In the beginning, when chaos reigned, I wanted to write a book about two little-known topics, Canada and China. I remember telling someone in New York I was visiting from Canada, and she asked, "Where is it?" Also, whenever I switch on the idiot box, launch a social media app or catch the breaking news, I get hit by a barrage of China China China, as the bugbear, not Panda bear, delivered by talking heads who know bupkis about China.
Considering I carry the genes of Chinese parents who left mainland China to live in Hong Kong, speak Cantonese and Mandarin, read and write both Traditional and Simplified Chinese scripts, studied Chinese history and literature from various sources, and lived and worked in China for twenty years, I may know a thing or two about the country.
Furthermore, my father was a renegade Communist from Yan'an, the headquarters of the Communist Party of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He wrote a historical novel based on his experience at the Lu Hsun Art Institute. I also lucked out and befriended people in China with unique life stories. A prime example was Sidney Rittenberg, an American who lived in China for thirty-eight years after the Second World War, of which sixteen were in prison. Sidney, who passed away in 2019, taught me much about China.
I've been fortunate to have received an excellent education at La Salle College, an English Catholic school in Hong Kong, and my four years at McMaster University convinced me to make Canada my home. By a twist of fate, I pioneered and established Chinese language television for the Chinese Canadian communities across Canada. This adventure led to my twenty years working in China in the television and broadcast technologies industry, witnessing the country's meteoric rise. In short, I have countless Canadian and Chinese stories to tell.
Though writing about Canada is relatively undemanding, China is another matter. One must compete for attention amongst numerous authors who have been composing copious words in voluminous bestsellers on China, and my opinion, no matter how informed, would be buried under a profusion of poppycock. Rather than taking on a thankless task, I decided to write about socioeconomics instead, despite never having received any indoctrination in the discipline. I didn’t consider it a disadvantage, as my uncluttered mind was unencumbered by preconceptions.
While researching for the book, I came across a quote from a Canadian economist, John Kenneth Galbraith, who admitted, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” Upon making this discovery, I gave up on the mundane and went for the stars, in other words, science fiction. I realized the sci-fi genre would unfetter my imagination to create faraway alien worlds, travel back and forth through time and predict the future without appearing to have lost my marbles.
Experts and well-meaning friends who knew about my vacillations advised me to stick to one genre and focus on one subject. I could not decide whether I should listen to them or my guts, if guts could talk. After wasting precious time on fruitless philosophical contemplation, I went where my guts took me, namely, the kitchen. As I unsealed the portal of the refrigeration unit and a burst of photons from the fridge light flooded my face, I had an epiphany similar to what struck René Descartes: “I think; therefore, I’ll have a beer.” I gave life to an idea and collapsed its Schrödinger Wave Function. I would write an oxymoronic fact-based science fiction with everything in it, including the organic craft beer and the kitchen sink.
I have enjoyed the journey of creating this pièce de résistance. I must, however, warn treasure seekers they may not find a mother lode. They may hit a leaky pipe and encounter something unpleasant instead. On the other hand, prospectors with a discerning eye and an open mind will discover new ideas, new knowledge, new interpretations of history, new ways to understand oneself and the world, new insight into the origin of human civilizations, new questions about the mysteries of our universe and a new theory for establishing a long-lasting peaceful Utopian society, a lofty aspiration beyond human endeavour. In addition, the reader will learn many wild and woolly facts about Canada and China and be delightfully amazed.
Before taking the plunge, I needed to be convinced my socioeconomic theory was not entirely frivolous, I submitted a concise thesis for review by the estimable Professor Yifu Lin, renowned professor of economics at Peking University, previous Senior VP and Chief Economist of the World Bank and the deputy director of the CPPCC committee providing consultation on economic matters to the Chinese government. Professor Lin parsed my thesis, concluding it was “logical and convincing.” Amen!
Since I'm writing hard science fiction with quantum physics, time travel and artificial intelligence in the mix, I must ensure the science has some basis in fact and not all mumbo jumbo. Thanks to the favourable alignment of the stars, I have had the opportunity to pick the superior brain of a real scientist who happens to be my brother-in-law, Professor Peter Ramadge, director of Princeton University’s Center for Statistics and Machine Learning. Here’s a big shoutout to my brother Peter for humouring me and commenting on my outlandish ideas.
For the benefit of readers of all shades and persuasions, I'm spinning this yarn as a fanciful fable, catering to the consummate consumer's insatiable desire for epicurean pleasures. Although it will not please everyone and may even irk the odd reader, it promises to be something completely different. Carpe Liber--seize the book!
Book 2 of the Series: Bellatrix: The Female Warrior
The sequel delves into the connections between the planets Earth, Shangria and Betel. Lost in the past, Victoria tries to find her way back to the future by visiting the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, thus learning the answers to many of the mysteries in the classic. By chance, she witnesses one of the greatest battles ever fought by an invincible general who may have been a Canadian.
Book 3 of the Series: Augenblick: The Blink of an Eye
Readers will explore the concept of establishing a perpetually peaceful society, travel across a realm oft visited by heroes, lovers, demigods, epic poets and daydreaming young girls, and learn how our decisions can reset what has already transpired in the past. All the answers await us at the saga's grand finale.
Considering I carry the genes of Chinese parents who left mainland China to live in Hong Kong, speak Cantonese and Mandarin, read and write both Traditional and Simplified Chinese scripts, studied Chinese history and literature from various sources, and lived and worked in China for twenty years, I may know a thing or two about the country.
Furthermore, my father was a renegade Communist from Yan'an, the headquarters of the Communist Party of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He wrote a historical novel based on his experience at the Lu Hsun Art Institute. I also lucked out and befriended people in China with unique life stories. A prime example was Sidney Rittenberg, an American who lived in China for thirty-eight years after the Second World War, of which sixteen were in prison. Sidney, who passed away in 2019, taught me much about China.
I've been fortunate to have received an excellent education at La Salle College, an English Catholic school in Hong Kong, and my four years at McMaster University convinced me to make Canada my home. By a twist of fate, I pioneered and established Chinese language television for the Chinese Canadian communities across Canada. This adventure led to my twenty years working in China in the television and broadcast technologies industry, witnessing the country's meteoric rise. In short, I have countless Canadian and Chinese stories to tell.
Though writing about Canada is relatively undemanding, China is another matter. One must compete for attention amongst numerous authors who have been composing copious words in voluminous bestsellers on China, and my opinion, no matter how informed, would be buried under a profusion of poppycock. Rather than taking on a thankless task, I decided to write about socioeconomics instead, despite never having received any indoctrination in the discipline. I didn’t consider it a disadvantage, as my uncluttered mind was unencumbered by preconceptions.
While researching for the book, I came across a quote from a Canadian economist, John Kenneth Galbraith, who admitted, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.” Upon making this discovery, I gave up on the mundane and went for the stars, in other words, science fiction. I realized the sci-fi genre would unfetter my imagination to create faraway alien worlds, travel back and forth through time and predict the future without appearing to have lost my marbles.
Experts and well-meaning friends who knew about my vacillations advised me to stick to one genre and focus on one subject. I could not decide whether I should listen to them or my guts, if guts could talk. After wasting precious time on fruitless philosophical contemplation, I went where my guts took me, namely, the kitchen. As I unsealed the portal of the refrigeration unit and a burst of photons from the fridge light flooded my face, I had an epiphany similar to what struck René Descartes: “I think; therefore, I’ll have a beer.” I gave life to an idea and collapsed its Schrödinger Wave Function. I would write an oxymoronic fact-based science fiction with everything in it, including the organic craft beer and the kitchen sink.
I have enjoyed the journey of creating this pièce de résistance. I must, however, warn treasure seekers they may not find a mother lode. They may hit a leaky pipe and encounter something unpleasant instead. On the other hand, prospectors with a discerning eye and an open mind will discover new ideas, new knowledge, new interpretations of history, new ways to understand oneself and the world, new insight into the origin of human civilizations, new questions about the mysteries of our universe and a new theory for establishing a long-lasting peaceful Utopian society, a lofty aspiration beyond human endeavour. In addition, the reader will learn many wild and woolly facts about Canada and China and be delightfully amazed.
Before taking the plunge, I needed to be convinced my socioeconomic theory was not entirely frivolous, I submitted a concise thesis for review by the estimable Professor Yifu Lin, renowned professor of economics at Peking University, previous Senior VP and Chief Economist of the World Bank and the deputy director of the CPPCC committee providing consultation on economic matters to the Chinese government. Professor Lin parsed my thesis, concluding it was “logical and convincing.” Amen!
Since I'm writing hard science fiction with quantum physics, time travel and artificial intelligence in the mix, I must ensure the science has some basis in fact and not all mumbo jumbo. Thanks to the favourable alignment of the stars, I have had the opportunity to pick the superior brain of a real scientist who happens to be my brother-in-law, Professor Peter Ramadge, director of Princeton University’s Center for Statistics and Machine Learning. Here’s a big shoutout to my brother Peter for humouring me and commenting on my outlandish ideas.
For the benefit of readers of all shades and persuasions, I'm spinning this yarn as a fanciful fable, catering to the consummate consumer's insatiable desire for epicurean pleasures. Although it will not please everyone and may even irk the odd reader, it promises to be something completely different. Carpe Liber--seize the book!
Book 2 of the Series: Bellatrix: The Female Warrior
The sequel delves into the connections between the planets Earth, Shangria and Betel. Lost in the past, Victoria tries to find her way back to the future by visiting the author of Dream of the Red Chamber, thus learning the answers to many of the mysteries in the classic. By chance, she witnesses one of the greatest battles ever fought by an invincible general who may have been a Canadian.
Book 3 of the Series: Augenblick: The Blink of an Eye
Readers will explore the concept of establishing a perpetually peaceful society, travel across a realm oft visited by heroes, lovers, demigods, epic poets and daydreaming young girls, and learn how our decisions can reset what has already transpired in the past. All the answers await us at the saga's grand finale.
The following excerpts are provided for reference only, all of which are protected by copyright laws, and may not be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information retrieval system, and any other operation covered by copyright laws, in whole or in part without the author's expressed written consent, except in the case of brief quotations, embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All of the character, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
This is a work of fiction. All of the character, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.
Book One
Unconquered
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Before the Fall
Victoria realizes the mythical creature of truth, the unicorn, exists.
Chapter 2: There Are No Accidents
There is no such thing as an accident, only the illusion of one.
Chapter 3: Unbreakable China Doll
Did Victoria survive because of luck or was it a miracle?
Chapter 4: Riddle me This
Can the reader help Victoria solve this riddle?
Chapter 5: Sub Rosa
A ring, a jade pendant and ancient glyphs.
Chapter 6: Weird Sisters
Victoria and her best friends Jackie and Emma.
Chapter 7: War of the Wolves
A decisive battle between the Eastern Wolves and the proto-Huns two thousand years ago.
Chapter 8: The Onslaught
A Homeric battle and the fate of the northern tribes.
Chapter 9: The Warrior Queen
Three thousand years ago, during Shang Dynasty, China's first known warrior queen pursues a northern barbarian tribe.
Chapter 10: The Unicorn Rings
The warrior queen and her jade archer rings from a one-eyed trader.
Chapter 11: Room 929
Victoria meets David Huang, the art dealer.
Chapter 12: Flight of Fancy
Victoria flies to China in a private jet.
Chapter 13: Freefall
Victoria jumps out of the plane mid-flight without a parachute.
Chapter 14: Running on Empty
It is not about Jackson Browne’s song or Sidney Lumet’s film starring the late River Phoenix.
Chapter 15: Sign of the Scorpion
A young man with a scorpion tattoo becomes the chief of a decimated Eastern Wolf tribe.
Chapter 16: Heart of the Dragon
The new chief worships Antares of Scorpius, known in China as the "‘Heart star of the Dragon constellation."
Chapter 17: Rising from the Ashes
The Eastern Wolf survivors of the great battle thrive under the leadership of the young chief.
Chapter 18: The One-eyed Apothecary
The young chief meets an itinerant one-eyed doctor and his idiot companion.
Chapter 19: Oblique Order
The warrior queen's handmaid introduces innovation and guile in battle.
Chapter 20: Twilight of the Gotts
The handmaid decisively defeats the barbarians.
Chapter 21: The Tuman's Banner
The handmaid makes peace with the ancestors of the Eastern Wolf tribes.
Chapter 22: What's in a Name?
David explains his unconventional background and ancient lineage.
Chapter 23: Empire of Lies
David proves most of what we believe to be true are fabrications.
Chapter 24: Wealth of a Nation
Making use of virtual reality technology, David takes Victoria to the South China Sea to witness an illicit trade.
Chapter 25: Fall of an Empire
Victoria witnesses the last battle of the Second Opium War.
Chapter 26: Yellow Stone
Victoria learns of the secret clan and the apocalyptic oracle of the "Stopping of the Sun."
Chapter 27: Year of the Dragon
1976 is a year of epochal change for China and David.
Chapter 28: The One-eyed Collector
Along their VR journey, David takes Victoria to his first auction.
Chapter 29: No. 1 Corn Gas
Two men in black known as Watchers interrogate Brent, the gas station attendant.
Chapter 30: Field of Dreams
David and Victoria plan for Christmas dinner at Field in the Rockies.
Chapter 31: Sudden Death
David takes Victoria to the VR battlefield where the last king of Shang faces the rebel's army.
Chapter 32: Confucius and the Secret Shang
Victoria learns the true background of Confucius and his connection to the secret clan.
Chapter 33: Wormwood
At the restaurant in Field, Victoria learns the true story of her adoptive parents.
Chapter 34: Hill of Beans
In 1974, a young man hiking alone in the mountains of western China is imprisoned by a matriarchal clan.
Chapter 35: Paradise Lost
The captive and his captor fall in love.
Chapter 36: Lovers' Leap
The secret lovers elope.
Chapter 37: Rise of the Peasant
Continuing through Chinese history in the VR metaverse, David takes Victoria to the last days of the Qin Empire.
Chapter 38: Alchemist's Cauldron
China is overrun by neighbouring barbaric tribes after the fall of Han.
Chapter 39: Girl Power
David takes Victoria to visit Chang'an, the capital of Tang dynasty, ruled by the only female emperor in Chinese history.
Chapter 40: Stone Man with One Eye
After the fall of Tang, a secret clan member founded the Song dynasty. The Mongols takes over China, but a beggar monk kicks out the Mongol emperor and establishes the Ming dynasty.
Chapter 41: The One-eyed Fablemonger
The runaway couple from the mountains of west China arrives at Anyang, the site of Shang's ancient capital.
Chapter 42: The Dragon’s Dream
The young man dreams of a wonderful future with his lover.
Chapter 43: Betrayal
In the VR metaverse, David takes Victoria to the Palace of Versailles where the Western powers are holding the Paris Peace Conference at the conclusion of World War I.
Chapter 44: The Long March
A huge Chinese Nationalist army encircles the peasant militia of the Chinese Communists.
Chapter 45: Turning Red
An unsung--and almost forgotten--Communist peasant general brings a swift end to the Chinese Civil War.
Chapter 46: Brobdingnagian China
David and Victoria arrive at China and head for Shanghai.
Chapter 47: Doing a Hudsucker
David and Victoria are trapped by the Watchers at the top of the Shanghai Tower.
Chapter 48: Next Stop, Gaffer's
Victoria goes to her next destination at a touristy place in Shanghai.
Chapter 49: Dangal with Tiger
Victoria meets Charlie and Viola Chan and learns about Gaffer’s Café's origin in Toronto.
Chapter 50: The Pianist from Gamma Crucis
Victoria learns about extraordinary contemporary women from China.
Chapter 51: The Awakening
Victoria arrives at the suburbs of Anyang where she finds David's comatose father and learns of his influence on Canada-China relations.
Chapter 52: Invictus
David's father wakes and recalls events before his coma.
Chapter 53: Quantum Leap
Victoria travels to a quantum state of the past.
Chapter 54: Grand Unification
Victoria reunites with her biological parents.
Chapter 55: Revelation
Victoria's parents decipher the glyphs of the oracle and learn its true meaning.
Chapter 56: AlphaOmega
Victoria is challenged by AlphaOmega, a powerful AI, to a dangerous duel of wits.
Chapter 57: Apocalypse
By a twist of fate, Victoria becomes the hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays' last at-bat at Roger’s Centre for the seventh and deciding game of the Championship. She notices the end of human's reign on Earth is at hand.
Unconquered
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Before the Fall
Victoria realizes the mythical creature of truth, the unicorn, exists.
Chapter 2: There Are No Accidents
There is no such thing as an accident, only the illusion of one.
Chapter 3: Unbreakable China Doll
Did Victoria survive because of luck or was it a miracle?
Chapter 4: Riddle me This
Can the reader help Victoria solve this riddle?
Chapter 5: Sub Rosa
A ring, a jade pendant and ancient glyphs.
Chapter 6: Weird Sisters
Victoria and her best friends Jackie and Emma.
Chapter 7: War of the Wolves
A decisive battle between the Eastern Wolves and the proto-Huns two thousand years ago.
Chapter 8: The Onslaught
A Homeric battle and the fate of the northern tribes.
Chapter 9: The Warrior Queen
Three thousand years ago, during Shang Dynasty, China's first known warrior queen pursues a northern barbarian tribe.
Chapter 10: The Unicorn Rings
The warrior queen and her jade archer rings from a one-eyed trader.
Chapter 11: Room 929
Victoria meets David Huang, the art dealer.
Chapter 12: Flight of Fancy
Victoria flies to China in a private jet.
Chapter 13: Freefall
Victoria jumps out of the plane mid-flight without a parachute.
Chapter 14: Running on Empty
It is not about Jackson Browne’s song or Sidney Lumet’s film starring the late River Phoenix.
Chapter 15: Sign of the Scorpion
A young man with a scorpion tattoo becomes the chief of a decimated Eastern Wolf tribe.
Chapter 16: Heart of the Dragon
The new chief worships Antares of Scorpius, known in China as the "‘Heart star of the Dragon constellation."
Chapter 17: Rising from the Ashes
The Eastern Wolf survivors of the great battle thrive under the leadership of the young chief.
Chapter 18: The One-eyed Apothecary
The young chief meets an itinerant one-eyed doctor and his idiot companion.
Chapter 19: Oblique Order
The warrior queen's handmaid introduces innovation and guile in battle.
Chapter 20: Twilight of the Gotts
The handmaid decisively defeats the barbarians.
Chapter 21: The Tuman's Banner
The handmaid makes peace with the ancestors of the Eastern Wolf tribes.
Chapter 22: What's in a Name?
David explains his unconventional background and ancient lineage.
Chapter 23: Empire of Lies
David proves most of what we believe to be true are fabrications.
Chapter 24: Wealth of a Nation
Making use of virtual reality technology, David takes Victoria to the South China Sea to witness an illicit trade.
Chapter 25: Fall of an Empire
Victoria witnesses the last battle of the Second Opium War.
Chapter 26: Yellow Stone
Victoria learns of the secret clan and the apocalyptic oracle of the "Stopping of the Sun."
Chapter 27: Year of the Dragon
1976 is a year of epochal change for China and David.
Chapter 28: The One-eyed Collector
Along their VR journey, David takes Victoria to his first auction.
Chapter 29: No. 1 Corn Gas
Two men in black known as Watchers interrogate Brent, the gas station attendant.
Chapter 30: Field of Dreams
David and Victoria plan for Christmas dinner at Field in the Rockies.
Chapter 31: Sudden Death
David takes Victoria to the VR battlefield where the last king of Shang faces the rebel's army.
Chapter 32: Confucius and the Secret Shang
Victoria learns the true background of Confucius and his connection to the secret clan.
Chapter 33: Wormwood
At the restaurant in Field, Victoria learns the true story of her adoptive parents.
Chapter 34: Hill of Beans
In 1974, a young man hiking alone in the mountains of western China is imprisoned by a matriarchal clan.
Chapter 35: Paradise Lost
The captive and his captor fall in love.
Chapter 36: Lovers' Leap
The secret lovers elope.
Chapter 37: Rise of the Peasant
Continuing through Chinese history in the VR metaverse, David takes Victoria to the last days of the Qin Empire.
Chapter 38: Alchemist's Cauldron
China is overrun by neighbouring barbaric tribes after the fall of Han.
Chapter 39: Girl Power
David takes Victoria to visit Chang'an, the capital of Tang dynasty, ruled by the only female emperor in Chinese history.
Chapter 40: Stone Man with One Eye
After the fall of Tang, a secret clan member founded the Song dynasty. The Mongols takes over China, but a beggar monk kicks out the Mongol emperor and establishes the Ming dynasty.
Chapter 41: The One-eyed Fablemonger
The runaway couple from the mountains of west China arrives at Anyang, the site of Shang's ancient capital.
Chapter 42: The Dragon’s Dream
The young man dreams of a wonderful future with his lover.
Chapter 43: Betrayal
In the VR metaverse, David takes Victoria to the Palace of Versailles where the Western powers are holding the Paris Peace Conference at the conclusion of World War I.
Chapter 44: The Long March
A huge Chinese Nationalist army encircles the peasant militia of the Chinese Communists.
Chapter 45: Turning Red
An unsung--and almost forgotten--Communist peasant general brings a swift end to the Chinese Civil War.
Chapter 46: Brobdingnagian China
David and Victoria arrive at China and head for Shanghai.
Chapter 47: Doing a Hudsucker
David and Victoria are trapped by the Watchers at the top of the Shanghai Tower.
Chapter 48: Next Stop, Gaffer's
Victoria goes to her next destination at a touristy place in Shanghai.
Chapter 49: Dangal with Tiger
Victoria meets Charlie and Viola Chan and learns about Gaffer’s Café's origin in Toronto.
Chapter 50: The Pianist from Gamma Crucis
Victoria learns about extraordinary contemporary women from China.
Chapter 51: The Awakening
Victoria arrives at the suburbs of Anyang where she finds David's comatose father and learns of his influence on Canada-China relations.
Chapter 52: Invictus
David's father wakes and recalls events before his coma.
Chapter 53: Quantum Leap
Victoria travels to a quantum state of the past.
Chapter 54: Grand Unification
Victoria reunites with her biological parents.
Chapter 55: Revelation
Victoria's parents decipher the glyphs of the oracle and learn its true meaning.
Chapter 56: AlphaOmega
Victoria is challenged by AlphaOmega, a powerful AI, to a dangerous duel of wits.
Chapter 57: Apocalypse
By a twist of fate, Victoria becomes the hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays' last at-bat at Roger’s Centre for the seventh and deciding game of the Championship. She notices the end of human's reign on Earth is at hand.
Book Two
Bellatrix: The Girl Warrior
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Ultima Thule
Victoria goes to war.
Chapter 2: Long Ago and Far Away
Introduction to Shangria, a paradise planet, the origin of Victoria's saga.
Chapter 3: Antebellum
An old bard laments about the peaceful paradise before Shangria's Endless War.
Chapter 4: The Mahashangria
Serah the Sibyl utters mysterious verses from a great epic.
Chapter 5: The Day the Music Died
Powerful music emanates from underground.
Chapter 6: Brave New World
Victoria's Chinese parents' life in Toronto.
Chapter 7: Beer is a Beer is a Beer is a Beer
Charlie visits Victoria and brings twisted logic.
Chapter 8: We'll Always Have Dundas
Charlie and the Weird Sisters discuss the world's end.
Chapter 9: The Twirligig
Kiku's parents secretly builds a powerful musical instrument in the slum city of Petra on the planet Shangria.
Chapter 10: Goodbye, Mr. Stane
Professor Stane divulges a dangerous secret to Kiku.
Chapter 11: Massacre at Sabrus Valley
Bombs rain on the slums in Petra.
Chapter 12: Scorpius
Victoria meets Sting, not the rock singer.
Chapter 13: Foxy Lady
Charlie gets lost on his way back to Princeton.
Chapter 14: The gathering Storm
Victoria watches the morning news in horror.
Chapter 15: Through a Glass Darkly
Victoria finds the Magic Mirror.
Chapter 16: the Vision
Kiku's heart stops in the hospital.
Chapter 17: The Female Warriors
Victoria learns the history of Madonna Lilith, the Amazonian queen from Orion.
Chapter 18: Battle of Regna Rock
Victoria learns how Madonna Lilith, as a young girl, leads a revolution.
Chapter 19: Metamorphosis
The Amazons refuse to die after being trapped.
Chapter 20: Vincero
Madonna Lilith and the Amazons overturn the patriarchal kingdom.
Chapter 21: The Prince and the Pauper
Kiku becomes best friends with the crown prince Cambi of the Yarjuns, Shangria's warrior caste.
Chapter 22: The One-eyed Warrior
The Yarjun Supremo Lord Killem adopts Kiku, training him to become a Yarjun warrior.
Chapter 23: Stranger in Paradise
A person lost in time wakes up in a black boat moored at an emerald island.
Chapter 24: Peregrination of the Half-Keys
He overhears the conversation between the maimed one-eyed king and his physician.
Chapter 25: Convergence
He learns how the Half-Keys reunite to form the Complete Key and his own significance in bringing about the Great Reset.
Chapter 26: Immortal Zugzwang
Victoria challenges AlphaOmega to a high-stakes chess match.
Chapter 27: The Hellian March
As a Yarjun aristocrat, Kiku takes possession of his fief, the Hellian March.
Chapter 28: Enter the Nine Dragons
Kiku steals into the rebel stronghold.
Chapter 29: Portal of Truth
Kiku learns the surprising background of Cambi.
Chapter 30: From Petra to Black Rock
Kiku learns about the aftermath of the fire bombing of Petra.
Chapter 31: The Animorta
Kiku leads the Animorta in war against the Yarjuns.
Chapter 32: Banquet at the Wild Goose Gate
Sting convinces Victoria to confront Madonna Lilith.
Chapter 33: The Amortal Foe
Sting coaches Victoria on war against a deathless enemy.
Chapter 34: Enter the Qaanaaq
Victoria tries to convince Queen Lilith humans deserve a second chance.
Chapter 35: Project Gomoira
For every reason Victoria puts forth as to why humans should be spared, Madonna Lilith has a better reason for the opposite.
Chapter 36: Plan B
As Victoria contemplates Plan B, the queen's vigilant bodyguard takes drastic action.
Chapter 37: Dungeon of the Heart
Kiku has a deep and painful secret he dares not share with Serah.
Chapter 38: Dies Irae
Kiku faces Lord Killem and Prince Cambi in the final showdown.
Chapter 39: Story of the Stone
Victoria wakes up in the Qing dynasty.
Chapter 40: The Grand Canal Cruise
Victoria goes to Beijing.
Chapter 41: The Nun's Story
Victoria meets the author of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Chapter 42: Dream of the Red Chamber
Victoria learns the answers to many secrets and mysteries of the book and its author.
Chapter 43: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
Victoria makes her way back to the future with the help of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Chapter 44: The Unsinkable Freemans
Along the way, Victoria witnesses a great battle fought by the greatest general in history.
Chapter 45: Battle of the Blind
The battle is fought at and around a village named "Home of the Blind."
Chapter 46: Death by the Danube
Victoria watches the invincible Canadian general inflict a crushing defeat on his previously invincible foe.
Chapter 47: Omnia Vincit Amor
Victoria discovers the general's secret of success.
Chapter 48: In Extremis
Victoria returns to Queen Lilith's flagship only to face an impossible dilemma.
Bellatrix: The Girl Warrior
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Ultima Thule
Victoria goes to war.
Chapter 2: Long Ago and Far Away
Introduction to Shangria, a paradise planet, the origin of Victoria's saga.
Chapter 3: Antebellum
An old bard laments about the peaceful paradise before Shangria's Endless War.
Chapter 4: The Mahashangria
Serah the Sibyl utters mysterious verses from a great epic.
Chapter 5: The Day the Music Died
Powerful music emanates from underground.
Chapter 6: Brave New World
Victoria's Chinese parents' life in Toronto.
Chapter 7: Beer is a Beer is a Beer is a Beer
Charlie visits Victoria and brings twisted logic.
Chapter 8: We'll Always Have Dundas
Charlie and the Weird Sisters discuss the world's end.
Chapter 9: The Twirligig
Kiku's parents secretly builds a powerful musical instrument in the slum city of Petra on the planet Shangria.
Chapter 10: Goodbye, Mr. Stane
Professor Stane divulges a dangerous secret to Kiku.
Chapter 11: Massacre at Sabrus Valley
Bombs rain on the slums in Petra.
Chapter 12: Scorpius
Victoria meets Sting, not the rock singer.
Chapter 13: Foxy Lady
Charlie gets lost on his way back to Princeton.
Chapter 14: The gathering Storm
Victoria watches the morning news in horror.
Chapter 15: Through a Glass Darkly
Victoria finds the Magic Mirror.
Chapter 16: the Vision
Kiku's heart stops in the hospital.
Chapter 17: The Female Warriors
Victoria learns the history of Madonna Lilith, the Amazonian queen from Orion.
Chapter 18: Battle of Regna Rock
Victoria learns how Madonna Lilith, as a young girl, leads a revolution.
Chapter 19: Metamorphosis
The Amazons refuse to die after being trapped.
Chapter 20: Vincero
Madonna Lilith and the Amazons overturn the patriarchal kingdom.
Chapter 21: The Prince and the Pauper
Kiku becomes best friends with the crown prince Cambi of the Yarjuns, Shangria's warrior caste.
Chapter 22: The One-eyed Warrior
The Yarjun Supremo Lord Killem adopts Kiku, training him to become a Yarjun warrior.
Chapter 23: Stranger in Paradise
A person lost in time wakes up in a black boat moored at an emerald island.
Chapter 24: Peregrination of the Half-Keys
He overhears the conversation between the maimed one-eyed king and his physician.
Chapter 25: Convergence
He learns how the Half-Keys reunite to form the Complete Key and his own significance in bringing about the Great Reset.
Chapter 26: Immortal Zugzwang
Victoria challenges AlphaOmega to a high-stakes chess match.
Chapter 27: The Hellian March
As a Yarjun aristocrat, Kiku takes possession of his fief, the Hellian March.
Chapter 28: Enter the Nine Dragons
Kiku steals into the rebel stronghold.
Chapter 29: Portal of Truth
Kiku learns the surprising background of Cambi.
Chapter 30: From Petra to Black Rock
Kiku learns about the aftermath of the fire bombing of Petra.
Chapter 31: The Animorta
Kiku leads the Animorta in war against the Yarjuns.
Chapter 32: Banquet at the Wild Goose Gate
Sting convinces Victoria to confront Madonna Lilith.
Chapter 33: The Amortal Foe
Sting coaches Victoria on war against a deathless enemy.
Chapter 34: Enter the Qaanaaq
Victoria tries to convince Queen Lilith humans deserve a second chance.
Chapter 35: Project Gomoira
For every reason Victoria puts forth as to why humans should be spared, Madonna Lilith has a better reason for the opposite.
Chapter 36: Plan B
As Victoria contemplates Plan B, the queen's vigilant bodyguard takes drastic action.
Chapter 37: Dungeon of the Heart
Kiku has a deep and painful secret he dares not share with Serah.
Chapter 38: Dies Irae
Kiku faces Lord Killem and Prince Cambi in the final showdown.
Chapter 39: Story of the Stone
Victoria wakes up in the Qing dynasty.
Chapter 40: The Grand Canal Cruise
Victoria goes to Beijing.
Chapter 41: The Nun's Story
Victoria meets the author of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Chapter 42: Dream of the Red Chamber
Victoria learns the answers to many secrets and mysteries of the book and its author.
Chapter 43: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
Victoria makes her way back to the future with the help of Dream of the Red Chamber.
Chapter 44: The Unsinkable Freemans
Along the way, Victoria witnesses a great battle fought by the greatest general in history.
Chapter 45: Battle of the Blind
The battle is fought at and around a village named "Home of the Blind."
Chapter 46: Death by the Danube
Victoria watches the invincible Canadian general inflict a crushing defeat on his previously invincible foe.
Chapter 47: Omnia Vincit Amor
Victoria discovers the general's secret of success.
Chapter 48: In Extremis
Victoria returns to Queen Lilith's flagship only to face an impossible dilemma.