# Fantasy novels with an Asian setting or Asian theme **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672 "2010-06-10T16:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/21 "2010-06-11T01:16:50Z")
I could not stand Chung Kuo. But I am looking for a readable translation of Journey to the West, if anyone knows one. Edit: First person to say ‘Dragonball’ or ‘Monkey Magic’ gets popped in the nose. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/22 "2010-06-11T01:35:14Z")
Try the [Kai Lung](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kai_Lung) books by Ernest Bramah. They’re not really novels, mostly just enough of a framework to give an excuse for a collection of little moral tales. “Asian-like” applies! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/23 "2010-06-11T02:21:08Z")
It’s not a book series, but the—_excellent_—animated [Avatar: The Last Airbender](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbender) deserves an honorable mention at the very least. ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/24 "2010-06-11T02:33:58Z")
Guy Gavriel Kay recently released _[Under Heaven](http://www.amazon.com/Under-Heaven-Guy-Gavriel-Kay/dp/0451463307)_, set in an alternate, fantastical China. I haven’t read it yet, but if it’s up to the standards of his previous work, it promises to be incredible. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/25 "2010-06-11T02:52:23Z")
Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Years of Rice and Salt” is an alternate-history novel that has large portions set in Asia, and uses fantasy (reincarnation) as a framing device. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/26 "2010-06-11T08:21:37Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I don’t mean this to be snarky although it might come out as such: I really recommend looking up some actual Asian authors in addition to white people who write about their Asian experience or “the” Asian experience. Recommendations would be most welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Rala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@Rala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rala)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/27 "2010-06-11T08:41:40Z")
[The Secrets of Jin-shei](http://www.librarything.com/work/63661) by Alma Alexander is set in a fictional empire that resembles China. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/28 "2010-06-11T08:58:48Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I don’t mean this to be snarky although it might come out as such: I really recommend looking up some actual Asian authors in addition to white people who write about their Asian experience or “the” Asian experience. But isn’t heroic/sword & sorcery fantasy - which is what the OP seems to be looking for - essentially an anglophone genre? I don’t know many writers, Asian, European or American, outside the English-speaking countries active in the field. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/29 "2010-06-11T11:14:24Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Recommendations would be most welcome. Quite so. The only contemporary asian author who I’ve managed to find, that I enjoy, is Murakami. > **[Haruki Murakami](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haruki_Murakami)** > > Haruki Murakami (村上 春樹, Murakami Haruki; born January 12, 1949) is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the Gunzo Prize for New Writers, the World Fantasy Award, the Tanizaki Prize, Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, the Growing u... The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is amazing. But, while it’s about modern (and WWII) Japan, it didn’t feel especially asian. Just… modern. Urban fantasy is urban fantasy. Still, it’s very good. It verges on literature. But then again, to have someone go to the expense of translation for a new market, it better be good. Alessan: I can think of a few. But it’s mostly wuxia visual novels, so they’re not very… advanced. Potboilers at best. And even the most obvious one has never been translated. > **[Wang Dulu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Dulu)** > > Wang Baoxiang (Chinese: 王葆祥; 1909 – 12 February 1977) was a Chinese mystery, science fiction, and wuxia romance novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Wang Dulu (simplified Chinese: 王度庐; traditional Chinese: 王度廬). Wang is also known by the courtesy name Xiaoyu (Chinese: 霄羽). > In the West he is best known for his series of interlinked novels, the Crane-Iron Series, which includes Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The novel has been adapted to film and television several times, most notably the award... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is based on a wuxia novel pentology. But nobody’s bothered to translate it. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/30 "2010-06-11T11:21:26Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Raymond E. Feist’s _Daughter of the Empire_ series is set in a pseudo-Japanese setting, with humans co-existing with an intelligent insectoid hive species. That’s what I came here to say. A great read, that series. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/31 "2010-06-11T11:27:15Z")
[The Paladin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paladin) by CJ Cherryh is set in a low fantasy Asian culture. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/32 "2010-06-11T11:33:31Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > It’s not a book series, but the—_excellent_—animated [Avatar: The Last Airbender](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbender) deserves an honorable mention at the very least. Seen it, loved it, just bought the “Art of…” book, can’t wait to see the movie. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/33 "2010-06-11T11:39:51Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > But isn’t heroic/sword & sorcery fantasy - which is what the OP seems to be looking for - essentially an anglophone genre? I don’t know many writers, Asian, European or American, outside the English-speaking countries active in the field. And that’s the issue at hand. I’m not necessarily asking for elves and orcs and such; if they’re in the story, so be it. But fantasy novels set someplace other than a European setting would be nice. Asia, mythological Persia/Middle East, India, etc. Anything from heroic/sword & sorcery fantasy to Neil Gaimanish stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/34 "2010-06-11T12:37:39Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > Seen it, loved it, just bought the “Art of…” book, can’t wait to see the movie. 🙂 I’m\*…a little less enthused about the movie, myself. And this is from someone who saw both Transformers films in the theater. \*For comedic effect, stretch the pronunciation of this “I’m” out to about 2¾ to 3 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/35 "2010-06-11T14:22:12Z")
> [@Daddypants](#): > > And that’s the issue at hand. I’m not necessarily asking for elves and orcs and such; if they’re in the story, so be it. But fantasy novels set someplace other than a European setting would be nice. Asia, mythological Persia/Middle East, India, etc. Anything from heroic/sword & sorcery fantasy to Neil Gaimanish stuff. If you’re looking for Persian/Middle East… Try the [Parsina Saga](http://parsina.com/shrine.html) by Stephen Goldin. Wonderful, Arabian Nights flavor in a Persian analogue. And good writing. Also, Tanith Lee’s [Tales from the Flat Earth](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Flat_Earth) has a fairly strong Persian/Arabian flavor to it. And, it’s awesome. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/36 "2010-06-11T14:40:11Z")
Indeed! I was wondering if I should mention Tales from the Flat Earth. I decided against it, it being Arabian in nature. If you’re familiar with the roleplaying game, Exalted, it takes much of its inspiration of setting from that series of stories. ---
**Author:** ![ChordedZither](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9c0ed/32.png) [@ChordedZither](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChordedZither)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/37 "2010-06-11T15:23:23Z")
I enjoyed When Gravity Fails and its sequels by George Alec Effinger. It’s a kind of cyberpunk detective story set in a near-future Arabic ghetto. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/38 "2010-06-11T15:23:47Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Years of Rice and Salt” is an alternate-history novel that has large portions set in Asia, and uses fantasy (reincarnation) as a framing device. This is what I came in to mention. I highly recommend this book, very enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Speak\_to\_me\_Maddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speak_to_me_Maddie)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/39 "2010-06-11T15:40:48Z")
The [Temeraire](http://www.naominovik.com/index.cgi?pagetype=writing&series=Temeraire) series by Naomi Novik, which can be described as the Napoleonic Wars except with dragons, is a mixture of the fanatsy and nautical historical genres. The main dragon character is Chinese and parts of the series, including most of the second book, take place in a fantacized Imperial China. ---
**Author:** ![cuberdon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/45deac/32.png) [@cuberdon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuberdon)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672/40 "2010-06-11T16:16:42Z")
They are short stories, but try “Monkey Brain Sushi”. Besides being an interesting read in itself it may give you ideas of authors. I _really_ regret the local bookstores where I used to browse which have closed. They were a source of a lot of interesting finds. You might also check Kinokuniya online. They have a book section although the search engine leaves a lot to be desired. The above are Japanese centered, obviously. Happens to be my personal interest. I may need to pick up a few of those myself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fantasy-novels-with-an-asian-setting-or-asian-theme/542672.md?page=3)