books

Fantasy Mystery Romance Comics Non-Fiction

Snake Agent

Snake Agent (2005) Liz Williams Detective Inspector Chen is in charge of crimes that stretch into Heaven and Hell (obviously, far more cases involve Hell over heaven) and as an occult practitioner whose patronage of the goddess Kuan Yin affords him a measure of protection when he has to travel to Hell. Unfortunately, his recent […]

The Shadow Pavilion

The Shadow Pavilion (2009) Liz Williams There are certain people who are not happy about the changes The Emperor of Heaven is making. But you’d think plotting assassination would be beyond Celestial Beings. You’d be wrong. The assassin is a strange creature; a centuries old child of a demon and a human who lives Between, […]

Precious Dragon

Precious Dragon (2007) Liz Williams The third Detective Inspector Chen book finds Chen back at work, and, after having stopped a rampaging goddess in the previous book, Chen and Zhu Irzh must now suffer the attentions of the public, and, more specifically, the accolades of part of the government of Singapore Three. This, of course, […]

The Demon and the City

The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams I really do love this series. Chen and Inari are on vacation, so Zhu Irzh is–in theory–handling the supernatural cases in Singapore Three. In reality, the captain is giving him very small-time crimes, fearing (perhaps justifiably) that Zhu Irzh could cause more problems than he solved. So […]

Snake Agent

Snake Agent (2005) Liz Williams The Detective Inspector Chen series popped up as an Amazon ebook deal of the day, and I love this series so much I snatched them up as ebooks. (In my defense, my copies are all trade paperbacks.) Detective Inspector Chen is in charge of crimes that stretch into Heaven and […]

A Glass of Shadow

A Glass of Shadow (2011) Liz Williams Liz Williams writes stories that fall into a variety of genres at once: science fiction, fantasy, mystery. I read–and fell in love with–her Detective Inspector Chen series, and so buy her anthologies, hoping that means she’ll then be able to write more Chen stories. This volume is an […]

The Iron Khan

The Iron Khan (2010) Liz Williams I stumbled across The Snake Agent in 2007, and since then have eagerly bought books in the Detective Inspector Chen series whenever they came out. However, at some point finding those books was getting to be more and more difficult. Scuttlebutt has it that Night Share Books (the original […]

The Shadow Pavilion

The Shadow Pavilion (2009) Liz Williams Detective Inspector Chen has multiple problems to deal with: his partner Zhu Irzh has disappeared, along with the badger, a Bollywood star/tiger demon is on the rampage, and someone wants to kill the Emperor of Heaven. Add to that the complexity of everyday life in Singapore Three, a new […]

Better Off Undead

Better Off Undead (2008) edited by Martin H. Greenberg and Daniel M. Hoyt Anthologies edited by Martin H. Greenberg are usually ones I can pick up knowing that I’ll like the majority of stories within. This volume? Not so much. There were a handful of stories I thought were good, but for the most part? […]

Precious Dragon

Precious Dragon (2007) Liz Williams The third Detective Inspector Chen novel, it seems as if recent activities have brought Chen and Zhu Irzh to the attention of authorities, and they are charged with escorting the emissary from Heaven, Miss Qi, through Hell. Meanwhile, an old woman arranges the marriage of her only daughter, and soon […]

The Demon and the City

The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams After reading The Snake Agent, I’ve been looking forward the reading the next Detective Inspector Chen book. (In fact, the paperback edition has been on pre-order for several months.) As with many authors I like, after getting a book, I’m hesitant to read it, for fear that […]

The Banquet of the Lords of Night & Other Stories

The Banquet of the Lords of Night & Other Stories (2004) Liz Williams The Banquet of the Lords of Night & Other Stories is an anthology (obviously) of stories by Liz Williams. The stories range in style from the fantasy to science fiction. As with most mixed anthologies, I didn’t much care for the science […]

Snake Agent

Snake Agent (2005) Liz Williams When I purchased this book I thought it was a mystery, after all, it’s “A Detective Inspector Chen Novel.” And since I bought the book on-line, I couldn’t see the cover clearly, so that didn’t tell me anything either. I just knew it had come up as recommended for me, […]