I picked it up because the paperback had a bright red cover with a dragon on it. It was right next to A Game of Thrones in that oft-visited corner bookstore on a sunny day in 1992. The title of the book was Chung Kuo: The Middle Kingdom, by David Wingrove. I was about to put it back when I opened it to see the front matter. The Cast of Characters, in small font, stretched for over four pages. I almost snorted. But Game of Thrones had a similar list, so I opted to get them both.
I read Game first, and enjoyed it. But reading Middle Kingdom was another whole level of enjoyment. It dazzled me, like few books have. The cast of characters, which I never looked back at, came alive and became distinct personalities. The plotting was exquisitely detailed in a way that merged “yes, that was bound to happen” with outright “holy smokes” moments. I found the two other volumes, The Broken Wheel and The White Mountain, hoping they would sustain the momentum of the first book.
They did more than that: they cemented the series as my all-time “Hidden Gem” science fiction series. Wingrove created a truly multi-layered environment in which culture was ever-present, but developed in true world-building fashion: extrapolating from the past and present with practical imagination in the future. It is a superb accomplishment because the reader gets to the point of understanding the sub-text of conversations and confrontations, sees how they can play out down the road, and thus becomes immersed in the needs, wants, and dangers each character faces.
The series continues with The Stone Within; Beneath the Tree of Heaven; White Moon, Red Dragon, and Days of Bitter Strength, a tour de force of creative production where events in the seventh book have traceable roots and rationale from the first and second, the way history does when viewed as a narrative rather than as isolated events.
I was so taken with the Chung Kuo series that I forgot I had read Game of Thrones, buying the same book (same cover and all) almost a decade later. After finishing Bitter Strength, I opted to break a personal rule and read the entire series again, bracing myself for touches of disappointment at discovering that what I thought was really great was actually not-so-much. (I bet I’m not the only one who goes through that).
I was not disappointed. The re-read made the series even more of a triumph in my mind.
However, the final two books were forced by the publisher to come out as one novel, and it sold very poorly. I didn’t bother to buy it because (a) it wasn’t widely available, and (b) the reviews were very bad. Years later, Wingrove bought back the rights to the series and proposed publishing it as 20-volume series, beginning with prequels. But these did not do well (I read the first two new volumes), and while the volumes continue to be published, I have stayed with the series as I read it originally. If you don’t mind reading a series that may or may not have an ending (depends on whether you go for the new volumes), I heartily recommend the seven-book Chung Kuo series. It makes very few “Best SF Series” lists, but I know that mass appeal does not guarantee writing quality. Exhibit A: Dan Brown.
One final note: I have read over 1,700 science fiction books in my life. Only eight times have I finished one and immediately written a personal review to capture my impressions for future writing. Four of those were Chung Kuo books. I can’t recommend them any more than that.
Written by Gil C Schmidt for Untold Tales.
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