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sarahbotreads's review against another edition
4.0
You can't fall in love with every book you read, but I honestly enjoyed Snake Agent - I liked the novelty of it, and the interplay between the two worlds.
mackle13's review against another edition
2.0
In one of my status updates I'd said I wasn't sure if I was suffering from the "fussy book crankies" or if there were other reasons that this book just wasn't quite connecting with me.
I've decided that it's the book.
Mostly, the biggest issue seems to be a lot of telling versus showing. "He did this. He was started. He did that. He reacted thusly." So on and so forth. It just wasn't very engaging writing, imo.
As an extention of that, I never really connected with the characters, either. My favorite was Zhu Irzh, the demon, but even he never really quite jumped out for me. The weakest was Inarra, sadly. Too much of a damsel in distress thing going on, even as she's wishing she didn't always have to be rescued. (I won't say it was total misogyny or anything, though, as the goddesses were stronger characters, and it's not like the male characters were really developed or anything, either.)
There were also some issues that I'm sort of surprised weren't pick up by an editor. Like, in one chapter it ended with Chen telling a taxi driver where to go. Then the next chapter we were in a different perspective, and then the following chapter we're back to Chen and he's having a short conversation and then he... tells the driver where to go.
And, no, the place hadn't changed.
Another point was when Zhu Irzh suddenly fought off another demon with a rosary.
But, wait - Chen had the rosary, not Zhu. Zhu shouldn't even be able to touch a rosary.
Not to mention I kept getting thrown by prayer beads being called a rosary. Yes, I know some people refer to Buddhist prayer beads as a Buddhist rosary - but you could also, I dunno, use a cultural name for them, like mala or juzu or something... or just call them prayer beads... I know I'm picking nits, and it's cause I was raised Catholic and all, but it kept throwing me.
That said, I never felt really immersed in the culture anyway.
Also, I felt like there were some cool ideas, like a bureacratic Hell and all, but a lot of the world-building didn't seem to quite follow through. I mean, we're given a system in which Hell isn't really supposed to be pure evil, but then it's treated as if it were.
Meh, I dunno...
Lemme just end this discombulated mini-rant by saying it wasn't all bad, and it did have some interesting ideas, but I wish it was all just fleshed out better and more consistent.
I've decided that it's the book.
Mostly, the biggest issue seems to be a lot of telling versus showing. "He did this. He was started. He did that. He reacted thusly." So on and so forth. It just wasn't very engaging writing, imo.
As an extention of that, I never really connected with the characters, either. My favorite was Zhu Irzh, the demon, but even he never really quite jumped out for me. The weakest was Inarra, sadly. Too much of a damsel in distress thing going on, even as she's wishing she didn't always have to be rescued. (I won't say it was total misogyny or anything, though, as the goddesses were stronger characters, and it's not like the male characters were really developed or anything, either.)
There were also some issues that I'm sort of surprised weren't pick up by an editor. Like, in one chapter it ended with Chen telling a taxi driver where to go. Then the next chapter we were in a different perspective, and then the following chapter we're back to Chen and he's having a short conversation and then he... tells the driver where to go.
And, no, the place hadn't changed.
Another point was when Zhu Irzh suddenly fought off another demon with a rosary.
But, wait - Chen had the rosary, not Zhu. Zhu shouldn't even be able to touch a rosary.
Not to mention I kept getting thrown by prayer beads being called a rosary. Yes, I know some people refer to Buddhist prayer beads as a Buddhist rosary - but you could also, I dunno, use a cultural name for them, like mala or juzu or something... or just call them prayer beads... I know I'm picking nits, and it's cause I was raised Catholic and all, but it kept throwing me.
That said, I never felt really immersed in the culture anyway.
Also, I felt like there were some cool ideas, like a bureacratic Hell and all, but a lot of the world-building didn't seem to quite follow through. I mean, we're given a system in which Hell isn't really supposed to be pure evil, but then it's treated as if it were.
Meh, I dunno...
Lemme just end this discombulated mini-rant by saying it wasn't all bad, and it did have some interesting ideas, but I wish it was all just fleshed out better and more consistent.
lunaratu's review against another edition
4.0
This whole series is really enjoyable! Meshing science-fiction in a near-future setting combined with Chinese mythology and a noir-like who done it plot each of these books have been a pleasure to read and I look forward to each one as they are published.
angelerin's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this! It reminds me of The Dresden Files, but Eastern. It was very unique and I was glad that it wasn't predictable. I love paranormal/detective series. :)
cupiscent's review against another edition
Giving up on page 65, mostly because I'm just not connecting with or hooked by it. I like our demon protag more than our human protag, but neither of them is really delivered in rich and interesting detail. I'm very interested in Inari, but she's delivered in dribs and drabs without deep emotional connection.
The book is ill-served (for me) by some other decisions. Weirdly, I find the typeset design unhelpful to my engagement - the text is almost full out to the edges of the page, which only emphasises a prose style that runs to long paragraphs without dialogue (and made me a little weary every time I turned a page). And I'm made very uncomfortable by the author's decision to use the deprecated and Western Wade-Giles romanisation, rather than the Chinese-preferred and official Pinyin. (I'm also made mildly uncomfortable by the decision to refer to the hero's Guanyin prayer beads as a rosary, though I appreciate it's possibly a technically correct usage.)
The book is ill-served (for me) by some other decisions. Weirdly, I find the typeset design unhelpful to my engagement - the text is almost full out to the edges of the page, which only emphasises a prose style that runs to long paragraphs without dialogue (and made me a little weary every time I turned a page). And I'm made very uncomfortable by the author's decision to use the deprecated and Western Wade-Giles romanisation, rather than the Chinese-preferred and official Pinyin. (I'm also made mildly uncomfortable by the decision to refer to the hero's Guanyin prayer beads as a rosary, though I appreciate it's possibly a technically correct usage.)
anana11's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the world depicted in this book. I know a little about Chinese mythology, but the imaginativeness of this world was delightful. And the characters were so fun and different. I have to admit I imagined the demon "officer" as a sort of Regency fop - too much Georgette Heyer, I think. All in all, a fun book and I will definitely read the rest of the series.
arlliharbbs's review against another edition
4.0
More like 3 and a half stars. It is a fun book, but not spectacular. I'm probably going to read the next one, so I definitely didn't hate it. just felt like it kind of lost me at the end.
egglescake's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable urban fantasy series set in Singapore (and Hell). It was great to read something not based on Western mythology. Will have to check out the rest of the series.
violentlyagitated's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0