This story was just plain weird, and I use that word in a complimentary way. I have never read anything by this author before, but I would definitely sit down and listen to Mr. Hughart spin a story over a few beers. This combines some parts of the pop Chinese mystic culture (fantastic beasts, evil rulers, humble mystics) that have made their way into everything from 70s kung fu flicks to Mulan. The writing is dryly funny, the situations completely out there (I am reminded a bit of Terry Pratchett's Rincewind and Cohen the Barbarian stories), and the pace extremely quick. There is very little downtime in the story, and what is there is very funny.

There is enough mystic lore in this story that I had to look up what the author created and what was real. It is so well written that, with a few obvious nods to modern history, it could all in fact be part of ancient Chinese lore.

There are a few McGuffins in there, and you mostly know where the story is going, but that's OK. This is the closest I will probably get to a "brain off beach read" this year. That is not to say it is simple or predictable in a bad way. It is just an adventure tale that moves quickly and easily. Oddly enough, I think fans of the Harry Potter series will enjoy this, and I don't even like that series.

Very enjoyable. For me, it is always fun to peek inside the head of a madman storyteller.