Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

Product Information

S. Zack has made friends through playing Mythrealm, an augmented reality game that uses a wearable portal-lens that spawns mythical creatures from folktales and legends from around the world. The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. It also has so many interesting bits of Chinese history woven into the narration, without shying away from criticizing the current regime's treatment of minorities. We are always on the move with the characters, going on heists and summoning legendary historical or mythical figures and just overall having fun all throughout.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao | Goodreads Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao | Goodreads

I had the idea to riff off of Yu-Gi-Oh, which was a really formative media franchise when I was growing up. It definitely gives Percy Jackson vibes and I thought it was a standalone but based off the ending - it isn’t.note The Xuanwu Gate Incident, when Taizong killed his brothers in a coup to seize the throne, is divisive, but it's generally agreed that the two brothers planned to kill Taizong first because his military accomplishments outranked theirs. This was a great choice on Xiran’s part because his character comes off as very relatable as middle school is a time where people are finding themselves while tackling the new challenges middle school brings to the table.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Goodreads

Are you a teacher, librarian or bookseller, and keen to have one of our authors appear at an event, or just want to know more about our books? Ahora, a pesar de que todo me daba muchas vibes de los libros de Percy Jackson y de peleas tipo Yu Gi Oh! Zachary Ying is into this VR game involving mythology, but things go wrong when spirits take over the bodies of his friends and the spirit of a Chinese emperor wants to take over his.Anyway, I liked the humor and the historical facts, so this gets a thumbs up from me and I look forward to its follow-up. This sense of humor that Xiran brings to the table is what makes their stories so entertaining and creates a unique writing identity that you won’t find anywhere else. The magic system is also very interesting because it’s based on myths and legends and how much people believe in them. AudioFile highlighted the audiobook edition in May 2022 and stated that the narrator, Neo Cihi, "switches seamlessly between English and Chinese and helps listeners feel all the tension as the high-intensity adventure ramps up".

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor ARC Review: Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

I appreciate Zhao not shying away from addressing China's dictatorship government and human rights violations, especially since the book is mostly set in modern-day China. Zach is a gamer turned hero who goes on an epic quest across the globe only to find his greatest strength within. Jam-packed with humour, heart, and hijinks, ZACHARY YING is the Chinese history class you wished you had at school.

The author's depiction of and discussions around China oppose the kind of monolithic and homogenous image of this country that sadly seems to prevail in a lot of western media and public discourses. I understand I can change my preference through my account settings or unsubscribe directly from any marketing communications at any time.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Goodreads Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Goodreads

Even Evil Has Standards: The three emperors are conquerors and have all committed atrocities in their time, but even they are appalled that Qin Shi Huang killed innocent mermaids to make their fat into lamps for his tomb.Ofcourse, we also get to meet many other historical figures, especially the comrades and enemies of these emperors as well as some other mythical and legendary figures, and I was especially excited whenever someone showed up whose story I already knew a bit.