cimorene

I was eager to watch more NCIS tonight, but Wax accidentally slept for about 15 hours yesterday and woke up at like 5 pm when she had to get up for work at 3 am, so then she stayed up all evening and only napped a little after midnight. And then she went to bed extremely early today. I picked up a new Heyer in paperback when we were in Helsinki, but I'm reluctant to crack it because after that it's down to re-reads and secondhand book finds I'm less than excited about.

But you know what I am excited about?

A hardcover omnibus of Barry Hughart's Master Li trilogy.

The Master Li books (Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone and Eight Skilled Gentlemen) have been out of print for a good ten years, which is a great pity because they're some of the best fantasy out there. I think "an ancient China that never was" is mentioned in the blurb on one of the editions I have. Let me try to describe them a bit better.

In basic structure they are mysteries. Master Li is an ancient and drunken wise little old man who is very much like Sherlock Holmes - an eccentric genius. His Watson, and the books' narrator, is his muscular and stolid rural-born assistant, Number Ten Ox. The books are set in an ancient China that never was - that is to say, a fantasy ancient China where magic and myths are real. Unforgettable plots, adventure, some of the coolest magic you've ever read, supernatural mystery, and LOL-to-ROFL humour: these books are not to be missed. The hardcover edition is released on Halloween and I must remember diligently what day it is until then so that I can order it at once.