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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Short Western revenge quest with magical realism elements. Ming Tsu has a pretty high body count (thus the title), but what I really enjoyed were the descriptions of the arid intermountain west.
I do feel like the MRAzn crowd might like this book, because of the masculine violence as Ming kills those who wronged him in effort to get back to his white wife.
Skimming through some other reviews, some felt he should be "more Chinese", which... feels odd given there's no one singular way to be something? The character was orphaned at a young age and raised/trained by a white man, which would be different from the laborers coming predominantly from southern China, but he knows he's different from the majority because of how they treat him. Maybe Ming can spend some time musing on his identity after going through his vengeance list, but I do think there's something inherent in how the traveling circus became a found family of sorts, as they were all people out of time in a way.
I do feel like the MRAzn crowd might like this book, because of the masculine violence as Ming kills those who wronged him in effort to get back to his white wife.
Skimming through some other reviews, some felt he should be "more Chinese", which... feels odd given there's no one singular way to be something? The character was orphaned at a young age and raised/trained by a white man, which would be different from the laborers coming predominantly from southern China, but he knows he's different from the majority because of how they treat him. Maybe Ming can spend some time musing on his identity after going through his vengeance list, but I do think there's something inherent in how the traveling circus became a found family of sorts, as they were all people out of time in a way.
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a nasty crusty miserable character that just kills a lot of people.
The story is pretty cut and dry and the plot railroads the book. The protagonist is halfway through a revenge pree and finishes it at the end of the book. The "twist" is telegraphed by chapter two. That being said it was a blast. I love the looney tunes rooting tooting logic of the world. The prophets adoration for geology and geologic time scales is delightful and an interesting moral setting for the grotesque violence we watch Ming deal out. My main complaint is that I wish it was longer.
The story is pretty cut and dry and the plot railroads the book. The protagonist is halfway through a revenge pree and finishes it at the end of the book. The "twist" is telegraphed by chapter two. That being said it was a blast. I love the looney tunes rooting tooting logic of the world. The prophets adoration for geology and geologic time scales is delightful and an interesting moral setting for the grotesque violence we watch Ming deal out. My main complaint is that I wish it was longer.
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Magical realism meets western isn’t a combination one finds very often, but it works perfectly in this stunning debut novel. Looking forward to Tom Lin’s next book already.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I want to start by saying I thought this book would be fun, but I was incorrect. Was it bad? No. It was actually a good piece of literature. Amazing imagery, well-fleshed out characters, and a well driven story.
The story takes place in the late 1800s American West, where a Chinese orphan, Ming Tsu, is going on a revenge spree. He was forcibly taken away from his love and made to work on the rails. We pick up with him murdering one of the first men from his list. From there he collects another man by the name of The Prophet, who is blind and can tell when people will die. They start to travel to California from the Utah Territory. They meet a traveling "miracles" show and Ming gets hired to give them safe passage to Reno. They band of misfits travels and grows together as they head west to their final destinations.
Overall, I struggled to get into this book until the end when it got extremely violent. Ming is honestly an amazing character. I love his back story, I love his purpose, and I love how well rounded he is as a person. He is talented with a gun, but still a deeply flawed man who cannot always save himself.
If you like historical fiction, this is a book for you.
DETAILED THOUGHTS THAT MAY BE SPOILERS______________________________
Ok at one point they find a dinosaur???? Literally what was the purpose of that??? I don't know, but it never comes up again for the rest of the novel. Ok whatever.
Ming and Hazel are cute and I love the whole "found family" trope that we kind of get with them and Hunter. Very cute 10/10
There are some amazing quotes and discussions in this book that I enjoyed a lot. Love when they said "God is not a man" honestly pop off king.
Yeah and I know the ending alludes to Ming going back to Reno for Hazel and Hunter but I NEED IT TO HAPPEN AND I WANT TO READ THE SCENE WHEN THEY REUNITE!!!!! yeah ok that's it thx for reading
The story takes place in the late 1800s American West, where a Chinese orphan, Ming Tsu, is going on a revenge spree. He was forcibly taken away from his love and made to work on the rails. We pick up with him murdering one of the first men from his list. From there he collects another man by the name of The Prophet, who is blind and can tell when people will die. They start to travel to California from the Utah Territory. They meet a traveling "miracles" show and Ming gets hired to give them safe passage to Reno. They band of misfits travels and grows together as they head west to their final destinations.
Overall, I struggled to get into this book until the end when it got extremely violent. Ming is honestly an amazing character. I love his back story, I love his purpose, and I love how well rounded he is as a person. He is talented with a gun, but still a deeply flawed man who cannot always save himself.
If you like historical fiction, this is a book for you.
DETAILED THOUGHTS THAT MAY BE SPOILERS______________________________
Ok at one point they find a dinosaur???? Literally what was the purpose of that??? I don't know, but it never comes up again for the rest of the novel. Ok whatever.
Ming and Hazel are cute and I love the whole "found family" trope that we kind of get with them and Hunter. Very cute 10/10
There are some amazing quotes and discussions in this book that I enjoyed a lot. Love when they said "God is not a man" honestly pop off king.
Yeah and I know the ending alludes to Ming going back to Reno for Hazel and Hunter but I NEED IT TO HAPPEN AND I WANT TO READ THE SCENE WHEN THEY REUNITE!!!!! yeah ok that's it thx for reading
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes