Ulysses S. Grant in China

a girl who first discovers the cultivation of plants murders a rival …

a boy takes revenge on the outlaw who took his family’s lives …

These and other adventure stories are available to young readers in the full collection of stories, “Ulysses S. Grant in China” from author Tom Durwood. The fiction may not suit every reader’s taste — the stories tend to include shootings, poisonings, swordplay and treachery. The stories feature a wide range of historical settings, from a violent battle over succession in the African Benin kingdoms to a young bookkeeper who gets pulled into a murderous plot in 17th century Amsterdam to revenge in a cowboy saloon. Readers of Louis L’Amour and Robert E. Howard will find themselves in familiar territory.

“Ulysses S Grant in China” is the keystone of this initial collection. The story looks behind the scenes of the American President’s meeting with Viceroy Li Hon Zhang in 1879 Tientsin. While his reputation has suffered at the hands of historians, Grant was a hugely popular international figure in his own time. Civil War fans may enjoy seeing this depiction of what might have been, as the Chinese Viceroy and the American President join forces to solve a land dispute with Japan.

The USG ebook offers readers ample visuals — the author commissioned twenty-two illustrations. “I am very happy the illustrators have been able to use details from the period to bring the story to life,” says Durwood. “I keep staring at Angela Sung’s stage designs and Kirk Shinmoto’s landscapes and Edmund Liang’s compositions. Good stuff! They have really captured the spirit of the stories. We will commission more art, for sure.”