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4.46 AVERAGE
4.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
okayyyy wow what an insane read. it’s definitely a horror infinite flow.
first off really cool concept that was executed very well and cleanly. it’s a long read but i found myself breezing through it because once i started an arc i didn’t want to stop. i also thought it was really cool that the author used actual real stories and fables as the door themes it was really cool to learn about it (and scary).
i’m a sucker for over powered characters so i loved ruan nanzhu and lin qiushi being able to pretty much breeze through the early doors and for the later doors i was genuinely nervous before entering. felt like my life was on the line without how nervous i was so some arcs. especially qiushis 10th door stalled for so long before starting.
lin qiushi definitely grew on me. at first i was pretty meh about him because he didn’t really have a strong personality at first but by the end i adored him.
ruan nanzhu is just cool. i love seeing stone hard characters turn mushy around the person they like. and his personality inside the doors is hilarious.
the slow burn of this book was absolutely excruciating omg partly because nanzhu was down to fuck since like page 10 qiushi was dodging hints like bullets lmao. but after they figured everything their relationship was soso wholesome and they’re just a great team.
it took me a while to understand the ending and the twist in the extra chapter but once i got it it was like a light bulb saw a comment on reddit that said KoD was just ruan nanzhu’s self insert fic and i laughed for a solid 5 minutes
i didn’t love the ending tbh. it was definitely done for shock value but i think i would have preferred the 11th and 12th doors to go as normal. at least the 11th.
i think the 11th could’ve been the same thing like u had to face all the monsters in the 11th door and you got help from those u didn’t treat w malice and the people who died that u didn’t treat with malice ykwim just make it a different way to get out yk. then the 12th door could be going back to the beginning and making everything seem normal it’s just something is slightly off and the goal of the door is make it so the person goes insane and can only pass it when they aren’t insane ykyk and thrown out the whole “nanzhu was a bored door npc” thing.obviously this is just me recommending something i think i would have liked better. i think even keeping the ending would be fine if there was more foreshadowing the book that made us think even slightly that nanzhu might not be human but idk.
i got so attached to side characters which ugh i knew i shouldn’t but ugh i cried for 30 minutes straight at qianli’s death and i still can’t think about it for too long without tearing up
there was a few things that i didn’t like
1.) the author mentions how hot ruan nanzhu is every other sentence (hyperbole) even in like life or death situations the author would say something about his appearance lmao
2.) this is my first infinite flow type novel so getting used to it took a while (this isn’t against KoD just a personal thing) it’s very formulaic in the way arcs are set up so it got a little repetitive.
3.) there was some gender essentialist views scattered here and there which i didn’t really mind it was just kind of eh for me.
this is such a long review but i have so much to say about this novel. i had a great time reading this and i highly recommend.
note i have a high tolerance for gore and horror so if you don’t maybe avoid this one it’s pretty scary lmao.
lastly: ABSOLUTELY DO NOT READ THIS WHILE EATING MEAT! WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!!!
first off really cool concept that was executed very well and cleanly. it’s a long read but i found myself breezing through it because once i started an arc i didn’t want to stop. i also thought it was really cool that the author used actual real stories and fables as the door themes it was really cool to learn about it (and scary).
i’m a sucker for over powered characters so i loved ruan nanzhu and lin qiushi being able to pretty much breeze through the early doors and for the later doors i was genuinely nervous before entering. felt like my life was on the line without how nervous i was so some arcs. especially qiushis 10th door stalled for so long before starting.
lin qiushi definitely grew on me. at first i was pretty meh about him because he didn’t really have a strong personality at first but by the end i adored him.
ruan nanzhu is just cool. i love seeing stone hard characters turn mushy around the person they like. and his personality inside the doors is hilarious.
the slow burn of this book was absolutely excruciating omg
it took me a while to understand the ending and the twist in the extra chapter but once i got it it was like a light bulb
i didn’t love the ending tbh. it was definitely done for shock value but i think i would have preferred the 11th and 12th doors to go as normal. at least the 11th.
i got so attached to side characters which ugh i knew i shouldn’t but ugh
there was a few things that i didn’t like
1.) the author mentions how hot ruan nanzhu is every other sentence (hyperbole) even in like life or death situations the author would say something about his appearance lmao
2.) this is my first infinite flow type novel so getting used to it took a while (this isn’t against KoD just a personal thing) it’s very formulaic in the way arcs are set up so it got a little repetitive.
3.) there was some gender essentialist views scattered here and there which i didn’t really mind it was just kind of eh for me.
this is such a long review but i have so much to say about this novel. i had a great time reading this and i highly recommend.
note i have a high tolerance for gore and horror so if you don’t maybe avoid this one it’s pretty scary lmao.
lastly: ABSOLUTELY DO NOT READ THIS WHILE EATING MEAT! WORST MISTAKE OF MY LIFE!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Cannibalism
if you’re easily scared by things do not read this book at night ( ◠‿◠ )
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I adored this book. It's absolutely lovely and an amazingly worthwhile read that I can't recommend enough.
For those interested in reading for the romance, be warned that it's a slow burn romance if that isn't your kind of thing. There are constant cute interactions between the main couple from the first time they meet, though, so I'd recommend it even if slow burn isn't your usual jam. I can't even remember how many times these two cuddled in bed together before they ever got together.
I am a little sad we didn't get more time to see them together outside of the doors after they got together officially, but that makes sense with the other serious occurrences of the story at that point.
For those reading for the horror, the horror is exceptionally well done and varied from door to door. As they enter new doors, often armed with hints that tell them the folklore the door is based around (which isn't just Chinese folklore, for those wondering), the type of horror within shifts to really allow those folkloric elements to shine. In some doors, the horror is more based in it being atmospheric, in some it's based more in gore and body horror, in some it relies more on unreality and being unable to trust your perception the the world around you, and in some the horror lies in the hidden ill intentions of the other humans struggling to survive.
For those reading for puzzles and mystery, this is a horror novel with very smart mysteries. For almost every door, the unique conditions and logic of that door get explained by the end but enough is given to the reader to figure things out before or alongside the characters. It also gives the reader a chance to build theories about the world in a way I found very enjoyable.
(I have 1200+ color coded bookmarks on things I was obsessed with for this and a good amount of notes in my reading journal. Also, my poor friends dealt admirably with me never shutting up about Kaleidoscope of Death while reading it.)
That being said, the overarching mystery of the doors themselves leaves more questions than answers. I didn't mind that, but if you need the world of these sorts of novels explained more for your peace of mind, that's something to consider.
When it comes to characters, the main couple are lovable and well-written, including independently of one another which is something I love in horror. That shine without one another but together, their chemistry is absolutely dazzling.
The secondary characters are also deeply lovable and varied. At a certain point on the novel, significant named characters start dropping like flies and it's absolutely heart-rending. You really care about them and when they barely escape death, succumb to it, or find themselves suffering something they feared more than any miserable death, it really makes you invested in them.
The comedy is also very good in this novel. Chinese horror webnovels are so good at striking a mixture of comedy and horror that I rarely see in other things I read.
For those wondering about what time to expect the main couple to finally get together (I wanted them to kiss so badly by this point): it's about 75% through the novel.
And the ending! I heard a lot of people who recommended the novel say the ending was overwhelming in comparison to the rest of it and I kind of understand this if you don't read the extras. Plenty of people feel like this with the extras included and I do know why but it just wasn't my experience. I loved the ending and the only thing I can really say I disliked was that I'd have liked a little more of some of it.
Absolutely read the first extra, though. It's necessary to fully understand the plot and it's also just very good.
The other extras mostly focus more on our beloved secondary characters, some who survived to the end of the novel and some who did not. Again, I wish we had more of them covering more people, but the ones we have are wonderful.
Anyway, I highly recommend this! One of my favorite danmei of all time and the main couple aren't even my favorite danmei couple. It's just really good.
Also, crossdressing top right. Not just crossdressing top rights, even. There's so much crossdressing in this novel. My queer little heart was in paradise.
There's also a line where Lin Qiushi is explicitly chill with trans people and explicit good vibes towards trans folks in any BL, let alone danmei, is so hard to come by.
For those interested in reading for the romance, be warned that it's a slow burn romance if that isn't your kind of thing. There are constant cute interactions between the main couple from the first time they meet, though, so I'd recommend it even if slow burn isn't your usual jam. I can't even remember how many times these two cuddled in bed together before they ever got together.
I am a little sad we didn't get more time to see them together outside of the doors after they got together officially, but that makes sense with the other serious occurrences of the story at that point.
For those reading for the horror, the horror is exceptionally well done and varied from door to door. As they enter new doors, often armed with hints that tell them the folklore the door is based around (which isn't just Chinese folklore, for those wondering), the type of horror within shifts to really allow those folkloric elements to shine. In some doors, the horror is more based in it being atmospheric, in some it's based more in gore and body horror, in some it relies more on unreality and being unable to trust your perception the the world around you, and in some the horror lies in the hidden ill intentions of the other humans struggling to survive.
For those reading for puzzles and mystery, this is a horror novel with very smart mysteries. For almost every door, the unique conditions and logic of that door get explained by the end but enough is given to the reader to figure things out before or alongside the characters. It also gives the reader a chance to build theories about the world in a way I found very enjoyable.
(I have 1200+ color coded bookmarks on things I was obsessed with for this and a good amount of notes in my reading journal. Also, my poor friends dealt admirably with me never shutting up about Kaleidoscope of Death while reading it.)
That being said, the overarching mystery of the doors themselves leaves more questions than answers. I didn't mind that, but if you need the world of these sorts of novels explained more for your peace of mind, that's something to consider.
When it comes to characters, the main couple are lovable and well-written, including independently of one another which is something I love in horror. That shine without one another but together, their chemistry is absolutely dazzling.
The secondary characters are also deeply lovable and varied. At a certain point on the novel, significant named characters start dropping like flies and it's absolutely heart-rending. You really care about them and when they barely escape death, succumb to it, or find themselves suffering something they feared more than any miserable death, it really makes you invested in them.
The comedy is also very good in this novel. Chinese horror webnovels are so good at striking a mixture of comedy and horror that I rarely see in other things I read.
For those wondering about what time to expect the main couple to finally get together (I wanted them to kiss so badly by this point):
And the ending! I heard a lot of people who recommended the novel say the ending was overwhelming in comparison to the rest of it and I kind of understand this if you don't read the extras. Plenty of people feel like this with the extras included and I do know why but it just wasn't my experience. I loved the ending and the only thing I can really say I disliked was that I'd have liked a little more of some of it.
Absolutely read the first extra, though. It's necessary to fully understand the plot and it's also just very good.
The other extras mostly focus more on our beloved secondary characters, some who survived to the end of the novel and some who did not. Again, I wish we had more of them covering more people, but the ones we have are wonderful.
Anyway, I highly recommend this! One of my favorite danmei of all time and the main couple aren't even my favorite danmei couple. It's just really good.
There's also a line where Lin Qiushi is explicitly chill with trans people and explicit good vibes towards trans folks in any BL, let alone danmei, is so hard to come by.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder
I only tagged the most graphic/explicit content warnings but it's a very long horror novel that deals with a lot of types of horror. It goes into a lot. If there's a common horror trope that gets you, make sure you are in an okay headspace to read it and have safety measures in place for if it gets too much for you.
I will say that sexual violence isn't at all a major part of this. For memory, it never really goes beyond someone making rape threats to Lin Qiushi (and then getting his ass beat twice over) who also is mentioned to have a history of exploiting vulnerable women (LQS is crossdressing at the time) inside the doors and Ruan Nanzhu sometimes pretending that he or Lin Qiushi are abusing each other because the man is addicted to theatrics and loves getting a rise out of people. Lin Qiushi never gets upset about this and often explicitly gives him an affectionately exasperated go ahead to do it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
not sure if anyone will ever read this but just in case, I just found that I got a little spoilery near the end of my "rant".
More like 4/4.5 stars tbh. But I loved this novel's cast of characters so so sooo much that even if the ending left me slightly dissatisfied I cannot bring myself to give it less than five. (Edit: a few moments laterrr.... I can finally drop it to four, my infatuation has died and now that my emotions are stable, that ending is just not to my taste... 4 stars it is).
I really enjoy the way chinese authors give it their all in the gory details. (Japanese ppl are the same they just looove to give all the gory details. Smut? niet. blood, dead people and creatures lurking in the dark? YES YES YES).
So, plot? Like it.
Setting? Like it.
writting? Like it.
Characters? Like them.
ending?....................
ejem, not so much. It was good, it was kind of what I was promissed when I started reading so I shouldn't complain. I was promised a HE and... it is. But I'm a looser and I want the kind of HE where everyone runs into the sunset mounted on their unicorns singing kumbaya... this was as realistic as an ending for a story where the characters go into random doors to resolve gory puzzles can be. To me, it felt good but also bittersweet... The side characters left me with a stomach ache wich is pretty normal when I read something that I find distressing. It's excellent for weight loss actually, altough not at all recommendable.
As for my biggest dissapointment with the ending.... is the lack of actual answers. I know I'm dumb but I failed to understand or find the answers to who, why and how.
The characters took everything in stride, wich is normal when you have the OP MC trope, no biggie. But... till the end? The door are just the setting and I never found or managed to understand the reason for their existence... who created them? how? why? the why is slightly implied? maybe. If someone smarter than me ever reads this and has the answers please, help me sort this things out.
I will be re-reading this in the future so, maybe on my second attempt I become less like Chen Qianli lol
ps: I did read the extra where Nanzhe's uses that pretty gardener metaphor. I still need answers tho
More like 4/4.5 stars tbh. But I loved this novel's cast of characters so so sooo much that even if the ending left me slightly dissatisfied I cannot bring myself to give it less than five. (Edit: a few moments laterrr.... I can finally drop it to four, my infatuation has died and now that my emotions are stable, that ending is just not to my taste... 4 stars it is).
I really enjoy the way chinese authors give it their all in the gory details. (Japanese ppl are the same they just looove to give all the gory details. Smut? niet. blood, dead people and creatures lurking in the dark? YES YES YES).
So, plot? Like it.
Setting? Like it.
writting? Like it.
Characters? Like them.
ending?....................
ejem, not so much. It was good, it was kind of what I was promissed when I started reading so I shouldn't complain. I was promised a HE and... it is. But I'm a looser and I want the kind of HE where everyone runs into the sunset mounted on their unicorns singing kumbaya... this was as realistic as an ending for a story where the characters go into random doors to resolve gory puzzles can be. To me, it felt good but also bittersweet... The side characters left me with a stomach ache wich is pretty normal when I read something that I find distressing. It's excellent for weight loss actually, altough not at all recommendable.
As for my biggest dissapointment with the ending.... is the lack of actual answers. I know I'm dumb but I failed to understand or find the answers to who, why and how.
The characters took everything in stride, wich is normal when you have the OP MC trope, no biggie. But... till the end? The door are just the setting and I never found or managed to understand the reason for their existence... who created them? how? why? the why is slightly implied? maybe. If someone smarter than me ever reads this and has the answers please, help me sort this things out.
I will be re-reading this in the future so, maybe on my second attempt I become less like Chen Qianli lol
ps: I did read the extra where Nanzhe's uses that pretty gardener metaphor. I still need answers tho
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore
not sure if anyone will ever read this but just in case, I just found that I got a little spoilery near the end of my "rant".
More like 4/4.5 stars tbh. But I loved this novel's cast of characters so so sooo much that even if the ending left me slightly dissatisfied I cannot bring myself to give it less than five. (Edit: a few moments laterrr.... I can finally drop it to four, my infatuation has died and now that my emotions are stable, that ending is just not to my taste... 4 stars it is).
I really enjoy the way chinese authors give it their all in the gory details. (Japanese ppl are the same they just looove to give all the gory details. Smut? niet. blood, dead people and creatures lurking in the dark? YES YES YES).
So, plot? Like it.
Setting? Like it.
writting? Like it.
Characters? Like them.
ending?....................
ejem, not so much. It was good, it was kind of what I was promissed when I started reading so I shouldn't complain. I was promised a HE and... it is. But I'm a looser and I want the kind of HE where everyone runs into the sunset mounted on their unicorns singing kumbaya... this was as realistic as an ending for a story where the characters go into random doors to resolve gory puzzles can be. To me, it felt good but also bittersweet... The side characters left me with a stomach ache wich is pretty normal when I read something that I find distressing. It's excellent for weight loss actually, altough not at all recommendable.
As for my biggest dissapointment with the ending.... is the lack of actual answers. I know I'm dumb but I failed to understand or find the answers to who, why and how.
The characters took everything in stride, wich is normal when you have the OP MC trope, no biggie. But... till the end? The door are just the setting and I never found or managed to understand the reason for their existence... who created them? how? why? the why is slightly implied? maybe. If someone smarter than me ever reads this and has the answers please, help me sort this things out.
I will be re-reading this in the future so, maybe on my second attempt I become less like Chen Qianli lol
ps: I did read the extra where Nanzhe's uses that pretty gardener metaphor. I still need answers tho
More like 4/4.5 stars tbh. But I loved this novel's cast of characters so so sooo much that even if the ending left me slightly dissatisfied I cannot bring myself to give it less than five. (Edit: a few moments laterrr.... I can finally drop it to four, my infatuation has died and now that my emotions are stable, that ending is just not to my taste... 4 stars it is).
I really enjoy the way chinese authors give it their all in the gory details. (Japanese ppl are the same they just looove to give all the gory details. Smut? niet. blood, dead people and creatures lurking in the dark? YES YES YES).
So, plot? Like it.
Setting? Like it.
writting? Like it.
Characters? Like them.
ending?....................
ejem, not so much. It was good, it was kind of what I was promissed when I started reading so I shouldn't complain. I was promised a HE and... it is. But I'm a looser and I want the kind of HE where everyone runs into the sunset mounted on their unicorns singing kumbaya... this was as realistic as an ending for a story where the characters go into random doors to resolve gory puzzles can be. To me, it felt good but also bittersweet... The side characters left me with a stomach ache wich is pretty normal when I read something that I find distressing. It's excellent for weight loss actually, altough not at all recommendable.
As for my biggest dissapointment with the ending.... is the lack of actual answers. I know I'm dumb but I failed to understand or find the answers to who, why and how.
The characters took everything in stride, wich is normal when you have the OP MC trope, no biggie. But... till the end? The door are just the setting and I never found or managed to understand the reason for their existence... who created them? how? why? the why is slightly implied? maybe. If someone smarter than me ever reads this and has the answers please, help me sort this things out.
I will be re-reading this in the future so, maybe on my second attempt I become less like Chen Qianli lol
ps: I did read the extra where Nanzhe's uses that pretty gardener metaphor. I still need answers tho
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
this book was a bloody ride and when i say bloody i mean BLOODY. before getting to the last chapters i convinced this was a 5/5 star-reading but objectively speaking i had to knock down a few stars because a good amount of things fell short. besides that, this novel was super amazing! im just sad it’s over because i expected so much after the eleventh door and when i realised i had only two chapters left i knew it wasnt going to be an epic final level where they would have to fucking run for their lives and almost die for each other