Sign of the Qin

by L.G. Bass
Fantasy
2004

This beautifully written book is a story based on the history of ancient China and a few of its myths. Set mostly in the mountains and the city of Bai Ping in ancient China, this story incorporates colorful characters that include the Tattooed Monk, Silver Lotus, Monkey, Prince Zong the Starlord. It also includes a band of outlaws, the foremost of which are Black Whirl Wind and White Streak, a host of heavenly beings and a large number of demons. In the story, Yamu, the Lord of the Dead, is trying to free the worst of his demons from the prison the Master Hand, Kind of Heaven, placed them in. The Starlord is the only one who can defeat Yamu.

One of the themes in this book is learning to love others. Monkey learns this lesson when he is appointed as the Starlord's guardian.

"'Once again Monkey. you have been unable to love anyone but yourself' [said the Master Hand]'" (p.24)

"The Prince, who had never smiled before, instantly smiled back with such love that the ape, not very loving by nature, spontaneously swept the lad into his arms and swung him up and down until the child laughed. The laugh tickled Monkey so much, he swung the Prince up and down again. And again the Prince laughed. And so the two, Starlord and Monkey became fast friends in a spontaneously loving moment of smiling and laughing." (p.121)

By the end of the book, you realize how much Monkey has grown since the beginning. You see how he has come to love others more than himself and how instead of sinning out of his own greed, he sins for the betterment of others.

"'If Monkey were still stone, he,' he [the Master Hand] said sighing, 'I would scatter him to the four quarters. But he is a guardian now, and he has sinned out of love. How shall I punish him Calabash, without doing harm to our Starlord?'" (p.310)

Another theme is second chances and not to waste them. Monkey had been given many second chances and he has not used them wisely. We hope that caring for the Starlord will help him learn.

"Although the Tattooed Monk would certainly advise against it, the Master Hand intended to give Monkey another chance. In spite of repeated sins and shortcomings, the Master Hand still had faith in the ridiculous ape. No soul yearned for immortality more that Monkey. And no soul had pursued it through as many lives with out success." (p.24)

I give this book three stars. I really enjoyed reading it because of the author's amazing ability to keep you guessing until the end. The plot twists keep you interested in the storey throughout the book. And while the plot does get a little complicated (there are about three to five storylines you have to keep up with), the author does a pretty good job of keeping everything relatively easy to follow. The settings are described so vividly, they seen almost like places from fairy tales. Character development is a very important part of this book. You can watch the characters grow through out the course of the novel, like Monkey and the Starlord especially. You can see what affects the Starlord's life and his personality and his ideas of right and wrong.  This book is a lot like Bucking the Sarge in way it takes you through the character's lives and shows you how their experiences affect them. Well suited for fantasy lovers in seventh grade and up (it's too complicated a plot for anyone younger), this is a beautiful written book and I highly recommend it.

Perry     October 2005