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Xu LeiAdventure · Horror
Palace of Doom
Synopsis
Wu Xie doesn't know why Uncle Three has called everyone back together, only that ignoring the summons was never an option. Reunited with Wang "Fatty" Pangzi and the unnervingly silent Zhang Qiling, Wu Xie boards a train bound for a remote, mythical palace buried in glaciers and blizzards, expecting answers and getting mostly more questions.
Their femme fatale rival Ning is already on the same trail, backed by a team of foreign operatives and possibly holding Uncle Three hostage, which turns what should have been a reunion into a race against a competent, well-resourced enemy in one of the most hostile settings the series has thrown at its characters.
Fourth in Xu Lei's Grave Robbers' Chronicles, Palace of Doom tightens the claustrophobic dread the series is known for, trading some of the earlier books' tomb-crawling for a colder, more isolated kind of horror.
How it reads
Prose complexity 7/10
Genres
Characters
Wu XieProtagonist
Uncle Three's nephew, drawn back into grave-robbing by a cryptic summons that leads to the mysterious palace.
NingAntagonist
A femme fatale rival tracking the same palace, backed by a team of foreign operatives.
Wang Pangzi (Fatty)Supporting
Wu Xie's blunt, loyal companion on the expedition.
Zhang Qiling (Poker-Face)Supporting
An unnervingly quiet, capable member of the crew.
