Fantasy?! But I read SF! Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart (viewer recommendation)

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]All right. It looks like May might be recommendation reads month. I started off with Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon. That was from a box of books that Whitney at Secret Sauce of Storycraft gave me. And today, I have a friend in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He's a viewer of this channel. His name is Paul Cooper.

[00:00:24]And here he is right here. In fact, this is when he gave me this book that I read. One of his recommendations. And Paul's very brave. He recommended I read a fantasy novel.

[00:00:38]Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart from 1984.

[00:00:43]Let's just read the back of the book and then I'll tell you what I agree with or what I disagree with from the back and my own impressions.

[00:00:51]The root of the quest.

[00:00:53]When the children of his village were struck with a mysterious illness, number 10 Ox sought a wise man to save them. He found Master Li Kao, a scholar with a slight flaw in his character. Together they set out to find the great root of power, the only possible cure. The quest led them to a host of truly memorable characters, multiple wonders, incredible adventures, and strange coincidences which were really not coincidences at all. And it involved them in an ancient crime that still perturbed the serenity of heaven.

[00:01:27]Simply and charmingly told, this is a wry tale, a sly tale, and a story of wisdom delightfully askew. Once read, its marvels and beauty will not easily fade from the mind. The author claims that this is a novel of an ancient China that never was. But oh, it should have been.

[00:01:46]And Anne McCaffrey says, Li Kao may have a slight flaw in his character, but the book has none. I recommend it unconditionally, and I predict Barry Hughart has quite a future as a fantasy writer.

[00:02:00]Let's deal with that quite a future as a fantasy writer. Barry Hughart was born March 13th, 1934 and passed away August 1st, 2019 at the age of 85. His father was a naval officer and his mother was an architect. Hughart joined the United States Air Force and served from 1956 to 1960, where he was involved in laying mines in the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

[00:02:24]During his military service, he began to develop a lifelong interest in China and that led him to plan a series set in an ancient China that never was. After his service, he continued to work in Asia until 1965.

[00:02:37]From 1965 on, he returned to the United States. His writing career started with his novel Bridge of Birds, published in 1984.

[00:02:46]It won the 1985 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

[00:02:51]He followed up with The Story of the Stone in 1988, and Eight-Skilled Gentleman in 1990.

[00:03:00]He intended to write seven novels about the adventures of Li Kao and Number Ten Ox, but his writing career was cut short due to issues with his publishers.

[00:03:09]These three novels are his only novels.

[00:03:13]So, we had a writing career cut short not only for disputes with the publisher, which seemed to be about classifying it as fantasy or not letting it reach a broader audience, the way it was treated and promoted, but also he said, that's Hughart said, that he had sort of run the gamut of ideas or where he felt that he could go, even though he had planned seven novels. But his legacy of these three novels remains to this day to be heralded by many who love fantasy. It's a unique kind of fantasy, a fantasy of tall tales and mythic stories combined with real life.

[00:03:50]Sometimes these stories are based in real events, and other times, they approach that magical fantasy realm.

[00:04:00]This is a charming and humorous look at a China that never was. There are some very clever tales here. There's three specific parts to this book. There are children who've gone mysteriously ill in a village, and we have to seek out the magical ginseng, but this ginseng's in parts, and so each of the parts of the book are parts in terms of pursuing finding this ginseng, which will supposedly cure the children.

[00:04:27]But, we also get entangled in an ancient evil plot.

[00:04:31]Assassins, romance, dastardly villains, and magical powers appear within this story. I want to give you a feel for the language of the story. I just want to read a few quotes.

[00:04:44]From page 199 of the first printing paperback printing of the novel, we have the protagonist, one of the protagonists, Lee, expressing who he is, and he says this many times in introduction to others.

[00:04:59]"My surname is Lee, and my personal name is Cow, and there is a slight flaw in my character. And this is my esteemed client number 10 Ox." Master Lee said with a polite bow.

[00:05:11]And eventually, as we go through the plot of the novel, we discover what this slight flaw is.

[00:05:18]At first, we thought it perhaps was alcoholism, but it's something different, something integral to the story.

[00:05:27]Number 10 Ox is a big, strong young man representing his village.

[00:05:31]In fact, Master Lee Cow, who is a very thin, scrawny, um person, perhaps over 100 years old, uses him almost like a horse, going on his back and putting his feet in his pockets, and asking him to gallop or run. The following quote comes from page 193 and this is number 10 Ox talking.

[00:05:55]Gives you a bit of an insight into his character.

[00:05:59]"Master Lee, it would take 20 tons of fire drug to pry me loose from the quest." I said as firmly as I could, which was not very firmly.

[00:06:08]"Besides, we'll have to try to get to the key rabbit and that means Lotus Cloud and I will happily battle a tiger for the honor of hopping into her bed."

[00:06:17]To my astonishment, I discovered that what I had said was true. It was amazing what a tonic the thought of Lotus Cloud was and I stared in wonder at hands that were no longer shaking.

[00:06:29]"I will battle a regiment of tigers." I said with real conviction.

[00:06:34]Strong and loyal of heart, number 10 Ox is a character that can be counted on.

[00:06:41]And Lotus Cloud?

[00:06:43]Really important to this story as well.

[00:06:45]Becoming part of that main plot that's outside the plot to save the children.

[00:06:51]And the title of the novel, Bridge of Birds, is quite literally a bridge of birds.

[00:06:59]If you want to know more, you'll have to read it.

[00:07:01]So, to my friend Paul, I understand why you love this novel. It's very entertaining. It's has a charming quality to the prose.

[00:07:11]The story moves along with many side little stories, some tall tales as I've said and some mythos within the ancient China that never was.

[00:07:22]Now, my slight flaw is that I don't really read a lot of fantasy and I'm not that attracted to it.

[00:07:30]That said, I found the story quite compelling, charming, and even hilarious at times.

[00:07:37]Bridge of Birds was a fabulous read for a fantasy book.

[00:07:43]I know. I know. And the sequel Paul was kind enough to give me The Story of the Stone. On the cover here it says, "Hewart repeats his winning performance.

[00:07:53]An Oriental Holmes and Watson plunked down in an Indiana Jones movie." This is from The Washington Post Book World.

[00:08:01]That sounds like a great combination, doesn't it? And Paul even gave me the third one. So, I have the entire trilogy of books.

[00:08:10]Eight skilled gentlemen, devilishly witty, lively, and fun from Star Tribune, Minneapolis.

[00:08:17]So, there's the trilogy.

[00:08:21]Now, I know some of you are waiting.

[00:08:22]What is his rating for this book?

[00:08:26]All right, it's fantasy.

[00:08:28]I do prefer science fiction. I'm giving it an eight out of 10, but I think that people who love fantasy might be giving this a nine and perhaps even 10 out of 10.

[00:08:37]I'd like to know what you think. Let me know in the comments below.

[00:08:42]And if you've never heard of these books, you might just want to take a look at it, at least at the first one.

[00:08:48]And for recommendation May, I guess I'm going to call it that, the next video that I have will be another recommendation. It came from a video by Pulp Mortem recommending 15 great books that he's discovered over the last few years. One of them is the second book I've read by this author, Robert Wells.

[00:09:09]Candle in the Sun.

[00:09:11]That'll be our next video.

[00:09:13]Until next time, keep reading.

[00:09:21]I wasn't recording.

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