Friday, November 4, 2011

Blue Dragon - Kylie Chan

Blue Dragon (Dark Heavens book three)

By Kylie Chan
HarperCollins
Release Date: October 25th 2011
978-0061994135

The amazon.com product description:
Martial arts, magic, demons and science
The forces of Hell are poised to strike . . .
When Emma’s relatives come to visit her, they are totally freaked out by what they learn . . . Emma’s beloved, John Chen, is a 3,000-year-old Chinese god. Not only that, John is becoming weaker by the day. Demons pursue him relentlessly, hoping to use Emma and his child, Simone, as bargaining tools against him.
Emma battles to defend Simone as John’s energy is drained by the effort of both living in the mortal world and protecting them. While Emma is nagged by doubts about her own nature, she must find the courage to go on . . . 

Blue Dragon is the spectacular sequel to White Tiger and Red Phoenix, and ties up the Dark Heavens trilogy very well. I know I was looking forward to reading this one after finishing the previous two books, and I wasn't disappointed in the slightest.  The only slightly frustrating part is it's clear that Kylie Chan has more books planned (and written) for after this one, but I have no idea when they're going to become available for me. I suspect that they might be available in Australia, but not North America yet. And no idea when, either. I may have to see if I know anyone in Australia...

Anyway, aside from all that, Blue Dragon picks up where Red Phoenix left off, with Simon Wong attacking Emma, John and Simone in ever greater numbers and strength, while they are weakening in their ability to fight him off. On top of that problem, Emma's parents are finding out about the life she's been leading, causing more friction. We see more of Louise and April, from the first book, although there are definitely some mysteries there - and what has Kitty Kwok been up to? More details are being discovered all the time, and none of them are pleasant! I really don't want to say too much in case I spoil the book or the previous books for other readers.

The everlasting question involving these books is "what on earth is Emma?" I certainly don't know, and I'm getting the feeling that we won't be finding out for a few more books either.

I'm really enjoying this series for several reasons: The characters are engaging and interesting, for one thing. Secondly, the setting is so very different from most of the urban fantasy I've read - being based around eastern mythologies rather than the typical vampires and werewolves and fae of Europe and North America. That just makes it refreshing to say the least. And, you don't have to be familiar with the eastern set-up or geography. I'm not, and the books explain enough as you go along that it's possible to figure things out - an d there's a thorough glossary at the end of the book.

Most definitely a five star read. I know I'm going to be re-reading this series again, and probably fairly soon.

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