First of the Chia Black Dragon series, Spirit Mirror is, compared to the other novels, the nearest to a conventional fantasy. That said, this dark fantasy set in Han dynasty China already possesses most of the elements that make up Stephen’s sub-genre which he dubbed ‘Chinese Gothic’. Chia, a beautiful woman who possesses an immense lifespan from her non-human father (whom she murdered) is introduced as a lesbian, part-demon, sometime vampire! In this tale, Chia is lured by her unhinged and deadly brother into releasing beings from a mirror dimension in his attempt to corrupt the newly-laid roots of Buddhism in China.