The tyrant is evil because he wants immortality. The second thing is that it’s very deathist in the end. Most of the world’s problems would be gone if there just weren’t all these darn women around! I realize the whole story is a silly comedy, but “Men are dumb cuz of penis, and women all manipulate this whether knowingly or not” is a plot/joke that irks me personally. The first is that basically every problem humanity faces (aside from the evil tyrant himself) boils down to “Women Are The Root Of All Our Woes.” Either mean women who exploit men’s weakness for the opposite gender to dominate them, or pretty-but-vapid women who unknowingly drive men to do crazy things due to their inability to make rational decisions in the face of boobs. This sort of story is read for the sparkle, rather than the immersion. This relieves the tension and lets you jaunt through the scene, but it also means there isn’t really much tension in much of the novel. But you know going into the same scene the 2nd or 3rd time basically how it’ll work out. It has the cyclical structure that fairytales love, repeating certain actions a number of times (well, three times, because fairytales love threes) with minor variations. Tons of supporting characters keep reappearing in the most hilarious ways, and by the end of the book a number of things click together in this neat puzzle-resolution that’s really beautiful to read.Īs it is written in fable-style, though, it’s not for everyone.

If you like the clever little traps that Sherlock sets up, or deductions he waltz through, you’ll really enjoy the schemes Master Li cooks up. Fun characters, over-the-top plot and coincidences, and really beautiful writing combine to make this a really fun read.Ī lot of the fun comes from the somewhat absurd gambits that our Sherlock character engineers. Everything in it is drawn with the super-saturated colors and jovial emotions of a fairy tale. It’s a black comedy, full of random murder and awfulness, but played with a slapstick sensibility that honestly makes you laugh. After all, I don’t recall who finally tipped me into the “well, guess I gotta read this” camp, but it certainly wasn’t anyone well known, it was just an acquaintance whose opinion I respect.

But I’ll add my opinions to the mix, in case that tips the scales for anyone. Synopsis: A comedic fable-style story wherein a smart-ass Holmes-type character and his burly sidekick (our narrator) have crazy adventures while incidentally freeing a fairytale China from a bloodthirsty tyrant.īook Review: I’m like the 1000th person to review this novel, so y’all have probably heard this before.

Bridge of birds by barry hughart