Dragon in Chains
Daniel Fox
Del Rey, 2009
U.S. trade paper, first edition
ISBN 978-0-345-50305-3
416 pages; $15.00

Most epic fantasy written in English has its basis in Western culture. While the worlds created in these books are not our world, they are generally recognizable: the use of language is comfortable, the foods are what we or our ancestors ate, the customs are basically familiar. Even mythological creatures look the way we expect them to, so that unicorns have horns and dragons have wings. When there are exceptions to these rules, the author is certain to provide an explanation, and the exception is often integral to the tale.

In recent years, however, the Far East has begun to appear in fantasy more and more often. Daniel Abraham’s Long Price Quartet, for instance, is set in a vaguely Far Eastern milieu. R. Scott Bakker’s The Prince of Nothing series has a Far Eastern feel. And now Daniel Fox’s new series, Moshui: The Books of Stone and Water is explicitly set in China – not quite our China, and not quite Pu-Yi, the last emperor in our universe, but in China in some alternate universe. A I have learned for the first time that Chinese dragons can fly, but do not have wings.

The first book of the series, Dragon in Chains, is set in Taiwan and the strait in between in and mainland China. The young emperor has fled to this island in the face of a rebellion by one of his generals, who has considerable military backing. Taiwan – here called Taishu-island – is his last refuge. It is not at all clear how or even if he will be able to reclaim his empire, even though he has the Jade Throne with him, a furnishing that is essential to anyone who would claim to be emperor.

Although the rebellion is the frame for this novel, the picture in the frame is considerably more complex and populated by numerous interesting characters and subplots. One such character is Han, who is a scribe’s servant when the book opens but quickly becomes both more and less than that as fate wraps its arms around him. Old Yen and his granddaughter, Mei Feng, fish in the strait on the boat that is their family’s only valuable possession – even more valuable in a time of war, and especially when commandeered to carry the emperor. Li Ton, a brutal pirate, has his own agenda that seems to have nothing to do with the rebellion, politics or the emperor, but looks can be deceiving – especially in his case. Yu Shan is a member of a clan that mines jade in the interior of the island; all jade belongs to the emperor, by law, but Yu Shan is part of jade, and jade a part of him, and it has properties that make him an unusual young man. And overlying all of them is the dragon, chained to the bottom of the sea, angry at her captivity and eager to take her revenge.

The stories of all these characters, and several more, are woven together with skill by Fox. He is able to follow several related themes at once without confusing the reader, and ultimately to bring them together in a conclusion that, upon reading, seems inevitable.

Fox writes especially well about how war affects the people who live in a city that comes under attack. I found it difficult to read about Ma Lin and her family, and came away from the book admiring her most greatly among the characters. In fact, Fox’s women seem generally to be very resilient individuals, smart beyond their apparent stations in life, and very much survivors no matter what the odds. Fox’s men seem often to be led by the women, usually without their knowledge, giving the women in this patriarchal society much more power than is immediately apparent.

I was not surprised to read that Fox has written several dozen books, hundreds of short stories, poetry and plays, because he is clearly not a new writer; the assurance with which this book is written makes that clear. I assume that “Daniel Fox” is a pseudonym, because I cannot seem to find any of these books, stories, etc., which is rather a pity because I’d seek them, having so much enjoyed Dragon in Chains.

Right now, though, I’m happy enough to be able to read Jade Man's Skin, which will be followed this coming March by Hidden Cities. Ably written and with an uncommon setting, this fantasy series is worth reading.