertaining or informative. Despite the author’s clear enthusiasm for the subject matter, I can’t recommend this book.
NOTE: The publisher graciously gave me a copy of this book. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of that review are entirely my own.
The titular character in “The Girl from Wudang” is Yinyin, a Chinese émigré to the United States who now teaches Tai Chi classes for women and engages in nightly underground MMA fights for extra cash. She visits a high-tech research facility to get some relief from her severe cluster headaches. There, she learns that the facility’s state-of-the-art AI program has gotten out of control and threatens untold world economic damage. She agrees to help fight the AI by getting injected with thousands of nanobots that allow her to share her consciousness with two of the facility’s scientists.
If this plot description sounds bizarre, it’s actually the most coherent part of “The Girl from Wudang.” We never learn how Yinyin and her nanobots are supposed to defeat the rogue AI, which takes the form of monkeys from a video game. Indeed, the monkeys disappear from the novel for over 100 pages without explanation. In their place, the author throws in lots of Yinyin’s MMA opponents, intent on doing her harm outside the octagon. We also get some sinister U.S. government types who want to recruit Yinyin or kill her. Add in lots of flashbacks to Yinyin’s early Tai Chi training with her now-dead mentor. (Imagine a more ponderous and sillier version of Hilary Swank and Pat Morita in “The Next Karate Kid.”) And most of all, we get page after page of the author’s ramblings about Tai Chi, the Dao, mixed martial arts, and artificial intelligence. I read all 350 pages of “The Girl from Wudang” and still do not know how it actually ends.
Not surprisingly, the author has a great deal of interest in the above subjects and has done a great deal of research into them. The dangers of artificial intelligence are a hot topic right now, both in the press and in movies and literature. However, the author has no idea how to incorporate that research into a cohesive fictional narrative. Further, most of what he says in his endless musings doesn’t make much sense to anyone who’s not already quite familiar with the subject. Fiction writers like Michael Crichton knew how to use cutting-edge science to power thrilling narratives and educate readers at the same time. P.J. Caldas does neither. In fact, “The Girl from Wudang” contains over 50 footnotes explaining some of the subjects he describes in the book. Many of these footnotes reference obscure texts and articles in scientific or medical journals. I doubt many readers will rush out to consult those articles. Instead, they will try to muddle through past the footnotes.
The author clearly had a lot of fun dedicating 350 pages to subjects he loves. In one footnote, he says so: “One of the fun parts of writing this book was the experience of geeking out on so many subjects I love.” Unfortunately, most readers will not have similar fun unless they’ve already geeked out on the same subjects. Caldas had a good idea for a thriller in this book. He also created some descriptive language here and there. So, “The Girl from Wudang” wasn’t a total disaster. But it also wasn’t particularly entertaining or informative. Despite the author’s clear enthusiasm for the subject matter, I can’t recommend this book.
NOTE: The publisher graciously gave me a copy of this book. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of that review are entirely my own.
October 12, 2023
This is more of 2.75 rounded up to 3 stars.
The Girl from Wudang fits squarely both in books I would absolutely read and really enjoy, and books that are frustrating for me to read and I want to give up on.
The premise is a exciting combination of martial arts, AI, shady scientists, women who kick-ass, conspiracy, spiritualism, cybernetics, master-apprentice relationships ... there are tons of really incredible ideas and themes all thrown into the blender that is The Girl from Wudang . It reminded me of The Matrix, Snow Crash, Altered Carbon, Fight Club - just to name a few - all at some point during the story, but yet was so completely different from all of those as well. My favorite parts were when the story explored how all of these pieces that may seem totally unrelated could influence each other to form a new way of thinking and experiencing the world, but can also be manipulated to very evil purposes. All of this is filtered through the lens of one young woman from China and how her life is turned upside-down by experimental technology.
However, the style of this novel was a huge turn-off for me. It is 100% stream of consciousness first person. It made some parts really hard to follow, other parts repetitive and boring, and sometimes it was just freaking confusing.
A choice that really had me scratching my head was the inclusion of footnotes. At first, since this book is so stream of consciousness, I thought they were footnotes from the main character's point of view. However, just recording footnotes would have been extremely out of character for Tigress/Claudia/Yinyin. Every time there was a footnote, it wrenched me out of the story. I finally realized that they were strictly footnotes from the author and had to do with his research during writing and tidbits he found interesting. That didn't help and I ended up skipping over almost all of the footnotes. Those needed to be at the end or in a separate document or something. I do want to mention that I am reading an eARC through NetGalley, so maybe there will be changes before publication.
Tigress/Claudia/Yinyin was a fairly one-dimensional, not very likeable main character, which made the stream of consciousness challenging to read. A nod to the author though - her inner voice was very consistent. She just wasn't a character that I particularly enjoyed.
What does come through in the writing is how passionate the author is about all of the topics being brought up during the story. It is especially evident closer to the ending. Without any spoilers, I was genuinely surprised at how emotional I was after the climax. But in the totally contradictory style of this book, I also thought the resolution was a cheesy cliché and ruined the falling action portion of the story.
Unless first person stream of consciousness stories are your style, I'm not sure I would recommend this book. It certainly has some cool ideas, and I actually think it would make an amazing movie or TV series, but it was just not enjoyable for me to read. I really had to power through this one, and I did not look forward to picking it up each night.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Tuttle Publishing for providing a digital review copy of The Girl from Wudang in exchange for my honest review.
The Girl from Wudang fits squarely both in books I would absolutely read and really enjoy, and books that are frustrating for me to read and I want to give up on.
The premise is a exciting combination of martial arts, AI, shady scientists, women who kick-ass, conspiracy, spiritualism, cybernetics, master-apprentice relationships ... there are tons of really incredible ideas and themes all thrown into the blender that is The Girl from Wudang . It reminded me of The Matrix, Snow Crash, Altered Carbon, Fight Club - just to name a few - all at some point during the story, but yet was so completely different from all of those as well. My favorite parts were when the story explored how all of these pieces that may seem totally unrelated could influence each other to form a new way of thinking and experiencing the world, but can also be manipulated to very evil purposes. All of this is filtered through the lens of one young woman from China and how her life is turned upside-down by experimental technology.
However, the style of this novel was a huge turn-off for me. It is 100% stream of consciousness first person. It made some parts really hard to follow, other parts repetitive and boring, and sometimes it was just freaking confusing.
A choice that really had me scratching my head was the inclusion of footnotes. At first, since this book is so stream of consciousness, I thought they were footnotes from the main character's point of view. However, just recording footnotes would have been extremely out of character for Tigress/Claudia/Yinyin. Every time there was a footnote, it wrenched me out of the story. I finally realized that they were strictly footnotes from the author and had to do with his research during writing and tidbits he found interesting. That didn't help and I ended up skipping over almost all of the footnotes. Those needed to be at the end or in a separate document or something. I do want to mention that I am reading an eARC through NetGalley, so maybe there will be changes before publication.
Tigress/Claudia/Yinyin was a fairly one-dimensional, not very likeable main character, which made the stream of consciousness challenging to read. A nod to the author though - her inner voice was very consistent. She just wasn't a character that I particularly enjoyed.
What does come through in the writing is how passionate the author is about all of the topics being brought up during the story. It is especially evident closer to the ending. Without any spoilers, I was genuinely surprised at how emotional I was after the climax. But in the totally contradictory style of this book, I also thought the resolution was a cheesy cliché and ruined the falling action portion of the story.
Unless first person stream of consciousness stories are your style, I'm not sure I would recommend this book. It certainly has some cool ideas, and I actually think it would make an amazing movie or TV series, but it was just not enjoyable for me to read. I really had to power through this one, and I did not look forward to picking it up each night.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Tuttle Publishing for providing a digital review copy of The Girl from Wudang in exchange for my honest review.
October 18, 2023
Yinyin was raised in the sacred mountains of Wudang, focused on tai chi and the dao. Balancing her yang with yin was too difficult there, and she moves to the Bay Area to become a professional fighter. When there, she's told about an experiment that connects brains directly to the "Brainternet," which would allow her to not only become a better fighter but to stop having the headaches that leave her almost suicidal from their intensity. Everything comes with a price, and the connection would allow others to access secrets that Yinyin was sworn to protect.
The Girl From Wudang is billed as a novel about artificial intelligence, martial arts, and immortality, not something you'd expect to be rolled all together into one story. We open with a fight, which turns very bloody very quickly, definitely not what we would expect of tai chi. Yinyin even acknowledges that, as most of us would think of the slow, flowing movements that elderly do in parks to stay active. What she does is very much not park movements. She uses her knowledge in a fight club, smashing her opposition at every turn, and snippets of flashbacks during the fight as we're inside her head. We see how terrible her headaches are, and the lengths she goes to for the pain to stop, and how alone she is in America. The scientists she meets who talk to her about nanotech and linking minds are creepy and condescending at once. They're the type of people that I avoid in real life, but she's so desperate to stop the migraines that she's willing to take part in their experiments and lace her brain with bots to try to rewire the areas that lead to the migraines, even if it makes all of her thoughts readable to the scientists and the project.
There are footnotes throughout the text referencing the articles that inspired aspects of the story and the ideas that the author had while putting the book together. It displays the foundations for the plot, which are solid. I found the scientists so irritating and difficult to find any empathy for. Simon especially was a creep, and I eventually cringed anytime he had time on the page. I hated seeing him, and the constant back and forth between the present and Yinyin's past made it convoluted to follow. It might be how our minds work, and this is ultimately about how her mind is monitored and then altered by the nanobots and the project. It took a turn for the worse very quickly, and I was curious about what would happen even with how much I disliked the characters. I liked how it all came back to the Dao, to spiritualism, to connection in the name of peace and the betterment of humanity.
The Girl From Wudang is billed as a novel about artificial intelligence, martial arts, and immortality, not something you'd expect to be rolled all together into one story. We open with a fight, which turns very bloody very quickly, definitely not what we would expect of tai chi. Yinyin even acknowledges that, as most of us would think of the slow, flowing movements that elderly do in parks to stay active. What she does is very much not park movements. She uses her knowledge in a fight club, smashing her opposition at every turn, and snippets of flashbacks during the fight as we're inside her head. We see how terrible her headaches are, and the lengths she goes to for the pain to stop, and how alone she is in America. The scientists she meets who talk to her about nanotech and linking minds are creepy and condescending at once. They're the type of people that I avoid in real life, but she's so desperate to stop the migraines that she's willing to take part in their experiments and lace her brain with bots to try to rewire the areas that lead to the migraines, even if it makes all of her thoughts readable to the scientists and the project.
There are footnotes throughout the text referencing the articles that inspired aspects of the story and the ideas that the author had while putting the book together. It displays the foundations for the plot, which are solid. I found the scientists so irritating and difficult to find any empathy for. Simon especially was a creep, and I eventually cringed anytime he had time on the page. I hated seeing him, and the constant back and forth between the present and Yinyin's past made it convoluted to follow. It might be how our minds work, and this is ultimately about how her mind is monitored and then altered by the nanobots and the project. It took a turn for the worse very quickly, and I was curious about what would happen even with how much I disliked the characters. I liked how it all came back to the Dao, to spiritualism, to connection in the name of peace and the betterment of humanity.
September 29, 2023
“They think you are either crazy or are hiding something. I am both. Crazy and Hiding.”
This book was… very different from what I was expecting. And honestly? I’m not sure what I even expected when I requested this ARC. I like to be pleasantly surprised, but unfortunately that isn’t the entire story when it comes to how I feel about this story. Or at least what I managed to read.
For me, it’s actually just about the way it’s written. The premise and what the author was aiming for is epic to say the least, and I do believe the bones and structure are there.
The explanations of martial arts are so detailed in a Wikipedia type of way, so it actually made me feel like I was read a comprehensive history in some spots and not a sci-fi story. Interesting choice and it could be stylistic! Whatever it is, it’s clear the author has passion backing it up and it shows.
There’s also the aspect of female rage that’s addressed pretty early on and very consistently. I love a story about female rage, so do not get me wrong here.
Where it loses me, though, is that even if I put aside Claudia’s character development and who she has become as a result of her life, I’m still bothered by her underdeveloped descriptions of her rage, a strange view of men, and a morally chaotic life in general when she wants to make a difference. This is a part where I think more effort could have been put into making it feel more genuine and like these words would have actually come from a woman’s mouth rather than what to me felt like a caricature. And maybe women would say those things and I just don’t know what I’m talking about lol.
I won’t touch on some tropes that are used on behalf of other characters and cultures that feel stereotypical to me, partially because I’m not in a place to say if it’s offensive or not. All I know is that some things were just… odd.
There’s not much more I can say other than the end all is that I DNF’d this. I don’t like DNF’ing books, especially arcs, but I know that based on where it was heading even after just 20%, I was not going to want to continue. It makes me sad because the premise is really cool and awesome but I think some more editing could have really made this story work in a more well rounded way.
Thanks so much as always to netgalley and the publisher, Tuttle books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review :)
This book was… very different from what I was expecting. And honestly? I’m not sure what I even expected when I requested this ARC. I like to be pleasantly surprised, but unfortunately that isn’t the entire story when it comes to how I feel about this story. Or at least what I managed to read.
For me, it’s actually just about the way it’s written. The premise and what the author was aiming for is epic to say the least, and I do believe the bones and structure are there.
The explanations of martial arts are so detailed in a Wikipedia type of way, so it actually made me feel like I was read a comprehensive history in some spots and not a sci-fi story. Interesting choice and it could be stylistic! Whatever it is, it’s clear the author has passion backing it up and it shows.
There’s also the aspect of female rage that’s addressed pretty early on and very consistently. I love a story about female rage, so do not get me wrong here.
Where it loses me, though, is that even if I put aside Claudia’s character development and who she has become as a result of her life, I’m still bothered by her underdeveloped descriptions of her rage, a strange view of men, and a morally chaotic life in general when she wants to make a difference. This is a part where I think more effort could have been put into making it feel more genuine and like these words would have actually come from a woman’s mouth rather than what to me felt like a caricature. And maybe women would say those things and I just don’t know what I’m talking about lol.
I won’t touch on some tropes that are used on behalf of other characters and cultures that feel stereotypical to me, partially because I’m not in a place to say if it’s offensive or not. All I know is that some things were just… odd.
There’s not much more I can say other than the end all is that I DNF’d this. I don’t like DNF’ing books, especially arcs, but I know that based on where it was heading even after just 20%, I was not going to want to continue. It makes me sad because the premise is really cool and awesome but I think some more editing could have really made this story work in a more well rounded way.
Thanks so much as always to netgalley and the publisher, Tuttle books for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review :)
June 8, 2023
Lucky enough to receive an advance copy of The Girl from Wudang, I spent hours pouring over a story that felt both worlds away and at the same time right here at my feet. Yes, this book is about technology, martial arts, and being a woman in a man's world, but it is about so much more than that.
This is a story about the in-between. It's a story about the demand for control when no such thing exists. It's a story of that which transcends and that which doesn't. It's a story about what happens when we believe demanding more and better of ourselves is the only measure of success. Toward the end of the book, a key character is examined with language that gets to this fixation with exceptionalism by any means necessary - "The scientist who thinks he's failed God - or he's a failed God."
This is a book that examines the human condition through the lens of explored tradition and untrodden innovation. It is a cautionary tale of both saying "yes" and saying "no" and demanding any kind of truth to remain forever. It's a story that reminds us that nothing in life is a fixed truth and that is hard to swallow.
There's a line in the book that reads "Organic and digital, a new alliance." The question for me becomes - and it's a question I have throughout the book - but, an alliance that benefits who? This is the type of question this book raises - the unanswerable ones, the ones that have exponential answers, the ones that have answers that aren't the answers that fit neatly into your life.
Because although this is a work of fiction, this story breathes down your neck, or at least opens your eyes to what is breathing down your neck around the next corner. Again, yes, this is a work about a womans story, about her fight for survival on many levels, but at the end of the day, this is a philopsophical work about how the human race chooses to live and chooses to die and who controls those choices moving forward.
A must read for anyone interested in exploring the abyss of what comes next.
This is a story about the in-between. It's a story about the demand for control when no such thing exists. It's a story of that which transcends and that which doesn't. It's a story about what happens when we believe demanding more and better of ourselves is the only measure of success. Toward the end of the book, a key character is examined with language that gets to this fixation with exceptionalism by any means necessary - "The scientist who thinks he's failed God - or he's a failed God."
This is a book that examines the human condition through the lens of explored tradition and untrodden innovation. It is a cautionary tale of both saying "yes" and saying "no" and demanding any kind of truth to remain forever. It's a story that reminds us that nothing in life is a fixed truth and that is hard to swallow.
There's a line in the book that reads "Organic and digital, a new alliance." The question for me becomes - and it's a question I have throughout the book - but, an alliance that benefits who? This is the type of question this book raises - the unanswerable ones, the ones that have exponential answers, the ones that have answers that aren't the answers that fit neatly into your life.
Because although this is a work of fiction, this story breathes down your neck, or at least opens your eyes to what is breathing down your neck around the next corner. Again, yes, this is a work about a womans story, about her fight for survival on many levels, but at the end of the day, this is a philopsophical work about how the human race chooses to live and chooses to die and who controls those choices moving forward.
A must read for anyone interested in exploring the abyss of what comes next.
October 6, 2023
Tigress is an indomitable fighter seeking immortality who catches the eye of tech nerds looking for a way to optimize the human brain. Her dream is soon subsumed into their mission to outpace and outgun a terrifying AI presence that threatens all of humanity.
I started reading with an expectation that this was yet another science fiction tale of malevolent AI, but the novel is so much more. After the final page I was left with a quiet discontent, unsure as to what was real or imagined.
Tigress is an incredibly skilled fighter and Caldas (an expert in martial arts himself) conveys her movements with fluid and expert prose. He writes action sequences with the expert eye of someone who has actually taken a punch and the movements and actions of Tigress and her many opponents take on a dreamlike quality, especially in the latter half of the novel. I also loved how the story used a combination of fantasy & mysticism to explain some of the characters skills, without taking credit for all their expertise.
The AI creatures are an ominous and indistinct threat lurking in the wings for most of the story. I wished they’d taken a more central role but they still proved to be an effective portent of humanity’s doom. Although her mission is her driving focus, Caldas builds a world of camaraderie and companionship around Tigress. She is not an aloof master, rather she is enmeshed in her world and the relationships she forms fuel her passion to succeed.
Readers who dream of or dread our future AI overlords will enjoy this bloody, tech-fueled, very human story of life and death.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.
I started reading with an expectation that this was yet another science fiction tale of malevolent AI, but the novel is so much more. After the final page I was left with a quiet discontent, unsure as to what was real or imagined.
Tigress is an incredibly skilled fighter and Caldas (an expert in martial arts himself) conveys her movements with fluid and expert prose. He writes action sequences with the expert eye of someone who has actually taken a punch and the movements and actions of Tigress and her many opponents take on a dreamlike quality, especially in the latter half of the novel. I also loved how the story used a combination of fantasy & mysticism to explain some of the characters skills, without taking credit for all their expertise.
The AI creatures are an ominous and indistinct threat lurking in the wings for most of the story. I wished they’d taken a more central role but they still proved to be an effective portent of humanity’s doom. Although her mission is her driving focus, Caldas builds a world of camaraderie and companionship around Tigress. She is not an aloof master, rather she is enmeshed in her world and the relationships she forms fuel her passion to succeed.
Readers who dream of or dread our future AI overlords will enjoy this bloody, tech-fueled, very human story of life and death.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my fair and unbiased opinion.
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