Sing Lin is a mooie jai, a girl sold into slavery at the age of five to a wealthy merchant in Tangrenbu, the ghetto of her people in the new country across the sea. One lucky day, while she is out shopping by herself, she meets another mooie jai, Kwai Yin, a bossy, beautiful girl two years older.
Kwai has a secret. Before she was sold into slavery, she had a Teacher who taught her about Tao Magic. The two girls become friends and Kwai teaches Sing a little about Tao Magic, too.
But Sing watches Kwai succumb to the terrifying fate of all slave girls in Tangrenbu.
Soon Sing Lin is destined to go to the same fate. But will her invocation of Tao Magic save her?
Like Every Mystery Unexplained, this novelette benefited from the extensive research I did for The Gilded Age. Daughter of the Tao was first published in Peter S. Beagle’s Immortal Unicorn anthology (HarperPrism), which also included stories by Charles de Lint, Karen Joy Fowler, Robert Sheckley, and Ellen Kushner.
Copyright 2000--2013 by Lisa Mason. All rights to content and images reserved.
Five Star Amazon Review
5.0 out of 5 stars for Daughter of the Tao on Kindle
a beautiful novella! April 23, 2012
By Mark Abrams
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
The characters in this little book jumped off the page and you really cared what happened to them. It is a rare talent that can do that so well! This was a compelling tale of a girl sold into slavery as her culture allowed. I found myself hooked from the very first page as I followed her through the twists and turns of her life. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a character-based story with a touch of magic and fantasy to it!