Kirjahaku

With the fate of East Asia hanging in the balance, one Mongolian woman manipulates her lovers, sons and grandsons through war and upheaval to create an empire that lasted for 250 years. The Green Phoenix tells the story of the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, born a Mongolian princess who became a consort in the Manchu court and then the Qing Dynasty?s first matriarch. She lived through harrowing threats, endless political crises, personal heartaches and painful losses to lead a shaky Empire out of a dead end. The story is set against a turbulent canvas as the Chinese Ming Dynasty is replaced by the Qing. Xiaozhuang guides her husband, her lover, her son and her grandson - all emperors and supreme leaders of the Qing Empire - to success against the odds.

The novel follows the destinies of three late-Ming courtesans, from the seamy world of girl trafficking and slavery to the cultured scene of poetry, music and theatre in Qinhuai, the decadent pleasure district of Nanjing. Jingjing is reading her mother Rushi’s memoir. A wretched adolescence barely behind her, Rushi, being a courtesan, loses her true love to the tyranny of conventions. Social scorn never leaves her alone. The memoir inspires Jingjing to uncover the fates of Rushi’s two sworn sisters, also courtesans. Yuanyuan is first trapped in brutal slavery and then forced to let go of her lover and enter an unhappy union with a brutish general. Xiangjun incurs corrupt courtiers’ wrath when she warns her lover of their trap laid for him. When the outbreak of war plunges the three women into deeper woes, they mull over a daring idea.… In piecing the three sisters’ stories together, Jingjing slowly unravels the secret of who she is

Set in a world of human conflicts, fantastical martial arts, sorcery and celestial magic, Alice Poon's debut fantasy, The Heavenly Sword, follows a martial maiden's heartbreaking adventures in her quest for love and justice.The goddess Chang'e, reborn as Shandong village girl Tang Sai'er, is sent by the Deities to the mortal world to impede a future tyrant. Her mission requires her to be both a warrior and also chaste. The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, the Sky Wolf incarnate and once Chang'e's suitor in heaven, incites a brutal civil war to usurp the throne. He secretly covets Sai'er, but also fears her power. Ma Sanbao, a eunuch in Zhu Di's Palace, falls in love with Sai'er while they train together in Wudang kung fu. Sai'er is enamored of Sanbao, but knows she must focus on her celestial mission and her desire to protect her family and village folks from the tyrant. When Sai'er and her allies pit themselves against the wicked new Emperor and other adversaries, one being the vicious Green Dragon, Sai'er has to enlist the help of the immortals. But even with their help, she finds that her dreams are on a collision course with her mission. The Heavenly Sword is the first part of a spellbinding duology weaving Chinese mythical folklore and speculative history into a sweeping tale of family love, fellowship loyalty, loss, sacrifice and kung fu rivalry.

Set in a world of human conflicts, fantastical martial arts, sorcery and celestial magic, Alice Poon's debut fantasy, The Heavenly Sword, follows a martial maiden's heartbreaking adventures in her quest for love and justice.The goddess Chang'e, reborn as Shandong village girl Tang Sai'er, is sent by the Deities to the mortal world to impede a future tyrant. Her mission requires her to be both a warrior and also chaste. The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, the Sky Wolf incarnate and once Chang'e's suitor in heaven, incites a brutal civil war to usurp the throne. He secretly covets Sai'er, but also fears her power. Ma Sanbao, a eunuch in Zhu Di's Palace, falls in love with Sai'er while they train together in Wudang kung fu. Sai'er is enamored of Sanbao, but knows she must focus on her celestial mission and her desire to protect her family and village folks from the tyrant. When Sai'er and her allies pit themselves against the wicked new Emperor and other adversaries, one being the vicious Green Dragon, Sai'er has to enlist the help of the immortals. But even with their help, she finds that her dreams are on a collision course with her mission. The Heavenly Sword is the first part of a spellbinding duology weaving Chinese mythical folklore and speculative history into a sweeping tale of family love, fellowship loyalty, loss, sacrifice and kung fu rivalry.

In this propulsive sequel to The Heavenly Sword, Sai'er is beset with gritty challenges as she forges her path forward as the White Lotus Sect leader. When the Green Dragon threatens to kill Putai villagers to punish Sai'er for wounding Zhu Di, Sai'er is forced to fight the demon in an undersea combat, aided by Nezha. Then, a Sect member named Swallow reveals himself as an enemy spy and asks for absolution. Sai'er decides that he can be entrusted with counter-espionage work. Having found refuge with Putai refugees in the Yidu County high mountains, she puts Binhong in charge of taking over the district yamen. She then sends Swallow to Yingtian to eliminate Zhu Di's chief henchmen. At the same time though, Zhu Di has not let up on hounding Binhong and Yinho. During deadly feuds with the enemy camp, Sect members and her celestial friends Caihe and Nezha prove their devotion. But in hours of darkness, the dream of starting a new life with Sanbao is her solace. At a critical juncture, Binhong discloses a secret that promises to dash her dream. When the final face-off with Zhu Di is at hand, she feels pressured to focus on doing her duty.