Читать книгу The Dragon and the Pearl - Jeannie Lin - Страница 8

In BUTTERFLY SWORDS my hero and heroine spent the first part of the story wondering about the warlord Li Tao—a man they would eventually have to confront. In truth, I spent half of that book wondering about him myself. What kind of villain would he be? Would he be self-serving and power-hungry?

By the time Li Tao finally did stride onto the page he emerged as someone completely unexpected. I knew before BUTTERFLY SWORDS was finished that I would have to write another story featuring this cold-hearted and calculating warrior, if only to answer for myself how a man who has set himself up against an empire, and has done so without apology, could ever find redemption. More importantly, what woman would be his match in love and war?

The later eighth century was a time of political upheaval in China. Military governors called jiedushi grew in power enough to challenge the imperial throne. THE DRAGON AND THE PEARL allowed me to imagine and explore the underworld of spies and assassins as well as the art of war in the fall of the Golden Age. The characters are not based on any specific persons from history—rather they’re drawn from the spirit of the many colourful and larger-than-life figures of the Tang Dynasty. I hope you enjoy the journey and find the setting and characters as addictive as I have.