The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water: And Other Tales
By: Zen Cho / Narrated By: Nancy Wu
Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
Somewhat shallow and then WHAM! A most satisfying conclusion
We’re introduced to a world of Bandits and posssssibly magic/witchcraft, most certainly hexes from the get-go. As the Summary states: A Bandit does indeed saunter into a coffeehouse; and while most Bandits are studiously ignored, this one brings a stunned silence. He’s beautiful, absolutely gorgeous. After the awe, the silence is broken when a waitress miiiiight have done the whole hex thing on an unruly customer. Fights break out, minor amounts of blood are spilled, there’s clever banter, and I thoooought I was in for a cinematic action-packed adventure.
Uhm… noooo…
We’re then thrust into the day-to-day lives of the, well, the Bandits aren’t quite Bandits but refer to themselves as contractors. They’ll work for either side, but mostly: They’re on the run from either side in a war between the two ticked off factions. There’s a government where there is the hunting down and slaughtering of innocents who miiiiight posssssibly collude against the Protector in the future, but hush: It’s not to be spoken of as it’s a silent war. And then there are the true Bandits who are a trifle judgmental and bloodthirsty.
The little band we’re introduced to almost immediately strikes the Listener as drop-dead dumb. The waitress, Guet Imm, who miiiight’ve hexed the customer lost her job and, with nowhere else to go, creeps in and totally surprises the little band, announcing that she’s joining them. See? Stupid. On the run and nobody is wary enough to notice that someone has snuck in? Then certain men of the band decide Guet Imm would be a perfect addition as she can sexually service the men. This treats the Listener to a sudden and most unfortunate conversation that is crude beyond belief: Where there was clever banter in the opening, now there is a casual use of expletives. Don’t get me wrong as I totally admit that I swear like a sailor and often speak that way m’self. It’s just that it’s sudden and soooo NOT clever. It’s just jarring where wit was expected and a reliance on vulgarity is reached for and used instead. So dumb as dirt roving band meets ridiculously unnecessary coarseness. Two strikes, to be followed by the third which is:
NOTHING HAPPENS.
There are tiny actions, but mostly it appears to be a study in a couple of characters: Guet Imm and her stubbornness, and the member of the band who MOST CERtainly does NOT trust her or want her with them: Second Brother: Tet Sang, someone who has many secrets and scars of his own.
>yaaaaawn<
Minor scuffles but mostly a back and forth of the two sparring with each other, and then what I s’pose is meant to be a Terrific Twist is revealed. Okay, so points for creating diverse characters, but I’m still loudly Boooooing the lack of action and adventure, and this is SUPPOSED to be wuxia fantasy where itinerant-warriors-meets-martial arts-and-supernatural powers, but the bitty bit of martial arts is NOT rousing. And the supernatural powers? Dude! not until the very end…
…where it was MOST well-done and sooo satisfying that I almost wept cuz author Zen Cho COULDA done that throughout for a much better tale. Still, it was engaging as all get-out, and I was tickled pink when it showed up. I dunno if it was meant to be a surprise and that there’s a sequel coming; uhm, there kinda sorta better be or this’ll really be a dud. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending, so all fine and good there, no ticked off feelings on my part. But it sure as heck did instill a hankering to see: What Happens Next…
Nancy Wu, a jolly decent enough narrator, took some time getting used to here. Her delivery is kinda way over the top with Bad Guys and Suddenly Bad Guys sounding like cartoon characters. Guet Imm wheedles a lot, so she sounds peevish for a good amount of the time. And our Gorgeous Leader of the little band? Sounds like a smooth and urbane cat… soooo, make of that what you will, but gosh I was expecting him to start purring at any moment. Also had to jack my listening speed up so I could get SOME sorta action ya-yas from this.
So whether this story is a Yea or a Nay depends almost enTIREly on whether Zen Cho gets around to writing a sequel. Without one? Truly pointless use of your time. With one?
Well, bring on the supernatural, and put those characters into situations where those martial arts are used. Zen Cho seems prolific enough, so if she does that? Why, this could be a mighty Yessss….!
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