- Hardcover: 416 pages
- Publisher: Century; New edition edition (1 May 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0712670262
- ISBN-13: 978-0712670265
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.2 x 3.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 519,869 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A farmer finds a corpse floating near the mouth of the Yangtze River. This isn't the first time a body has washed up on his little piece of land. He's seen girl babies. He's seen young women. But this body, despite its badly decomposed state, is easily identified as a foreigner by its red hair. David Stark, international attorney, and Liu Hulan, inspector for the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing, are assigned to the murder investigation. However it soon becomes clear that this is more than a simple case of homicide. The victim, an American archaeologist, is just one of several similar casualties at archaeological sites along the Yangtze. What's more, priceless artefacts are disappearing from these same sites, only to reappear outside China on the world's art market. As David and Hulan pick their way through the complex maze of politics they come to realise that what is at stake is the safety of both their homelands. And that their shadowy enemy will stop at nothing to gain its mysterious prize - China's Dragon Bones.
From the Publisher
A compelling thriller set in themysterious heart of China.
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First Sentence
THE SUN STILL HADN'T CRESTED OVER THE ROOFS OF THE STATELY buildings on the eastern edge of Tiananmen Square when Inspector Liu Hulan of the Ministry of Public Security gazed across a sea of people gathered in the huge cement expanse for the first public assembly of the All-Patriotic Society ever to be held in Beijing. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
THE SUN STILL HADN'T CRESTED OVER THE ROOFS OF THE STATELY buildings on the eastern edge of Tiananmen Square when Inspector Liu Hulan of the Ministry of Public Security gazed across a sea of people gathered in the huge cement expanse for the first public assembly of the All-Patriotic Society ever to be held in Beijing. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is third in the series written by Lisa See about David Stark, International Attorney and Liu Hulan, Inspector for the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing. The Flower Net, her first was so good and so unusual I have kept my eye out for the follow ups. Why unusual? Well not many thrillers are set in contemporary China and include a mix of eastern and western culture.
By book three, Stark and Hulan have married. The most captivating part of the plot is the discovery of what they have personally suffered over the last few years; and the question remains over them - can this pair get over it? The thriller part of the plot involves the building of the Three Gorges Dam, the theft and export of priceless artifacts from archaeological sites and the unwanted presence of a cult, the All-Patriotic Society.
See's books are so different because she brings you both the western and eastern eye of understanding of culture and the process of an investigation. Things are done differently in China, not least by Hulan herself.
Unlike with many thrillers and crime novels these days, I was definitely kept guessing until the full facts were disclosed. Her writing did not have quite the pace of The Flower Net, which lost the final star on such a good read. Expect more than one death, some gory moments and real gut wrenching emotion when you read it. And if you haven't read Lisa See before, I suggest you start with The Flower Net, follow it with The Interior and then read Dragon Bones. Stark and Hulan have an incredible life to journey through with See.
Format:Paperback
I first read Lisa See when I bought a copy of Snowflower and the Secret Fan; I considered it to be possibly the best book I had ever read. I was somewhat taken aback by Dragon Bones as it is ompletely different in every respect - time, location, style, pace, content. But, I was just as enthralled by the story-telling. Quite simply, this is one of those books you just don't want to end. It is a modern crime thriller set in the Three Gorges Dam project in China with some scenes in Hong Kong. It can be pretty brutal at times but is never less than fascinating. The central characters are well drawn and believable and the plot keeps you on your toes, never being predictable. In particular, Liu Hulan, the female inspector of The Ministry of Public Security in Beijing is a strong literary creation. This novel would make a good film and I have already cast Faye Wong in the role of the Inspector. Lisa See is a masterful (mistressful?) story teller. The book is very well written in good English - I mention this because Ms See is American/Chinese. I suspect that we may have a talented editor at Random House to thank for the good use of language.
To sum up; this is a compelling, complex, pacy thriller which never disappoints. Buy this book!
To sum up; this is a compelling, complex, pacy thriller which never disappoints. Buy this book!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
25 reviews
58 of 59 people found the following review helpful
Suspense, Substance, and Skill
31 May 2003
Format:Hardcover
It was nearly my bedtime when I picked up Lisa See's DRAGON BONES expecting to read for a half hour or so. But I was caught and I kept reading until after 3 a.m.Same thing the next night until I finished the novel.
I am not usually a fan of thrillers. A decaying body floating miles and miles on the Yangzi River, with minute details as to its progressive decomposition and mutilation, doesn't strike one as an enticing way to lead readers into a book. But in this case, it is. Lisa See artfully uses the body's journey to introduce the complex web of geography, history, myth, religion, as well as national and international politics, art, economics-and terrorism--in which her characters move.
See's sleuths, as in two earlier books, are an intriguing married couple, Inspector Liu Hulan of the Ministry of Public Security, native of Beijing, educated in the United States, and Lawyer David Stark, whom Liu first met while both were in law school in the United States. They are convincing and attractive, although their survival in some of their perilous undertakings is almost beyond belief. We share in their sometimes troubled relationship with each other as well as in their battles against evil forces and people.
Not one murder, but several, it turns out. One might wish that the final and bloodiest murder had been performed off-stage.
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
A dragon's tale.
5 Jun 2003
Format:Hardcover
"Dragon Bones" is the third book in a series featuring Inspector Liu Hulan and her attorney husband David Stark. Five years have passed since the tragedy that punctuated "The Interior." And Hulan and David are still grappling with a personal crisis in their lives.
Hulan has become a fully realized character in this novel. Author See does some things with her that she has not done before. For the first time there is a feistiness about her. She has certainly become more assertive in her role as an inspector. She remains the only female in a world of law enforcement dominated by men.
Hulan's sexuality also comes into play in "Dragon Bones." There is a sassiness about the way she carries herself around a certain male character. She is put in more than one situation where she must walk a fine line between remaining faithful to her husband or cheating on him.
In the end, Hulan is able to exorcise her demons. All of her issues get washed away by the Yangzi River. And like Andy Dufresne, she comes out clean on the other side. Hulan has reinvented herself and in so doing has returned to the character we first met in the opening pages of "Flower Net." The author could not have written a better ending. She has effectively set the stage for the next installment in this series.
Lisa See's storytelling, like her character development, has improved since "Flower Net." The plot is tight and well conceived. We are thrust into the story when the first dead body shows up in the opening sentence of the prologue, unlike her previous novels where we had to wait for several pages.
In conclusion, Lisa See has once again opened up a world that most of us will never experience first hand. She doesn't just take us to contemporary China, she takes us off the beaten path. Like the caverns that are so much a part of this story, the country is an organic entity. It is at times an antagonist, and even when it isn't, it is never neutral. I am fully captivated by it.
We are not just entertained in "Dragon Bones," we are educated as well. And isn't that what a good novel is supposed to do?
Hulan has become a fully realized character in this novel. Author See does some things with her that she has not done before. For the first time there is a feistiness about her. She has certainly become more assertive in her role as an inspector. She remains the only female in a world of law enforcement dominated by men.
Hulan's sexuality also comes into play in "Dragon Bones." There is a sassiness about the way she carries herself around a certain male character. She is put in more than one situation where she must walk a fine line between remaining faithful to her husband or cheating on him.
In the end, Hulan is able to exorcise her demons. All of her issues get washed away by the Yangzi River. And like Andy Dufresne, she comes out clean on the other side. Hulan has reinvented herself and in so doing has returned to the character we first met in the opening pages of "Flower Net." The author could not have written a better ending. She has effectively set the stage for the next installment in this series.
Lisa See's storytelling, like her character development, has improved since "Flower Net." The plot is tight and well conceived. We are thrust into the story when the first dead body shows up in the opening sentence of the prologue, unlike her previous novels where we had to wait for several pages.
In conclusion, Lisa See has once again opened up a world that most of us will never experience first hand. She doesn't just take us to contemporary China, she takes us off the beaten path. Like the caverns that are so much a part of this story, the country is an organic entity. It is at times an antagonist, and even when it isn't, it is never neutral. I am fully captivated by it.
We are not just entertained in "Dragon Bones," we are educated as well. And isn't that what a good novel is supposed to do?
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
The best part of this book was the China setting
4 July 2006
Format:Paperback
This is a thriller/mystery set in China at an archeological dig. The detective Hulan, a Chinese woman married to David, an American lawyer, works for the state police and has been assigned the job of looking into the death of a young American man fished out of the Yangtze River. It is quickly determined who he is and where he must have come from (the archeological site), so she and her husband are sent there, although Hulan resists because she doesn't want to be taken away from her work investigating a religious cult. Hulan is asked to investigate the man's death, and David is asked to look into the possibility that relics from this site are finding their way illegally into art auctions. The place they're excavating is going to be flooded by the construction of a bigger-than-Hoover-Dam dam that will displace vast numbers of people. There is a rather large cast of characters, many of whom are staying at a Chinese guesthouse with Hulan and David. You get the impression that the murderer is either one of the people at the archeological dig or that one of these people knows what happened. A sub plot involve trouble in the marriage of David and Hulan.
I was enjoying this until the end, and then it just seemed too over-the-top. I thought it was much more violent than it needed to be or that made any sense to me. On the other hand, reading about China and the controversial damming of the Yangtze River was quite interesting.
I was enjoying this until the end, and then it just seemed too over-the-top. I thought it was much more violent than it needed to be or that made any sense to me. On the other hand, reading about China and the controversial damming of the Yangtze River was quite interesting.
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