Chaz Brenchley

A coup forces boy emperor, Chien Hua, to retreat to the source of his jade - the small island of Taishu. Jade can only be possessed by the emperor himself due to its inherent properties. It has always been transported, protected and controlled, by wealthy jade masters but with the emperor so close at hand, why shouldn't the miner clans profit from the transaction themselves?
Li Ton, captain of the pirate ship Shalla, has just put all the monks of The Forge to the sword. He's never believed show more the tales that they ensorcelled a dragon beneath the harbor with their power but he does think their prayers to the old gods keep the fishermen and tradesmen safe. A protection he wants removed, his cargo bays all the better for it.
General Tunghai Wang has all his soldiers in place, ready to cross the harbor, ready to face the emperor and take the jade throne. All that remains is the boat crossing.
And then there's the dragon. She is real, powerful and angry…and free.

Chinese fantasy is not something I’ve read before and I wasn't sure what to expect. The world building is lovely, so packed and concise and the language witty and unexpectedly lyrical at times. Will definitely read book two. show less

Benedict Macallan doesn't share his family's talent -- nor their taste for power and violence. He turned his back on them; walked out of the family, if not out of the town that they control. But when a cousin is murdered in a manner that promises danger to the whole family, he's pulled back in against his will. Only for the funeral, only for long enough to say goodbye to a cousin he loved in spite of everything -- but then the body count starts to mount, and whatever Ben may feel about his show more family, they're his *family*.

The publisher calls it a horror novel, but it's more of a story about a Mafia-like family, seen through the eyes of a dropout member who understands how they look from both the inside and the outside. The horror element comes in the weapon used by the family to maintain control of their territory, one that's only hinted at initially, and gradually revealed during the first half of the book. Power corrupts, and the Macallan clan has held power for a very long time. Now someone is reflecting that power and threat back at them, killing Macallans as casually as they've killed others. Ben's left trying to protect a family he despises and that mostly despises him; and the outside friends who are afraid of him now they've been reminded exactly who he is; and himself. But Ben has no power of his own...

Brenchley deftly interweaves a coming of age story with a murder mystery, gradually building a picture of a strange but only too human family, and Ben's love-hate relationship with them. There's some fine world-building and character development to back up the rising tension as Ben tries to solve the lethal riddle. And the use of language is superb, making the book a joy to read for the pure pleasure of the prose. It's not exactly your traditional whodunnit, but the magic elements are never used to cheat the reader, and the clues are there for those who want to play the game. Dead of Light is both lyrical and a gripping, fast-paced read. show less

Very solid conclusion to the Outremer trilogy. I read the first two books many years ago (this gap is not reflective of their quality, it's just me being slack!); my memory of plot details is a little fuzzy and therefore I probably am not the best judge of how well this volume ties up all the loose ends. However, it certainly reintroduced me to the story and the major players in an economical fashion, the setting was thoroughly evocative, the characters were well-rounded, and it deftly and show more humanely navigated what could have been a minefield of ethnic and sexual stereotypes in lesser hands. The ending did feel slightly rushed; I think this series warrants a re-read at some point, so I can decide. And I will definitely be looking for more of the author's work! show less

Despite the protagonist being a translator, this had precisely zero linguistics. It does have a unique (but still mostly transparent) prose style so I'll forgive it! It moves at an andante pace, where instead of your typical novel structure of a crescendo series of crises and climaxes, the crisis is past, even the despair is mostly past, and we focus instead on the rebuilding. Even the romantic subplot replaces the more common "will they / won't they" or "how will they" with a matter of fact show more "they are" and a steady growing closer together. It's not without its own bitter twists but it's mostly a gentle comfort read. show less