Shan - A China Maroc Novel - Author’s Note and Plot Excerpt

Aug 2, 2026

Upload by Asher

Shan is a China Maroc novel centered on clandestine intelligence, espionage rivalry, and the psychological burden of betrayal. The author’s note frames the concept of kalpa as vast cycles and uses wei qi strategy to mirror a critical stalemate called ka, or the point to break. In the excerpt, Jake Maroc races toward Greystoke as documents expose Henry Wunderman and the Quarry’s directorate connections to KGB operations. Jake prepares to counter advanced security traps using ba-mahk, an inner-energy discipline that reveals hidden defenses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages540

Reading Time13 h 52 min

AccessFree to download

Author’s Note

Kalpa, ka, and wei qi stalemate

Espionage: the Quarry and Henry Wunderman

Jake Maroc’s mission at Greystoke

Ba-mahk and sensing hidden security

EARLY BIRD BOOKS FRESH EBOOK DEALS, DELIVERED DAILY LOVE TO READ? LOVE GREAT SALES? GET FANTASTIC DEALS ON BESTSELLING EBOOKS DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX EVERY DAY! [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) The Web’s Creepiest Newsletter Delivered to Your Inbox Get chilling stories of true crime, mystery, horror, and the paranormal, twice a week. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) SHAN A CHINA MAROC NOVEL ERIC VAN LUSTBADER THIS IS FOR MY FATHER WITH LOVE AND RESPECT. Special thanks to Kate Bush for running up that hill. Special thanks for their belief: Susan Petersen and Leona Nevler. [OceanofPDF.com](OceanofPDF.com) AUTHOR’S NOTE In the Buddhist religion, the Sanskrit word kalpa is used in several ways. It is an almost incalculable period of time. It is also the word used to measure the period between the creation and the recreation of the world. Each great kalpa is divided into four parts. So, too, is Shan. Those familiar with my novel, Jian, will recall that the Chinese transliteration of kalpa is ka. The masters of wei qi, the ancient board game of warfare and strategy that Jake, Shi Zilin and Daniella Vorkuta play in Shan, use the term to mean the point where the contending forces have reached a stalemate. It is common knowledge among wei qi masters, however, that a Jian—a master general of wei qi—may find a strategy to break ka. It is Shan, the Mountain. According to known history there is no highly clandestine espionage organization (originally sanctioned by President John Fitzgerald Kennedy) called the Quarry. Just as, in the summer of 1945, there was no aide to Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley, Ambassador to China, named Ross Davies. But there could be. And there might have been. “Jake,” Rodger Donovan said, without turning around. He seemed quite calm, despite the desperateness of the situation.“You seem to have as many lives as the hero of a novel. I knew we couldn’t kill you.” “It didn’t stop you from trying.” Donovan winced at the tone. “Of course not. What do you take us for, amateurs?” “No more talk,” Jake said.“Take me to Wunderman.” “Ah, Wunderman. I imagine he’ll want to know how you evaded all our security measures.” “Then he’ll be disappointed. Come on, let’s go.” Jake Maroc, in Hong Kong, dreaming of another time, another place. Of a day nine months before, a rain-swept day. He had flown into Washington’s Dulles International Airport after spending hours with Bliss deciphering the papers for which so many people had died, not the least of whom was David Oh, Jake’s closest friend. Papers that irrefutably identified Henry Wunderman—now the Director of the clandestine intelligence organization known as the Quarry, for which Jake had worked—as a double agent working for the KGB’s Daniella Vorkuta. His code name was Chimera. General Vorkuta and Chimera, the papers showed, had masterminded the assassination of Antony Beridien just weeks before. Beridien, the Quarry’s first Director and its founder. Now Jake was in Washington, racing by car to Great Falls where, nestled within the rolling emerald hills, Greystoke sat: the nineteenth-century mansion, seat of power for the new Director. And Wunderman, asserting that it had been Jake himself who had murdered Antony Beridien in retaliation for the Director ’s cutting Jake off from the Quarry, had instituteda number of new security systems at Greystoke. This is what Jake dreamed of: the day he confronted his father and struck him down forever. Not that Henry Wunderman was Jake Maroc’s real father. But as Jake dreamed of crouching in the high grass just outside the perimeter of Greystoke’s eastern boundary, his thoughts were filled up with images from a time when Jake was young, a wild orphan roaming the filthy back alleys of Hong Kong, a great unwieldy anger riding his shoulders like a deformity. Henry Wunderman had changed all that. He had come to Hong Kong to search Jake out. To recruit him into the Quarry. Henry Wunderman ha

FAQs

What does the author’s note say about kalpa and how it relates to Shan?

Kalpa is described as an almost incalculable period of time and also the measure between creation and recreation of the world. The author explains that great kalpas are divided into four parts, and so too is Shan.

How are wei qi concepts used in the novel’s meaning?

The Chinese transliteration of kalpa is linked to ka, a term masters use for the point where contending forces reach a stalemate. The author notes that a Jian may find a strategy to break ka, which becomes a metaphor for Shan.

How does Jake Maroc prepare to overcome Greystoke’s security traps?

Jake uses ba-mahk, a mental preparedness practice meaning “feel the pulse,” allowing him to sense hidden energy sources and discern opponent strategies as they unfold. In ba-mahk, he expands his qi and navigates the minefield of security defenses.

Aug 2, 2026

Upload by Asher