Reviews with content warning for Death - 魔道祖師 1

➽ I wasn't really planning on reading this series, but my friend loves it, so I had to see why she was so obsessed with it. Fortunately, this story was right up my alley and I ended up falling in love with it as well 💞 This was my first danmei story and it already set the bar high for any other books I'll be reading in the future! The story follows Wei Wuxian, who was once a renowned cultivator before turning to the dark arts and dying a horrific death. Years later, he's resurrected into the body of a scorned young man called Mo Xuanyu who sacrificed his life to get revenge on those who wronged him. I was immediately fascinated by the world, especially as I hadn't read about this specific subgenre before. The focus of the world is on the cultivation of spiritual power and the hunting of ghosts and demons. While there are many clans that practice cultivation, the bigger, more powerful clans (the Jin, Jiang, Lan & Nie clans) have the greatest influence.

➽ I loved the switch between the present day and the flashbacks. Right from the beginning, you know that something happened to make everyone revile Wei Wuxian as the 'Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation' but there is still so much about the past we're only slowly uncovering. I love the mystery of what happened in the war with the Wen Clan and how exactly Wei Wuxian died in his first life. I guess we'll be getting a lot of flashbacks over the course of the series and slowly keep seeing the bigger picture. Things are already exciting in the present day as well, as there's a dangerous ghost arm on the loose!

➽ The heart of the story are of course the characters! To no one's surprise, my favorite is Wei Wuxian, as I love mischievous, morally grey characters. While everyone talks about him like he's the devil personified, you start to question how much of it is just gossip and rumours that went out of control. While Wei Wuxian practices an unorthodox path of cultivation, he cares about protecting the young juniors he encounters on a Night Hunt. I loved his playful personality and humor, he's my kind of character, especially since there also seems to be a tragic background story! Our second main character is Lan Zhan, an old acquaintance who is held in high esteem in the cultivation world. He's a man of few words and often it's difficult to tell what he's thinking. I loved their dynamic from the start as they're such different characters. We even get a flashback that shows their first meeting back in their youth. Wei Wuxian has to maintain the identity of Mo Xuanyu, the man whose body he now inhabits, but staying close to Lan Zhan might be a good idea for now!

“Young man, sometimes in life there are a few sappy things one must say.” “What?” Jin Ling asked.” ’Thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’,” Wei Wuxian replied “there’ll come a day when you’ll say them through tears.”

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moonlitreading_'s review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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shrk's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I saw the live-action show on netflix (which was quite the experience) and just had to read the books. The show promised a lot and the book did not disappoint. While the book is objectively not the greatest, I still couldn't help but giggle and kick my feet the whole time. Let's be fair, none of us are here for the ghost-hunting or the mystery, we all just want to see these two idiots get their shit together and admit they're in love xD

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itsnotalakeitsanocean's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I've been meaning to re-read this series now that all of the volumes are out and I've bought them; mostly because having to wait for each new release left me forgetting where the last volume left off each time. I'm happy to report that it's still entertaining on a re-read

and has some delicious re-read value as to why Lan Wangji acts the way he does around Wei Wuxian

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Unfortunately I can't rate it much higher because:

a) There's a lot of instances where the story flashes back to past events but the transition between past and present is clunky and left me scratching my head trying to figure out what happened where and when (even with a timeline of everything explained to me).

b) This is an extremely minor nitpick but there are so many instances Wei Wuxian is described as laughing or cackling in response to a lot of situations. This wouldn't be so bad if it was one or two situations but I feel like it's overdone to the point it feels like if anything mildly amusing happens, he'll be cackling like a hyena.

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