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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
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:
No
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
informative
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
izgatottan vártam a befejezést, mert a sorozatot végignézve sokan mondták, hogy teljesen más, mint a könyvekben, és valóban. mindkét befejezés tetszett, érdekes volt látni, ahogyan a szálak összefutnak. viszont a szájbarágós részek miatt 5 hónapba telt befejezni ezt a könyvet. mindig mikor olvastam egy keveset belőle, másra vágytam, mert nem akartam megint átélni ugyanazt, csak kicsit máshogy. az a rész, ahol el van mesélve kunlunjun története, fájdalmas volt. amíg zhao yunlan nyomozott, addig izgi volt, aztán amikor már csak passzív szemlélője volt az eseményeknek, az alig tudta fenntartani a figyelmemet. a bónusz történetek közül mindet szerettem, de legjobban talán a mountain spiritet
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ooof. This book was incredibly disappointing on so many levels to me. The most disappointing is that the initial premise and first volume were interesting and well written. This book is a continuation of the downward slide that began in volume 2.
The Plot
The plot is a mess. So much of the plot just conveniently moving forward is explained away with Shen Wei being a "schemer" or Zhao Yunlan just being "really good at guessing." The latter makes *some* sense what with his past, but the former wasn't developed well at all and is extremely inconsistent. Shen Wei vacillates between being absolutely clueless about everything and being a master manipulator, and his powers are never defined so new abilities come and go at the plot's convenience. The overwhelming amount of lore is never discussed in-depth, leading to nigh-incomprehensible lines like the following:
The Plot
The plot is a mess. So much of the plot just conveniently moving forward is explained away with Shen Wei being a "schemer" or Zhao Yunlan just being "really good at guessing." The latter makes *some* sense what with his past, but the former wasn't developed well at all and is extremely inconsistent. Shen Wei vacillates between being absolutely clueless about everything and being a master manipulator, and his powers are never defined so new abilities come and go at the plot's convenience. The overwhelming amount of lore is never discussed in-depth, leading to nigh-incomprehensible lines like the following:
"___spat the blood out, then said, "The Reincarnation Dial was made from the Three-Life Rock, and the Three-Life Rock and the Ancient Merit Tree are each connected to one of every person's seven corporeal souls."
Perhaps this works much better with a Chinese audience. I discuss this more in the writing section.
The Characters
Only a few characters were ever really developed in volumes 1-2, namely the main leads, Guo Changcheng, and Daqing. This would have been fine, if the author hadn't suddenly decided that many of the minor characters (who we've hardly even talked about) are actually important. Suddenly, the author expects us to care when some of these characters are put in grave danger - I don't even know who they are! Many of them suddenly develop important backgrounds that are explained with throw-away lines.
I also generally find priest's writing of female characters to be better than the average for danmei, so the character of Zhu Hong is incredibly disappointing. Priest falls into the same trap as many authors, she is whiny, lovesick (with no evidence of why she's even in love), and delusional. If we hadn't lost our only other female character due to not being useful to the plot anymore, it would be fine to have an annoying female character too. With her being the only representation, it sucks. Despite her being extremely annoying, the main character's constant demeaning of her (referring to her as "little girl") felt pretty misogynistic after a while.
I do like the *idea* of what is going on with Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi, but Chu Shuzhi only develops at all in the romance department and we have no idea who he actually is other than his fairly horrific past.
The Romance
The romance at this point is just...there. All development is gone and these characters are just together because they are. Their relationship hangups make very little sense, especially on Shen Wei's part. If problems that could easily be solved by basic conversations appearing in novels annoys you, this relationship is a constant minefield.
The Writing/Translation
I try to give leeway due to the balance between priest's original writing and the translators writing - it's a tough job to be a master of two languages *and* be a good writer. However, 7Seas should have hired someone with far more knowledge of Chinese mythology to be able to explain it properly. Whether that's by getting a more flexible license, or having a forward that gives an thorough introduction. The glossary simply isn't enough and results in near-constant flipping back and forth. I have a little background in Chinese mythology, and I think it's the only reason I could even finish the book.
Additionally, the magic of the writing of volume 1 just doesn't seem to be here. The pacing is awful, with slow dragging moments, and then tons of action very quickly. Flashbacks are overly quick and extremely confusing.
There are long paragraphs that attempt to explain how certain situations suddenly come about with a huge dump of terminology and mythology. I'm really not a fan of the "show don't tell rule" and I don't expect danmei to conform to western writing conventions - however, there is just so much dense explanation repeatedly and suddenly inserted into action sequences and light conversation. It feels like: *explosion* "did you know that the [long-name-blasting-powder] happened to be on my person this whole time and it came from this specific cave in ancient china and can do this, this, and this because so-and-so hid it 1,000 years ago?" *fight sequence*
Again, it feels like there should have been another 2 volumes to develop everything naturally.
All in all, I'm really glad I didn't purchase the physical copies because I didn't care for the cover art, as it turns out I also don't care for the story.
Only a few characters were ever really developed in volumes 1-2, namely the main leads, Guo Changcheng, and Daqing. This would have been fine, if the author hadn't suddenly decided that many of the minor characters (who we've hardly even talked about) are actually important. Suddenly, the author expects us to care when some of these characters are put in grave danger - I don't even know who they are! Many of them suddenly develop important backgrounds that are explained with throw-away lines.
I also generally find priest's writing of female characters to be better than the average for danmei, so the character of Zhu Hong is incredibly disappointing. Priest falls into the same trap as many authors, she is whiny, lovesick (with no evidence of why she's even in love), and delusional. If we hadn't lost our only other female character due to not being useful to the plot anymore, it would be fine to have an annoying female character too. With her being the only representation, it sucks. Despite her being extremely annoying, the main character's constant demeaning of her (referring to her as "little girl") felt pretty misogynistic after a while.
I do like the *idea* of what is going on with Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi, but Chu Shuzhi only develops at all in the romance department and we have no idea who he actually is other than his fairly horrific past.
The Romance
The romance at this point is just...there. All development is gone and these characters are just together because they are. Their relationship hangups make very little sense, especially on Shen Wei's part. If problems that could easily be solved by basic conversations appearing in novels annoys you, this relationship is a constant minefield.
The Writing/Translation
I try to give leeway due to the balance between priest's original writing and the translators writing - it's a tough job to be a master of two languages *and* be a good writer. However, 7Seas should have hired someone with far more knowledge of Chinese mythology to be able to explain it properly. Whether that's by getting a more flexible license, or having a forward that gives an thorough introduction. The glossary simply isn't enough and results in near-constant flipping back and forth. I have a little background in Chinese mythology, and I think it's the only reason I could even finish the book.
Additionally, the magic of the writing of volume 1 just doesn't seem to be here. The pacing is awful, with slow dragging moments, and then tons of action very quickly. Flashbacks are overly quick and extremely confusing.
There are long paragraphs that attempt to explain how certain situations suddenly come about with a huge dump of terminology and mythology. I'm really not a fan of the "show don't tell rule" and I don't expect danmei to conform to western writing conventions - however, there is just so much dense explanation repeatedly and suddenly inserted into action sequences and light conversation. It feels like: *explosion* "did you know that the [long-name-blasting-powder] happened to be on my person this whole time and it came from this specific cave in ancient china and can do this, this, and this because so-and-so hid it 1,000 years ago?" *fight sequence*
Again, it feels like there should have been another 2 volumes to develop everything naturally.
All in all, I'm really glad I didn't purchase the physical copies because I didn't care for the cover art, as it turns out I also don't care for the story.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
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
Guardian is not as good as i expected unfortunately.
I love the main characters. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei dynamic is really cute, and I'm a sucker for romance that transcend time. Romance with a lot of Yearning is my buffet. The SID side characters are fun too (except Guo Changcheng, sorry), I love their interactions with eachother!
What i don't like very much is the plot. Man it can be a drag to read! Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with Chinese mythology, or maybe not, but the myth here? Boy it's so complicated and convoluted. I was so confused multiple times. No matter how many times i repeat the paragraphs i was still confused.
Multiple times all the events that happened were due to Shen Wei's cunning plan all along but they didn't seem like it...? i don't know how to explain this but the writing doesn't seem very smart to me.
Basically I LOVE the main couple romance story but i don't like the plot of the whole series. The Mountain Spirit extra made me cry!
I love the main characters. Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei dynamic is really cute, and I'm a sucker for romance that transcend time. Romance with a lot of Yearning is my buffet. The SID side characters are fun too (except Guo Changcheng, sorry), I love their interactions with eachother!
What i don't like very much is the plot. Man it can be a drag to read! Maybe it's because I'm not familiar with Chinese mythology, or maybe not, but the myth here? Boy it's so complicated and convoluted. I was so confused multiple times. No matter how many times i repeat the paragraphs i was still confused.
Basically I LOVE the main couple romance story but i don't like the plot of the whole series. The Mountain Spirit extra made me cry!
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated