A volcanic eruption releases a vanguard of demons, sealed away for centuries beneath the earth. Soon after, the Emperor's first son is born, marked with the sign of the Qin -- the brand of the outlaw! Could the child be the new Starlord, destined to restore justice to the land?

The emperor plots to kill his only heir before the boy can usurp his throne. But the assassin is foiled by a mysterious monk whose magical tattoos foretell the future, and a trickster monkey who longs for immortality. A host of warring guardians must ultimately unite to help the Starlord unlock the kung fu secrets of the Twelve Scrolls and save the earth from destruction. But first, the Prince must fulfill his destiny, and join the twin leaders of the legendary outlaws of Moonshadow Marsh in a war against the Lord of the Dead.

The first in a trilogy, Sign of the Qin draws upon Chinese myth and legend in a tour de force of classic storytelling.

BLURBS:

“I devoured SIGN OF THE QIN in a single enchanted night. It is a beautifully crafted book—its fantasy beguiling and believable, its action sequences springing to life in your head like the best kung fu movie ever made, its prose elegant, its philosophies wise. What can I say? Don’t deny yourself the boundless pleasures of this book.”
- Clive Barker

“L.G. Bass is a totally original voice…Her plot lines interweave
hypnotically and her characters are bursting with energy and
inventiveness. Most people would get at least a trilogy out of the material L.G. Bass uses for just one book. I fully expect Sign of the Qin to garner cult and popular success. It is so refreshing to read a book that has almost invented its own genre.” –Eoin Colfer

Read Chapter 1.


L.G. Bass is a student of martial arts, a former teacher and journalist, and a fan of kung fu films. The author lives with her husband and two sons in New York City.