Snake (The Five Ancestors Series #3)
Twelve-year-old Seh is a snake-style master and a keeper of secrets. Close-lipped and ever-watchful, he has used his highly attuned senses to collect information about his brothers, his temple, and even Grandmaster. Now, with the temple and Grandmaster gone, Seh sheds his orange robe like an old skin, joins a bandit gang, and meets a mysterious woman whose name means Cobra—all the while trying to stay one step ahead of vengeful Ying!
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Twelve-year-old Seh is a snake-style master and a keeper of secrets. Close-lipped and ever-watchful, he has used his highly attuned senses to collect information about his brothers, his temple, and even Grandmaster. Now, with the temple and Grandmaster gone, Seh sheds his orange robe like an old skin, joins a bandit gang, and meets a mysterious woman whose name means Cobra all the while trying to stay one step ahead of vengeful Ying!Publishers WeeklyTaking on a third orphan of the quintet who were living at Cangzhen Temple with their Grandmaster, Jeff Stone continues his ("riveting," in PW's words in a starred review) Five Ancestors series with Snake, focusing on 12-year-old Seh after the temple's destruction. Seh seeks answers and attempts to avoid terrifying Ying. Fans of the series' signature martial arts and mind games will find plenty more here. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Prologue\ Eight-year-old Seh slid his lanky body along the enormous rafter high above the Cangzhen banquet table, doing his best to disturb as little dust as possible. Even in a room as dark as this, Grandmaster would notice a single particle drifting toward the floor. Grandmaster was that good.\ But Seh was better. As long as he didn't lose focus.\ Once in position, Seh stretched to his full length and flattened himself against the top of the wooden beam. He began to slow his breathing. His heart rate slowed to that of a hibernating reptile beneath a sheet of ice. She began to wait.\ An hour later, Grandmaster entered the room. Although Grandmaster didn't say a word, Seh knew exactly who it was.He sensed powerful chi--life energy-- radiating from Grandmaster's body like heat from the sun.\ Seh slowed his breathing further. He needed to keep his heart rate as slow as possible so that the chi coursing through his own nervous system would not alert Grandmaster to his presence. As long as he remained calm, Grandmaster would not detect him. Dragon-style kung fu masters like Grandmaster and Seh's brother Long possessed tremendous amounts of chi, but they weren't particularly good at detecting it in others. Snake stylists like Seh, however, were masters at detecting the most minute amounts in any living creature.\ As Grandmaster stepped farther into the hall, She heard a second man stop in the doorway. Seh took a long, slow breath.\ Seh focused on the visitor and noticed something strange. The man seemed to possess no chi at all, which was impossible. All living things possessed chi. This could mean only one thing--Grandmaster's visitor was masking his, something only snake-style kung fu masters knew how to do. And the only snake-style master to ever visit Grandmaster in the middle of the night was--One corner of Seh's mouth slid down his long face in a lopsided frown. He peeked over the rafter toward the moonlit doorway and his eyes confirmed what the pit of his stomach already knew. Grandmaster's visitor was a man named Mong, a local bandit leader. Mong meant "python" in Cantonese. Seh had had more than one humiliating encounter with the gigantic snake-style kung fu master over the years, and he had no interest in seeing the man again.\ Grandmaster turned to Mong and whispered, "Do you sense that we are alone?"\ Seh remained perfectly still and watched Mong scan the room. Seh was enshrouded in darkness and positioned at a severe angle from the doorway. He was certain he was invisible. Yet when Mong's eyes hesitated as they passed over the rafter, Seh knew he had been discovered. Mong had sensed his chi. Seh was about to begin his retreat when Mong turned toward Grandmaster.\ "Yes, we are alone," Mong said. "Nothing here but the occasional small pest." Mong entered the hall and closed the doors behind him.\ Seh clenched his teeth. Pest? he thought. Seh wondered whether Mong was trying to make him angry so that his heart rate would rise and he'd reveal himself. There was nothing Seh hated more than getting caught when he was sneaking around.\ Seh did his best to stay calm. He needed to stay focused.He suspected that Grandmaster and Mong were both dealers of secrets. They would trade them like other people traded gold for silk or silver for swords. She wanted those secrets. Especially if they involved him and his brothers--and Seh had a hunch they would.\ "What news do you bring?" Grandmaster asked Mong. "And what might you...
\ Publishers WeeklyTaking on a third orphan of the quintet who were living at Cangzhen Temple with their Grandmaster, Jeff Stone continues his ("riveting," in PW's words in a starred review) Five Ancestors series with Snake, focusing on 12-year-old Seh after the temple's destruction. Seh seeks answers and attempts to avoid terrifying Ying. Fans of the series' signature martial arts and mind games will find plenty more here. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Children's LiteratureWithout having read the other titles in "The Five Ancestors" series, this could easily be one of the worst books this reviewer has even read. Sorry, but this book is really not for everyone, or anyone, for that matter. Too many characters, too much action—it is difficult to keep track where in the story you are, or who anyone is. The graphic violence is relentless as well as disturbing. Where does Stone get these ideas and who does he think finds them interesting or engaging? Martial arts enthusiasts may pick up this book, but hopefully will soon put it down when they realize their teachings of respect and honor are challenged almost immediately. After reading the entire book (which thankfully is only 193 pages with short chapters), it is a stretch to focus on what this book is about; it is such a struggle to piece together the characters and plot. There are dragon scrolls. People fight and are killed. Some are pursued by bandits. Some are cannibals. There are strange characters andeven stranger animals—or are they really people? It is a whole other world that probably should not be delved into or presented in such a broad spectrum. 2006, Random House, and Ages 9 to 12. \ —Elizabeth Young\ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsThe third volume of a projected seven in Stone's 17th-century kung-fu epic adds even more characters to an already-unwieldy cast but does move the plot forward an inch or so amid much journeying back and forth, continuing revelations about the parentage of the five young monks, violent encounters and astounding feats of martial arts. The focus here is on Seh, whose Snake style manifests itself in a secretive nature and great sensitivity to the "chi" of others. With fellow monks Fu and Malao, Seh witnesses the widespread destruction and other injustices sanctioned by the new Emperor, then travels to the city of Kaifeng where rebellion is brewing. Shot through with developing intrigues, sudden reversals and amusing, sometimes modern-sounding banter ("You think?"), this will go down as easily as a B-grade martial-arts flick-but despite frequent references to past events, it will be more comprehensible to readers of the preceding episodes. (Fantasy. 10-12)\ \
