{"id":26412,"date":"2026-03-23T20:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T00:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=26412"},"modified":"2026-03-23T20:47:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T00:47:47","slug":"the-shadow-pavilion-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/26412","title":{"rendered":"The Shadow Pavilion"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Shadow Pavilion<\/em> (2008) Liz Williams<\/a> (Detective Inspector Chen #4)<\/p>\n

\"TheMhara is about to be coronated as Emperor of Heaven, but his changes are making people unhappy.<\/p>\n

Mhara went on, \u201cWhat is the essence of our relationship to the human world?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cCompassion?\u201d someone ventured after a moment. <\/p>\n

\u201cSanctuary, after the spirit\u2019s travails upon Earth?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLove?\u201d <\/p>\n

Just as he\u2019d thought, they had forgotten. \u201cMore than all those things,\u201d Mhara said, \u201cit is service.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Especially his mother.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back on Singapore Three, someone has come to regret summoning a demon, and is seeing to reverse the situation. This does not go well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want her back, little man. You can keep her. If she grows tired and wants to go, let her go. But don\u2019t send her back where she came from. We\u2019ve all had quite enough.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Zhu Irzh and the badger get into a spot of trouble.<\/p>\n

Above their growls, badger heard a sound, a very small, swiftly muted sound, from the terrace above. He turned his head a fraction, just to see. Above him on the terrace, wearing a black linen shirt and trousers, his wrists bound in front of him and shackles on his bare ankles, stood Zhu Irzh.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I absolutely adore the badger \/ teakettle, and I love getting to seeing its view of the world.<\/p>\n

There were cockroaches, which the badger snapped up with a slight and surprising sensation of guilt: he wasn\u2019t sure that it was professional to snack on the job. Still, one had to keep up one\u2019s strength. And they were certainly tasty.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A small green snake, like molten jade, hissed at the badger without malice as it glided by. The badger murmured a greeting in return.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis is not for beasts. This is a temple of love.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cRather you than me,\u201d said the badger. \u201cCall me if something needs biting.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPeople,\u201d the badger spat, \u201cthink I am sweet.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If only I too could bite those who thought me sweet.<\/p>\n

NOTE<\/strong>: This was disconcerting and a little distressing.<\/p>\n

we\u2019re a quarter of the way through the twenty-first century now<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Detective Inspector Chen, Inari, badger \/ teakettle, Seneschal Zhu Irzh, Jhai Bhatya Tserai, Mhara the Celestial Emperor, Kuan Yin, The Dowager Empress, Po Shu, Lord Lady Seijin, The Gatekeeper, Bonerattle, Savitra, Exorcist Lao, Sergeant Ma, Officer Shao, Officer Pa Chin, No Ro Shi, Lara Chowdijharee, Urushi, Aruth, Askenjuri, Prince Agni, Queen Sefira, Pauleng Go, Beni<\/p>\n

Cover by Jon Foster<\/p>\n

Publisher: Night Shade<\/p>\n

Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Shadow Pavilion (2008) Liz Williams (Detective Inspector Chen #4) Mhara is about to be coronated as Emperor of Heaven, but his changes are making people unhappy. Mhara went on, \u201cWhat is the essence of our relationship to the human world?\u201d \u201cCompassion?\u201d someone ventured after a moment. \u201cSanctuary, after the spirit\u2019s travails upon Earth?\u201d \u201cLove?\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,292,204,42,41,25,34],"tags":[127,126,655],"class_list":["post-26412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-ebook","category-good","category-police","category-reread","category-science-fiction","category-urban-fantasy","tag-detective-inspector-chen","tag-liz-williams","tag-violence"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6S0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25946,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25946","url_meta":{"origin":26412,"position":0},"title":"The Demon and the City","author":"Michelle","date":"March 18, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Demon and the City (2006) Liz Williams (Detective Inspector Chen #2) \u201cI\u2019m here about an irregularity in your feng shui dowsing license,\u201d the demon said. \u201cMy name\u2019s Seneschal Zhu Irzh. Want to see my badge?\u201d At this point he had produced a piece of paper which, to Paravang\u2019s horrified\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Demon and the City","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Demon-and-the-City-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":26409,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/26409","url_meta":{"origin":26412,"position":1},"title":"Precious Dragon","author":"Michelle","date":"March 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Precious Dragon (2007) Liz Williams (Detective Inspector Chen #3) Detective Inspector Chen and Zhu Irzh are taken from their current cases and sent to Hell to escort the Celestial, Miss Qi. \u201cMiss Qi will be coming with us, then?\u201d Chen asked, more to stave off yet another difficult discussion than\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Precious Dragon","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Precious-Dragon-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1679,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1679","url_meta":{"origin":26412,"position":2},"title":"The Shadow Pavilion","author":"Michelle","date":"April 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Shadow Pavilion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/The-Shadow-Pavilion.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4269,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4269","url_meta":{"origin":26412,"position":3},"title":"The Shadow Pavilion","author":"Michelle","date":"December 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Shadow-Pavilion.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2972,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2972","url_meta":{"origin":26412,"position":4},"title":"A Glass of Shadow","author":"Michelle","date":"May 28, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Glass-of-Shadow.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":662,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/662","url_meta":{"origin":26412,"position":5},"title":"Precious Dragon","author":"Michelle","date":"September 21, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Asian"","block_context":{"text":"Asian","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/asian"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/09\/precious_dragon.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}