Reviews

That which we call fate isn't an invisible force that can bind you to a single destination. Rather, it is the moment when you know that there are millions of choices stretching infinitely in front of you, but there's only one path you'll ever take.

I would say that this novel is very much a conceptual and character-driven one. The structure of its writing doesn't really let it fall into either the fantasy or romance genre, as there's a huge tonal shift in the middle that I feel leaves both romance and fantasy unfulfilled. (Which may or may not be the point! But doesn't discount the rocky pacing and the number of details that were lovingly set up then set aside.)

The first half of the novel is an urban fantasy/supernatural procedural, with some hilarious adult romance and team dynamics--this is what I read the novel for! There are huge pacing issues (after the 1st arc, there are 10 chapters of plot not advancing), but I loved this so much! The urban fantasy details are lovely: Zhao Yunlan burning a talisman into a teacup so a cup appears in the Ghost Executioner's hand. A human-sized paperman with a painted-on mouth sliding under Yunlan's windowsill to deliver a message. A miraculous flower blooming from decay, only to be mindlessly crushed under the Ghost Executioner's heel. The skeleton puppet that's trying its best. :(((((( The subplots for the first two arcs are vicious and sad, but off-set by the team shenanigans. (My favorite dynamic is Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan, because they both work so well together, even though Chu Shuzhi fantasizes a lot about killing Yunlan who, unfortunately, is too well-connected to all three realms to be his prey. XD)

The third arc pivots into the mythological arc, which is heavy on infodumps. It may just be that I'm not very familiar with Chinese mythology, but I found this entire storyline too convoluted. (Also, this was way too difficult for me and my pop-up dictionary to parse, haha. All of it went over my head. I also wasn't able to follow how the 鎮魂令, which Yunlan uses as weapon, was established.) At this point, the modern-day elements fall away, as the focus is on Yunlan and Shen Wei's romantic relationship, as well as their past.

The most interesting part of this novel for me is how it positions Shen Wei's character. Zhao Yunlan is definitely the protagonist: you follow his life and see the different parts of his personality refract against each other. He's a roguish introvert who's very good at both the supernatural, physical, and social parts of his job, and he's very, very good at getting what he wants. But on his days off, he's a disaster hermit who can barely feed himself.

Meanwhile, Shen Wei is the 5,000-year-old Executioner of Souls. You don't get to see the full breadth of his experiences, but you get to see how his arc begins and ends. Shen Wei is written as both love interest and antagonist. He doesn't actively harm Zhao Yunlan, but when he sabotages himself, he sabotages both of them. Born from the ghost clan, he's bound to his instincts of hunger and loathing. Over time, he's managed to "control" his urges, but the selfishness and the loathing (for his own kind, and by extension, himself) go beyond physical restraint. He's "fated" by his inhuman nature. The only way to get a happy ending is for him to lose and, in so doing, free himself from his fate. This was really nice!

(There also appears to be another metaphor about Shen Wei living on someone else's light and warping his darkness around it, and him needing to finally carry his own light.)

That said, I still don't really understand why and how Yunlan loves Shen Wei to give up so much for him?? Maybe it's just his nature to be good and forgiving and selfless. Conceptually it makes sense, and I do love their interactions, but romantically it doesn't really fall into place for me, like I feel like I'm missing a step???

Other notes:

- POV: For most of the novel, it's a very omnisicent POV that hops from head to head at a dizzying pace (you can tell whose POV you're reading from because the character voices are pretty distinct). But once it shifts towards mythological half, it pulls you back and leaves you in Zhao Yunlan's POV as he figures out what he's going on. Shen Wei, whose longings have been so deeply transparent, becomes opaque. (I can't tell if this was a conscious decision of the writer, or if she just settled into it lol.)

- I feel like the novel spends a lot of time talking about the Ghost Executioner's scent and the coldness that comes with his arrival, and then... after he and Yunlan get together, it just stops being a thing?

- Probably my favorite character is Chu Shuzhi because he's so fun??? He's a very powerful cultivator of the undead(?) path who pays close attention to the stock market. He hates his boss but is highly professional about it, except when his love life is involved. :D He has mad respect for the mysteriously powerful Professor Shen and gets so excited to do his best to make a good net for Shen Wei to see. :D He's definitely not a people person, but sometimes he gets lonely and he secretly just wants to gossip. :D

- The pre-relationship stages were so funny because ZYL's POV was all about how he was pervertedly touching Shen Wei with his perverted hands, while Shen Wei's POV was all about his poignant and powerful bursts of yearning that occasionally fall sideways into vore fantasies.

jazreaderflower's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

zo_ya's review

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slow-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

3.5

sahrathebookworm's review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

من راجع به اساطیر و افسانه های چینی واقعا چیزی نمیدونم، اما بعد از تموم کردن این ناول، احساسی بهم دست داد که برای بیشتر دونستن ازشون، مشتاقم.
اگه بخوام خیلی آکادمیک از گاردین بنویسم باید بگم:
ریتمش تنده، خسته کننده نیست، خط داستانیش پر از هیجانه و فلش بک ها و جایی که قدرت نویسنده که بر پایه ی تخیلش بوده با اساطیر کشورش پیوند خوردن دقیقا همون منبع انرژی ای بود که بهم نیرو میداد تا توی دنیاش قدم بردارم و به جلو پیش برم.
برای صحرایی که طرفدار داستان های ماوراء الطبیعه، یا اساطیر نیست، شاید از دور، وقتی اولین بار رفتم سراغش همه چیز نا مفهموم گنگ بود. دو یا سه سال قبل، با خوندن چندتا چپتر کوتاه، گاردین رو دراپ کرده بودم. اما این بار، چون آدم متفاوتی شده بودم، دیگه بلد نبودم در برابر ناشناخته ها گارد بگیرم. یک هفته خوندمش و از زیباییش لذت بردم.
اکسترای شن سن هم، جایگاه ویژه ای توی قلبم داره. آره:")
همیشه برام سخت بود که اسم تک سیلابی وی رو به زبون بیارم، اما حالا که داستان پشتش رو میدونم دوست دارم مدام صداش کنم.
یونلان قشنگمم جاش وسط قلبمه.

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