"Exile is a state best experienced to understand. To spend thirteen years in a fly-infested wetland, slogging through jungle streams and unfurled on deserted beaches - to be blown hither and thither by storms and falling palms, is a lesson no book can teach. Still, I, K'u Ko-ling, had lived so long to tell of the fire, which heats the back until noodles could be tossed on it and stew made from the sweat." Thus begins the sweeping fourth installment of The Southern Swallow Series - a tapestry of historical adventure and intrigue set in 12th Century China. While Li K'ai-men and his companions are in exile on a tropical island in the south, the political world explodes as a mad prince invades the Sung Empire. It's a time for heroes and riveting warfare, including the first recorded battle in history to deploy poisonous gas as a weapon. Book IV of the Southern Swallow series - The House of Green Waters, like its predecessors (The Academician, The Nan Tu and Swan Cloud) is told by K'u Ko-ling, servant to the exiled-Grand Tutor, Li K'ai-men. It depicts the harsh life on Hai-nan Island and the progress of family - fathers and sons from Emperor, to officials, to commoners. The roots of modernity stir within the soul of the daily life of Sung China and nowhere greater is it witnessed than in the fabric of this tale. The Southern Swallow Series: The Academician The Nan Tu Swan Cloud The House of Green Waters Vagrants Hallow Related series - The Jade Owl Legacy The Jade Owl The Third Peregrination The Dragon's Pool The People's Treasure In the Shadow of Her Hem