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saturn26's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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: Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Incest
some_random_person_hi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
FINALLY DONE
Man, that first section was such a drag. It was so boring up tilllotus pier burned and then from then onwards it was splendid. All around really solid, I just didn't enjoy the main ship's interactions set when they were young. Really wish we'd gotten to see more of Wei Wuxian being in yiling patriarch mode
First chinese novel I actually read from start to finish (skipping non-age appropriate sections) purely for enjoyment so it's a nice milestone for me.
Really really liked theburial mounds scenes with the Wens , that was my favourite section of CQL and it's somehow even better here. I feel like a fake fan but I like CQL!Wangxian more 😭💀 novel!Wangxian was just so plain compared to all the plot going on in the book. Also, the sheer amount of times Wei Wuxian directly or indirectly got Lan Wangji drunk was somewhat annoying . Uh, I think CQL is not a faithful adaptation when going by tone.
Moving on, when the angst hit it really hit.When I got to the Qiongqi path section, it was hard to convince myself to continue reading.
Man, that first section was such a drag. It was so boring up till
First chinese novel I actually read from start to finish (skipping non-age appropriate sections) purely for enjoyment so it's a nice milestone for me.
Really really liked the
Moving on, when the angst hit it really hit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Slavery and Sexual harassment
Self harm is to get blood to do magic things. Happened quite a few times. Also, technically not drug use so didn't warn for it but I feel like demonic cultivation has many many similarities to drug use.lightoferebus's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
rafacolog's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
46jjsg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Just putting this for record keeping.
- 9/10 Worldbuilding
- 10/10 Main Characters
- 9/10 Side Characters
- 8/10 Pacing
In depth review will be added when I re-read this novel with the 7seas editions.
- 9/10 Worldbuilding
- 10/10 Main Characters
- 9/10 Side Characters
- 8/10 Pacing
In depth review will be added when I re-read this novel with the 7seas editions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
Minor: Incest and Rape
evitak's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Sexual content
Minor: Incest
eauderat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Incest, Torture, and War
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Infidelity, Self harm, and Grief
ssyx's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.75
Grandmaster of demonic cultivation is such a great novel. i finished this a year ago and i still regularly go back and reread scenes.
like wangxian invented love i do not make the rules.
wei wuxian is such a good main character. like he's powerful, he's funny, he's kind, he's morally gray, he's insane. he has it all i love him so much.
lan wangji man he's just so amazing. like the absolute dedication i love him so much. perfect rule following kid breaking all sorts of rules because he's in love w wei wuxian and he does all of it without expecting anything in return
god wangxian are truly such a great couple and they have one of the best confession scenes ever it's so funny that everyone was like "why tf did y'all stay in separate rooms why isn't wangji w you" wei wuxian: "what why would we? why would he be with me?" everyone: "idk cuz he's in love with you." wei wuxian: "HE'S IN LOVE WITH ME??" peak absolute peak
i think about xiao xingchen and yi city arc daily im telling you it changed my brain chemistry.
i absolutely loved the juniors. wen qing and jiang yanli rip queens can both step on me.
bro im telling you this is a danmei must and also watch the untamed. the actors show the best example of eyefucking i've ever seen in a censored show ever. like at times i forget the untamed is even censored.
sidenote the extras are INSANE. i read this before i knew what was up with danmei extras and when i got to THAT scene with bichen i had to turn my phone off and sit in silence for 20 minutes to process what i had just read.
like wangxian invented love i do not make the rules.
wei wuxian is such a good main character. like he's powerful, he's funny, he's kind, he's morally gray, he's insane. he has it all i love him so much.
lan wangji man he's just so amazing. like the absolute dedication i love him so much.
god wangxian are truly such a great couple and they have one of the best confession scenes ever
i think about xiao xingchen and yi city arc daily im telling you it changed my brain chemistry.
i absolutely loved the juniors. wen qing and jiang yanli
bro im telling you this is a danmei must and also watch the untamed. the actors show the best example of eyefucking i've ever seen in a censored show ever. like at times i forget the untamed is even censored.
sidenote the extras are INSANE. i read this before i knew what was up with danmei extras and when i got to THAT scene with bichen i had to turn my phone off and sit in silence for 20 minutes to process what i had just read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Self harm
there’s a scene that is cusping on the edge of dubcon wei wuxian fights people with dead people so i mean take that as you willpeonydancer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, War, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, and Infidelity
nannahnannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So, yes, I’ve watched and fallen in love with the TV drama The Untamed last year just like so many others. So when I found it was based on a novel, I had to read it! Thank god I was properly warned first, though … there’s a lot of content that I wouldn’t normally read. But because I loved the characters and storyline so much, I tried the book out.
Representation:
- as this takes place in ancient China, every character is Chinese
- now, I’m not sure I would consider this representation, really, because it’s written by a fujoshi, but … okay, well, besides a few chapters, the last few chapters, and the extras (AVOID AT ALL COSTS), I could relatively call this LGBT media, with a bi main protagonist and a gay love interest.
Wei Wuxian, the infamous Yiling Patriarch, became a villain and a demon in the eyes of the rest of the civilized cultivation world after creating Demonic Cultivation (aka becoming a necromancer). When he causes almost uncountable death, all the clans rise together against him, and Wei Wuxian’s reign of chaos ends.
Of course, though the timeline of the book switches between the present (thirteen years after Wei Wuxian’s death) and the past (before he even becomes the Yiling Patriarch), it’s clear this is only the beginning. For one, in the present timeline, Wei Wuxian is brought back to life. Secondly, Wei Wuxian’s spirit isn’t the only thing returning from his past: the weapon that made him so powerful before he died (and the thing he destroyed!) is somehow in use again. Thirdly, he’s just run into the very two people he wanted to avoid in this new life: his brother -- the one who took credit for his death -- and Lan Wangji, a skilled cultivator, the definition of righteousness, and someone who Wei Wuxian thought had despised him for his demonic cultivation.
Unfortunately, I’ll just have to imagine what this story could have been like in the hands of someone who didn’t fetishize gay men (or one who actually cared about women). Its potential to be an amazing book is just … and the way it’s wasted in Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s hands because she just can’t view lgbt men as people other than something to salivate over and use for her own sexual satisfaction is too frustrating. Yes, these scenes made up about 10-15% of the book (and the horrifying extras; don’t read), but they were enough to completely throw me off, disgust me, and realize that as much as the plot, characters, and everything else in this book is written with such care, the story isn’t meant for lgbt people (or like … normal people) like me to enjoy. It’s for that gross niche audience: fujoshi and bl lovers. I don’t understand it; I don’t understand what makes that type of “romance” enjoyable -- why can’t these people enjoy a non-disturbing romance between two men?
It’s just so disappointing.
Because there’s just no way I can fully describe my frustration and disappointment, fine, I’ll move on. I don’t know if it was the translation (which is unofficial. There’s no real English translation for this novel, so I had to go through fan translations -- which, unfortunately, are also done by fetishists) or the actual writing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, but the book reads stilted and awkward. It’s one of those books that’s more dialogue than prose, but there aren’t even dialogue tags or beats! Maybe it’s the style that I’m not used to. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also doesn’t seem to trust her audience to understand hints from text or dialogue, because she feels the need to explain everything. We understand what lying is, we promise (“Jin Ling clearly didn’t see Wen Ning and was making it up to distract Jiang Cheng so he would leave, etc., etc.” ← obviously not word for word).
Now, there’s lots to love about the book, too. The themes are amazing: challenge what you’re being taught and question who’s teaching you; always question your own choices constantly; how the younger generation can carry the intolerances of the older one, but how they also can be guided in other directions; how to deal when family and loved ones don’t have the same values/don’t think the same way you do -- and how do you continue to love them when they turn their backs on you?
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also is a master of characterization and character arcs. And definitely plot twists. A big, big problem though is how she treats women -- lmao, which is a large problem with fujoshi in general. All of the women have tiny roles and are fridged, weak, and without fail die tragically. It’s pathetic.
Without making this like a dissertation, I’ll just sum it all up. Stick with the drama and other adaptations, especially since the drama takes a lot of the dialogue directly from the novel. Look up specific scenes if you really want to, but honestly? The sweet romance of the tv drama will make you feel so much more than the (non-con) sex in the book.
Representation:
- as this takes place in ancient China, every character is Chinese
- now, I’m not sure I would consider this representation, really, because it’s written by a fujoshi, but … okay, well, besides a few chapters, the last few chapters, and the extras (AVOID AT ALL COSTS), I could relatively call this LGBT media, with a bi main protagonist and a gay love interest.
Wei Wuxian, the infamous Yiling Patriarch, became a villain and a demon in the eyes of the rest of the civilized cultivation world after creating Demonic Cultivation (aka becoming a necromancer). When he causes almost uncountable death, all the clans rise together against him, and Wei Wuxian’s reign of chaos ends.
Of course, though the timeline of the book switches between the present (thirteen years after Wei Wuxian’s death) and the past (before he even becomes the Yiling Patriarch), it’s clear this is only the beginning. For one, in the present timeline, Wei Wuxian is brought back to life. Secondly, Wei Wuxian’s spirit isn’t the only thing returning from his past: the weapon that made him so powerful before he died (and the thing he destroyed!) is somehow in use again. Thirdly, he’s just run into the very two people he wanted to avoid in this new life: his brother -- the one who took credit for his death -- and Lan Wangji, a skilled cultivator, the definition of righteousness, and someone who Wei Wuxian thought had despised him for his demonic cultivation.
Unfortunately, I’ll just have to imagine what this story could have been like in the hands of someone who didn’t fetishize gay men (or one who actually cared about women). Its potential to be an amazing book is just … and the way it’s wasted in Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s hands because she just can’t view lgbt men as people other than something to salivate over and use for her own sexual satisfaction is too frustrating. Yes, these scenes made up about 10-15% of the book (and the horrifying extras; don’t read), but they were enough to completely throw me off, disgust me, and realize that as much as the plot, characters, and everything else in this book is written with such care, the story isn’t meant for lgbt people (or like … normal people) like me to enjoy. It’s for that gross niche audience: fujoshi and bl lovers. I don’t understand it; I don’t understand what makes that type of “romance” enjoyable -- why can’t these people enjoy a non-disturbing romance between two men?
It’s just so disappointing.
Because there’s just no way I can fully describe my frustration and disappointment, fine, I’ll move on. I don’t know if it was the translation (which is unofficial. There’s no real English translation for this novel, so I had to go through fan translations -- which, unfortunately, are also done by fetishists) or the actual writing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, but the book reads stilted and awkward. It’s one of those books that’s more dialogue than prose, but there aren’t even dialogue tags or beats! Maybe it’s the style that I’m not used to. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also doesn’t seem to trust her audience to understand hints from text or dialogue, because she feels the need to explain everything. We understand what lying is, we promise (“Jin Ling clearly didn’t see Wen Ning and was making it up to distract Jiang Cheng so he would leave, etc., etc.” ← obviously not word for word).
Now, there’s lots to love about the book, too. The themes are amazing: challenge what you’re being taught and question who’s teaching you; always question your own choices constantly; how the younger generation can carry the intolerances of the older one, but how they also can be guided in other directions; how to deal when family and loved ones don’t have the same values/don’t think the same way you do -- and how do you continue to love them when they turn their backs on you?
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also is a master of characterization and character arcs. And definitely plot twists. A big, big problem though is how she treats women -- lmao, which is a large problem with fujoshi in general. All of the women have tiny roles and are fridged, weak, and without fail die tragically. It’s pathetic.
Without making this like a dissertation, I’ll just sum it all up. Stick with the drama and other adaptations, especially since the drama takes a lot of the dialogue directly from the novel. Look up specific scenes if you really want to, but honestly? The sweet romance of the tv drama will make you feel so much more than the (non-con) sex in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Ableism and Incest
note: noncon and rape is, lmao, only vilified if between men and women; treated as normal and even “””romantic””” when between two men ………….; but also: fetishization, gross stereotypes about gay/bi men, such as them having 0 self control, being sexually aggressive & seme/uke stereotypes come the last few chapters + extras