Tiger

Jeffrey S. Stone

Book - 2005

Five young warrior-monk brothers survive an insurrection and must use the ancient arts to avenge their Grandmaster.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Random House 2005.
Language
English
Main Author
Jeffrey S. Stone (-)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
196 p.
ISBN
9780375830723
9780375930713
9780375830716
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Gr. 6-9. This first installment of The Ancestors series features Fu, or Tiger, one of five orphan monks, each named for an animal he most resembles. As the book begins, the boys are hidden in a water barrel during a raid on their temple. The emperor's army, under the command of their former brother, Ying, the Eagle, is out to destroy the Cangzhen Monastery, kill the grandmaster, and steal the sacred scrolls. Impetuous Fu rescues the scrolls, but his own rash act leads to imprisonment in a remote village. Although set in 1650 China, this is a kung fu novel, not historical fiction, and despite the grandmaster's peace-seeking Buddhist philosophy, Tiger is not for the squeamish, as Ying is a terrifying villain and bloodstained flesh dangles during violent battles. Characters are virtuous or evil, but the slam-bang, pedal-to-the-metal adventure stands a good chance of luring kids away from video games; they will definitely line up for the forthcoming sequel. --Linda Perkins Copyright 2005 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Set in 17th-century China (aka "4348-Year of the Tiger"), Stone's debut novel launches his riveting Five Ancestors series. Five orphans live at Cangzhen Temple with their Grandmaster, and consider themselves brothers; "each had mastered a style of animal kung fu that reflected both his personality and his body type." Their names are Cantonese for monkey, snake, crane, dragon and-this novel's focus-tiger. As the novel opens, Ying (Cantonese for "eagle"), a 16-year-old former student, returns to the school with the Emperor's army to retrieve the "dragon scrolls" ("He yearns to be an all-powerful dragon," Grandmaster explains) and also to exact revenge on the Grandmaster, whom he blames for the death of his best friend. The brothers learn that Ying may harbor a deeper motive ("Grandmaster wasn't the holy man everyone thinks he is," Ying tells them). In a titillating foreshadowing, Grandmaster warns the boys not to kill Ying: "Your pasts are interwoven with Ying's and so are your futures." While Ying battles his teacher, 12-year-old Fu ("tiger") retrieves the scrolls and flees, and the five brothers "scatter into the four winds." Fu spares the life of one of Ying's soldiers, who then repays the favor at a pivotal moment; Fu and Malao ("monkey") each bond with their animal counterparts, who also aid them at key junctures. Stone credibly portrays Fu as alternately sympathetic and maddening, true to his adolescent nature, and the martial arts scenes will keep even reluctant readers flipping through the pages, and anxious for volume two, Monkey. Ages 10-up. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 6-9-Essentially a graphic novel without the graphics, this book (the first of five) should have broad appeal to readers who love computer games and Japanese anime. As the story begins, five orphans, being raised as foster brothers and Buddhist monks in 17th-century China, are hiding in a large water jar as imperial forces, led by their renegade older brother, Ying, attack and slaughter their temple's residents. Grandmaster has given the boys animal names and has trained each of them in a martial-arts style related to his titular animal's strengths. He intends the five to escape, even if everyone else dies. Fu-the "tiger"-is this book's main character; in addition to remaining free, he is determined to reclaim the valuable ancient training scrolls that Ying has taken from the temple. Fu finds friends in unexpected places and learns to control the impulses he has fought against all of his life. Teens are likely to warm to the implicit theme that each person has a particular destiny, an inborn sense of identity that must be brought to light. While quite a page-turner, employing slapstick humor from time to time in true manga style, Tiger is nonetheless an adventure story and not a more serious work of finding one's self and one's place in the world. Cheryl Aylward Whitesel's Blue Fingers (Clarion, 2004) is a fine story that also examines those topics.-Coop Renner, Hillside Elementary, El Paso, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

This first installment of the projected series introduces five orphans raised together as brothers at a Buddhist temple in seventeenth-century China. This story features Fu, or Tiger, who is charged with retrieving ancient scrolls stolen from the temple. Fast-paced and action-packed, this Kung Fu adventure doesn't offer much depth, but the detailed (and vivid) fight scenes will enthrall fans of the genre. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Five young brothers, each master of a different kung fu style, flee the destruction of their hidden monastery in this unpolished but energetic martial-arts series opener. Here, Fu (Cantonese for "Tiger," as the author repeatedly explains), the largest and most hot-headed of the quintet, struggles to master both his temper and a host of soldiers led by older-brother-gone-to-the-bad Ying, while several times saving and losing a precious set of scrolls that lay out the deepest secrets of kung fu. Stone is better at describing gruesomely effective fighting techniques than at dialogue--"He let me loose, and now we're even. If he ever stands between me and the scrolls, he'll taste my fist!"--but fans of lower-budget martial-arts films, or for that matter the character interplay that animates Lensey Namioka's samurai adventures (which are set at roughly the same time), will find themselves on familiar ground. Readers hoping for the wild twists and epic sweep of L.G. Bass's Sign of the Qin (2004) may be disappointed, though, and several plot threads are left a-dangling. (Fiction. 11-13) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

"This is stupid," Fu mumbled from the bottom of the terra-cotta barrel. "How long do we have to stay inside this thing? I feel like a pickled vegetable." "Shhh!" warned his brother Malao, lying directly on top of him. "Grandmaster told us to remain perfectly quiet, and perfectly still." "I know what Grandmaster said," Fu replied. "But we can't stay crammed in here forever. I say we get out right now. I say we stop hiding and fight!" "Calm yourself, Fu," whispered his brother Seh from on top of Malao. "We are all just as cramped and uncomfortable as you are. But we must do as Grandmaster said and remain silent and hidden. The enemy within our walls is unlike any faced by Cangzhen Temple in more than a thousand years." "Yeah, yeah," Fu said. "Stop being so dramatic. You guys are sounding more and more like Grandmaster every day. I don't care who's out there. We're all masters now. We've all passed the tests. We shouldn't be hiding like a bunch of girls. We should be--" "Hush!" snapped Fu's brother Hok, who was lying on top of Seh. "That's enough, Fu! You're making even me angry now." "I don't care!" Fu replied. "If you think--" "Quiet!" hissed Fu's oldest brother, Long, from the top of the pile. "Control your tongues, all of you! Brother Fu, empty the words from your mouth and then empty your mind. You must take control of your thoughts and your emotions, or they will control you." " You must take control of your thoughts and your emotions, or they will control you ," Fu mocked. "Give me a break, Long. Right now we need action, not philosophy." Fu was quickly losing his patience. He could hear enemy horses racing up and down the brick pathways that crisscrossed the temple grounds. He also heard weapons clashing and men crying out--plus a terrible, new sound. It was almost like thunder, except every boom was followed by a pain-filled scream. Fu's keen ears recognized each and every scream. Warrior monks were falling. A low growl resonated deep within Fu's chest. He didn't understand why his four brothers, stacked above him in the barrel, were holding back. Like him, each had mastered a style of animal kung fu that reflected both his personality and his body type. In fact, their true natures were so perfectly matched with their kung fu styles that they were each named after the animal they mirrored. They were born to fight. But they wouldn't. Fu, the tiger, growled again. His brothers didn't look like him, walk like him, talk like him, or even smell like him. And they certainly didn't think like him. He called them "brothers" because they all were Buddhist and lived in the temple together. In reality, he and his "brothers" were orphans. What Fu needed were real brothers. Brothers who would fight alongside him. Fu grunted under the weight of the others. "I can't believe we are just going to--" "Please!" Long interrupted. "No more talking! We all have to remain silent. Brother Fu, focus your breathing. Meditate like the rest of us have been doing. If you find that you cannot meditate, just lie still and relax." "That's easy for you to say," Fu replied. "You're on top. Try lying down here at the bottom of the pile in a pool of water with Malao's nasty feet pressing up against your lips." Malao giggled softly and wiggled his toes. "If you do that again, Malao, I'll bite them off one at a time," Fu said. "I swear I will." Malao giggled again but kept his toes still. How much longer am I going to be stuck in here? Fu wondered. He hoped for his brothers' sake they would all get out of the barrel soon, because he wasn't sure if he could control himself much longer. From the Hardcover edition. Excerpted from Tiger by Jeff Stone All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.