Sherlock Holmes and the Nine-Dragon Sigil
Sigil. Pronounced sijil. An inscribed or painted symbol or occult sign considered to have magical power.
It's the year 1906. Rumours abound that a deadly plot is hatching - not in the fog-ridden back-alleys of London's Limehouse district or the sinister Devon moors of the Hound of the Baskervilles but in faraway Peking. Holmes's task - discover whether such a plot exists and if so, foil it.
But are the assassins targeting the young and progressive Ch'ing Emperor or his imperious aunt, the fearsome Empress Dowager Cixi?
The murder of either could spark a civil war.
China's fate and the interests of Britain's Empire in the Orient could be at stake.
Holmes and Watson take up the mission with their customary confidence – until they find they are no longer in the familiar landscapes of Edwardian England. Instead, they tumble into the Alice In Wonderland world of The Forbidden City.
Tim Symonds
Tim Symonds was born in London. He grew up in Somerset, Dorset and the Channel Island of Guernsey. After several years travelling widely, including farming in the Highlands of Kenya and living along the Zambezi River in Central Africa, he emigrated to the United States. He studied at Göttingen, in Germany, and the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in Political Science.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
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