Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.53 AVERAGE
4.53 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, yes, I’ve watched and fallen in love with the TV drama The Untamed last year just like so many others. So when I found it was based on a novel, I had to read it! Thank god I was properly warned first, though … there’s a lot of content that I wouldn’t normally read. But because I loved the characters and storyline so much, I tried the book out.
Representation:
- as this takes place in ancient China, every character is Chinese
- now, I’m not sure I would consider this representation, really, because it’s written by a fujoshi, but … okay, well, besides a few chapters, the last few chapters, and the extras (AVOID AT ALL COSTS), I could relatively call this LGBT media, with a bi main protagonist and a gay love interest.
Wei Wuxian, the infamous Yiling Patriarch, became a villain and a demon in the eyes of the rest of the civilized cultivation world after creating Demonic Cultivation (aka becoming a necromancer). When he causes almost uncountable death, all the clans rise together against him, and Wei Wuxian’s reign of chaos ends.
Of course, though the timeline of the book switches between the present (thirteen years after Wei Wuxian’s death) and the past (before he even becomes the Yiling Patriarch), it’s clear this is only the beginning. For one, in the present timeline, Wei Wuxian is brought back to life. Secondly, Wei Wuxian’s spirit isn’t the only thing returning from his past: the weapon that made him so powerful before he died (and the thing he destroyed!) is somehow in use again. Thirdly, he’s just run into the very two people he wanted to avoid in this new life: his brother -- the one who took credit for his death -- and Lan Wangji, a skilled cultivator, the definition of righteousness, and someone who Wei Wuxian thought had despised him for his demonic cultivation.
Unfortunately, I’ll just have to imagine what this story could have been like in the hands of someone who didn’t fetishize gay men (or one who actually cared about women). Its potential to be an amazing book is just … and the way it’s wasted in Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s hands because she just can’t view lgbt men as people other than something to salivate over and use for her own sexual satisfaction is too frustrating. Yes, these scenes made up about 10-15% of the book (and the horrifying extras; don’t read), but they were enough to completely throw me off, disgust me, and realize that as much as the plot, characters, and everything else in this book is written with such care, the story isn’t meant for lgbt people (or like … normal people) like me to enjoy. It’s for that gross niche audience: fujoshi and bl lovers. I don’t understand it; I don’t understand what makes that type of “romance” enjoyable -- why can’t these people enjoy a non-disturbing romance between two men?
It’s just so disappointing.
Because there’s just no way I can fully describe my frustration and disappointment, fine, I’ll move on. I don’t know if it was the translation (which is unofficial. There’s no real English translation for this novel, so I had to go through fan translations -- which, unfortunately, are also done by fetishists) or the actual writing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, but the book reads stilted and awkward. It’s one of those books that’s more dialogue than prose, but there aren’t even dialogue tags or beats! Maybe it’s the style that I’m not used to. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also doesn’t seem to trust her audience to understand hints from text or dialogue, because she feels the need to explain everything. We understand what lying is, we promise (“Jin Ling clearly didn’t see Wen Ning and was making it up to distract Jiang Cheng so he would leave, etc., etc.” ← obviously not word for word).
Now, there’s lots to love about the book, too. The themes are amazing: challenge what you’re being taught and question who’s teaching you; always question your own choices constantly; how the younger generation can carry the intolerances of the older one, but how they also can be guided in other directions; how to deal when family and loved ones don’t have the same values/don’t think the same way you do -- and how do you continue to love them when they turn their backs on you?
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also is a master of characterization and character arcs. And definitely plot twists. A big, big problem though is how she treats women -- lmao, which is a large problem with fujoshi in general. All of the women have tiny roles and are fridged, weak, and without fail die tragically. It’s pathetic.
Without making this like a dissertation, I’ll just sum it all up. Stick with the drama and other adaptations, especially since the drama takes a lot of the dialogue directly from the novel. Look up specific scenes if you really want to, but honestly? The sweet romance of the tv drama will make you feel so much more than the (non-con) sex in the book.
Representation:
- as this takes place in ancient China, every character is Chinese
- now, I’m not sure I would consider this representation, really, because it’s written by a fujoshi, but … okay, well, besides a few chapters, the last few chapters, and the extras (AVOID AT ALL COSTS), I could relatively call this LGBT media, with a bi main protagonist and a gay love interest.
Wei Wuxian, the infamous Yiling Patriarch, became a villain and a demon in the eyes of the rest of the civilized cultivation world after creating Demonic Cultivation (aka becoming a necromancer). When he causes almost uncountable death, all the clans rise together against him, and Wei Wuxian’s reign of chaos ends.
Of course, though the timeline of the book switches between the present (thirteen years after Wei Wuxian’s death) and the past (before he even becomes the Yiling Patriarch), it’s clear this is only the beginning. For one, in the present timeline, Wei Wuxian is brought back to life. Secondly, Wei Wuxian’s spirit isn’t the only thing returning from his past: the weapon that made him so powerful before he died (and the thing he destroyed!) is somehow in use again. Thirdly, he’s just run into the very two people he wanted to avoid in this new life: his brother -- the one who took credit for his death -- and Lan Wangji, a skilled cultivator, the definition of righteousness, and someone who Wei Wuxian thought had despised him for his demonic cultivation.
Unfortunately, I’ll just have to imagine what this story could have been like in the hands of someone who didn’t fetishize gay men (or one who actually cared about women). Its potential to be an amazing book is just … and the way it’s wasted in Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s hands because she just can’t view lgbt men as people other than something to salivate over and use for her own sexual satisfaction is too frustrating. Yes, these scenes made up about 10-15% of the book (and the horrifying extras; don’t read), but they were enough to completely throw me off, disgust me, and realize that as much as the plot, characters, and everything else in this book is written with such care, the story isn’t meant for lgbt people (or like … normal people) like me to enjoy. It’s for that gross niche audience: fujoshi and bl lovers. I don’t understand it; I don’t understand what makes that type of “romance” enjoyable -- why can’t these people enjoy a non-disturbing romance between two men?
It’s just so disappointing.
Because there’s just no way I can fully describe my frustration and disappointment, fine, I’ll move on. I don’t know if it was the translation (which is unofficial. There’s no real English translation for this novel, so I had to go through fan translations -- which, unfortunately, are also done by fetishists) or the actual writing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, but the book reads stilted and awkward. It’s one of those books that’s more dialogue than prose, but there aren’t even dialogue tags or beats! Maybe it’s the style that I’m not used to. Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also doesn’t seem to trust her audience to understand hints from text or dialogue, because she feels the need to explain everything. We understand what lying is, we promise (“Jin Ling clearly didn’t see Wen Ning and was making it up to distract Jiang Cheng so he would leave, etc., etc.” ← obviously not word for word).
Now, there’s lots to love about the book, too. The themes are amazing: challenge what you’re being taught and question who’s teaching you; always question your own choices constantly; how the younger generation can carry the intolerances of the older one, but how they also can be guided in other directions; how to deal when family and loved ones don’t have the same values/don’t think the same way you do -- and how do you continue to love them when they turn their backs on you?
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu also is a master of characterization and character arcs. And definitely plot twists. A big, big problem though is how she treats women -- lmao, which is a large problem with fujoshi in general. All of the women have tiny roles and are fridged, weak, and without fail die tragically. It’s pathetic.
Without making this like a dissertation, I’ll just sum it all up. Stick with the drama and other adaptations, especially since the drama takes a lot of the dialogue directly from the novel. Look up specific scenes if you really want to, but honestly? The sweet romance of the tv drama will make you feel so much more than the (non-con) sex in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Rape
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Ableism, Incest
note: noncon and rape is, lmao, only vilified if between men and women; treated as normal and even “””romantic””” when between two men ………….; but also: fetishization, gross stereotypes about gay/bi men, such as them having 0 self control, being sexually aggressive & seme/uke stereotypes come the last few chapters + extras
Such an amazing read. It had a lot of good qualities.
The first one is the world building. It was extremely complex with the magic system, the sect and clan system, the complicated relationships, the history… I found it extremely well-crafted and enjoyed discovering more and more while reading.
Another is the characters. I think that all the characters were interesting, but among them my favourite were Wei WuXian and Wen Ning. I adored the main character. He had a mix of good and bad in him that made him extremely likeable. And the Ghost General was such a cute murder ghost. They were absolutely adorable (in my mind at least). I also liked all of the GusuLan sect members, especially Lan SiZhui and Lan WangJi.
I also liked the tone. It was serious and angsty, but had moments of tenderness and comedy that allowed you to rest a bit.
Of course, it was not perfect. My main trouble with it was the sexism. It was not just that the world was sexist and it was criticised, but the writing too. There were few women with importance to the plot, but I must admit that they were well written and their distinguishing characteristics made them recognizable.
The first one is the world building. It was extremely complex with the magic system, the sect and clan system, the complicated relationships, the history… I found it extremely well-crafted and enjoyed discovering more and more while reading.
Another is the characters. I think that all the characters were interesting, but among them my favourite were Wei WuXian and Wen Ning. I adored the main character. He had a mix of good and bad in him that made him extremely likeable. And the Ghost General was such a cute murder ghost. They were absolutely adorable (in my mind at least). I also liked all of the GusuLan sect members, especially Lan SiZhui and Lan WangJi.
I also liked the tone. It was serious and angsty, but had moments of tenderness and comedy that allowed you to rest a bit.
Of course, it was not perfect. My main trouble with it was the sexism. It was not just that the world was sexist and it was criticised, but the writing too. There were few women with importance to the plot, but I must admit that they were well written and their distinguishing characteristics made them recognizable.
I had so much fun reading this!! I loved both the world and the characters! I'm glad I finally decided to give it a try.
At first I was a little bit worried about the length and although it's true that it's quite long, it never gets boring or tedious.
I 100% recommend it to everyone who wants to enjoy an exciting story with amazing characters!
At first I was a little bit worried about the length and although it's true that it's quite long, it never gets boring or tedious.
I 100% recommend it to everyone who wants to enjoy an exciting story with amazing characters!
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Three stars because without the book, we wouldn't have The Untamed, and The Untamed is extremely enjoyable.
I do enjoy the main characters, though I wonder how differently I would feel about them if I wasn't already familiar with the portrayal of the actors in the drama. I think I would honestly dislike Lan Wangji/Lan Zhan based purely off the novel, which is unfortunate. There's a lot of pacing issues here too with the flashback positioning that were fixed in the drama but would have been confusing otherwise. I don't think I would have been as invested in their current-time interactions at the front of the book if I didn't already know their slow-burn backstory.
(I do wonder how much of this is due to the story being serialized and the author rushing, then apparently going back and editing some scenes in that she had skipped. If it had a normal drafting cycle before being released all at once, I wonder if some of these issues would be mitigated.)
That being said it's an entertaining story with a few fascinating characters and surprising twists and turns. But without the drama it would probably be a 1- 2 star read for me, which has a lot to do with my feelings toward the sex/romance scenes and the fetish-y, homophobic portrayal of gay people. I seem also to have very different opinions about consent vs the rest of the fandom. Consent is important, y'all. Fantasies and roleplaying are okay with someone you trust but not even talking about things first or forcing yourself on someone isn't. To me that's not about kink shaming, that's just... Non-negotiable. I'm not even sure I want to read the "extra" scenes because I heard this element gets worse.
There were just some really bad-fanfic-trope-y elements to the intimacy that I didn't care for. Much preferred the cute yet absurd confession scene during the final battle, or the flirty scene in the cave that somehow made it into the heavily censored drama with very few changes. Or the bunnies! I love the bunnies. And the part in town with Yuan when they ran into LWJ. More of that kind of thing.
I do enjoy the main characters, though I wonder how differently I would feel about them if I wasn't already familiar with the portrayal of the actors in the drama. I think I would honestly dislike Lan Wangji/Lan Zhan based purely off the novel, which is unfortunate. There's a lot of pacing issues here too with the flashback positioning that were fixed in the drama but would have been confusing otherwise. I don't think I would have been as invested in their current-time interactions at the front of the book if I didn't already know their slow-burn backstory.
(I do wonder how much of this is due to the story being serialized and the author rushing, then apparently going back and editing some scenes in that she had skipped. If it had a normal drafting cycle before being released all at once, I wonder if some of these issues would be mitigated.)
That being said it's an entertaining story with a few fascinating characters and surprising twists and turns. But without the drama it would probably be a 1- 2 star read for me, which has a lot to do with my feelings toward the sex/romance scenes and the fetish-y, homophobic portrayal of gay people. I seem also to have very different opinions about consent vs the rest of the fandom. Consent is important, y'all. Fantasies and roleplaying are okay with someone you trust but not even talking about things first or forcing yourself on someone isn't. To me that's not about kink shaming, that's just... Non-negotiable. I'm not even sure I want to read the "extra" scenes because I heard this element gets worse.
There were just some really bad-fanfic-trope-y elements to the intimacy that I didn't care for. Much preferred the cute yet absurd confession scene during the final battle, or the flirty scene in the cave that somehow made it into the heavily censored drama with very few changes. Or the bunnies! I love the bunnies. And the part in town with Yuan when they ran into LWJ. More of that kind of thing.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I gave this 5 stars but I might be bias since I’m in love with Xiao Zhan & Wang Yibo. But...I LOVED IT. Wangxian has my soul. I love Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian. After watching The Untamed, and being halfway through the Donghua MDZS, I knew I wasn’t ready to let go of these characters. So I started the book...
126 chapters? 1000+ pages? A very intense and intricate plot? Oof! It was so enjoyable. Seeing the canon timeline and how things flowed from there was incredible. I loved being able to have more insight into a lot of the other characters like Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, Jin Guangyao!!! I was able to see their significance in the plot more and it was just entirely unbelievable.
Lan Wangji has so much depth, and speaks so much more than he’s typically visually portrayed. I didn’t think I could love him more but this book proved me wrong. UGH. My boy. He’s easily one of my favorite characters of all time. Up there with Laurent of Vere in terms of repressed emotions, Lan Wangji is stubborn and meticulous, strategic and thoughtful. Let’s not forget DEVOTED. Get yourself a Lan Wangji. Trust me, you need one.
Wei Wuxian? My oblivious, but smart, Yiling Laozu? Oh. He was so badass and so FUNNY. Gah, he’s a hoot. I think he’s ALSO one of my favorite characters of all time. I didn’t think I could love him more and yet I do now.
The translation of the novel does make it read more...superficial. I did feel like I was reading a fan fiction at times, but I can’t fault the book for that. The plot and characters still stick out and I still loved every page. This was purely an indulgent read and maybe NOW that I’ve finished it...I can finally compartmentalize my obsession with this book/show/these characters?
Probably not but we can hope.
126 chapters? 1000+ pages? A very intense and intricate plot? Oof! It was so enjoyable. Seeing the canon timeline and how things flowed from there was incredible. I loved being able to have more insight into a lot of the other characters like Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, Jin Guangyao!!! I was able to see their significance in the plot more and it was just entirely unbelievable.
Lan Wangji has so much depth, and speaks so much more than he’s typically visually portrayed. I didn’t think I could love him more but this book proved me wrong. UGH. My boy. He’s easily one of my favorite characters of all time. Up there with Laurent of Vere in terms of repressed emotions, Lan Wangji is stubborn and meticulous, strategic and thoughtful. Let’s not forget DEVOTED. Get yourself a Lan Wangji. Trust me, you need one.
Wei Wuxian? My oblivious, but smart, Yiling Laozu? Oh. He was so badass and so FUNNY. Gah, he’s a hoot. I think he’s ALSO one of my favorite characters of all time. I didn’t think I could love him more and yet I do now.
The translation of the novel does make it read more...superficial. I did feel like I was reading a fan fiction at times, but I can’t fault the book for that. The plot and characters still stick out and I still loved every page. This was purely an indulgent read and maybe NOW that I’ve finished it...I can finally compartmentalize my obsession with this book/show/these characters?
Probably not but we can hope.