I will not publish my review elsewhere since my recommendation is that no one read or purchase this novel. The writing style lacks any elegance or variety. The characters are flat and one-dimensional. Many readers like me read historical fiction set in other countries, particularly Asian countries, as a way of gaining knowledge and perspective about other cultures and history. This novel, however, is written by an American academic using a pseudonym that appears to be Chinese and -- while he no doubt has researched the period and geography pertinent to this novel, his learnings didn't translate into an interesting or insightful novel, and it lacked any cultural underpinnings. The best description I can offer is that it read like a fourth grader's "how I spent my summer vacation" essay, where the essayist is making up his travels and experiences out of whole cloth. I abandoned this novel at the 25% mark