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DRAGON BONES
by Lisa See
Random House, March 2007
368 pages
$14.95
ISBN: 0345440315


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Liu Hulan, an inspector in the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing is investigating a cult that is protesting against the government's building of the Three Gorges Dam. The dam is controversial in many ways. Among other things it will force two million people to relocate, it will flood and destroy a lot of land, some of which is seen as very important to some of the religions in China. It will also bury a lot of archeological digs and historical locations.

The members of the All-Patriotic Society and its leader, Xiao Da, are a Falun-Gong-like cult with more and more members secretly joining every day. The Chinese government is watching it closely and Hulan wants to stay in the investigation.

Meanwhile David Stark, Hulan's American husband and a lawyer now practicing in Beijing, is asked by the Ministry of Culture to look into artifacts that had been stolen from an archeological dig that will be buried by the dam. As Hulan and David delve further into their tasks, the lines between good and evil become less distinct, who you can trust also becomes confusing and the mystery section of the story twists and turns until the violent end just wipes the readers away.

Hulan and David have been having some hard times of late. Their child has died from meningitis and Hulan blames herself and thinks that David also blames her. Again, the author Lisa See manages to make the two leads very real and very interesting characters. Their relationship isn't an easy one, but it has never been smooth sailing for the two.

This is the third book in the series and it stands well on its own. As with all of the other books in this series, I also learned a lot about Chinese culture and history. I also got interested in hearing all about the very real problems that are still going on with building the dam.

As in the other books, the violence level is high, very realistic and so it's very hard-hitting and not ever gratuitous.

DRAGON BONES is a reissue of the 2004 book. I'm glad to see that there is again interest in this compelling series. It's very well written and well worth reading. You'll learn quite a lot about China and also see how its history has changed since 2004.

Reviewed by A. L. Katz, March 2008

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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