Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

Written by Xiran Jay Zhao

Narrated by Neo Cihi

Percy Jackson meets Tristan Strong in this hilarious, action-packed middle grade contemporary fantasy that follows a young boy as he journeys across China to seal the underworld shut and save the mortal realm.

Zachary Ying never had many opportunities to learn about his Chinese heritage. His single mom was busy enough making sure they got by, and his schools never taught anything except Western history and myths. So Zack is woefully unprepared when he discovers he was born to host the spirit of the First Emperor of China for a vital mission: sealing the leaking portal to the Chinese underworld before the upcoming Ghost Month blows it wide open.

The mission takes an immediate wrong turn when the First Emperor botches his attempt to possess Zack’s body and binds to Zack’s AR gaming headset instead, leading to a battle where Zack’s mom’s soul gets taken by demons. Now, with one of history’s most infamous tyrants yapping in his headset, Zack must journey across China to heist magical artifacts and defeat figures from history and myth, all while learning to wield the emperor’s incredible water dragon powers.

And if Zack can’t finish the mission in time, the spirits of the underworld will flood into the mortal realm, and he could lose his mom forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781797146720

Xiran Jay Zhao

Xiran Jay Zhao is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Widow series. A first-gen Hui Chinese immigrant from small-town China to Vancouver, Canada, they were raised by the internet and made the inexplicable decision to leave their biochem degree in the dust to write books and make educational content instead. You can find them @XiranJayZhao on Twitter for memes, Instagram for cosplays and fancy outfits, TikTok for fun short videos, and YouTube for long videos about Chinese history and culture. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is their first middle grade novel.

Reviews for Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

[Deepa Budhoo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the beginning I thought I might be to old (41), but I did enjoy the story. AND I learned some things too! I love that, adventure and education. The author also touch on some social situations about minorities.

[Minh Le · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really love Xiran’s nuanced political commentary and humour. It’s refreshing to see a children/young adult story that isn’t frustratingly black and white when it comes to morality and political views.

It’s also ironically hilarious how often Zach has to be the straight man of the group.

Cannot wait for the second part!!