The Dragon Princess: Exotic and Forbidden Love Stories (Eastern Fantasy and Romance Series, #1) / Eastern Fantasy and Romance Series (ePub)

In his first detective fiction, "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (1841), Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) invented the genre of "locked-room mystery." Since then, locked-room mysteries have become an essential type of novel. Other prominent authors of the genre include Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), Agatha Christie (1890-1976), and John Dickson Carr (1906-1977).

But the fact is that Poe was not the first to write the genre in the world. Over 1,000 years ago, a Chinese fiction titled "Supplement to Jiang's Biography of The White Ape" (978) depicted such an enigma. The story was not about an orangutan, but a giant white ape, an element like the one in Poe's fiction. But the story development and other details were completely different, with more complicated twists and suspense.

The first story in this book, "The Valley Monster," is newly developed based on "Supplement to Jiang's Biography of The White Ape." The current story goes beyond the boundary of detective fiction, making it a breathtaking tale of romance, fantasy, thriller, and martial arts.

Dragons in Western cultures have wings with the capability of breathing fire. But dragons in Eastern cultures are wingless and kings of water. They oversee rain, rivers, oceans, and flood. They have complicated relationships with humans.

In the second story of this book, "The Dragon Princess," such complications puzzled a young man. What should he do? Did he have a choice?

The third story, "The Lady in White," is about a love forbidden in human society. The responses of the young man and woman would even surprise today's readers.

The fourth story, "The Southern Province Governor," is also based on a pioneering fiction in its genre. But its depth of thought may surpass those written hundreds of years later.

Many of today's young people may find echoes in the fifth story, "Million Coin Beauty." Tiger parents are not something new today. They have an exceptionally long history.

Inspired by the tales from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), this book's five new stories drew the picture of life and love in the far east from different angles. Mysterious fantasies, layered thrillers, triangular romances, and psychological developments are all woven into the thought-provoking events during ancient times.

Sunrise, sunset. Winter goes, and spring comes. Green lands may become deserts. The world can change entirely in decades, not to mention hundreds of years. The only things that have never changed are human nature and love.