In Chasing the Phoenix, Michael Swanwick has written a sweeping fantasy epic set in a future, fractured China. Swanwick's protagonists from Dancing with Bears--dashingly clever con artist Darger and Surplus, the genetically modified dog warrior with human intelligence--scheme their way to fortune while in servitude to the Hidden King, self-declared ruler of China, as he battles the country's disparate factions, seizes their riches and unifies them under one flag.
Surplus has arrived in the city of Brocade with the corpse of his best friend, Aubrey Darger, on a yak; he's in search of the Infallible Physician to revive his friend, and discovers that the physician is a woman hiding behind the "expertise" of her senile father. Darger's resurrection cements the woman's reputation as the true Infallible Physician, earns him a reputation as a sage (which Darger himself promotes), and prompts the Hidden King to capture the duo, forcing them to aid in his conquest of China. The King's advisers, however, become suspicious of the increasing influence Darger exercises as the pair manipulate and curry favor with the ruler, and they attempt to blackmail him and Surplus through seduction, exposure and threat of death. Hidden agendas among the four soon transform into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. To complicate matters, Darger and Surplus must also evade outside forces threatening to unravel their plans.
Swanwick deftly weaves myth and historical fact together to create an intriguing dystopic mystery whose resolution will elude readers until its final pages. His vision of China hinges on the fantastical, but it's a believable resemblance that gives the narrative a foreboding power. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant