Taming Poison Dragons [Jan]
Synopsis
First, Yun Cai's village is threatened with destruction by a vicious civil war. His wayward second son, a brutal rebel officer seems determined to ruin his entire family. Meanwhile, Yun Cai struggles to free an old friend, P'ei Ti, from a hellish prison- no easy task when P'ei Ti is the rebels' most valuable hostage and Yun Cai considers himself merely a spent, and increasingly frightened old man.
Author's Biography
Tim Murgatroyd is an English teacher who lives with his family in York. He has remained fascinated by ancient China since his teens, when he discovered a slim volume of Chinese poetry in a second hand bookshop. Taming Poison Dragons is his first novel. Gripping from beginning to end, the style is quite unusual – it is fauvism revealing much deeper layers beneath. It's difficult to write characters from the distant past and from an obscure culture in transparent modern English, but Murgatroyd has cracked it. A truly epic story.
He is currently engaged in writing a sequel chronicling the turbulent events of the Mongol invasion of China.
Reviews
'...richly detailed narrative brings to life the beauty and brutality of 12th Century China. Laced with poetry, the narrative flows between past and present, gradually unravelling an evocative and epic tale of love, honour and valour in the midst of civil war.' www.femalefirst.co.uk
‘I would thoroughly recommend this book. Interesting characters and absorbing historical background. Fascinating insight into life in China in the 12th century. Looking forward to the next book from this author.’ Gill - Amazon reader
£16.99 Hardback