The Grace of Kings (The Dandelion Dynasty, #1)

by Ken Liu

“When you learn enough about the world, even a blade of grass can be a weapon.”

This is a rephrasing of a common sentiment in wuxia fantasy dating back to the Tang Dynasty and earlier (with ultimate roots in, again, Daoist philosophy). Master swordsmen don’t rely on precious steel blades; they can do more damage with a sword made from bamboo. Greater still are the swordsmen who don’t even wield bamboo swords but can slay with a flower petal or a blade of grass. Greatest of all are masters who don’t need any weapons at all: they triumph through the strength of their spirit, overcome by not contending, win by not fighting. It’s not exactly a spoiler to say that it’s worth paying attention to who says this in the book. The payoff will not come for thousands of pages.