The Demon And The City: A Detective Inspector Chen Novel ... (ISBN 1597800457)

I liked it better than the first -- the Chinese mythic backstory is just totally cool.:
This is the second Detective Inspector Chen book, but really it's Demon Policeman Zhu Irzh's book, and I liked it more than the first, SNAKE AGENT. I'm not going to bother with a plot-summary here -- it wouldn't make sense, and wouldn't help me convince you what a cool book this is. Hmm, how to do that? First, Liz Williams is a helluva storyteller. The pages turn, the characters take life, the plot twists... This is a very entertaining book. Well-written, explicitly adult, sometimes startlingly sexy, it unfolds like a lucid dream.... Second, the Chinese mythic backstory is just totally cool. I have no idea how close she hews to the real thing. Here's the author: "It's all based on actual Chinese mythology, however, which suggests the numerous levels, and which is also very bureaucratic. One reviewer hated the bureaucratic nature of hell and wondered why I'd been so unimaginative - but it is as faithful a reflection of Chinese myth as I can make it... I've always been interested in Chinese mythology but what really started \othis series\c off was a visit to Hong Kong in the early 90s. A friend of mine is a reporter for the South China Morning Post and at the time, she was writing two books about the colony, one on murder and the other on sex, and she was briefly going out with a cop on the HK vice squad. So there was plenty of material to draw on!" -- Author interview, see comments for link. If you haven't tried this series, or Liz Williams, this would be a fine place to start. Happy reading-- Peter D. Tillman

Very entertaining, but not as good as the first book in the series:
I really love Williams' setting - the futuristic city combined with the way that various Asian mythologies permeate every nook and cranny. The blending of the two is very skillfully done. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, and was mostly happy reading this next one, but I can't say that it holds up as well - I felt that it had a few dead spots, and the ending felt a little rushed. But it doesn't stop me from being excited about reading the next one in the series, so whatever weaknesses the book may have, they're not at all fatal.

It was worth it:
After reading the first book in the series and meeting Zhu there, I was ready to read this book. Zhu's character was absolutely different than Detective Chen. He can get himself into big trouble. So when Detective Chen cuts his vacation short, I was relieved. Zhu didn't have the moral fiber or ability to handle the problems of an enraged heavenly host. Other than Zhu's weakness as a vice stirrer, I really enjoyed the book. I enjoyed the different supernatural qualities and ideas that are Occidental. I lived in Japan for two years. It was a shock to realize that our worlds are extremely different. When I immersed myself in the culture, I did have a great time. So although this is set in China instead of Japan, I related to what I learned in my short time in an Asian country. Good job. I want to see the sequel.

Good read:
Roller coaster ride of action and supernatural interest. Inspector Chen's return to sort things out complicates matters, however, as the pair tracks other suspects, including an enigmatic demon the corporation has been harboring for experimental purposes and a celestial goddess whose unlikely alliance with hell threatens to rain chaos down on the earthbound.

Best of a weird breed:
Liz Williams' take on near future sci fi and the occult/supernatural is at the top of its relatively narrow genre. Her writing is crisp and elegant, the characters, believe it or not, are so convincingly drawn, with dialogue that coveys both the scene and individual idiosyncrasies, that the reader can become totally immersed in the "reality" of her plots. The only problem is that the plots become a bit predictable (a problem with the larger crime novel genre as well). Nevertheless, a fine read and worth the money spent on her books (4 so far).