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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A story about a man who runs at a sprint away from everything that might make him happy in service of a vengeance that feels hollow, even to him.
Beautiful prose.
Beautiful prose.
Loved the premise - Western with a Chinese-American protagonist who has a kill list. The writing was gorgeous but it just started to drag for me. The gore and violence started to feel gratuitous and I just got bored. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
I haven't read a lot of books set in the Old West, so when I happened upon this one in my local bookstore, I figured I'd give it a go. The premise looked interesting, and I was curious to see what a western story would look like with an East Asian protagonist (especially given the history of Chinese immigrants and the railroad in the West). Overall, I was impressed by this book; I think Tom Lin has a talent for writing atmospheric prose and he holds back just enough to keep the reader guessing. While I do wish a couple of things had been done differently, I also think this was a solid debut novel, and for that reason, I give this book 3.5 stars.
Writing: As stated above, Lin's prose is very atmospheric, conjuring up vivid pictures of the desert and endless stretches of dry heat with an economic style. I very much appreciated how much atmosphere and action Lin could convey in sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that weren't very long, and I loved how Ming's reticence turned the protagonist into a fairly moody character.
I also appreciated the tension that Lin wrote into Ming's ethnicity and his cultural identity. Ming is a Chinese man by birth, but speaks no Mandarin (or other dialect) and has no ties to Chinese culture, yet the world keeps trying to forge an association between him and the Chinese immigrants who are working for the railroad. What I found interesting about this tension was just how complicated it made questions regarding race, ethnicity, and culture, and though I wish Lin had more fully explored what life for a Westernized Chinese man might have been like, I think putting Ming out there for readers to grapple with was a smart move.
Lastly, I liked the blend of Western and magical realism throughout the novel. While I think it would have been easy to make this book a full blown historical fantasy, I felt like keeping the magical elements understated enhanced the overall mood.
The only thing that I think bothered me about the writing was the pace. Lin seemed interested in progressing fairly slowly, showing every detail that other writers might have glossed over or edited out. As a result, the journey west felt slow, but maybe that was the point. Maybe Lin wanted readers to feel sluggish, especially since the travel was across a desert.
Plot: The plot of this book follows Ming Tsu, a former criminal who seeks revenge on the people who wronged him. Ming was the protégé of a notorious criminal named Silas Root, who taught Ming how to kill. But Ming decides to leave all that behind when he meets Ada, the daughter of a wealthy railroad baron. Ming and Ada elope only for the baron to hire a bunch of men to break them up and send Ming to work for Central Pacific Railroad, trapping him there by threatening to murder Silas. Once Silas dies, however, Ming escapes and starts his revenge journey.
On his way West, Ming teams up with a curious cast of characters, including a prophet who can only "see" forward in time and a band of traveling magic-show performers, all of whom have uncanny abilities.
What I liked most about this plot was the way the characters came together. Not all of them get along, but when they do, it's varied and interesting enough to keep me invested. I wouldn't quite call them a found family, but there are definitely some relationships that feel deep and meaningful.
I also liked the general arc of Ming's revenge journey, as it followed a trajectory that one might expect out of a Western. I'm all for playing with tropes, but sometimes, sticking to the classics works just as well, and I think it worked well here.
I do think, however, that Lin could have made his plot more compelling by getting the reader more invested in both the character dynamics and the revenge plot. As it stands, it seems like Ming is largely unaffected or not invested in his relationship with the magic show performers, and though he comes to like Hazel and Hunter, those bonds aren't quite strong enough to make him seriously question whether or not revenge is the most important thing in his life. As for the revenge plot, I did enjoy the list of people Ming wanted to kill, but to me, each of his targets were just names. When he finally killed someone, I didn't quite get a sense of relief or fulfillment, and perhaps this is because we are told about Ming's past but aren't invited to feel his feelings. Maybe Lin did this on purpose; maybe he wanted killing to feel emotionless and empty, but if so, I wish that had been balanced by pouring emotion into something else.
Characters: Ming, our protagonist, is fairly compelling as a protagonist in that he has a checkered past and a fair bit of trauma. Not only does he have a criminal history, but in true Western fashion, he was done wrong by a powerful man and is now on a quest for revenge. I sympathized a lot with Ming's desire for revenge, and I wish Lin had leaned a little more into the psychological effects of his various experiences. As it stands, Lin seems most interested in showing us Ming's hang ups around his wife, Ada. These parts were very well-done, and I wish we had flashbacks to other points in Ming's past.
The prophet was a compelling character in that his prophecies gave shape to the overall plot. I liked that Ming and so many others came to rely on him, and his prophecies were useful for creating suspense and narrative tension. The prophet also had some insightful things to say, and I was charmed by the way he lived in the present.
The members of the traveling sideshow are varied enough to be interesting, and I think Lin differentiated them well. I also liked how each one of them had their own relationship to Ming, so some connections felt more familial while others were businesslike or even hostile. I especially enjoyed Ming's relationship with Hunter, the deaf-mute boy who could "talk" inside people's heads. The disability representation was appreciated, and I was touched by the way Ming strove to protect Hunter while also learn to communicate ate with him.
TL;DR: The Thousand Crimes of Min Tsu is an incredibly atmospheric novel that blends Western with magical realism in a compelling way. Though I think Lin could have done more to help invest the reader more in the plot, this book was a fairly solid debut and I look forward to seeing more from the author in the future.
Writing: As stated above, Lin's prose is very atmospheric, conjuring up vivid pictures of the desert and endless stretches of dry heat with an economic style. I very much appreciated how much atmosphere and action Lin could convey in sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that weren't very long, and I loved how Ming's reticence turned the protagonist into a fairly moody character.
I also appreciated the tension that Lin wrote into Ming's ethnicity and his cultural identity. Ming is a Chinese man by birth, but speaks no Mandarin (or other dialect) and has no ties to Chinese culture, yet the world keeps trying to forge an association between him and the Chinese immigrants who are working for the railroad. What I found interesting about this tension was just how complicated it made questions regarding race, ethnicity, and culture, and though I wish Lin had more fully explored what life for a Westernized Chinese man might have been like, I think putting Ming out there for readers to grapple with was a smart move.
Lastly, I liked the blend of Western and magical realism throughout the novel. While I think it would have been easy to make this book a full blown historical fantasy, I felt like keeping the magical elements understated enhanced the overall mood.
The only thing that I think bothered me about the writing was the pace. Lin seemed interested in progressing fairly slowly, showing every detail that other writers might have glossed over or edited out. As a result, the journey west felt slow, but maybe that was the point. Maybe Lin wanted readers to feel sluggish, especially since the travel was across a desert.
Plot: The plot of this book follows Ming Tsu, a former criminal who seeks revenge on the people who wronged him. Ming was the protégé of a notorious criminal named Silas Root, who taught Ming how to kill. But Ming decides to leave all that behind when he meets Ada, the daughter of a wealthy railroad baron. Ming and Ada elope only for the baron to hire a bunch of men to break them up and send Ming to work for Central Pacific Railroad, trapping him there by threatening to murder Silas. Once Silas dies, however, Ming escapes and starts his revenge journey.
On his way West, Ming teams up with a curious cast of characters, including a prophet who can only "see" forward in time and a band of traveling magic-show performers, all of whom have uncanny abilities.
What I liked most about this plot was the way the characters came together. Not all of them get along, but when they do, it's varied and interesting enough to keep me invested. I wouldn't quite call them a found family, but there are definitely some relationships that feel deep and meaningful.
I also liked the general arc of Ming's revenge journey, as it followed a trajectory that one might expect out of a Western. I'm all for playing with tropes, but sometimes, sticking to the classics works just as well, and I think it worked well here.
I do think, however, that Lin could have made his plot more compelling by getting the reader more invested in both the character dynamics and the revenge plot. As it stands, it seems like Ming is largely unaffected or not invested in his relationship with the magic show performers, and though he comes to like Hazel and Hunter, those bonds aren't quite strong enough to make him seriously question whether or not revenge is the most important thing in his life. As for the revenge plot, I did enjoy the list of people Ming wanted to kill, but to me, each of his targets were just names. When he finally killed someone, I didn't quite get a sense of relief or fulfillment, and perhaps this is because we are told about Ming's past but aren't invited to feel his feelings. Maybe Lin did this on purpose; maybe he wanted killing to feel emotionless and empty, but if so, I wish that had been balanced by pouring emotion into something else.
Characters: Ming, our protagonist, is fairly compelling as a protagonist in that he has a checkered past and a fair bit of trauma. Not only does he have a criminal history, but in true Western fashion, he was done wrong by a powerful man and is now on a quest for revenge. I sympathized a lot with Ming's desire for revenge, and I wish Lin had leaned a little more into the psychological effects of his various experiences. As it stands, Lin seems most interested in showing us Ming's hang ups around his wife, Ada. These parts were very well-done, and I wish we had flashbacks to other points in Ming's past.
The prophet was a compelling character in that his prophecies gave shape to the overall plot. I liked that Ming and so many others came to rely on him, and his prophecies were useful for creating suspense and narrative tension. The prophet also had some insightful things to say, and I was charmed by the way he lived in the present.
The members of the traveling sideshow are varied enough to be interesting, and I think Lin differentiated them well. I also liked how each one of them had their own relationship to Ming, so some connections felt more familial while others were businesslike or even hostile. I especially enjoyed Ming's relationship with Hunter, the deaf-mute boy who could "talk" inside people's heads. The disability representation was appreciated, and I was touched by the way Ming strove to protect Hunter while also learn to communicate ate with him.
TL;DR: The Thousand Crimes of Min Tsu is an incredibly atmospheric novel that blends Western with magical realism in a compelling way. Though I think Lin could have done more to help invest the reader more in the plot, this book was a fairly solid debut and I look forward to seeing more from the author in the future.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Inconsequential is how I would describe nearly every aspect of The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu. The characters, the narrative, the plot points... all of it. What starts out as a promising subversion of a western revenge tale quickly peters out as the story structure rapidly ushers you into the next trite 3-7 page story event. The violence is dispassionate and procedural, each shoot out or assassination bleeding into the next. Any tension is immediately thrown out the window with the introduction of the Prophet, as the fate of any involved characters are asked and answered before conflict has the opportunity to take place. The major events of the story are predictable, expected, and thus boring. The one unique flair the novel has going for it is the Chinese lens, and even that is only shallowly explored to the point it feels tacked on.
An overall disappointment, nowhere near the likes of McCarthy, which I've seen so many comparisons to going into this. Hoping Tom Lin's next installment is a major improvement over this.
An overall disappointment, nowhere near the likes of McCarthy, which I've seen so many comparisons to going into this. Hoping Tom Lin's next installment is a major improvement over this.
Wow, that was… a lot. I’ve never read anything quite like this — it felt very Tarantino-esque with its Wild West setting and gratuitous violence. While the writing style was really interesting and beautifully artistic, the plot just didn’t do it for me. I found the plot to be simple but unnecessarily long. I didn’t appreciate the way the main character was set up to be Chinese in a setting where this should have been a really interesting part to explore in terms of his identity, but instead the author seemingly refused to acknowledge any Chinese aspect of Ming. The ending was also predictable and unsatisfying.
Received a free copy from Netgalley.
Received a free copy from Netgalley.
This one never quite pulled me in. Even giving it the favorable "tarantino" treatment in my mind it never really creeped past simply serviceable. A strong ending bumped me up from 2 to 3 but I really think this might be one of those books that got a bit overhyped due to casting. My 2 cents anyway.
adventurous
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I have no idea how I came upon having this book on my shelves but it was a delightful read. A magical realism Western that just flies.