| The Qi Eaters |
An ancient culture’s darkest arts live on. The Chinese folktales
about jiangshi, the undead, are fragmentary memories of old
horrors and whispered memories of enduring fears. Yet they are
more than that. For, the jiangshi still walk among us. The old
legends may not be true, but they are real nonetheless.
The ancient Daoist masters of China practiced arcane rituals to
concentrate qi—the life force that pervades the universe. They
had learned that qi could be collected, and that it could also be
drained from others. Stories of the jiangshi, beings intent on
sucking the life essence from victims, were told and retold in
China and beyond, and ultimately shaped into the vampire
legends of Europe. While these tales may be fiction, the dark
Daoist obsession has survived and spawned a secret cult whose
members select young victims for advanced mystical training that
in reality leads to a gruesome end at the hands of the Daoist
masters, the Qi Eaters.
Sharon Kao is a modern Californian looking to make a university
career for herself. She’s a fish out of water in the staid,
convoluted world of the University. But while involved with
University psychologists studying the effect of meditation and
mystical practices on the human brain, Sharon learns that a highly
gifted subject who was obsessed with the esoteric disciplines of
Chinese martial arts has vanished. The only clues to this mystery
are cryptic references to Daoist rituals left behind in the man’s
diary.
Sharon resolves to solve the mystery of the man’s disappearance.
Sharon’s late father had deep involvement with the more
mysterious arts of China. While Sharon has rejected her father’s
faith in the reality of qi, her involvement with the research project
initiates a series of events that will change her life.
As she navigates the world of Daoist magic, she is aided by the
mysterious Professor Lee, a reclusive academic who seems to
know more about the jiang shi than he cares to admit. She also
meets Nick Abbarno, the rough around the edges assistant coach
to the University judo team. He’s a master of unarmed fighting
relegated to the lowest rungs of the University’s precisely stratified
world. Despite, or perhaps because of this, Sharon finds herself
attracted to Nick.
As Sharon throws herself into the excitement of the investigation,
she moves unwittingly into a dangerous place where Lee’s arcane
knowledge, Nick’s fighting skills, and her own emerging powers of
perception will all be needed to follow the thread of clues and
unmask the terrifying existence of the Qi Eaters.
about jiangshi, the undead, are fragmentary memories of old
horrors and whispered memories of enduring fears. Yet they are
more than that. For, the jiangshi still walk among us. The old
legends may not be true, but they are real nonetheless.
The ancient Daoist masters of China practiced arcane rituals to
concentrate qi—the life force that pervades the universe. They
had learned that qi could be collected, and that it could also be
drained from others. Stories of the jiangshi, beings intent on
sucking the life essence from victims, were told and retold in
China and beyond, and ultimately shaped into the vampire
legends of Europe. While these tales may be fiction, the dark
Daoist obsession has survived and spawned a secret cult whose
members select young victims for advanced mystical training that
in reality leads to a gruesome end at the hands of the Daoist
masters, the Qi Eaters.
Sharon Kao is a modern Californian looking to make a university
career for herself. She’s a fish out of water in the staid,
convoluted world of the University. But while involved with
University psychologists studying the effect of meditation and
mystical practices on the human brain, Sharon learns that a highly
gifted subject who was obsessed with the esoteric disciplines of
Chinese martial arts has vanished. The only clues to this mystery
are cryptic references to Daoist rituals left behind in the man’s
diary.
Sharon resolves to solve the mystery of the man’s disappearance.
Sharon’s late father had deep involvement with the more
mysterious arts of China. While Sharon has rejected her father’s
faith in the reality of qi, her involvement with the research project
initiates a series of events that will change her life.
As she navigates the world of Daoist magic, she is aided by the
mysterious Professor Lee, a reclusive academic who seems to
know more about the jiang shi than he cares to admit. She also
meets Nick Abbarno, the rough around the edges assistant coach
to the University judo team. He’s a master of unarmed fighting
relegated to the lowest rungs of the University’s precisely stratified
world. Despite, or perhaps because of this, Sharon finds herself
attracted to Nick.
As Sharon throws herself into the excitement of the investigation,
she moves unwittingly into a dangerous place where Lee’s arcane
knowledge, Nick’s fighting skills, and her own emerging powers of
perception will all be needed to follow the thread of clues and
unmask the terrifying existence of the Qi Eaters.
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