coolreads# Retro Books# The Emperor’s Tomb

The Emperor’s Tomb
Author: Steve Berry
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781444709360
Year Published: 2002

Visitors to China will want to visit and see the wondrous Terracotta army, and the Great Wall. These two archaeological remnants are culturally and historically significant in China’s history. They were built by Qin Shi Huang (260-210BC), the first emperor of China. Furthermore, the Terracotta army has attracted enormous interests from around the world, making the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang a famous tourist attraction.

However, Qin Shi Huang's actual tomb has never been found, and the final resting place for the first emperor of China remains a mystery. 

In The Emperor's Tomb, International bestselling author Steve Berry wrote a fast paced, geopolitical-cum-conspiracy thriller based on Qin Shi Huang's hidden tomb. This is the 6th instalment in Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series. I managed to dig up this old copy from my collection and reread the novel. And I thought it’s a good book worth sharing with the readers of this blog.

Cotton Malone, a retired agent of the US Justice Department, was enjoying his life as an antique book dealer in Copenhagen, Denmark. But Malone's peaceful life ended abruptly when he received a video showing disturbing images of his lover/friend, Cassiopeia Vitt, being tortured by a mysterious man. Cassiopeia's abductor demanded that Malone bring along an “artefact” in exchange for her life.

Unfortunately, Malone is clueless and has no idea what this “artefact” is. As Cassiopeia's life hangs in the balance, Malone sets out on a desperate mission to rescue his friend, a mission that will take him from Europe to Asia, where he will encounter a deadly, ancient brotherhood sect, and discover astonishing, historical revelations that will shape the fate of the world for ages to come.

Basically, The Emperor's Tomb is a novel about a discovery that could work wonders for China's standing as a world superpower. Turns out oil may not be as finite as everyone seems to think it is and a verifiable sample of this has been found in China. Naturally, one minister, who turns out to belong to the Ba or eunuch brotherhood, wants to exploit this discovery and it falls to our plucky American hero to stop him. Along the way, the reader journeys with the characters to Copenhagen, Antwerp, China and a disputed area on the border of China.

Berry also gives a comprehensive background of the Ba and shows how the eunuchs exhibited enormous influence and hence power during the imperial dynastic rule. This brotherhood sect now wants to control the premiership in Beijing. But can they succeed?

What I think about this book:

In The Emperor's Tomb, Steve Berry changed the scenery, and unleashed his fictional creation, agent Cotton Malone, in China. This gives the series a refreshing feel.

In this book, Berry blended history into a fictional story. Even though parts of the story are creative but unbelievable, what makes this book really interesting is that it explored the 21th century, geopolitical climate, projecting a fresh perspective and a special highlight, on the rise of China and the legacy of communism. It also raised an age-old question: Will China become a democracy?

Without a doubt, The Emperor's Tomb is a page turner - where the story is fast-paced, exciting and jam packed with explosive actions. I would describe this book as a mixture of elements from James Bond movies and Dan Brown novels, with a “Tom Clancy” styled twist.

If ever there was a man who looked like he wrote thrillers for a living, Berry is that man (check out his bio). And The Emperor's Tomb is an entertaining book set on an interesting, geopolitical premise that is relevant to the world today. A well crafted fiction tinted with history, it not only sheds light on China's turbulent past during the Cultural Revolution but also offers valuable lessons for today’s leaders and the Chinese people.