Format: Mass Market, 416 pages
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Publisher: Angry Robot
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Contemporary
Street magician Missy Masters inherited more than the usual genetic cocktail from her estranged grandfather. She also got his preternatural control of shadow and his legacy as the vigilante hero, Mr Mystic.
Problem is, being a pulp hero takes more than a good fedora and a knack for witty banter, and Missy lacks the one thing Mr Mystic had: experience. Determined to live up to her birthright, Missy journeys to China to seek the aid of Lung Huang, the ancient master who once guided her grandfather.
Lung Huang isn't quite as ancient as Missy expected,
and a romantic interlude embroils her in the politics of Lung Huang and
his siblings, the nine dragon-guardians of creation. When Lung Di-Lung
Huang's brother and mortal enemy-raises a magical barrier that cuts off
China from the rest of the world, it falls to the new Mr. Mystic to
prove herself by taking down the barrier. As Missy prepares to
confront Lung Di, she faces a tough decision: remain loyal to Lung Huang
and see China destroyed, or side with the bad guy and save the world.
The Dragons of Heaven is the first installment in author Alyc Helms' Missy Masters series. The story combines superheroes, romance, and ancient mythological China, along with a blend of urban fantasy with folkloric myth, the superhero comic, romance, and the complex family dynamics featured in ‘mainstream’ fiction. The chapters are a contrapuntal conversation between Missy’s present and the formative events of her past which lets the reader understand what events have shaped Missy Masters and how because of her very existence, the dragon guardians are warring.
Street magician Missy Masters inherited more than the usual genetic cocktail from her estranged grandfather, Mitchell Masters. She also got his preternatural control of shadow and his legacy as the vigilante hero, Mr Mystic. Problem is, being a pulp hero takes more than a good fedora and a knack for witty banter, and Missy lacks the one thing Mr Mystic had: experience. She's quite familiar with Chinatown and its denizens (human and spiritual), but also has intimate knowledge of the spiritual plain in China.
Determined to live up to her birthright, Missy journeys to China to seek the aid of Lung Huang, the ancient master who once guided her grandfather. Missy is a cultural intruder, a Westerner intimately tied into Chinese civilization; she is a mortal intruding into the affairs of immortal gods, into the strained existence of a dragon family. She becomes embroiled in the politics of Lung Huang and his siblings, the allegedly mythical nine dragon-guardians of all creation. Lung Huang isn't quite as ancient as Missy expected, and ends with some pretty interesting twists and turns. When Lung Di—Lung Huang's brother and mortal enemy—raises a magical barrier that cuts off China from the rest of the world, it falls to the new Mr. Mystic to prove herself by taking down the barrier.
Truth be told, the switches from now and then jarred me. One of the good things about taking notes, is that you can clearly see the story as it is laid out for you. I was kind of floored when the author revealed how much time had been lost by Missy while she was in China. At one point, Argent, this world's SHIELD, forces Mr Mystic to work together with a very Captain America-like hero in order to slip into Shanghai unnoticed. This is a world where superheroes are into their second or third generations, and Argent isn't all that well liked any longer.
Disclaimer: I received this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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