“Unpredictable, disorienting and wonderfully absorbing meditation on life, consciousness and letting go, in the form of a book you can’t stop reading.”
Monica Rector, professor emeritus of literature, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
“Powerfully original, packed with mind blowing concepts and crazy fight sequences. Like a movie in words.”
Sam Glynne, entertainment executive
“A superlative new novel by one of Brazil's most innovative writers. A mesmerizing clash between Eastern and Western beliefs about mind and body.”
Bruce Dean Willis, literature professor, University of Tulsa
“An incredible journey of balance.”
Master Gu Shining, founder of
Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy, Wudang, China
“Finally a story portraying the mind of a female fighter.”
Sharon Meguira, Jiu Jitsu competitor
“An interdisciplinary brewing of ideas and imagination, packed with futuristic brain science tech, martial arts action, and Asian culture.”
Prof. Paul Li, Faculty and author in cognitive science at UC Berkeley
“In the Girl From Wudang, PJ Caldas combines the harsh reality of fighting with its most spectacular fantasies and speculations. The result is a mosaic full of bright colors and vivid details, a voyage into the imaginary that will keep you looking forward to the next page.”
Eduardo Capeluto, third degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
“An ass kicking female protagonist like this could only come from someone deeply passionate about empowering women through martial arts, like PJ.”
Judy Kreiter, former student
“If you ever wanted to know what it's like to be a martial artist, The Girl from Wudang is a must read.
PJ Caldas paints a vivid and elegant picture of how it feels when you’re in the ring. From the anxiety before a fight, to the chaotic combination of pain, fear and thrill once it starts. The heartbreak of a loss and the euphoria of a win. When his protagonist Yinyin feels any of that, we feel it too. Because the author knows how it is to be there and he shows it in every line. My favorite parts though are her philosophical musings and how she applies the fighters mindset outside the ring — those moments when, faced against impossible odds and continuous beatings in life, we still find the strength and fortitude to tell ourselves ‘I won’t lose.’ Then, like PJ’s hero says herself, we pounce.”
Spencer Lewis, karate black belt