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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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Long did not
reply.
The man turned
away from Long and looked at GuangZe. “That sure is a fine
animal,” he said again. “Would you consider selling him?”
“No.”
“We would be
willing to give you a handsome sum for him, along with one
of our horses so that you would still have transportation.
Where are you headed, Tunhuang?”
Long didn’t
answer.
“Of course you
are. There is no other reason to be out here. Our horses
know the way to Tunhuang blindfolded. They have spent their
entire lives upon the sands. You would be much better off
with one of them.”
“No, thank you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
The man shook his
turbaned head and nodded toward his companion. “I guess we
will have to take it by force, then.” Both men drew their
swords and advanced toward Long.
Long was not
surprised. He glanced toward the stable, hoping to see a
pitchfork or shovel or some other implement to help him fend
off an attack, but the walls were bare.
As the men neared,
Long’s eyes fell upon the stable door. Tall and wide, it
slid along a track hung across the top of the door. A cord
ran through the track, one end tied to the door, the other
tied to a small counterweight. This counterweight made the
door easier to open and close.
It might also help
save Long’s life.
When the men were
three steps from Long, he grabbed the half-filled water
skins slung over GaungZe’s rump and hurled the containers at
his attackers. The men turned to protect their faces, and
the water skins collided harmlessly with their backs and
shoulders. By the time they had straightened and poised once
more for attack, however, Long had reached the door.
He leaped up and
grabbed hold of the cord near the center of its length. As
he came back down, the counterweight went up, stopping
abruptly when it reached the first pulley.
The cord snapped
in Long’s hand, just as he had hoped. He released his drip
and let the counterweight fall to the ground, the broken
cord snaking out of the pulleys and landing in a pile on top
of the counterweight.
Long grabbed the
broken end of the cord as his two attackers sprang into
action. Coiling the cord in his left hand, he took the
counterweight in his right and cocked his right arm back.
When the first attacker was within range, Long hurled the
counterweight at the man’s head, letting the cord out while
maintaining a tight grip on its end.
It was a direct
hit. The man dropped to his knees and the cord went slack.
However, the man was only dazed. His turban had absorbed
more of the impact than Long would have liked.
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Synopsis |
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In the Shanghai
Fight Club, Xie rescues thirteen year old Long, who has been
injured. After passing out, Long awakens on Charles' boat,
which is also carrying Malao, Hok, and Fu. They explain that
Seh is staying with a group of bandits led by Mong, Seh's
father. They also inform Long that AnGangseh is Long's
mother, as she was Tonglong's mother, but they had different
fathers. Long also learns that AnGangseh blinded Seh, and
that Hok thinks that she can cure him with the dragon bones
she has been collecting. Then they tell Long that Ying is
now considered an ally and that he knows that Grandmaster,
the man he killed back in their temple, was also his
grandfather. Long informs his friends that he and Ying are
cousins, but he doesn't believe that Ying knows about this.
After leaving
the Shanghai Fight Club, ShaoShu returns to Tonglong.
Tonglong informs ShaoShu that they are headed to the
Forbidden City. ShaoShu learns that Tonglong has captured
the Emperor of China and that he is transporting him in a
box, keeping it a secret as to who he has prisoner. ShaoShu
sneaks the Emperor some food and lets him know that he is
his friend and will help him when he can. Tonglong forces
the Emperor to sign and seal orders to conscript people into
the army he is building. The Emperor does not want to, but
has little choice in the matter. When the Tonglong uses the
clay seal, he accidentally destroys it, which makes him
quite angry. The Emperor says that the only seal that they
can use is the royal set in the Forbidden City. Before they
head out, ShaoShu finds the two dragon scrolls that Tonglong
has hidden away and slips both of them into the folds of his
robe so he can give them to Ying.
Seh has been
tasked with training new recruits for this father's troop.
Being blind and young, the older men never ever take him
seriously until he teaches one of them a lesson. Mong
appears and informs his son that he has just learned that
Tonglong is raising an army and that Seh is going to have to
train more men . . . quite a few more men.
A week passes
and Long is healing well, but still has a long way to go.
Charles' sloop travels up the Yellow River toward the home
of PawPaw, a healer that Hok knows. Long is to stay with
PawPaw and heal properly while Charles takes Xie, Hok, Malao,
and Fu to Kaifeng on his boat to seek out Seh and the
bandits. Xie will then continue on towards his home city of
Tunhuang. Charles will then head back out to the southern
sea to search for the pirates and obtain firearms from them
for the fight that they know is coming. Xie gives Long his
ring and tells him that after he has healed to seek out a
man called Cang, He is a famous horseman and he will take
care of everything for Long.
Tonglong
continues his journey toward the Forbidden City with the
Emperor held prisoner in the box. His plan is to kill the
Emperor and them become the new emperor. Long and his
brothers know that they must stop this madman before he
becomes the most powerful man in China. The only question is
whether they can gather everybody together in time to beat
Tonglong to the Forbidden City and put and end to his evil
plans once and for all.
Dragon is the
seventh book of
seven in The Five Ancestors series written by Jeff
Stone. It is a young adult fictional story that takes
place China over 350 years ago. The story revolves around five
young monks all between the ages of 11 and 13 and their
special fighting techniques. The main characters in this
series are: Fu - Tiger, Malao - Monkey, Seh - Snake, Hok -
Crane, and Long - Dragon.
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Review |
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I have waiting
a long to to finally get to this book. I started the series
six years ago when the first book, Tiger, came out.
Dragon was everything I hoped it would be, and more,
but I am sad to see this series come to its conclusion. I
know that Jeff Stone could do a lot more with these
characters and I do hope that he writes more books that take
place way, way back in China's history.
With the
publishing of this book, the series that was originally
intended to be five books, but grew into seven with the
addition of Eagle and
Mouse, is finally over.
When it all began with the the destruction of the
Cangzhen Temple
and the killing of all but five of its inhabitants, I had
not idea where the storyline would end up. The author always
kept me guessing, and I never got it right. From the first
chapter where Fu, Malao, Seh, Hok and Long are hiding in the
clay vase, which made me laugh because of Malao's stinky
feet in Fu's face, I fell in love with these characters.
Jeff Stone
has created a classic series that steps outside the box. Not
only does the story take place in China, but it takes place
over 350 years ago and deals with young monks who are
masters of their techniques. There is no other series out
there like this one. All of the books are packed with action
and intrigue as
Fu, Malao, Seh,
Hok and Long try to figure out why Ying attacked the temple
and killed Grandmaster. Then the story takes a turn as Ying
ends up teaming with the five of them to fight an even
bigger threat. Tonglong, who I liked at first, has his own
plans to become the most powerful leader in China and will
stop at nothing to achieve his goal. I sure didn't see that
coming!
Young
Readers, especially boys, will love this book and the Five
Ancestors series. There are enough twists and turns to keep
the reader guessing as they read every page. The action is
fast and furious and the characters wonderfully developed.
Readers will instantly bond with
Fu, Malao, Seh,
Hok and Long and will become highly involved in their lives.
After all, what young boy doesn't wish that he could master
the art of kung fu? When I was a young teenager, I watched
every Bruce Lee movie and wished I could move like him. He
was a master, just like the Five Ancestors. These books
reminded me of the feelings I had way back then when I
watched the kung fu movies on television. I just wish that
there would have been a series of books like the Five
Ancestors for me to read when I was young.
Overall,
Dragon is a fitting conclusion to an excellent series
that should not be missed by any reader that loves a great
and unique story. I am sorry that this series is over and I
will cross my fingers and hope that Jeff Stone writes more
books about kung fu masters in ancient China.
I rated this book a 9 out of
10.
I rated the Five Ancestors
series a 9 out of 10. |
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