Adventures of Takuan from Koto
Adventures of Takuan from Koto #1-3
by Ryu Zhong

Whimsical adventures of a young trickster: from clever exploits to a god-given mission.

A stone marten, in pursuit of the sun, climbs to the very Heavens and causes quite a commotion. Both the stubborn gods and the ordinary people have a hard time when weredemons break free. Even the Lord of the Underworld turns out to be powerless.

But sometimes even a mouse can be stronger than an elephant, as the old proverb says. The fate of the world ends up in the hands of Takuan — a young trickster, who deceives the greedy, angry, and ignorant people across the country of Chinayindu. On his journey, he meets the wandering warrior Zhu Leizu, a temple monk named Soliang, the clumsy sorcerer Bricabrac, and many others.

Our story begins with a village boy setting off to a monastery to become a demon-hunting monk, only to find out how truly dull monastic life can be.

Or does our story actually begin with the birth of the stone marten Ta Guan? To learn about what happened in the Heavens, the incredible adventures of Takuan, and what was the end of all of it, read the book ‘Takuan from Koto’ by Ryū Zhong.

5 out of 5 fairies

Although I’m not very familiar with Asian folklore and fairy tales, it was easy to dive in, explore, and enjoy each story in this collection. The author has a great narrative voice, and this reads like a lot of the original fairy tales I read as a kid. The imagery is vivid, and it’s if the stories were unfolding before you. Although it’s hard to stop after one chapter, you could easily read a chapter before bed with an upper middle grade reader. (Think 1001 nights style, it keeps you wanting to come back for more, while still packing a lot into each chapter). I highly recommend this for all fairy and folk tale lovers, it’s a unique collection that’s sure to captivate your imagination.

Amazon | Goodreads

Ryu Zhong has spent the last fifteen years in multinational corporations doing future research and developing novel tech. Today, Ryu writes fantasy and science fiction based on his experience. In his novels, he highlights the phenomena that humanity may face in just a few hundred years.

Ryū Zhong were lucky to be born and grow in Asia. Now they live in Amsterdam, study Dutch, and adapt their writings to English and other languages.

Annon Ruini Books