The Jade Enchantress

by E. Hoffmann Price

It was perhaps natural, after a thousand years of celibacy, that the Immortal Jade Lady should petition the Moon Goddess for a lover. The trouble was that he was a mortal and she was a spirit--which made for certain difficulties. Then she had to fall in love with him!

Ju-hai had troubles enough without spirit entanglements. He had a powerful enemy, seeking to destroy his family to seize their lands. Somehow, Ju-hai had to rescue his father, illegally impressed to fight a distant war, even though success meant outlawry. Then he had to win justice and vengeance against the enemy. It was a task to confound a mighty warrior and magician. And, of course, there was the matter of Hsi-feng, the little slave-girl...

But the Jade Lady meant to save him and to make him an Immortal, too--whether he wanted to be on not!

Genres: Fantasy

297 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 12, 1982

About the author

Originally intending to be a career soldier, Price graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point; he served in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, and with the American military in Mexico and the Philippines. He was a champion fencer and boxer, an amateur Orientalist, and a student of the Arabic language; science-fiction author Jack Williamson, in his 1984 autobiography Wonder's Child, called E. Hoffmann Price a "real live soldier of fortune."

In his literary career, Hoffmann Price produced fiction for a wide range of publications, from Argosy to Terror Tales, from Speed Detective to Spicy Mystery Stories. Yet he was most readily identified as a Weird Tales writer, one of the group who wrote regularly for editor Farnsworth Wright, a group that included Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith. Price published 24 solo stories in "the Unique Magazine" between 1925 and 1950, plus three collaborations with Otis Adelbert Kline, and his works with Lovecraft.

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish I had an expert opinion about how Price has captured the culture and history and spiritual beliefs. My limited exposure recognizes some aspects, but Price lays it on so thick at points, especially where the plot-resolving magic is involved or in deep discussions of philosophical/spiritual navel-gazing. It's hard to tell if he's a dilettante running too far with a few cliche notions, or if he really is approaching it from a viewpoint of real understanding. But he weaves together notions of yin and yang, of Taoist alchemy versus Buddhist beliefs, the decay of dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, and the conflict of a corrupt Confucian bureaucracy with the military. He is enthusiastic, if nothing else.

It hits many of the same notes as The Devil Wives of Li Fong: a supernatural woman pursues an ordinary guy, and an opponent seeks to rob, cheat, or swindle him of great material wealth. The woman, Mei-yu, is seemingly devoted to Ju-hai to the exclusion of all else, with great importance put into the yin/yang relationship and how her actions impact her karma.

If only Ju-hai has the same devotion to her. This is a very...earthy...story, where prostitution is acceptable if not honorable in low castes and holding a concubine is for some reason an expectation, and Ju-hai traipses from woman to woman without regret or a deep sense of attachment. It becomes distracting and off-putting when one of his attractions is barely fourteen.

Part of this unfortunate focus is showing Ju-hai as a callow and distracted youth, who, while talented, is barely making progress on his scholarship. Despite Ju-hai's frequent bedding of strangely compliant women--and for some their interest is only seen in hindsight--this is all a stage-setting phase where the plot against the Kwan family is slowly in motion.

To its credit, the story becomes vastly more interesting as events transpire and Ju-hai matures into a formidable warrior and clan head. Despite the crashing conclusion hinging on a bunch of very specific cosmic mumbo-jumbo and a stupid near-literal deus ex machina, the character machinations are marvelous and General Tsao's final betrayal and reason behind it is perfect.

At one point I wondered whether this and Devil Wives were conceived as a pair, as they have a yin/yang relationship. This is about Ju-hai, the dynamic masculine, in the same way that the other is about the "devil wives", the lead-from-behind feminine.

[Adrian Halpert · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a lover of Chinese History, I bought The Jade Enchatress looking forward to a fun fantasy adventure in Tang Dynasty China. Did I get it? Kind of.
The writing and the pacing of this book leave alot to be desired. I found out about midway through that Price was a pulp writer, and I have to say that his style would work much better in a short story format, since this book really feels like a much extended short story, lacking the scope I would expect from a novel.
That said, the story is decent and I had the impression that he researched Chinese history enough to covey a passable sense of the world of Tang China. The plot also somewhat resembles the Chinese Classic, "Dream of the Red Chamber", which, whether that was intentional or not, seemed a nice touch.
All in all, this is ok. Not quite what I was hoping, but I wasn't hugely disappointed either.
3/5 Stars

[Lazare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow this novel was very horny, lol. I quite enjoyed the story, especially the parts revolving around Mei-Yu and jadecraft. However, something about Price's style was off-putting to me.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The setting, in China, was interesting and the basic concept of the book was good. But, the flow and storyline left a lot to be desired.

I did enjoy reading the book.