justkyliep's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This translation is not especially good, but it doesn't totally destroy the tone. I would recommend seeking out a fan-translation if you want more faithful language. Personally, I think reading a couple chapters from the (now incomplete) ExR fan-translation and then swapping to the 7S translation for the rest is a good balance of accuracy and accessibility. I hope to see a better translation of this novel one day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment
raypaws's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Murder, Alcohol, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Torture, and War
libermonstrorum's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Wei Wuxian causes problems on purpose and honestly that’s very iconic of him
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Blood, Body horror, and Death
amandajsmith's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Alcohol
ara02's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent
cturn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: War and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
dottiewankenobi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I've seen part of CQL already so I came into this knowing that things would be similar but hopefully different enough that it wouldn't be boring -- and it definitely wasn't! While the flashback scenes did drag a bit at times, the present/future parts were enough to get me through those spots. MXTX's humor is, as always, great (I'm still laughing about some of the things Wei Wuxian said/did/thought -- for instance, dude? You're Lan Wangji's dead wife) and the mystery was super interesting. I loved his interactions with the juniors and I was pleasantly surprised that Jiang Cheng wasn't as bad as fandom made him out to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Homophobia
Minor: War
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I was peripherally aware of the xianxia/danmei boom some years ago, which was led by this series in particular. I remember the hype and excitement when the animated series came out, then when the live action version came out on Netflix. But despite all the hype, I wasn’t that interested; I had other things on my mind then.
Recently, though, one of my close friends managed to talk me into giving xianxia a shot, and after attempting to sell me on a handful of series, I decided to try this one. It was the one that appealed to me most when she started selling me on the genre, and what better place to start than the series that catapulted an entire genre to popularity, right?
And I have to say: I am HOOKED. Not so much on the pairing, though I can see why the entire fandom’s latched onto them and is very invested in them. Wei Wuxian is pretty entertaining, not least because he loves to stir up trouble, while Lan Wangji makes such a wonderful foil for him that the two of them are pretty fun to read about. I wouldn’t say their characterization is very deep, at least not yet, given that this is just the first volume in a series of five, but even if their characterization isn’t all that complex they are still fun to read about, and capable of holding the reader’s attention.
But what really made me latch onto this series were the world-building, and the plot. I am INTRIGUED by the world in which this is set, which is familiar to me from watching historical wuxia movies, but the fantasy-related touches connected to cultivation make it stand out in a different way compared to, say, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (though technically they belong to two different genres, and not just because one’s a book and the other’s a movie). And the plot is VERY engaging: it’s basically a series of supernatural mysteries, with the resolution of one mystery leading into another, with two or three overarching mysteries that will likely stretch across the entirety of the series. I am a SUCKER for that kind of story, and this book structures them in a way that is basically like candy for my brain, and makes me want to keep going.
Which is what I’ll be doing: I’m hopping right into the second volume as soon as I’ve gotten my mitts on it (which won’t be long, thankfully - this is why I got into ebooks!), and I’m going to keep on rolling with this momentum because I REALLY want to find out where this whole thing’s going!
Recently, though, one of my close friends managed to talk me into giving xianxia a shot, and after attempting to sell me on a handful of series, I decided to try this one. It was the one that appealed to me most when she started selling me on the genre, and what better place to start than the series that catapulted an entire genre to popularity, right?
And I have to say: I am HOOKED. Not so much on the pairing, though I can see why the entire fandom’s latched onto them and is very invested in them. Wei Wuxian is pretty entertaining, not least because he loves to stir up trouble, while Lan Wangji makes such a wonderful foil for him that the two of them are pretty fun to read about. I wouldn’t say their characterization is very deep, at least not yet, given that this is just the first volume in a series of five, but even if their characterization isn’t all that complex they are still fun to read about, and capable of holding the reader’s attention.
But what really made me latch onto this series were the world-building, and the plot. I am INTRIGUED by the world in which this is set, which is familiar to me from watching historical wuxia movies, but the fantasy-related touches connected to cultivation make it stand out in a different way compared to, say, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (though technically they belong to two different genres, and not just because one’s a book and the other’s a movie). And the plot is VERY engaging: it’s basically a series of supernatural mysteries, with the resolution of one mystery leading into another, with two or three overarching mysteries that will likely stretch across the entirety of the series. I am a SUCKER for that kind of story, and this book structures them in a way that is basically like candy for my brain, and makes me want to keep going.
Which is what I’ll be doing: I’m hopping right into the second volume as soon as I’ve gotten my mitts on it (which won’t be long, thankfully - this is why I got into ebooks!), and I’m going to keep on rolling with this momentum because I REALLY want to find out where this whole thing’s going!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Death, and Alcohol
smartie_chan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
reallife_kazbrekker's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
While this book did have issues, like using the word "crippled" on 1 page for example, I still really enjoyed reading it!
I know that people have been saying the translation isn't great, but I think I'm just too dumb to pick up on that... I didn't have an issue with the translation and I thought it had quite fast, but again that might be because I'm just too dumb to pick up on any issues.
Also side note: Lan Wangji seems way less autistic coded in the book than in the live action series and I don't know how I feel about that... He definitely still feels autistic coded, but yeah just less. Kinda makes me sad because I was really hoping he would be even more autistic coded in the book.
Anyway Lan Wangji is autistic and Wei Wuxian has ADHD. Nobody can change my mind about it!
I know that people have been saying the translation isn't great, but I think I'm just too dumb to pick up on that... I didn't have an issue with the translation and I thought it had quite fast, but again that might be because I'm just too dumb to pick up on any issues.
Also side note: Lan Wangji seems way less autistic coded in the book than in the live action series and I don't know how I feel about that... He definitely still feels autistic coded, but yeah just less. Kinda makes me sad because I was really hoping he would be even more autistic coded in the book.
Anyway Lan Wangji is autistic and Wei Wuxian has ADHD. Nobody can change my mind about it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Death, Violence, Genocide, Blood, War, and Alcohol