The Last Dragon of the East

Kwan’s unfulfilling fantasy debut remixes Chinese legends about dragons and the red threads of fate. Sai, 25, struggles to run the failing teahouse left by his late father while also tending to his ailing mother. His unusual gift of being able to see the red threads of fate, which link true lovers together, allows him to earn some income on the side by working as a matchmaker, though he is mostly seen as a charlatan. Sai’s own thread is gray and unraveling, and he’s afraid to discover where it might lead. When a doctor claims to have a miracle cure for Sai’s mother made of blue dragon scales, Sai is skeptical that dragons could be real, but he’s also desperate. To his surprise, the treatment works, and his mother makes an extraordinary recovery. Then the emperor gets wind of this miracle cure and orders Sai to track down the dragon. On this seemingly impossible quest, Sai discovers that the dragon legends are true—and that his fate is inextricably tied to them. The premise has promise, but faulty execution, from uneven pacing to flat characterization, sells the story short. Given the current boom of dragon books, readers will be better served elsewhere. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret. (Oct.)