The Story of the Stone is not a bad book. On the contrary, on its own merits it's a fine work of "literary" fantasy fiction and an interesting trip into the world of Tang China. Unfortunately, it is also not in the same ballpark as its predecessor, and so suffers by comparison.
First, what the book does right: characterization. Every major character could either stand up with those from Bridge of Birds or is even better. Grief of Dawn and Moon Boy are two of the best side characters in the entire series, each one incredibly well-developed, capable, and human. The lead duo, while slipping a bit into character exaggeration, particularly Ox's humble wisdom mixed with ignorance, remain incredibly entertaining. And the lead villain is fascinatingly unconventional and well-hidden, while the undead chiang shih is creepy as hell, and dispels much of the high-camp that has grown up around the monster over time.
Unfortunately... well, remember how Bridge of Birds was a beautiful ticking timepiece of structure, set in an odyssey through a Fantasy China that seemed ripe for adventure everywhere? The Story of the Stone is, in many ways, the exact opposite. It's flabbier than Bridge, lacking much of the set-up with a punchline chapters later that made reading it such a delight. The smaller scope of the plot, while not a bad thing in and of itself, means that we see so much less of China, with the story moving between a few major locations rather than across vast expanses interesting new territory. Many side characters are superfluous in a way the last book's never were.
And while there's always just enough humor to prevent reading it from becoming unpleasant, Fantasy China is much drearier here. Master Li opens the novel with a bunch of angry complaints about how the Neo-Confucians are ruining the country, and while this is important set-up, it's also why this book has problems. If the last novel was set in an ancient China at its height, this one shows a China in decline. The rot at the heart of the country must be constantly referenced, and doing so sucks much of the joy out of the story.
Finally, the plot. It's weak. Not terrible, but weak. The lower stakes and lack of initial personal investment in its resolution for the four major characters hamstring it, and while the finale is very strong, and the mysteries quite clever, it takes far too long to get to those good parts.
Again, I cannot stress enough that The Story of the Stone is not a bad book. I still regard Li's final speech as an incredible piece of literature, and the characterization is, if anything, even stronger than the last novel's. But... the last book was one big bright spot that built and built, and this book is a bunch of bright spots hazily connected by grey. Dampen expectations, is all I'm saying.
Stones aren't as interesting as birds; or, the complex reasons why the sequel doesn't live up to the original.
The Story of the Stone is not a bad book. On the contrary, on its own merits it's a fine work of "literary" fantasy fiction and an interesting trip into the world of Tang China. Unfortunately, it is also not in the same ballpark as its predecessor, and so suffers by comparison.
First, what the book does right: characterization. Every major character could either stand up with those from Bridge of Birds or is even better. Grief of Dawn and Moon Boy are two of the best side characters in the entire series, each one incredibly well-developed, capable, and human. The lead duo, while slipping a bit into character exaggeration, particularly Ox's humble wisdom mixed with ignorance, remain incredibly entertaining. And the lead villain is fascinatingly unconventional and well-hidden, while the undead chiang shih is creepy as hell, and dispels much of the high-camp that has grown up around the monster over time.
Unfortunately... well, remember how Bridge of Birds was a beautiful ticking timepiece of structure, set in an odyssey through a Fantasy China that seemed ripe for adventure everywhere? The Story of the Stone is, in many ways, the exact opposite. It's flabbier than Bridge, lacking much of the set-up with a punchline chapters later that made reading it such a delight. The smaller scope of the plot, while not a bad thing in and of itself, means that we see so much less of China, with the story moving between a few major locations rather than across vast expanses interesting new territory. Many side characters are superfluous in a way the last book's never were.
And while there's always just enough humor to prevent reading it from becoming unpleasant, Fantasy China is much drearier here. Master Li opens the novel with a bunch of angry complaints about how the Neo-Confucians are ruining the country, and while this is important set-up, it's also why this book has problems. If the last novel was set in an ancient China at its height, this one shows a China in decline. The rot at the heart of the country must be constantly referenced, and doing so sucks much of the joy out of the story.
Finally, the plot. It's weak. Not terrible, but weak. The lower stakes and lack of initial personal investment in its resolution for the four major characters hamstring it, and while the finale is very strong, and the mysteries quite clever, it takes far too long to get to those good parts.
Again, I cannot stress enough that The Story of the Stone is not a bad book. I still regard Li's final speech as an incredible piece of literature, and the characterization is, if anything, even stronger than the last novel's. But... the last book was one big bright spot that built and built, and this book is a bunch of bright spots hazily connected by grey. Dampen expectations, is all I'm saying.