Status
Available
Call number
Call number
F Hug
Collection
Publication
New York : Doubleday, c1988.
Description
Master Li and Number 10 Ox investigate the murder of a monk and the theft of a manuscript in China.
Subjects
Original publication date
1988-07
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User reviews
LibraryThing member WinterFox
I admit, I was very worried about this book. Bridge of Birds, the first book by this author was so good, it was hard to imagine him really being able to come up with something that really measured up. That book was so tight and novel, it just was hard to believe.
But the Story of the Stone got about
I don't want to overpraise it; it's not as transcendant an experience as the first book, but it's still damn fun. I guess he took his four years after the first one and really plotted it out.
But the Story of the Stone got about
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as close as one could expect to Bridge of Birds, after you accept that he's using the same characters. So you don't really get the most minor of details about the characters turning out to be crucial, but it does work that way for some of the new characters, and that can be enough. And the story is just as mad and whirling and ultimately tight and well-played as the first one. I won't go into a list of my favorite moments, since I know other people who want to read this book are on here, but man.I don't want to overpraise it; it's not as transcendant an experience as the first book, but it's still damn fun. I guess he took his four years after the first one and really plotted it out.
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LibraryThing member Shimmin
I really enjoyed the previous book, Bridge of Birds, and was looking forward to this for a while. I was a bit disappointed. The book is filled with scenes and events that were a lot of fun, and the characters continue to be entertaining company, particularly when they're up to some scheme. Somehow,
Hughart seems to be at his best when coming up with mischief and narrow escapes for Master Li and Ox, and I can't help feeling that this particular novel might have been more effective turned into a set of short stories and escapades, without the burden of the Stone plot.
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though, it just wasn't as good as Bridge of Birds. The overall story felt more confused than was really necessary, and while each part of the short-term antics was good, I felt like the overarching plot was unsatisfying - and the supernatural-heavy conclusion felt particularly flat to me. In addition, the plot seemed to rely very heavily on specific cultural and mythological ideas that had to be explained in a hurry as things went along, which I think reinforced my feeling that it didn't really bite.Hughart seems to be at his best when coming up with mischief and narrow escapes for Master Li and Ox, and I can't help feeling that this particular novel might have been more effective turned into a set of short stories and escapades, without the burden of the Stone plot.
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LibraryThing member nchan217
Interesting, with rollicking dialogue and fun characters (including a rather cheeky Moon Boy and his obsession with peaches). This trip included the rather obligatory trip to hell and back, but in a most entertaining manner. I don't know whether, as a mystery, it's a story I would re-read multiple
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times, but the dialogue makes it a comic work that I'm likely to return to. The final outcome was not something I'd anticipated, which is always good when there's a mystery involved. Show Less
LibraryThing member Clurb
Comic and lively, this book reads very well and stands on its own even though the characters appear in at least one more novel before this one.
LibraryThing member drneutron
A wonderful combination of mystery and fantasy set in an ancient China that never was. Master Li and Number Ten Ox are back, again solving a mystery that drags them deep into Chinese folk tales, and even a trip to the underworld. Just as lyrical and comic as Bridge of Birds.
LibraryThing member jnicholson
An engaging mystery, this second novel has Master Li and Number 10 Ox attempting to lay the ghosts of the Valley of Sorrows. Touches on more mythology of ancient China, including the premise that all beauty and magic ultimately belong to the gods, and one hoards it at one's peril. Of the three of
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Hughart's ancient China novels, I think this is the most beautiful and balanced. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
A light and enjoyable story with an orienta/chinese theme. Sort of a Sherlock Holmes meets Confucious, set in a fantasy China. I enjoyed this, but don't consider it quite the masterpiece some people do.
LibraryThing member iayork
As fun as his other novels: (...)Once again Hughart takes us on a fun and cleverly written journey through Chinese culture and legends. He really goes overboard this time, leading the reader through all the levels of hell and back again. I didn't find this story quite as endearing as the first, but
With the exception of Number Ten Ox, there is not one character in this book that is not eccentric and out-of-this-world odd. I think that is what makes the book so charming. You know that each person you meet is going to have more than just a minor character flaw, and will certainly be endowed with bigger than life blemishes and imperfections.
As with his first novel, this one is often written in such a fast-paced manner that I found myself re-reading sections to figure out what had taken place. I wouldn't say that's a major fault, though, and perhaps it's just my slow brain trying to keep up.
The book follows a classic mystery format, where clues throughout the tale are all explained at the end. But it's not Holmes pacing the floor of his den in the last chapter, explaining it all to Watson; it's done in a way that all makes sense, with the explanations fitting very well into the storyline.
I should make mention of something that I think is a major flaw in this book. The character Moon Boy is as peculiar as the rest, and with one exception, I thought of him as a quaint, likable and humorous addition to the group. That exception is his pedophilia. To have a pedophile as a minor character in a novel is not a problem, and you may call me old fashioned, but to have that person be a major character, and to treat his actions as humorous and almost acceptable, in my opinion is inappropriate. I don't think pedophilia is something to be laughed at and treated so lightly. However, Hughart displayed this character with the accompanying flaws of bestiality and other unrestrained passions, so to include all these traits in one character is probably not too far off the mark. With that said, I definitely wouldn't recommend this book for young readers.
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still very intelligently written and thoroughly researched.With the exception of Number Ten Ox, there is not one character in this book that is not eccentric and out-of-this-world odd. I think that is what makes the book so charming. You know that each person you meet is going to have more than just a minor character flaw, and will certainly be endowed with bigger than life blemishes and imperfections.
As with his first novel, this one is often written in such a fast-paced manner that I found myself re-reading sections to figure out what had taken place. I wouldn't say that's a major fault, though, and perhaps it's just my slow brain trying to keep up.
The book follows a classic mystery format, where clues throughout the tale are all explained at the end. But it's not Holmes pacing the floor of his den in the last chapter, explaining it all to Watson; it's done in a way that all makes sense, with the explanations fitting very well into the storyline.
I should make mention of something that I think is a major flaw in this book. The character Moon Boy is as peculiar as the rest, and with one exception, I thought of him as a quaint, likable and humorous addition to the group. That exception is his pedophilia. To have a pedophile as a minor character in a novel is not a problem, and you may call me old fashioned, but to have that person be a major character, and to treat his actions as humorous and almost acceptable, in my opinion is inappropriate. I don't think pedophilia is something to be laughed at and treated so lightly. However, Hughart displayed this character with the accompanying flaws of bestiality and other unrestrained passions, so to include all these traits in one character is probably not too far off the mark. With that said, I definitely wouldn't recommend this book for young readers.
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LibraryThing member isabelx
'But how can I tell The Story of the Stone?' I wailed. 'In the first place I don't understand where it begins and in the second place I'm not sure it has an ending and in the third place even if I understood the ending it wouldn't do me any good because I don't understand the beginning in the first
He gazed at me in silence. Then he said, 'My boy, stay away from sentences like that. They tend to produce pimples and permanent facial tics.'
'Yes, sir,' I said.
'Begin at the beginning as you understood it, proceed through the middle, continue to the end, and then stop,' said Master Li, and he sauntered out to get drunk, leaving me to my current misery.
Li Kao and his assistant Number Ten Ox are hired by an abbot to investigate the death of one of his monks and the apparent resurrection of a long dead evil prince. At first Li Kao suspects that the strange happening are just cover for a robbery and the search for the dead prince's hidden treasure, but the case turns out to be much more complicated than that, encompassing theft, forgery, murder, a treasure hunt, plant die-off, and mysterious sounds that not everyone can hear, amongst other things. As in the previous book, they spend a lot of time exploring labyrinthine tunnels, and Number Ten Ox does seem to have a knack for falling in love with unattainable women.
As I read, I was wondering if there was any link to the famous Chinese book of the same name, so I wasn't surprised when it was mentioned (totally anachronistically of course, but as this is a fantasy novel, that hardly matters). But whereas I do agree with Number Ten Ox that "Bao-Yu is an effeminate ass who should have either been spanked or decapitated, both ends being equally objectionable" I did like many of the other characters in it and have read all five volumes of the Penguin Classics version. Coming back to this book, I found Moon Boy (a sound artist recruited by Li Kao to join the investigation) just about as irritating as Number Ten Ox found Bao-Yu, and overall, I would say that the mystery wasn't quite as engrossing as that in "Bridge of Birds". I didn't guess beforehand what was going to happen at the end, but when it happened it didn't actually come as much of a surprise.
It's still a good book, and I didn't find the story as confusing as Number Ten Ox obviously did. It's just not quite as good as "Bridge of Birds".
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place.'He gazed at me in silence. Then he said, 'My boy, stay away from sentences like that. They tend to produce pimples and permanent facial tics.'
'Yes, sir,' I said.
'Begin at the beginning as you understood it, proceed through the middle, continue to the end, and then stop,' said Master Li, and he sauntered out to get drunk, leaving me to my current misery.
Li Kao and his assistant Number Ten Ox are hired by an abbot to investigate the death of one of his monks and the apparent resurrection of a long dead evil prince. At first Li Kao suspects that the strange happening are just cover for a robbery and the search for the dead prince's hidden treasure, but the case turns out to be much more complicated than that, encompassing theft, forgery, murder, a treasure hunt, plant die-off, and mysterious sounds that not everyone can hear, amongst other things. As in the previous book, they spend a lot of time exploring labyrinthine tunnels, and Number Ten Ox does seem to have a knack for falling in love with unattainable women.
As I read, I was wondering if there was any link to the famous Chinese book of the same name, so I wasn't surprised when it was mentioned (totally anachronistically of course, but as this is a fantasy novel, that hardly matters). But whereas I do agree with Number Ten Ox that "Bao-Yu is an effeminate ass who should have either been spanked or decapitated, both ends being equally objectionable" I did like many of the other characters in it and have read all five volumes of the Penguin Classics version. Coming back to this book, I found Moon Boy (a sound artist recruited by Li Kao to join the investigation) just about as irritating as Number Ten Ox found Bao-Yu, and overall, I would say that the mystery wasn't quite as engrossing as that in "Bridge of Birds". I didn't guess beforehand what was going to happen at the end, but when it happened it didn't actually come as much of a surprise.
It's still a good book, and I didn't find the story as confusing as Number Ten Ox obviously did. It's just not quite as good as "Bridge of Birds".
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LibraryThing member stuart10er
Great book. Not as good as Bridge of Birds... Master Li and Ox have to go to hell and back to solve a 750 year old mystery.
LibraryThing member ladypembroke
If you are looking to get away from the ubiquitous European style of fantasy story, I highly recommend Hughart's books. This series is set in a rather fantastical ancient China, full of crazy characters, alcohol, demons, gods, and amazing stories. This second book is similar to the first, with a
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complicated mystery and a lot of running around. I love how imaginative the scenarios are, bordering on absurd but hilarious. And touching. Enjoy! Show Less
LibraryThing member Phrim
In Story of the Stone, Number Ten Ox is now Master Li's apprentice as they delve into the mystery of the Laughing Prince. This time, their client is a prince who descended from the aforementioned Laughing Prince, who wants to distance himself from the horrors committed by his ancestor, but faces a
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supernatural cult dedicated to him that is terrorizing the peasantry. This story continues the ridiculous overtones of the previous book, this time featuring a Dante-esque tour through the many levels of hell with Master Li impersonating an officious mandarin with authority even over demons. While this was a good follow-up to The Bridge of Birds, on the whole I found it a little less entertaining, and I'm still not sure what to think of the Scooby-Doo ending. Show Less
LibraryThing member Griffin22
I love this series. The second book perhaps doesn't quite live up to the magnificence of the first one, but what could? Still excellent. Number Ten Ox and Master Li are entangled in another quest in ancient China. I won't attempt to describe the plot as even Master Li takes a while to work out what
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is going on. But it is funny and moving and exciting, a great fantasy story. Show Less
Pages
236