Published: Nov. 01, 2008
Words: 206,517 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781452300856

Short description

In China they whisper about the Jade Owl and its awful power. This ancient stone, commissioned by the Empress Wu and crafted by a mineral charmer, long haunted the folk of the Middle Kingdom until it vanished into an enigma of legend and lore. Now the Jade Owl is found. It wakes to steal the day from day. Its power to enchant and distort rises again. "Readers, run, do not walk to your nearest

Extended description

In China they whisper about the Jade Owl and its awful power. This ancient stone, commissioned by the Empress Wu and crafted by a mineral charmer, long haunted the folk of the Middle Kingdom until it vanished into an enigma of legend and lore. Now the Jade Owl is found. It wakes to steal the day from day. Its power to enchant and distort rises again. Its horror is revealed to a band of five, who must return it to the Valley of the Dead before the laws of ch’i are set aside in favor of destruction’s dance. Five China Hands, each drawn through time’s thin fabric by the bird, discover enchantment on the secret garland. Five China Hands, and one holds the key to the world’s fate. Five China Hands. Only one Jade Owl - but it’s awake and in China, they whisper again.

Professor Rowden Gray has come to San Francisco following a new opportunity at the East Asian Arts and Culture Museum, only to find that the opportunity has evaporated. Desperate, he means to end his career in a mu.. (Read more) In China they whisper about the Jade Owl and its awful power. This ancient stone, commissioned by the Empress Wu and crafted by a mineral charmer, long haunted the folk of the Middle Kingdom until it vanished into an enigma of legend and lore. Now the Jade Owl is found. It wakes to steal the day from day. Its power to enchant and distort rises again. Its horror is revealed to a band of five, who must return it to the Valley of the Dead before the laws of ch’i are set aside in favor of destruction’s dance. Five China Hands, each drawn through time’s thin fabric by the bird, discover enchantment on the secret garland. Five China Hands, and one holds the key to the world’s fate. Five China Hands. Only one Jade Owl - but it’s awake and in China, they whisper again.

Professor Rowden Gray has come to San Francisco following a new opportunity at the East Asian Arts and Culture Museum, only to find that the opportunity has evaporated. Desperate, he means to end his career in a muddle of pity and Scotch, but then things happen. He latches on to a fascinating young man who is pursuing a lost relic that Professor Gray has in fact been seeking. Be careful for what you seek - you may just find it. Thus begins a journey that takes the professor and his companions on a spirited adventure across three-thousand miles of Chinese culture and mystery - a quest to fulfill a warrant long set out to ignite the world in myth and legend. The Jade Owl is the beginning of a series - a legacy that fulfills a terrible truth; and in China, they whisper again.

A Finalist in the 2009 RAINBOW AWARDS

Review from Rainbow Reviews

Sinologist Professor Rowden Gray receives the opportunity of his professional lifetime, a curator position at the fabled San Francisco East Asian Museum of East Asian Arts and Culture, which houses the collection of his late mentor, "Old China Hand" John Battle. Battle's great work had been discredited due to his insistence on the Jade Owl, a mysterious missing artifact commissioned by China's only Empress. When RG arrives, he immediately discovers the position has been rescinded, he encounters a strange young man who proves to be Battle's prodigal son, and learns the Jade Owl really exists. Plunging into a drama worthy of an Errol Flynn swashbuckler, the soon-boon companions and several others are off on a life-and-death chase through San Francisco and then on to Hong Kong as the portal into China.

The Jade Owl is a nonstop, don't miss page turner and only the first in a quintology, The Jade Owl Legacy series. Readers, run, do not walk to your nearest book outlet and grab this intriguing gay mystery with its fully realized characters, gay and straight and bi, roller-coaster plotting, and paranormal fantasy elements. The Jade Owl is a true winner.

Review from Aricia Gavrial's Book Reviews:

In this novel, the artifact is an ancient Chinese object, a six inch piece of Jade carved in the likeness of an owl -- and it's actually a key that opens a box known as the Joy of Finches. What's in the box? That would be telling! But everybody wants the key.

The first thing that impressed me about Jade Owl was how knowledgeable about Chinese antiquities the writer is, and about China itself. Shanghai and Beijing are described with the same amount of detail and enthusiasm as San Francisco -- and never having been to either China or the USA myself, I really appreciated the "local color." Many writers, when setting their plots in London, New York, what have you, seem to think that everyone's been there and knows intimately every secret of the city. Not true. So, the first level where Jade Owl succeeds is in "selling me" San Francisco, which is the setting for the first long segment of the book.

Jade Owl is a real treat, on a par with the top-notch writers who sell in the gajillions. The Jade Owl is an extremely good read.
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Tags

adventure, history, fantasy, china, gay lesbian, the jade owl

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Reviews

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Review by: Daniel H. Wieczorek on Jan. 24, 2012 :
I absolutely loved this book - it was a great adventure of epic proportions.

The author gives the impression that this book has been reviewed by several reviewers over the years - I cannot believe that. The confusion of past and passed as well as several other typos and grammatical errors make me believe this to be untrue. Several reviewers could not possibly have missed such errors. Typos and grammar mistakes as well as downright misuse of words (past and passed) really slow things down for a person who teaches English!
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: David Mason on Nov. 28, 2011 :
A thoroughly engaging and deeply absorbing tale. The characters just grab the reader by the nose - you have to run to keep up. An excellent story and very well told, what more can I say?
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Christine Karol Roberts on Feb. 18, 2011 :
I sincerely enjoyed this book. I don't normally read books set in the Orient but found this book to be engaging, informative and well worth the read. The characters were well developed and interesting. Excellent story and very well written.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Jim Chambers on June 11, 2010 :
Imagine a modern day "Lord of the Rings" and set the story in the lush backdrop of China, and that's my impression of Ed Patterson's gripping novel "The Jade Owl." Five intrepid adventurers are commissioned by a San Francisco museum to travel to China on a mission to trade historical artifacts with the Chinese. What the museum doesn't know is that the team is also carrying the Jade Owl, an ancient mysterious jade carving that is purported to have supernatural powers.

And what a team it is: Rowden "Rowdy" Gray, a college professor; Nick Battle, the son of a legendary Sinologist; Nick's partner and flaming drag queen Simon Geldfarb (aka Simone DeLefleurry); Xiao Ao-ti (Audrey), a young Chinese-American martial arts expert; and Griffen Jones, a one-eyed American Indian artist.

Before long the eclectic group is in China, where they begin their journey to find the hidden tomb of the Empress Wu Tze-t'ien, who was buried many centuries ago. Their mission is to take the Jade Owl to the tomb in order to - yes - save the world. Unfortunately for the group, there are plenty of bad guys around who want the Jade Owl and will stop at nothing to get it. Each member of the tightly-knit group has their chance to thwart the bad guys, and many times, it's Simon/Simone who demonstrates that he's not just there for comic relief.

During the group's journey, the Jade Owl demonstrates its vast powers, even ripping the fabric of space and time. It's up to the group to try to control the owl until they have completed their mission, a task easier said than done. The climactic scene is a real dandy, one of the most jaw-dropping climaxes I've read in a long time.

The author, Ed Patterson, has written a bang-up action-adventure thriller that pulled me in immediately. Although "The Jade Owl" is a standalone book, I know there are several spinoffs from the book, and after reading "The Jade Owl," I'm definitely hooked.

Bottom line: Two thumbs up and five stars.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Dick Stanley on May 10, 2010 :
This is a corker of a quest yarn. The author knows much about Chinese history and unspools it for the lucky reader in a tale of unlikely companions on a fantasy adventure with a supernatural chunk of jade. The damn owl, as one of them repeatedly calls it, connects the travelers with the dead Chinese past, when it isn't trying to destroy the living. From time to time it even hoots.

The humor is chuckle-worthy (my favorite: “He viewed the twenty-hour haul to China like a middle passage—-voluntary bondage in the hull of a modern metallic slaver”) and, despite an occasional typo (the persistent grammatical confusion of past/passed also slows things down), the plot rocks along in can't-wait-to-find-out-what-happens-next fashion.

Patterson's vocabulary can be pretentious at times (people rarely walk, they saunter), even confusing when the words are obscure, but a good dictionary helps. Except for the words he makes up. But their meaning usually is clear. And this is only the beginning of a saga with sequels to come. Fly away on a long-distance hunt with The Jade Owl. You face no danger of grounding.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Jeanne M. Haskin on Dec. 14, 2009 :
Lovely prose and a very compelling style. Highly recommended.

Jeanne M. Haskin
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: L.C. Evans on Dec. 01, 2009 :
Edward C. Patterson's beautiful style of writing brought life to both his characters and his setting. His knowledge of Chinese culture, history, and present day China, showed through in every scene. The characters (go, Simone!) were wonderful and well-drawn and the descriptions put me right in the picture. I feel that after having read The Jade Owl I could travel to China and not be overly surprised by cultural differences because I've already experienced them in this book. The story itself is a thrilling adventure, with touches of the supernatural. Professor Rowden Gray, along with his group of China Hands, has to overcome pursuit by greedy treasure hunters out to stop them from fulfilling their mission. After a series of misadventures, including big trouble from a customs inspector and an overzealous tour guide, the group faces the greatest danger of all when an ancient mission is fulfilled.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: Mary Coe on Nov. 13, 2009 :
The Jade Owl was one of the best novels I've read this year. A very interesting and fasinating story and the imagery is outstanding. The author is very talented and has excellent knowledge of the Chinese culture. A very well written book.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Sierra Rose on Nov. 10, 2009 :
A very engrossing and throughly engaging book. Mr. Patterson's immense knowledge of the Chinese culture really shows in this book. His talent to bring scenes, characters and the whole of the story alive shows.

I enjoyed reading every page and just wish my review could do this stunning literary piece of work more justice.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Sharon E. Cathcart on Oct. 23, 2009 :
I became acquainted with Edward C. Patterson via Operation eBook Drop: he founded the project and I'm a participating author. It seemed a natural progression to likewise acquaint myself with his work.

"The Jade Owl" is a science fiction/fantasy novel that starts out with Sinologist Rowden Gray being denied a job originally offered to him at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum. A passerby in the museum picks up the telegram Gray discards, and then leads Gray on a search for the artifact that obsessed Gray's late mentor (the eponymous owl).

Patterson's research into Chinese culture and traditions is first-rate (his MA in the field bears that out). Throw in a tremendous gift for phrasing that makes his prose read like poetry, the ability to draw fascinating characters (I am no expert on LGBT literature, but I felt like I had met every one of his characters -- gay or straight -- out in the real world), and a fascinating mystery to be solved. Patterson's work is sure to find fans across many genres.
(reviewed long after purchase)

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