Dragon Scale Lute

Dragon Scale Lute (Legends of Tivara, Princess of Cathay, Book 1) by JC Kang (2016) – The magic found in music has left Cathay.  Or has it?  Princess Kaiya has a powerful singing voice that may bring that immense magical power back.  The Imperial Court doesn’t believe it but a handsome prince thinks otherwise.  As rebellion begins to rise around the court, Kaiya may have to sacrifice her growing power to an arranged marriage that may save the realm.

(Since I prefer transparency, let me note that JC Kang is a Richmond area author that I’ve gotten to know a little.  We occasionally hang out at book related events.  As always, what follows is my honest and unrestrained review)

Fantasy is a genre that has been pretty well developed.  Swords, sorcery, elves, some kind of royal house structure for the politics, dragons, all familiar fantasy stuff.  So when you find a story that comes from a slightly different direction it’s worth sitting up and taking notice.  Fantasy stories based in Asian cultural milieus isn’t new but in comparison to western settings they are still very much in the minority.

Kang takes that setting and creates a top quality story.  Rather than just a standard magical aspect to the story, he combines music with the magical underpinnings of his world.  It was music that defeated the dragons years before.  Now new dangers are coming to the surface.  Against those dangers, various factions are looking for ways to fight back.

The book involves a series of interconnected story lines and characters that draw the reader into the plot.  Unlike some fantasy authors (who drive me crazy and have diminished the volume of fantasy I’ve read recently), Kang resists the idea that complexity equals story telling.  Each step into the culture is clearly understandable and in place.  He doesn’t sacrifice any story telling nuance or detail of the world he is creating.  As a result, the reader can enjoy the story.

This book will find an audience among both adult fans of fantasy and teens.  It’s a fine story, well told.  The best review I can offer is this – I couldn’t wait till I had time to sit down and read each day when this was my book of the moment.

“The Dragon Scale Lute” will be available as an e-book in March.  The rest of the series is expected to be released over the next year.  JC Kang has also published in an anthology “Swords of Darkness“.
You can read the first chapter of “The Dragon Scale Lute” HERE at Kang’s web page.  He also has a Facebook page.

Rating – **** Recommended