White Moon, Red Dragon (Chung Kuo, Bk. 6.)

by David Wingrove

Book Overview

Chung Kuo VI: White Moon, Red Dragonsees the reign of the Seven T'ang in a time of great, bloody upheaval. The rebel leader DeVore, thought dead by his enemies, has returned and is readying a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440507316
• ISBN13: 9780440507314
• Release Date: June 1996
• Publisher: Dell
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 1.5" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A must have

Take the chance and embark on a long journey with David Wingrove. You will not be let down. Problem is, you will see nothing of your friends or family for the next three months.But, that is what you are looking for in a book, isn't it?

Picture living in a humongous crawlspace...

...underneath a city almost the size of a continent, and you've got "the Clay". We learned in earlier volumes that this was scientist Kim Ward's homeland. But now, in this volume, we get a closer look at the place--much of this book is set there. This is an "underworld" with none of the romance of the Sewers Of Paris as depicted in "Les Miserables". Two hundred years of the Seven's rule have created an underclass of people in both a social and a geographic sense, and it's beginning to boil up into a conflagration we couldn't begin to imagine in present-day ghettos and barrios. Meanwhile, the rule of the Seven has been on the skids since the previous volume--the only T'ang who's still a viable ruler may be the most decent of the original Seven, but that fact doesn't help a bit. Arch revolutionary Howard Devore--a Stalinesque type who as a cure for tyranny is worse than the desease--has come back from his exile on Mars. In the words of James Baldwin, it's "the fire next time", and next time is right now.

Wingrove's cycle builds to an impending climax.

Wingrove's Chung Kuo cycle has been compelling for a number of reasons, not the least of which is its believability. Despite his daring intent to combine politics, science, sexuality and history into one dangerous mix, his tale has never sunk into the category of easily-dismissable science fiction. He has done this by refusing to follow the lead of popular SF trends; he has, for the most part, eschewed the technical-laden side of SF storytelling, preferring to anchor his tale to the human element. "White Moon, Red Dragon" departs somewhat from that formula, however, in its greater reliance on technology to progress plot and to solve problems, almost deus ex machina. But the masterpiece of the previous five books encourages me to expect a sublime and profound climax in Book 7, followed by an audible denouement that will bring Wingrove's vast vision to fruition. This book is but a preliminary step to that greatness. Though paler than its predecessors, it nonetheless reflects their glory and brilliance.

EXCELLENT!!!

Filled with fast pace intrigue ,that kept you glued to each page ,book 6 countiued with the all the emotions that were so wounderfully expressed in all the prievous novels ,love,war,loylty,honer which ultimately led up to the disaterous confrontation between what was left of a fairly stable socity ,against total barbaric anarcy .I thought this finale war should have ended the seris ,but it seems mr windgrove has other plans .The big but is that he seemed to have run out of ideas the ending was to sudden after getting to the point of the grand climax then it all spirled down ward I was totaly disappointed ,however trusting in mr windgrove`s never ceasing to amaze me imagination the next installment ,should (I hope)make up for the disappointing ending in a otherwise excellent scifi novel.

The Apocalypse Arrives

David Wingrove's Chung Kuo series, always rich in detail andbrimming with fascinating concepts, becomes even more thrilling andfast-paced in this sixth installment. While some of the changes in character may seem abrupt it seems clear that Wingrove has been planning these changes carefully from the outset. The pace is fast and furious, the action colorful, and just when you think Wingrove is going to fall back on a conventional plot twist, he surprises you. Unlike other SF series, Chung Kuo is a single, multi-part novel. It is recommended that you begin wiht the first volume and read the following books in order, so that you may fully appreciate the intricate tapesty that is Chung Kuo.