Ambiguous intermediate worlds with Hindu deities and a triple-souled assassin join the Chinese Earth, Heaven and Hell of Wliiams' previous Detective Inspector Chen novels. After the colossal scale of "Precious Dragon," this one's more intimate but no less compelling. The addition of Lord Krishna to the cast introduces a new element of serene omniscience. As always, the author's prose is a feast for the mind. ( )

How do you one up yourself after a novel where the climax is that of Heaven invading Hell? You don't; you deal with the blowback. Thus does Liz Williams set in motion another desperate, ticking time bomb of a plot, as not all are pleased with new management in Heaven, and an ancient, psychotic assassin is contracted to undo this change in the celestial balance.

At the same time Zhu Irzh is confronted with the implications of his own imminent change in status as a prince of Hell; meaning one chaotic escape after another is in store for him, as trouble is literally snapping at his heels.

This is all implied in the blurbs, but one particularly neat touch is that Williams continues to take the character of Inari in interesting directions. ( )

In the aftermath of the Heaven vs Hell embroglio the economy of Hell is suffering. So heading for Earth looks attractive to some of them, and taking from Earth looks attractive to others.

When Zhu and badger can't be found while looking into it--and again characters other than Chen feature quite a bit in more of this inventive story--then he has to get involved.

Throw in a supernatural dualistic killer and a realm that is sort of limbo, to introduce further complications into his life, and that of his demon wife. A little different tone to this one, not necessarily as amusing parts.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2009/02... ( )