I wanted to love this book, I really did, but I am only giving it three stars instead of two because of the originality. I enjoyed some of it and hated other parts of it. I'm very frustrated with the author and can't believe it was written by an educated Western woman. But more on that later.



The good parts are the unusual premise: the detective, Chen, lives in a technologically advanced futuristic Shanghai as a supernatural detective, investigating those cases that involve demons, ghosts and the

I wanted to love this book, I really did, but I am only giving it three stars instead of two because of the originality. I enjoyed some of it and hated other parts of it. I'm very frustrated with the author and can't believe it was written by an educated Western woman. But more on that later.



The good parts are the unusual premise: the detective, Chen, lives in a technologically advanced futuristic Shanghai as a supernatural detective, investigating those cases that involve demons, ghosts and the like. (Excellent to have a spec fic story written in English that takes place in another city and culture on Earth than Western!) He has occasion to go down to Hell sometimes which is as complex as the Earth. He has a patron Buddhist goddess, Quan Yin, who helps him out on occasion. I like the Buddhist stuff but wanted more and felt it was a little weak. This fusion of fantasy and science fiction is clever and interesting. The problem is in the execution.



There is lots of action and a fairly fast pace and the book opens with the hero in peril suspended in mid-air with a demon by his side. Sounds good so far but there are problems which weigh it down. The main character is boring and staid, way too much so for someone in his line of work, I think. I didn't find myself caring that much about him. I also didn't think he was that consistent. Sometimes he would comment on a demon's behavior as being bad (something pretty mild) and then later he would do something much worse. There was a cool hellion, a badger, who was interesting, although he was never explained.



Hell is supposed to be kind of an opposite to Earth (which doesn't make sense when there is a Heaven, too) and there a very complicated way souls get there (people have two souls and both move around a lot). But the reality is that Hell is much like Earth only a little nastier and more bureaucratic with a lot of magic thrown in. Again, I found the depiction inconsistent: sometimes the reader is told that everyone from Hell is evil and you can't depend on them, and then they act in ways that are fairly virtuous and the most likable character of all is Chen's demon partner, Zhu Irch.



The really odd thing was that from the very first page I felt that I was reading a book that was actually a sequel. The back story was a huge part of why things happen in this book and it just felt like they were speaking about stuff that happened as though the reader should already know. I found myself checking more than once to see that it was actually book 1.



But by far the worst thing is the really pronounced sexism. I could understand and even tolerate it if it were clear this were a product of the sexist Chinese society or part of why Hell were evil. But the women in the book were weak and vapid. The *only* two females with jobs were a receptionist and a secretary, both completely idiotic and ineffectual. Everyone else in the ministries, precinct and stores were men. At one point a character notices a female (demon of course) assisting some laborers and he is completely surprised. Later the author refers to her as the "female helper" much like white people always point out race when it's not their own. Even China nowadays has a much more egalitarian workforce. Women are construction workers and day laborers and do all sorts of typically male jobs. There is no indication the Shanghai of the future has been set back socially, it's supposed to be modern. Wouldn't women's rights have stayed the same if not progressed even a little bit?



There are very few female characters in the book and only two which make any kind of long term appearance: the goddess Quan Yin and Chen's weak and pathetic demon wife Inari. At one point she thinks to herself how ridiculous it is that men are always saving her and she vows to do better but it continues. (The only time she saves herself is when she runs away but even then someone else always rescues her or captures her because she is lost.) The sentence felt like an after thought because the author received criticism about it. At one point Chen (a human) and another demon struggle to move a huge piece of jade. Demons have superhuman strength but Inari just sits off to the side trembling. I wanted to throw up. Plus, she is kept in a houseboat and Chen is upset when she leaves it for any reason. What kind of life is that? It's the kind of thing abusive husbands do to their wives. It's positively revolting.



My other complaints are minor: pits of blood in hell come from "adulterers and abortionists." (Of course, in the book menstrual blood is a particularly hellish thing, too.) The author also has some weird metaphors that don't really work like when something "ringed a room like a migraine." Hunh? I have migraines several times a week and I don't understand the metaphor. Migraines are on one side of the head usually and are a stabbing, throbbing pain. They don't ring anything. They're not like tension headaches which can feel like a band is tightening around your head. In fact, the closest analogy is an icepick stabbed through your eye. Another weird one was when the night sky was like "illuminated dark glass." Er, what?



Another problem was that about a third of the way in, the detectives discover a truly heinous practice that they believe is the center of the mystery and that they need to figure out. It not only turns out not to be the center but not even related and they never bother to find out who is doing it or how to stop it. They don't ever even bring it up again. BIG plot hole.



Overall the writing was good, the plot carried along fine, and the characterization of the demon detective and other police officers was good. However the main character and his wife were inconsistent and confusing and the sexism was really irritating. I doubt I will read further into the series even though the concept is intriguing and I do want to know more.