Liz Williams, Precious Dragon (Nightshade Books, 2007)
Detective Inspector Chen is still going strong in his third outing in Liz Williams’ compulsively readable fantasy-sci-fi-horror-mystery series, although readers new to the series would do better to start with earlier books like Snake Agent or Demon and The City. While Precious Dragon figures generally as a stand-alone novel, certain aspects of the plotline are dependent on knowledge of the first novels in the series.
Presently, futuristic Asian metropolis Singapore Three is slowly recovering from the devastating, goddess-inflicted earthquakes from the previous novel, and relations are strained between Heaven, Hell, and Earth. When a Celestial representative of Heaven plans a diplomatic mission to Hell, Chen and his demon partner, the irrepressible Zhu Irzh, are tasked with escorting her in order to provide the mission with an air of politically correct equal opportunism. Naturally, as things often do in Hell, events go awry.
Meanwhile, an elderly woman on Earth, while initially delighted that her deceased daughter has found a good husband (taking the term “marriage made in Hell” to hilarious heights of literalism), is surprised to be made guardian to their Hell-born child, Precious Dragon. Precious Dragon acts and speaks far older than a three-year-old should, and repeated attacks by otherworldly assassins demonstrate that her grandson is far more than he seems.
Liz Williams’ addictive blend of subversive humour, colourful myth, and intriguing mystery remains as potent here as in her previous novels. Chen and Zhu Irzh are as amusing to follow as always, although the action-packed series has, so far at least, left little room for significant character development. Chen is pragmatic and wry, Zhu Irzh sly and devil-may-care, but they’re still more than willing to provide fresh and wickedly funny banter for each new adventure that comes along.
Plot-wise, Precious Dragon focuses more on action than on mystery this time around, with most of the characters being dragged along for the ride rather than investigating. Events are clearly starting to come to a head between Heaven and Hell, and a surprising number of Precious Dragon’s plot points concerning this are left unresolved by novel’s end, which suggests they are being saved for an even bigger confrontation in the next book, Shadow Pavilion. So far, Chen’s adventures have been episodic, but the events in this book suggest that a general, all-encompassing story arc is beginning to emerge.
Precious Dragon loses none of the spark, wit, and spice of Detective Inspector Chen’s previous outings. However, as the storytelling begins to branch out into arcs instead of isolated episodes, new readers would do better to acclimate themselves with earlier books like Snake Agent before giving Precious Dragon a try.
