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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-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
Lots of fun scenes and a fun story. Very quick, though and not too much personal depth. It’s fun (for the third time) but is didn’t make me feel much. Not that it needed to.
adventurous
fast-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
I won this book on Goodreads in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the idea of this book, but when I started reading it, I couldn't get into it. I don't know a lot about Chinese culture, kung fu, or ancient Chinese law and such, and I think that hindered me and my enjoyment. There is a list of character names and information about them in the beginning and I kept having to go back to that page so I could understand who was who and how they were important to the plot. It felt very stilted to me and a little awkward- which could have been the translation. I also didn't really understand the kung fu- it was hard for me to visualize what moves they were doing when fighting, because I have absolutely no idea what I should be picturing.
I gave this book 3 stars because I think it was my limited understanding of Kung Fu and Chinese culture that made the book difficult. The translation was also not what I expected. It felt very awkward, stilted, and clumsy- so that also affected the rating.
I liked the idea of this book, but when I started reading it, I couldn't get into it. I don't know a lot about Chinese culture, kung fu, or ancient Chinese law and such, and I think that hindered me and my enjoyment. There is a list of character names and information about them in the beginning and I kept having to go back to that page so I could understand who was who and how they were important to the plot. It felt very stilted to me and a little awkward- which could have been the translation. I also didn't really understand the kung fu- it was hard for me to visualize what moves they were doing when fighting, because I have absolutely no idea what I should be picturing.
I gave this book 3 stars because I think it was my limited understanding of Kung Fu and Chinese culture that made the book difficult. The translation was also not what I expected. It felt very awkward, stilted, and clumsy- so that also affected the rating.
adventurous
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:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
Yes
It was not necessarily the quality of the book, I would like to finish it at some point, I’m just not very invested and life is too short to be reading things like I’m slogging through. I’m in a rut and this book is not helping me out.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, War
Minor: Sexism, Pregnancy
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Alas, it was not for me. I like my fantasy books to be slow with a focus on character development, and that's the opposite of what this book was going for. Multiple pages will be spent describing a fight so that we understand all the different moves used, and then a single paragraph will be used to establish a character's entire backstory. Mostly after the fact! A character will do something and then the narrative will stop to say "and here's WHY they just did that thing." It sucks, because there are some characters I would've been interested in learning more about! I want to know about Guo Jing's childhood, and his friendships with Tolui and Khojin. I'd like to know about Zhang Asheng's love for Jade Han. I'd like to know about Greybeard Liang's lifelong hunt for herbs and immortality. But all of these are just briefly described and moved on.
Instead, everyone just seems to react instantly to things and start fighting based on... vibes? At one point the Seven Freaks of the South just decide tokill the kid they've been teaching for years and years because they saw a skull and jumped to conclusion .
Then at the end there's an attempt at romance. Guo Jing, who is thicker than two short planks, goes out to travel to where he's meant to fight someone. Along the way, he meets a beggar boy who he starts talking to because they have the same dialect. The beggar boy insists that Guo Jing pay for a bunch of extravagant food even though the boy doesn't eat any of it. He then also asks Guo Jing to give him his super special and amazing horse. And Guo Jing just goes "okay :)"
But turns out it's fine, because the beggar boy was actually a beautiful girl named Lotus who is also an accomplished fighter. But like... she SUCKS! She wasted all that food and took Guo Jing's horse, and justified it by saying that Guo Jing was so nice to her and she'd never experienced that before. And Guo Jing is head over heels for her because she's so pretty and... he trusts her? For some reason? Dude, she wasted a bunch of your money on food she didn't eat and THEN TOOK YOUR HORSE! Why would you trust her? Because the narrative says so? Because she's from the same part of China as you? Because she turned out to be a pretty girl?
Urgh... No thanks, not for me.
Instead, everyone just seems to react instantly to things and start fighting based on... vibes? At one point the Seven Freaks of the South just decide to
Then at the end there's an attempt at romance.
But turns out it's fine, because the beggar boy was actually a beautiful girl named Lotus who is also an accomplished fighter. But like... she SUCKS! She wasted all that food and took Guo Jing's horse, and justified it by saying that Guo Jing was so nice to her and she'd never experienced that before. And Guo Jing is head over heels for her because she's so pretty and... he trusts her? For some reason? Dude, she wasted a bunch of your money on food she didn't eat and THEN TOOK YOUR HORSE! Why would you trust her? Because the narrative says so? Because she's from the same part of China as you? Because she turned out to be a pretty girl?
Urgh... No thanks, not for me.