In a sense, you could think of Li Kao as Sherlock and Lu Yu as his trusty sidekick Watson. “My surname is Li and my personal name is Kao, and there is a slight flaw in my character” Everyone calls me Number Ten Ox,” I said. “My surname is Lu and my personal name is Yu, but I am not to be confused with the eminent author of The Classic of Tea. There are many characters throughout the book, but really only two main ones: We are given a satisfactory explanation for all this in a way that further cements the nature of the novel. However, unlike other books that ignore it, Bridge of Birds put a light on it and the characters themselves question it. Later on in the story you may remark on some of the amazing coincidences that start happening. This takes Master Li and Number Ten Ox to many fascinating places and it becomes an even greater adventure than what they anticipated. Despite Li Kao's flaws he turns out to be just what is needed to unravel the mystery behind the plague and together they set out to find the Great Root of Power. He finds the legendary scholar Li Kao, drunk and thirsty for more wine. A plague has affected the children of a small village and Number Ten Ox, so named for being strong and the 10th child of a family, is sent to find someone who can help them. The story follows a pattern similar to a standard detective novel. In the end, it's a fantasy tale that reads like a retelling of old myths. The story draws heavily from Chinese legends and folklore giving it a classical feel. This leads them on a wild adventure all across China. Master Li is a wise sage that is hired by Number Ten Ox to investigate a mysterious plague that has fallen on his village. It was a fun read throughout with a lighthearted comical touch to it. Read on for my full review (spoiler-free). Darken the mixture with bitter tears, brighten it with howls of laughter, toss in three thousand years of civilization, bellow kan pei-which means “dry cup”-and drink to the dregs.’ Procopius stared at me. ‘Fill it with equal measures of fact, fantasy, history, mythology, science, superstition, logic, and lunacy.
It reminded me at parts of Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland as the characters travel to exotic and magical places meeting extraordinary characters all in order to solve the mysteries of ancient China. This is, as the subtitle rightly states, "A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was." It is part of a short series of books relating the adventures of Master Li and Number Ten Ox and are collected in a single volume on the Kindle store.
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