Eight Skilled Gentlemen

This is the last book released by Mr. Hughart. It was supposed to be the third in a series of seven, but due to compensation differences, he elected not to continue writing. It's a darn shame because his novels of a China that never was are truly wonderful. The third adventure of Master Li and Number Ten Ox involves murder, mayhem, and magic aplenty, with lots of Chinese literary references thrown in. Almost makes you believe you're reading history. This story is not quite up to the same standards as his first two, but it's a matter of interpretation. I love his work and I really wish he'd start writing again.

The third and final published tale of Master Li and his assistant, Number Ten Ox, is both funny and wistful. If the components of Hughart's ancient mythical China are by now familiar to readers, they are still wonderfully vivid. In this tale Master Li and Ox become entangled with high-society scams and the ghostly remnants of a shamanistic theology predating Chinese civilization. The book lacks the sheer creative majesty of Hughart's first book, the Bridge of Birds; but Birds is a virtuoso performance that can hardly be expected twice in a lifetime. Eight Skilled Gentlemen is, by comparison, merely an excellent story. This is the third book in an intended series of seven, which most regrettably was not completed. As such, Eight Skilled Gentlemen was not intended as the final Master Li story, and we are left waiting for the next marvelous case. Hughart apparently intended to conclude the series in traditional Chinese mythological fashion, by deifying his truth-seeking protagonists. He never wrote that story, but the extraordinary Li Kao and Number Ten Ox have achieved a form of immortality just the same. They are just as vivid in the final book as in the first two, and I deeply regret not having the chance to invite them over for a jar of wine or two.

The following interview with Barry Hughart was conducted via mail during January-February, 2000. --J. KuntzJK: All fans of the Master Li books want to know why the series stopped after Eight Skilled Gentlemen. Can you explain?BH: The Master Li books were a tightrope act and hard to write, but not, alas, very remunerative. Still, I would have continued as originally planned if I'd had a supportive publisher: seven novels ending with my heroes' deaths in the battle with the Great White Serpent, and their elevation to the Great River of Stars as minor deities guaranteed to cause the August Personage of Jade almost as much trouble as the Stone Monkey. Unfortunately I had St. Martins, which didn't even bother to send a postcard when I won the World Fantasy Award; Ballantine, which was dandy until my powerhouse editor dropped dead and her successors forgot my existence; and Doubleday, which released The Story of the Stone three months before the pub date, guaranteeing that not one copy would still be on the shelves when reviews came out, published the hardcover and the paperback of Eight Skilled Gentlemen simultaneously, and then informed me they would bring out further volumes in paperback only, meriting, of course, a considerably reduced advance.

I love all three Master Li and Number Ten Ox novels, but Eight Skilled Gentlemen is my personal favorite. This book is one to savor, from the hilarious opening chapter at a public execution to the thrilling race between the dragonboats. I join the thousands of Barry Hughart fans in *imploring* him to please publish another Master Li novel!

I read Bridge of Birds when it first appeared in 1984 (and I believe that title won the World Fantasy Award) and was, like all his other readers, captivated. The Story of the Stone followed with equal success. Eight Skilled Gentlemen was the third of the Master Li stories (and appears to be the last to date). It follows much the same path as the previous books - spoof Chinese mythology turns out not be quite so mythological after all, and Number Ten Ox gets to play Watson again - never quite as stupid as he appears, but nothing compared to the brilliant deductions of Master Li. What is the secret behind the wicker cages? Where does the puppetmaster and his beautiful daughter come from? Where does fake Imperial Tea fit into the plot? As usual, Hughart weaves a marvellous tapestry and wraps you in a fantasy world that is extremely real. Read it, if you get the opportunity. I cannot believe this book is out-of-print! Oh, and Mr Hughart - if you do read this - we want more!