I started reading it and finished it in a day! There are so many things I adore about the book from the characters to the amazing and hilarious facts about Chinese history. It had me grinning all the way! It's a wonderful book and I will be raving about it to everyone I know for a long time.’ Zhao, Xiran Jay (2022). Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1665900706. Chue, James (26 September 2021). "Empress Smashes Alien Mechas in Chinese-Canadian Author's New Book". Radii . Retrieved 24 October 2021. Xiran creates a world unlike anything I’ve ever read before. The combination of gaming, a heist for magical artifacts, the history of China, and its historical figures is brilliant and something unexpected that readers will surely fall in love with. While I did enjoy worldbuilding, it had a similar issue that is also present in Iron Widow. Throughout the story, we get several history bits about China and its various historical figures. While I did enjoy learning about China’s history, much of what I didn’t know before, gave off major info dump vibes. This put a huge damper on the plot, slowing it down tremendously. I struggled to grasp the mechanics of the more magical elements and oftentimes was confused about what is ultimately going on. Charm Person: Wu Zetian. Taking a good look at her eyes makes most people fall desperately in love with her.

Xiran Jay Zhao – Sci-Fi / Fantasy Author

TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Being Chinese has become so painfully political. Pride in Chinese culture is no longer as simple as that, but could accidentally play into the Chinese government’s use of traditional culture as propaganda. Yet on another hand, there’s the necessity of demystifying and defending Chinese culture to combat anti-Chinese racism. Many diaspora like myself are caught in the crosshairs, struggling to find the balance. But what I firmly believe is that traditional Chinese culture and history don't belong to the Chinese government. It belongs to the Chinese people, both native and diaspora. If we distance ourselves from our heritage specifically because of the Chinese government, that’s letting them win, validating their claim to be the one true representative of Chinese culture when that is absolutely not the case. Alec Scott, for The Globe and Mail, compared Zachary Ying to Zhao's first novel Iron Widow (2021) and commented that "the two books speak to Zhao's obsessions – both with anime, the visual storytelling popularized in Japan that's gone global, and with Chinese history and mythology. [...] In both novels, the mythic past gets translated into the future. [...] But these similarities are superficial: The first book is a primal scream brimming with horror at the world its young heroine inherits, while the new novel plots a tween's journey from zero to, if not hero, then someone of substance. [...] For all their differences of mood, the novels rescue what is valuable to Zhao in Chinese history and myth, and project it forward – creating artistic acts of cultural reappropriation". [15] zachary ying is such a wildly exciting, fast-paced, magical adventure - i'm not really a middle grade reader but this gave exactly what it was supposed to give. Zachary Ying is an entertaining fast-paced middle grade novel in which Zach learns about himself, in both the sense of his culture and the type of person he wants to be. Author Xiran Jay Zhao is a master at keeping the stakes high while keeping the story fun.Semantic Superpower: Spirits have powers based on their legends. For examples, Wu Zetian declared herself “the sun and moon in the sky” so she can create a blinding light, Cheng Yaojin was known for showing up out of nowhere so he can teleport, and Tang Taizong had six of his best warhorses immortalized so he can call upon their spirits. Colyard, KW (9 April 2021). "Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow Combines Ancient Chinese Culture And Mecha Science Fiction". Bustle . Retrieved 24 October 2021.

Zachary Ying Series by Xiran Jay Zhao - Goodreads

To be honest, I’m just glad I’ve watched some cdramas, brushed up on a bit of Chinese history and watched all of Xiran’s videos diligently in the past year or so, because otherwise the experience of reading this book wouldn’t be the same. I’m not saying that you won’t enjoy the book if you don’t know the history - you still will because the story is written in such a way that everything that needs to be learnt is told in an organic way and you learn it along with the main character. But if you do know some little history and pop culture tidbits, it just makes you feel more excited and in the know. The magic system is also very interesting because it’s based on myths and legends and how much people believe in them. The writing is fun and quirky and full of banter, and the action starts right from chapter one, so there’s not much here to get bored. We are always on the move with the characters, going on heists and summoning legendary historical or mythical figures and just overall having fun all throughout. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. Ten Terrifying Questions with Xiran Jay Zhao!". Booktopia. 8 October 2021 . Retrieved 24 October 2021.Never My Fault: Qin Shi Huang blames Zachary for accidentally exorcising him, even though he was trying to kill a kid at the time. Growing up, Zachary Ying never really had the opportunity to learn about his Chinese heritage. Especially since Western schools don’t teach anything but Western history and myths. So, when he discovers that he was born to the be the host of the spirit of the First Emperor of China, he’s unprepared. Very unprepared.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Goodreads

Being Chinese has become so painfully political. Pride in Chinese culture is no longer as simple as that, but could accidentally play into the Chinese government’s use of traditional culture as propaganda. Yet on another hand, there’s the necessity of demystifying and defending Chinese culture to combat anti-Chinese racism... traditional Chinese culture and history don't belong to the Chinese government." Situational Sword: Due to the legend of Jing Ke's assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, his sword can only be drawn if others are shouting "Bear your sword, my King!" at him. Cannot stress how excited I was that my store got an arc for this one. This review has no story spoilers. In June 2022, Zhao announced that the publisher would be rerecording the audiobook with a new voice actor as the Mandarin in the book is mispronounced. [7] [8] The original audiobook edition will remain for sale while rerecording occurs; [8] Zhao stated: "I've been assured that buyers of it will get the new version automatically after it comes out". [9] Zhao also commented that, "I have to stress that I do not blame the VA for taking the job [...]. They clearly worked hard on the audiobook and gave a great performance, it's just a shame about the Mandarin". [10] Plot [ edit ]I also need to mention that I appreciate the mention of the genocide of minority people the Chinese government is carrying out. This includes, but is not limited to, Hui and Uighur Muslims. On the surface this is an absolute blast, mixing Chinese mythology with Japanese anime and video games in a children’s adventure for the ages. But there’s so much more beneath the surface, there’s the exploration of Chinese history done in such an easily accessible and fun way that kids will gobble it all up with pleasure. And there are powerful themes represented like bullying, trust, how power corrupts, struggling with your identity and even the power of belief that’s very reminiscent of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. Fake Memories: Thanks to being shaped by belief, the Emperors sometimes faintly remember things that didn't actually happen. Wu Zetian did not kill her own child, but a persistent legend of her doing so means she sometimes remembers it that way. Zhao, Xiran Jay (10 May 2022). Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781665900706 . Retrieved 24 October 2021.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor | Rock The Boat Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor | Rock The Boat

Scott, Alec (2022-06-16). "Xiran Jay Zhao uses the power of #BookTok to find new audiences". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2022-06-26. Jing Ke and Gao Jingli are trying to assassinate Qin Shi Huang for his tyranny. Wu Zetian even (derisively) calls them heroes while talking about how predictably honorable they are, which makes Zachary very uncomfortable. Sequel Hook: The final lines reveal that Ms. Ying's spirit is still in Li Jing's tower, but something else has possessed her and taken her body.

Table of Contents

Scott, Alec (16 June 2022). "Xiran Jay Zhao uses the power of #BookTok to find new audiences". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 26 June 2022. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao, Read by Neo Cihi". Literary Hub. 2022-05-26 . Retrieved 2022-06-26. Brooks, Rachel (1 May 2022). "Children's Book Review: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor (Zachary Ying #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 14 May 2022.