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4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Murder
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“I cherish my life and am loath to lose it—but they want me to shoulder someone else’s guilt, to pay for countless lives with my own when I have but one life to give. So how does that work? Thus I bow and scrape and try to gain favor, all in the hope that Er-gongzi and your peers will have mercy on me. If you want me to confess today, Er-gongzi, then at least tell me what I’m guilty of.”
hats off to the translators!!!!!
hats off to the translators!!!!!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
This was my first danmei novel (and came highly recommended!) so while I had some feel for genre expectations/tropes, that wasn't significant enough to guide my reading.
The premise grabbed me very quickly. As a historical fiction based in the Chinese Imperial Court this definitely delivered. Scheming eunuchs, an overpowered empress dowager, and dangerous tightropes to power/freedom/vengeance were all deliciously present. However, while the world is large with many key players, it's sharp in it's loneliness and mostly empty of human connection between people, outside of the acrimoniously romantic couple. Because a single wrong step can be the difference between life and death, the novel focuses on those steps and how they effect their doer's carefully balanced position in society. This is rendered realistically and with neither too much sentiment nor too much sadism. The exception to this is Shen Zechuan/Lanzhou (one of the mains) who, despite being the lone surviving member of a traitorous family whose execution is publicly desired in penance, is generally protected by one of several powerful 'allies' in the moments when he faces danger (which is necessary plot-wise as those instances are always life-threatening, due to his uniquely precarious situation). A point I'll come back to.
This book is a translation and obviously, as it's historical fiction, the language is anachronistic. I think both those elements are pretty successful as you can best see in the places where metaphor is used deftly to arouse strong emotions of yearning, indecision, restlessness, hopelessness, grief, and urgent desire. I would however say the book is a bit unbalanced in places for a story that begins in medias res— some of the context/information is delivered too early/too late which falls to the side of just telling you the thing you're supposed to react emotionally to.
On the main couple: this is volume 1 of 8 in an enemies-to-lovers story of political intrigue. After finishing Vol. 1 I'm a little skeptical that 8 volumes are really necessary for the story at hand, but again I'm not well-versed in the genre so what do I know. Military general Xiao Chiye/Ce'an's story of being drawn to a man who he doesn't trust/represents the overwhelming power of the Xiao family's rival power, the Hua clan, is by far the strongest half of QJJ's beating heart. Because QJJ does not spoil the reader for introspection or inner monologues, characters have to be active to reveal themselves to the reader. Even when a character is observed or mulled upon suspiciously, that doesn't often reveal much beyond their capacity for duplicity. Xiao Chiye is without doubt the more 'independently active' of the two mains (though he, too, is in a bear-hug captivity of his own as he's kept close to the Imperial Court as a leash on his family, the governors of a border province which is too far for comfort from the Empire's heart) so you get to know him more.
In contrast, Lanzhou's imprisonment is much more obvious and he is thereby much more limiting. It's slightly frustrating that you don't get a chance to know him for quite a long stretch, beyond that he is very beautiful (thanks to a courtesan mother) and full of simmering resentment. However when he does escape his confines a bitas an assassin working for the empress dowager , the person revealed beneath is unhinged and frightening...in a sexy way in the sense of having lost hope/care for his own life so he revels in the violence of his small vengeances while he can. Having lost everything and having no real future makes Shen Zechuan dangerous and mistrustful indeed. Xiao Chiye recognizes this in lovely Lanzhou but, attracted as he is to the unconquerable desire for freedom in wild animals, well, he likes that! Himself wild and yearning for the plains of home— though he is also a calculating player in the power game, a loyal son to his family— he knows he's met a worthy opponent in Lanzhou. The resulting fascination and proximity leaves them as uneasy allies & lovers by Vol. 1 end.
The premise grabbed me very quickly. As a historical fiction based in the Chinese Imperial Court this definitely delivered. Scheming eunuchs, an overpowered empress dowager, and dangerous tightropes to power/freedom/vengeance were all deliciously present. However, while the world is large with many key players, it's sharp in it's loneliness and mostly empty of human connection between people, outside of the acrimoniously romantic couple. Because a single wrong step can be the difference between life and death, the novel focuses on those steps and how they effect their doer's carefully balanced position in society. This is rendered realistically and with neither too much sentiment nor too much sadism. The exception to this is Shen Zechuan/Lanzhou (one of the mains) who, despite being the lone surviving member of a traitorous family whose execution is publicly desired in penance, is generally protected by one of several powerful 'allies' in the moments when he faces danger (which is necessary plot-wise as those instances are always life-threatening, due to his uniquely precarious situation). A point I'll come back to.
This book is a translation and obviously, as it's historical fiction, the language is anachronistic. I think both those elements are pretty successful as you can best see in the places where metaphor is used deftly to arouse strong emotions of yearning, indecision, restlessness, hopelessness, grief, and urgent desire. I would however say the book is a bit unbalanced in places for a story that begins in medias res— some of the context/information is delivered too early/too late which falls to the side of just telling you the thing you're supposed to react emotionally to.
On the main couple: this is volume 1 of 8 in an enemies-to-lovers story of political intrigue. After finishing Vol. 1 I'm a little skeptical that 8 volumes are really necessary for the story at hand, but again I'm not well-versed in the genre so what do I know. Military general Xiao Chiye/Ce'an's story of being drawn to a man who he doesn't trust/represents the overwhelming power of the Xiao family's rival power, the Hua clan, is by far the strongest half of QJJ's beating heart. Because QJJ does not spoil the reader for introspection or inner monologues, characters have to be active to reveal themselves to the reader. Even when a character is observed or mulled upon suspiciously, that doesn't often reveal much beyond their capacity for duplicity. Xiao Chiye is without doubt the more 'independently active' of the two mains (though he, too, is in a bear-hug captivity of his own as he's kept close to the Imperial Court as a leash on his family, the governors of a border province which is too far for comfort from the Empire's heart) so you get to know him more.
In contrast, Lanzhou's imprisonment is much more obvious and he is thereby much more limiting. It's slightly frustrating that you don't get a chance to know him for quite a long stretch, beyond that he is very beautiful (thanks to a courtesan mother) and full of simmering resentment. However when he does escape his confines a bit
politics were confusing af but it was fun and I'll definitely continue
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture