The Third Book in the Jade Owl Legacy Series.A shadow stalks the lanes and streets, from Gui-lin to San Francisco, from Florence to the Dragon’s Pool. In its wake, Rowden Gray and his China Hands follow a course to right the wrongs of time. The relic is hidden, but stirs in the soul and archaic rituals long since forgotten, but never lost. Some books are closed. Others are open, giving up their secrets. In the darkness, ancient terror awaits. A barren field yields up its magic and . . . the comets return to earth. The Dragon’s Pool, the next installment of an adventure like none other, looms across the landscape giving even the stouthearted pause to reflect. The stalwart characters of The Jade Owl and The Third Peregrination are back, and joined by new players and helper bees and . . . yes, villains. It is time for the Tien-xin Rite. It is time to close history’s fissure. It is time to complete the prophesy that dwells beneath Her Majesty’s hem. It is time to count the teeth that emerge from the Dragon’s Pool.Review from Rainbow Reviews:The Dragon's Pool continues the riveting tales begun in the first two volumes of this exciting paranormal/intersexual series. With Rowden Gray settled into the coveted position of Curator-General of the San Francisco Museum of East Asian Arts and Culture, married to his beloved Audrey and father of a toddler daughter and a new child due soon, life is sweet and often serene. The Jade Owl has been hidden away ~ far, far, away from Nick Battle, son and cultural heir of the famous "Old China Hand" John Battle, whose artifact collection the Museum houses-but the Jade Owl is not the only supernatural entity about to disturb the peace of the Museum and of Rowden, his family, and friends. Each preceding volume of Edward C. Patterson's extensive series The Jade Owl Legacy has been a marvel of convoluted plotting, supernatural venue, finely delineated characterization, and heartwarming romance, love, and attachment, set in the subcultures of archaeology and the gay community of San Francisco. The series records a paranormal legacy stretching from ancient China to contemporary San Francisco and back across the oceans to China today, with characters who each elicit the reader's empathy as their lives unfold, and unusual and unexpected events run the gamut of the supernatural continuum of probabilities. This reviewer enjoyed particularly both the paranormal excursions and Mr. Patterson's cleverly delineated revelations of San Francisco's multi-layered gay subculture. In any event, as with the two preceding entries in The Jade Owl Legacy series, The Dragon's Pool is another not-to-be-missed novel from accomplished and prolific author Edward C. Patterson.