Eight Skilled Gentlemen [Import] [Paperback]

Barry Hughart (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday/Foundation (1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552134015
• ISBN-13: 978-0552134019
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Found an interview of Mr. Hughart on the web..., May 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Eight Skilled Gentlemen (Hardcover)

The following interview with Barry Hughart was conducted via mail during January-February, 2000. --J. Kuntz

JK: All fans of the Master Li books want to know why the series stopped after Eight Skilled Gentlemen. Can you explain?

BH: The Master Li books were a tightrope act and hard to write, but not, alas, very remunerative. Still, I would have continued as originally planned if I'd had a supportive publisher: seven novels ending with my heroes' deaths in the battle with the Great White Serpent, and their elevation to the Great River of Stars as minor deities guaranteed to cause the August Personage of Jade almost as much trouble as the Stone Monkey. Unfortunately I had St. Martins, which didn't even bother to send a postcard when I won the World Fantasy Award; Ballantine, which was dandy until my powerhouse editor dropped dead and her successors forgot my existence; and Doubleday, which released The Story of the Stone three months before the pub date, guaranteeing that not one copy would still be on the shelves when reviews came out, published the hardcover and the paperback of Eight Skilled Gentlemen simultaneously, and then informed me they would bring out further volumes in paperback only, meriting, of course, a considerably reduced advance.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only there were more, May 5, 2003

By 

J. Chang (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Eight Skilled Gentlemen (Paperback)

This is the last book released by Mr. Hughart. It was supposed to be the third in a series of seven, but due to compensation differences, he elected not to continue writing. It's a darn shame because his novels of a China that never was are truly wonderful. The third adventure of Master Li and Number Ten Ox involves murder, mayhem, and magic aplenty, with lots of Chinese literary references thrown in. Almost makes you believe you're reading history. This story is not quite up to the same standards as his first two, but it's a matter of interpretation. I love his work and I really wish he'd start writing again.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Glorious tale in the China that never was!, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eight Skilled Gentlemen (Paperback)

I love all three Master Li and Number Ten Ox novels, but Eight Skilled Gentlemen is my personal favorite. This book is one to savor, from the hilarious opening chapter at a public execution to the thrilling race between the dragonboats. I join the thousands of Barry Hughart fans in *imploring* him to please publish another Master Li novel!