Anti-Rec: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

[snowynight]

I heard good things about The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox so I borrowed the first book. The mystery is interesting and I like the protagonist, but the China just doesn't feel authentic enough to me. The world building is not convincing enough. For example, why does the [Big bad 1] allow [Big Bad 2] to exist, practically challenging [Big Bad 1] 's authority, cosidering [Big Bad 1] 's status? The female characters are either sterotyptically bad or damsel in distress. There is [spoiler] issue of consent, which makes me very uncomfortable. Maybe the series will improve but I am too lazy to hunt down the next books.