The Glint of the Luopan by Sally Feng - Urban Fantasy - A Daoist journey through New York and Beijing. A secret society. A young woman on a mission to find her dad.
by Sally Feng
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Cinnamon Books
Date of Publication: 11.11.2022
ISBN: 978-3000739385
ASIN: B0BKY2KQ15
Number of pages: 292
Word Count: 65.000
Cover Artist: MiblArt
A Daoist journey through New York and Beijing. A secret society. A young woman on a mission to find her dad.
Lai Fang, a Chinese native living in New York, is working to recover her lost memory and find her father. Along the way, she finds herself in the arms of the mysterious Suresh who supports her search in unconventional ways.
Guided by a Luopan, scattered remnants of recollections, technology, and a little magic, Lai Fang desperately clings to what she hopes will be the path to her truth. However, what if the truth lies far beyond the scope of human comprehension? What is the truth to begin with?
The Glint of the Luopan weaves a mesmerizing web of a world that begins as a dream and unfolds in a journey for family, hope, and love.
Book Trailer:
Interview with Sally Feng
Welcome to JB’s Bookworms with Brandy MulderPlease tell us about your newest book.
My latest novel is called The Glint of the Luopan. It tells the story of Lai Fang, a Chinese immigrant living in New York who has lost her memory and is now looking for her father. Along the way, she rediscovers her native language and stumbles upon a secret society in China that claims to have found an effective solution for overpopulation.
Are themes a big part of your stories, or not so much?
There are recurring themes in my stories. My protagonists are mostly outsiders, loners, and people who don't quite fit into society, but who thus experience interesting facets of life.
Another theme seems to be consciousness and memories. Much of what happens in my novels happens internally. For example, how Lai Fang recovers her memories in "The Glint of the Luopan". I also enjoy writing about psychedelic substances and how they can shape our consciousness.
And Chinese culture also plays an important role. I have always been fascinated by Daoism and related concepts, such as inner alchemy, the Yi Ging, and Feng Shui. It all makes for good Fantasy story material.
What are you working on now?
I’ve finished a Young Adult novel about a girl who has autism. I’m planning on publishing it next year. I'm also writing a story about a girl who can make books disappear. And about the effects this might have on the world and our consciousness…
Most writers were readers as children. What was your favorite book in grade school?
I was a big reader as a kid. I used to borrow books from the local library all the time. Back then I also read a lot of fantasy, e.g. Merlin or Inkheart. I can't say exactly what my favorite book was, I used to devour almost everything!
What are your plans for future projects?
Of course, I have already started the sequel to "The Glint of the Luopan". I plan to write about Lai Fang's father's time at the spy academy, Dark Academia-style. At the same time, I also want to incorporate elements of the Chinese Xianxia novel – this is a genre that draws from the Daoist tradition, Chinese mythology, and the belief in immortals.
Excerpt
“Oh wow.”
In the middle, there was a circular table with a model of China on it.
“So, this is where we plan our utopia, or at least its rough outlines.”
Izzy went up to the table and propped her hands on it.
“These are all regions in China where we have established so-called cities in the sky. You might even have seen a picture of it on the news that went viral a couple of years ago, in Foshan.
Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to prevent it from becoming public. Of course, most people took it for a mirage, a Fata Morgana.”
“Cities in the sky?” I had actually thought that nothing could shock me anymore, but this was just unbelievable.
“Yes. As of now, about half a million Chinese people live there. We are still in our experimental phase, but so far, we have made good progress.”
She talked about it as if it was an everyday thing.
“You know, China has had a demographic explosion during the last couple of years, after the pandemic. Even during the one-child policy, population growth was significant, especially in the countryside. China couldn’t admit that to the rest of the world. The outcry and the fear would have been enormous. Not to mention, the Chinese themselves began to suffer from the density of the population in the cities. They began to house people everywhere: in cellars, in tents, but there were just so many. Also, the space programs didn’t bring the desired success.” She stroked the table.
“So, the Dreamer Society began to look for other options. They rounded up a team of people from all disciplines – geologists, biologists, remote viewers – to map out a future for the Chinese population. What they found was just so, so much more interesting than anyone had ever thought.”
Izzy took a deep breath and pushed a button next to the model of China. There was a whirring sound, something opened in the middle of the model, and a glass pillar rose up. At the same time, a hissing sound rang out as the pillar f illed with smoke. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. Slowly, very slowly, tiny outlines began to form out of the smoke. They looked strangely solid. The smoke pooled into walls and roofs, culminating in towers...
“What the-?”
“This is Jindan, the substance used for creating the sky cities. It’s a kind of energy that can condense into something solid. Initially, it was only used for manipulating the weather, like at the Olympic Games. Then we found out how powerful it really is. If you achieve a tremendous degree of compaction, you can actually create solid bodies. It is said to be inspired by the early Daoists who practiced inner alchemy.”
The smoke in the glass pillar was still forming and condensing. By now I could also see small roads. I slowly circled the pillar, keeping a cautious distance, and found more and more details.
“I mean…how do you create whole, life-sized cities?” It seemed suitable for a small project in chemistry class, but how could you create something lifelike with it?
Izzy circled the model and looked at the pillar as well. “Guess why it’s called the Dreamer Society?”
“Dreams?”
“It turned out that the Jindan substance interacts very well with dream energy. Before that, the Society experimented with all sorts of things – hydrogen, carbon, and so on. Then, someone had what is called a ‘happy accident’. They fell asleep in the lab, and when they awoke the next morning, their dream was hanging from the ceiling. In 3D and touchable. Then, they went from there. Actually, what you see in the pillar is a sky city in its purest form, without dream energy.”
I searched Izzy’s face, but I couldn’t find any trace of exaggeration. I didn’t know how much more absurdity I would endure. I only knew that the sky city in the vessel was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen: an airy, fluffy-looking, slightly glittering thing, like cotton candy that seemed to be constantly reassembling itself.
About the Author:
Sally Feng is an expert in Chinese culture and philosophy and loves to spread the word about these topics. She holds a Master’s degree in Literary Translation and Sinology. Her interests also include the paranormal and Asian religions.
After completing her first novel translations for different publishers, she published the Urban Fantasy title “The Glint of the Luopan”. It's set in New York and Beijing and deals with Chinese magic and philosophy, among other things.
She works as an author, translator and editor. "The Glint of the Luopan" is her third novel.
Blog: https://laemmchen.blog/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sallyfengwriter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sally_feng_writer/
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