Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold (through about page 30)

[meganbmoore]

A couple years ago, I read an enjoyed Jane Lindskold’s Wolf books. I mean, sure, the plot consistently made less and less sense, but the characters were fun. Late last year, I picked up her Thirteen Orphans, a modern fantasy based on the Chinese Zodiac, but only just got around to trying it. I made it about 30 pages in.

Here’s a few examples of why

Comments

[ivy_chan]

I did enjoy the books despite that racefail, but I have no clue why Pearl didn't look more Chinese. Her dad didn't seem to be one of the orphans who changed his appearance to look more 'white' (yeah, the reason why a lot of the orphans are not Chinese is explained by interbreeding and magical...appearance...changing,) and her mother was Chinese, so Pearl should look freakin' Chinese. I guess I can assume that Brenda's a moron and doesn't think she looks Chinese because she doesn't fit the stereotype, but that might be asking too much.

[meganbmoore]

Wow. I'm even happier now that I decided to find something that didn't make me go "did you seriously just say that?" about 10 times in 30 pages.

[ivy_chan]

Yep. Let's see. So far, Gaheris (Rat) looks white, Brenda looks...biracial, Pearl (Tiger) is supposed to be fully Chinese, the Rooster looks fully Chinese, the Dog is black, the Rabbit is blonde and rosy-skinned, and the Dragon is Chinese. (His name is Shen, so I'm guessing here.) I haven't seen the others yet, so I have no idea how they look. I just remember blinking multiple times when I heard that some of the original orphans changed their appearance to 'blend in' more to the country they were in. It doesn't make sense on multiple levels, partly because their ancestors aren't too far removed from them. Just three generations, since Pearl is the daughter of the original Tiger.

[ivy_chan]

Oh right, and Albert Yu the Emperor is also Chinese-looking. Or so I say because his appearance is described as looking like he is from: 'the mystic Orient, not any place in Europe.'

[maxineofarc]

"THE MYSTIC ORIENT?"

....Please tell me this book was written in 1911.

[ivy_chan]

'Fraid not. Looks to be November 2008.