Northern China in 1900. The nation is in turmoil, the failing Manchu dynasty struggles to survive in the face of social disintegration and foreign encroachments, and from the countryside comes a response: the brutal, quasi-religious movement known as the Boxers, who seek to rid the country of foreign influence. An American missionary couple In a remote town are attacked, and their son Wayland is left barely clinging to life. Rescued by kindly Chinese passers-by, Wayland begins his recovery in the still-simmering city of Tianjin, and he finds his new Chinese family has dark secrets of their own. He is thrust into the middle of a deadly dispute between two martial arts masters, and his own fate will hinge on the outcome. Wayland must navigate between two worlds, and to do so, arms himself with the powerful secrets of Chinese martial arts. Dragons and Boxers combines the best of Martial Arts writing with exquisite historical story-telling.
“Genuine sword fighting experience is something few writers have, but fortunately for the reader, Fiske does. Throughout the story, Fiske brings his years of training in Chinese martial arts and full contact swordplay to the page, lending the training and fight scenes a realism only a student of the arts can conjure up.” – Scott M. Rodell, Author of “Chinese Swordsmanship – The Yang Family Taiji Jian Tradition,” “Fundamentals of the Wudang Sword Method,” “Ming Chinese Military Swordsmanship,” and other titles.