Shadows on the Moon

Shadows on the Moon by Zoë Marriott. On what should have been a celebration of her fourteenth birthday, Hoshima Suzume witnesses the murder of her beloved father, who has been accused of treason. Suzume miraculously manages to elude the pursuing soldiers although her cousin is killed while fleeing right next to her. She hides in the family kitchens with the help of an aged servant. Eventually the soldiers leave and Suzume's mother and a family friend find her. It is soon apparent that Suzume's mother and Terayama-san are lovers who plan to marry and erase all memories of the Hoshima family. Suzume also discovers that Terayama betrayed her father. In her grief and anger, Suzume starts to harm herself. Her only friend is the kitchen servant who hid her, Youta, who also tells her that she is a shadow weaver; this is how she was able to escape from the soldiers. He begins to work with her to develop her gift. Despite his concern and support, Suzume realizes that eventually Terayama-san will kill her. Her mother, now preoccupied with the birth of twins, either doesn't notice the threat or doesn't care. Suzume's story becomes one of assuming various identities to hide from Terayama while she plans her revenge. These plans are complicated by the distracting presence of Otieno, a foreign visitor who is also a shadow weaver. Suzume is eventually confronted with an agonizing choice--continue to plot to avenge her family by training to become the chief courtesan of the Moon Prince or travel to Athazie, the home of the man she loves. Suzume is a resilient and talented heroine. The setting reflects the author's research on ancient Japan, with detailed descriptions of dress, language and culture. Elements of romance, psychological pain, superhuman talents and moral dilemmas combine to make this a very satisfying read.

A Confusion of Princes

A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix. Prince Khemri is born into a system where all Imperial Princes are treated as presumptive heirs to the Empire. Their natural abilities are enhanced psychically, mechanically, and biologically with the core elements of Imperial technology: Psitek, Mektek, and Bitek. Princes can read and communicate through thoughts; they also possess superhuman strength and can repair their own injuries. They need all of these capabilities to stay alive, because although any prince can theoretically become Emperor, all princes are also vulnerable to attack from their fellow princes (there are ten million of them) who are competing for the highest honors and powers when the current Emperor abdicates. Princes can and do die, and many are reborn if deemed worthy by the Imperial Mind. Princes never know their parents and [should] trust no one. A Confusion of Princes is Khemri's story of being thrown into this life and death struggle of princes after 16 years of being told he is special and deserves to be Emperor. He must draw on all of his training and powers to outwit and outfight other candidates, priests, assassins, and mysterious challenges devised by the current Imperial government. In the midst of this chaos he must also examine who he is, where he comes from, and what he believes. Loads of fun-recommended.

Don't Cry Tai Lake

Don't Cry Tai Lake: an Inspector Chen Novel by Qiu Xiaolong is both an absorbing detective story and an environmental expose of the dark side of industrial growth in China. Chief Inspector Chen of the Shanghai Police Department finds himself on an unscheduled vacation, as a senior party official insists that Chen take his place at a luxury resort on the shores of Tai Lake. It isn't long before Chen becomes involved in a murder investigation. The director of one of the major chemical factories that dumps pollutants into the lake is murdered. A local environmental activist is being held for the crime, but Chen, attracted to a beautiful environmental engineer named Shanshan, who is also fighting the factory's deceptive polluting practices, decides to do his own private investigation. The more he learns about the destruction of the once beautiful lake, the more determined Chen is to find the murderer and to expose the corruption that is destroying Tai Lake. Chen has no authority in Wuxi, but Sergeant Huang of the local police and a big fan of Chen's agrees to "play Dr. Watson to Chen's Sherlock Holmes." Don't Cry Tai Lake is the most recent of a series of Inspector Chen mysteries. The author has also written two books of translations of traditional Chinese poetry as well as one book of his own poems. Poetry appears throughout the book, adding beautiful interludes as Chan both woos Shanshan and describes the struggle over the lake's future through verse. Recommended.