The City Trilogy: "Five Jade Disks", "Defenders of the Dragon City", "Tale of a Feather" (Modern Chinese Literature from Taiwan) Book

If Star Wars and Lord of the Rings combined with classical Chinese historical romance, we might find ourselves in Sunlon City, the setting of Chang´s The City Trilogy. As in Tolkien´s classic, Chang has created an epic world, with its own languages and people. Five Jade Disks introduces the history, politics, and philosophy of Sunlon City, where the local leadership is constantly under attack. A group called the Shan conquers the city and the brave Huhui locals prepare for a counter-rebellion. By the time the Shan are removed from power in Defenders of the Dragon City, the inhabitants must once again defeat the Shan as they return to incite more violence. The third novel, Tale of a Feather, takes place several years later when a dictator assumes control of the City and begins a campaign to eliminate his potential challengers -a conflict that leaves the City in flames. These three short novels, first published in Taiwan in the late 1980s and early 1990s, are now presented for the first time in English in a single volume. The City Trilogy is Chang´s most sustained work in the science fiction genre to date and took almost ten years to complete. All three novels stage the theme of free will versus determinism, as characters question the nature of history and possibility of changing the future for the better.Read More