Amazon.com
If Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin ever got as far as Hong Kong in 1857 on their world travels, the aged sea dogs would feel right at home in China expert Dean Barrett's totally convincing novel of high adventure. Like O'Brian, Barrett mixes in just the right amount of arcane details on everything from ship handling to social customs, creating an accessible world despite the distances of time and miles.
Andrew Adams, who centers the story, is an interesting rogue with a social conscience. He's an American seaman, smuggler, and gambler who has settled down to running a buzzing bar called the Bee Hive Tavern in the Chinese section of Hong Kong--a long way in every respect from "the Peak," where the wealthy and powerful Europeans who control the island's destiny live. These people aren't above using Adams to do their dirty work, blackmailing him into tracking down pirates who have beheaded 11 foreign visitors. Barrett also uses several Chinese characters to give readers other points of view on a city that seems able to take on all the worst characteristics of those who exploit it.
As Adams and his cohorts chase pirates of various stripes and uncover a plot by Chinese bakers to poison all the Europeans, you'll find out things you never knew you could be interested in--such as why calling someone a turtle's egg was a serious insult and how the invention of the cage crinoline changed sexual habits. Like O'Brain, Barrett knows that the best way to impart information is to disguise it as fun. --Dick Adler
From Booklist
Setting is more than a backdrop in this fast-paced adventure story of mid-nineteenth-century British colonial Hong Kong. Characters, plot, and numerous subplots reflect the clash of cultures and class--both within and between the Chinese and foreign communities. A riveting, action-packed narrative tracks the adventures and misadventures of central character Andrew Adams, a bar manager, gambler, weapons smuggler, and American with friends and enemies in both the European and Chinese communities. In a period of just a few days following New Year's Eve, 1857, Adams finds himself investigating the beheading of Europeans on a mail steamer from Canton, doing battle with coolie slave traders accused of murdering an English tea merchant, and eventually defending Hong Kong against attack by pirates. Chinese scholar, linguist, and author of two previous books, Barrett draws on his vast knowledge of southern China during a time of enormous change and conflict, providing richly fascinating detail of the customs, fashions, ships, and weapons of the times. Grace Fill
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