Any one know of some fantasy/fiction set in an orient setting?

[Dr. Strangemonkey]

I've really enjoyed what I've read of Curt Benjamin(Benjamin Curt?)'s latest series.

The very first book is an interesting story of a 'Tibetan' prince enslaved by 'Mongols' and sold to a Southern 'Chinese' province.

I use the quotation marks to indicate that these are merely convenient notational adjectives not very accurate descriptions.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Want to read epic political struggle against one of the most brilliant but evil leaders in Chinese history, complete with heroes so good they become demigods in the course of the story? Go for Romance Of The Three Kingdoms. Victims of a corrupt provincial government and uncaring priests, banded together against their enemies and the demons behind it all? Outlaws Of The Marsh. Transcontinental questing by a monk in search of more holy wisdom and his rag-tag bunch including the King of the Monkeys bound in human form? Journey To The West.

Well, although I could argue that Cao Cao (I assume that's who you mean) wasn't really evil, just ruthless, well...I guess I just did. Sima Yi, now, I really hate that b******. Anyway, I am thinking of picking up another of the epics after I'm done with Three Kingdoms and then some other reading. How easy are these others to read? On par with Three Kingdoms, difficulty-wise? Any suggestions on which I should pick up?

 

[WayneLigon]

The Art of Arrow Cutting -- Stephen Dedman
Shadows Bite -- Stephen Dedman
Tomoe Gozen -- Jessica Amanda Salmanson (oop - used)
Initiate Brother, Vol. 1 -- By Sean Russell
Gatherer of Clouds -- By Sean Russell
Across the Nightingale Floor: Tales of the Otori, Book One
by Lian Hearn
Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book 2
by Lian Hearn



Honorable Mention

Shinju by Laura Joh Rowland, and her other mysteries with Inspector Sano Ichiro. At least one so far has mystical tie-ins but so far no out-and-out fantastic things.

 

[tetsujin28]

I second my good buddy Bruce's recommendations, as well as the Tomoe Gozen books by Jessica Salmonson (sadly long OOP, IIRC).

 

[drnuncheon]

The mention of Bridge of Birds and othe rmysteries reminded me of three things:

First, there's two more books after Bridge of Birds, although they're not quite as good - Story of the Stone and Eight Skilled Gentlemen.

Second, I recently read a book entitled A Floating Life, which is about a poet named Li Po, who is (as near as I can tell) one of the inspirations for Li Kao inthe aforementioned series.

Third, if you want more mysteries, Robert van Gulik wrote a series about Judge Dee - I believe The Chinese Bell Murders was the first one.

J

 

[Dimenhydrinate]

Both books of Shike by Robert Shea if you can find them.

 

[RenoOfTheTurks]

The Kai Lung books by Ernest Bramah are not action-packed fantasies in the standard sense, but they are a humorous take on a man's adventures in "decadent" ancient China, written by an author who knew little about China and didn't trouble himself to do research. This is part of the humor. The books are out of print and sometimes hard to find though.

 

[CCamfield]

There's also The Jade Enchantress, and The Devil Wives of Li Fong, both by E. Hoffman Price. I have only read the first... it was all right, but not outstanding.

 

[Silver Moon]

Tale of the Genji aka Tale of Murisaki. The original novel, written around 1,000 years ago. A great tale of life in the Japanese Emporer's court. Multiple translations are out there.

 

[Azlan]

I, too, highly recommened Bridge of Birds and its sequel, The Story of the Stone, by Barry Hughart. These books are set in a mythical, medieval China; and contain epic quests, magic, and martial arts. They are also wickedly witty!