Liú Fāxiàn and the Treasure of the Golden Lotus. Glen Hoos. 2025.
Debut. Wuxia-inspired fantasy. Historical adventure.
When a clue hidden in a classic poem sets a young man and his sister on a dangerous hunt for the lost, magical plunder of a notorious bandit syndicate, they must outrun the Emperor’s deadly Brocade Guard while solving a game of increasingly lethal riddles.
The story is told from the perspective of a young scholar who believes in the existence of a long lost treasure that his older colleagues assure him is a myth. It follows his adventures with his “sister” as they follow a series of clues that they believe reveal its location.
This is a family-friendly adventure story in the tradition of Indiana Jones and The Mummy. Although the protagonist and his sidekick are adults, the story reads like a YA adventure from cover to cover.
My only quibble with Hoos’ work in Liú Fāxiàn and the Treasure of the Golden Lotus. Glen Hoos. 2025.
is that this story is not clearly labeled as Part One of a multipart story. I am a series reader. So had I understood this, I would not have started this novel, and, therefore, would not have been disappointed by the abrupt non-ending cliffhanger.
AUTHORS – I write short book reviews that focus on voice and vibe. They are useful to querying authors searching for comp titles. There are more like this on my website.
REMINDER – If you follow my reviews, you already know this. I have a policy about reviewing debut novels. Provided I finish them, I always rate debut novels with maximum stars, regardless. When I don’t finish a debut novel, I don’t review it. No exceptions. And I don’t review books I don’t pay full price for.