Paper Mage

An exotic historical fantasy heavily influenced by Chinese with some well-developed world. What’s quite interesting about this novel is that the characters reflect Chinese/Eastern values as opposed to the usual western values that dominate fantasy novels (and even oriental fantasy written by white men who clearly don’t understand Asian culture). Key aspects of Chinese culture such as luck and family are heavily emphasized in the novel. Some have compared this to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and I agree with the comparison (and there literally are Tigers and Dragons in the novel). The author meticulously details an alternate 9th century China fantasy world that’s exciting and quite believable at the same time. So for an “Asian fantasy” that actually accurately represents Asian cultural mindsets and values, this is the book to read.