The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
evitak's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Death, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Body horror
Moderate: Death of parent, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Bullying, and Cursing
Minor: Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Transphobia
eatingbrains's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I do think the official translations streamlined and polished everything based on what I did read.
What can I even say about the story? It's about love and hate. It's about destiny. It's about willpower. It's about life and death. It's about sacrifice.
Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Cannibalism, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Classism, Cursing, Murder, Toxic relationship, War, Child abuse, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Child death, Body horror, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Medical content
enigmas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Child abuse, Self harm, Violence, Abortion, and Child death
Moderate: Gore, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
peonydancer's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Blood, Genocide, and Self harm
atlanticgiantpumpkin's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Suicide, Violence, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Murder, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gaslighting, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Outing, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
elainabear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide, Violence, War, Body horror, Bullying, and Genocide
Moderate: Cannibalism
bluebari's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Suicide attempt, Chronic illness, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Stalking, Torture, Xenophobia, Cursing, Gaslighting, Self harm, Sexual content, and Classism
Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Trafficking, Alcohol, Body shaming, Mental illness, Cannibalism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Homophobia, and Medical content
yushihuang's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, War, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Genocide and Torture
fishflo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Grief, Genocide, and Gaslighting
streetlights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Tian Guan Ci Fu is an epic story about a disgraced and humiliated god twice banished from heaven. Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of Xianle, the darling of the heavens who rises into godhood. Yet, through a series of tragedies, his kingdom falls into oblivion, and with it, Xie Lian's reputation and godhood. Xie Lian falls as quickly as he has risen, earning the reputation of being the "laughingstock of the three realms."
800 years later, Xie Lian ascends to heaven for the third time, with no merits, no worshippers, and saddled with a huge debt. In order to repay heaven, he is tasked to hunt down troublemaking spirits in the mortal realm. But this time, he is not alone. By coincidence, Xie Lian finds himself being accompanied by the brilliant and carefree Ghost King, Hua Cheng. Talented, wealthy, greatly feared by the three realms... how did it come to be that one of the Four Great Calamities is utterly devoted to such a disgraced god?!
(Along the way, they also basically uncover all of heaven's dirty little secrets. It's a funny and dark adventure!)
Genre, Adaptations, Translations
TGCF is a (loose) xianxia danmei novel that started out as a serialized webnovel. If this is your first xianxia novel, I suggest doing a quick research on the tropes and themes common in the genre to facilitate a better appreciation of the themes.
This novel has been adapted into a manhua, a donghua, and (soon) a live action drama. As of this writing, all adaptations have been pretty faithful to the novel!
The fan translation by suika is excellent, and the they also worked on the official english translations. Please buy them when you can!
Review
There are two famous lines that sum up the themes of the novel. "To ascend is human; to fall is also human," and "To me, the one basking in infinite glory is you; the one fallen from grace is also you. What matters is you, not the state of you."
TGCF is a book that revolves around the concept of Devotion. It's an epic story about gods and humans that starts like a fairy tale and encompasses a romance of unwavering love. Beyond that, it is also a tale about lofty aspirations, sacrifice, and compassion.
Xie Lian's journey is about his struggle with compassion for humanity. When you are in a position of power and privilege, is it not your duty to save the people? But how do you have the heart to save the people who scorn you, humiliate you, and beat you down? Xie Lian in his childhood has a naive idea of compassion, colored by his own privilege. And through a terrible string of tragedies, he experiences the lowest of failures and the most terrible hurt and humiliation humanly possible.
It is easy to write off Xie Lian as a flat character, or a damsel in distress who is too kind for his own good, but make no mistake. Xie Lian is a martial god who can kill you off at any point. His greatest strength in character is that he rises above it all and chooses to be kind. Xie Lian's story is about how kindness is the hard path, a path that you must make boundaries for if you don't want the terrible consequences to swallow you up. But it is still the path he actively chooses everyday.
Just like MXTX's other books, TGCF also touches on themes such as: revenge, classism, and the power of narratives. Xie Lian himself is an unreliable narrator in that even though he's clever and smart, if he doesn't think something is worth mentioning, he will not let the reader know. Xie Lian is a narrator that hides information by omission. If you plan on reading this book, please try to avoid spoilers as much as possible, as many characters hide behind a secret identity.
The romance is for those who like loyalty and devotion tropes. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian are utterly besotted to each other even before the confession, and they go through life together the moment they meet after Xie Lian's third ascension. Besides the romance, there are plenty of colorful characters with their own stories to fall in love with, and everyone's stories serve as foils to one another. Even heavenly officials have their own human struggles.
(Personally, I actually love Xie Lian's relationship with his former retainers even more than the romance. It is a compelling story of broken and miscommunicated friendships, and they spend more than 700k words building and repairing that friendship back into something where they can all forgive each other and stand as equals.)
Finally, a note on story structure. Just like MDZS, TGCF moves back and forth between the past and the present. Long flashback chapters might not be everyone's cup of tea, so be aware of it before diving into the book. The flashback chapters are very tragic, but they give so much context to the story. The writing transitions between the present and past timelines are something to behold.
Please also make sure to look up trigger warnings for this book! It's funny and lighthearted, but it deals with very heavy themes and graphic violence and body horror. I dare say that this is MXTX's heaviest book with the most to warn for.
Summary
It's a very long book and it might be intimidating at first. But the moment I started reading, I really couldn't put the book down! Despite its length, it is not a challenging read. It's a literary masterpiece and has MXTX's tightest and most refinied writing. If the themes and characters speak to you, please consider reading this book!
Graphic: Body horror and Torture
Moderate: Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, and War
Minor: Suicide
Books 2 and 4 are straight up tragedies, with book 4 being the most brutal (especially chapter 190). Body horror is abound.