I enjoyed Shen and the Treasure Fleet by Ray Conlogue. For a long time, I have been fascinated by the Zheng He, the 15-century Chinese explorer who is major character of this book. His experience as an explorer was equal to those of some European explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Magellan. Unfortunately, I am not sure how historical accurate the book is. A reader has to read the introduction of the book for it to make sense. The book is little confusing before you get used to it. I did not care for the part of book when the protagonist killed a passenger pigeon carrying an execution order. I thought that was a needless glitch in the plot. However, I enjoyed the exciting plotline and the complex characters. I also liked that the novel took place in a time period that is not very well known. It made it an interesting read.
The book opens in 1403, when there is civil war in China. The Emperor Hui Di's uncle Zhu Di claims he is the rightful heir to the throne. Under Zhu Di's skilled eunuch general Zheng He, his army is besieging the Chinese capital city of Nanjing. The main characters of the book are Shen Fei and his younger sister Chang Fei. Their father, Captain Fei Lee is a personal guardsman of Emperor Hui Di, so the family has to get out of Nanjing before the city is captured. However, Captain Fei Lee has to stay behind because he is a personal guardsman of the Emperor so he has to defend him to the death. Captain Fei Lee hires a mysterious friend, Lan Yi, the owner of the Suzhou Acrobatic Troupe, to smuggle the two children and their mother out of Nanjing. On the road to the Zhenjiang, the group hears that the palace was burned, but Shen believes his father is still alive. As they continue on the way to Zhenjiang, the two children's mother is arrested by a man called Lord Yang Rong, who is the leader of the Brocade army. The Brocade army's goal is to search for "traitors to China" in the army and in society. However, Shen and Chang manage to avoid capture and join Lan Yi's Suzhou Acrobatic Troupe. But the two children are still not safe. The Brocade army is still looking for "traitors" and suspects that the Troupe contains people running from the law. The Army tries to capture the Troupe, but Lan Yi out-smarts them and escapes to the shipyard. There, the troupe is safe because the shipyard is guarded by a marine brigade of Ocean-Spanning guards. At the shipyard, Lan Yi manages to get the Troupe on the famous Treasure Fleet's inaugural voyage. He also manages to secure the position of scribe for Shen. But even on board the Fleet the Troupe is not safe- Lord Yang Rong and some Brocade troops are also allowed to board the fleet as representatives of Emperor Zhu Di. Lord Yang Rong befriends Shen and tells him to help find the overthrown Emperor and Lord Yang will give Shen a letter from his mother. Shen starts to tell Lord Yang classified information he learned from his scribe work. Chang and Lan Yi suspects that Shen is betraying secrets to Lord Yang. Chang and Lan Yi warn Shen not to trust Lord Yang, but Shen doesn't listen to them. Meanwhile, a fight breaks out and a man is killed, pushing the tension on the Fleet to breaking point. Shen, Chang, Lan Yi notice that the Brocade army smuggling weapons onto a secret vessel. What are Lord Yang Rong and the Brocade army up to?
Reviewer Age:17
Reviewer City, State and Country: Urbana, Illinois United States
