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noori's review against another edition
I’m dropping this for now.
Chapter 31 I might come back for you.
Read from: Jan 07, 2024 - Jan 10, 2024
Chapter 31 I might come back for you.
Read from: Jan 07, 2024 - Jan 10, 2024
amanda03's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
starrysea98's review
4.0
finally finished this! i’ll admit, the war-heavy plot plus the steampunk element didn’t attract me at first but i did enjoy reading about court intrigue and of course, chang geng and gu yun!
karaconi12's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
luxlisbonsghost's review
4.0
i have complicated feelings towards this book. there were many things i liked about it and a few that i didn’t. overall tho it was incredibly well written and had a plethora of interesting and deep characters.
nyeran's review
5.0
"A person's pain lies in the inability to let go. The more you hold onto it, the fuller your hands will become, the harder it will be to walk on."
♠ È più bello di Lord Seventh. L'ho detto.
È meno bello di Faraway Wanderers. L'ho detto.
E si capisce che è stato scritto dopo. Perchè nonostante la lunghezza e il fatto che, molto più degli altri due, questo sia più focalizzato sugli intrighi politici al punto da inserire interi capitoli sulla storia passata, su altri personaggi e sulle loro macchinazioni, il tutto non pesa eccessivamente. E riesci pure a stargli dietro. Non c'è l'elenco infinito di eventi passati e di nomi più o meno scollegati dalla trama che stanno li giusto per allungare il brodo che però devi per forza ricordare per poter capire cosa succede. Succedono tante cose però, davvero tante cose, prima della metà c'è stata un infiltrazione su un isola piena di invasori giapponesi a est, un tentativo di ribellione di banditi a sud, una guerra su quattro fronti e la quasi distruzione della capitale ed eravamo solo al 48%. Questi poveracci non hanno nemmeno mezzo capitolo di tranquillità.
♠ Sarebbe così facile fare una recensione se avessi 15 anni e potessi soltanto fare keyboardsmash dei miei sentimenti. E invece ne ho trenta e devo fare l'adulta ed essere matura.
Il lato romance, - in stile Priest - è molto defilato rispetto alla parte politica ma qui, rispetto ai due precedenti, c'è qualcosina in più e il primo punto di incontro emotivo tra i due si ha verso la metà. Chang Geng sa fin da subito che cosa prova per il suo yifu e non ci gira troppo intorno, quando ha l'occasione di essere onesto lo è. È maturo e diretto anche se così facendo fa allontanare Gu Yun,- emotivamente e fisicamente- da lui. Non si tira mai indietro però, non rinnega i suoi sentimenti, li lega, cerca di nasconderli e di tenerli segreti ma non li rifiuta mai.
È Gu Yun quello che fatica ad accettarli. Per il ruolo che ricopre nei confronti di Cheng Geng, per la differenza di età e di esperienza di vita che hanno, per il suo passato che lo ha distrutto emotivamente, rovinato fisicamente e reso quasi invalido.
Niente crisi d'identità perchè hanno entrambi il pene. Sono tutti tranquilli. Tranne il povero Shen Yi che ha un attacco epilettico ogni volta che se li ritrova davanti.
Devo essere onesta fino alla fine però. 1200 pagine sono davvero troppe perchè quando inizi ad arrivare alle 700/800 comincia veramente a pesarti ogni cosa e trattenerti dallo skippare diventa davvero difficile.
Mai canzone fu più perfetta di Come Mai degli 883 per questi due.
♠ È più bello di Lord Seventh. L'ho detto.
È meno bello di Faraway Wanderers. L'ho detto.
E si capisce che è stato scritto dopo. Perchè nonostante la lunghezza e il fatto che, molto più degli altri due, questo sia più focalizzato sugli intrighi politici al punto da inserire interi capitoli sulla storia passata, su altri personaggi e sulle loro macchinazioni, il tutto non pesa eccessivamente. E riesci pure a stargli dietro. Non c'è l'elenco infinito di eventi passati e di nomi più o meno scollegati dalla trama che stanno li giusto per allungare il brodo che però devi per forza ricordare per poter capire cosa succede. Succedono tante cose però, davvero tante cose, prima della metà c'è stata un infiltrazione su un isola piena di invasori giapponesi a est, un tentativo di ribellione di banditi a sud, una guerra su quattro fronti e la quasi distruzione della capitale ed eravamo solo al 48%. Questi poveracci non hanno nemmeno mezzo capitolo di tranquillità.
♠ Sarebbe così facile fare una recensione se avessi 15 anni e potessi soltanto fare keyboardsmash dei miei sentimenti. E invece ne ho trenta e devo fare l'adulta ed essere matura.
Il lato romance, - in stile Priest - è molto defilato rispetto alla parte politica ma qui, rispetto ai due precedenti, c'è qualcosina in più e il primo punto di incontro emotivo tra i due si ha verso la metà. Chang Geng sa fin da subito che cosa prova per il suo yifu e non ci gira troppo intorno, quando ha l'occasione di essere onesto lo è. È maturo e diretto anche se così facendo fa allontanare Gu Yun,- emotivamente e fisicamente- da lui. Non si tira mai indietro però, non rinnega i suoi sentimenti, li lega, cerca di nasconderli e di tenerli segreti ma non li rifiuta mai.
È Gu Yun quello che fatica ad accettarli. Per il ruolo che ricopre nei confronti di Cheng Geng, per la differenza di età e di esperienza di vita che hanno, per il suo passato che lo ha distrutto emotivamente, rovinato fisicamente e reso quasi invalido.
Niente crisi d'identità perchè hanno entrambi il pene. Sono tutti tranquilli. Tranne il povero Shen Yi che ha un attacco epilettico ogni volta che se li ritrova davanti.
Devo essere onesta fino alla fine però. 1200 pagine sono davvero troppe perchè quando inizi ad arrivare alle 700/800 comincia veramente a pesarti ogni cosa e trattenerti dallo skippare diventa davvero difficile.
fruitys's review
5.0
i love them all so much ... waiting for the 7seas official releases so i can see the illustrations and re-read everything again.
(extended review below)
i finished sha po lang a few days ago and it was so good but i've also been thinking about how sha po lang is such a fitting title for the book - on one hand it alludes to the astrological system of being born under an unlucky star, on the other hand it can also roughly translate to 'kill the wolf'. and spl has plenty of mentions about the idea of fate and being forced into certain paths in life based on where and when you were born (the sha po lang star system) - chang geng's birth and existence was fated to be the nation's downfall, gu yun frequently laments if he was just born to be unlucky and born to take on the marquis position to live a lonely life eventually dying for the nation, shen yi is also cursed out by his aunt for being an unlucky star for the family, etc. there may be other mentions elsewhere but these were the pertinent ones i could remember clearly. spl also has plenty of allusions to wolves and wolf imagery - i think the whole idea of territorial expansionism, defense, great liang being surrounded by 'hungry wolves' in gu yun's words, the idea of the bone of impurity involving a child devouring its brother, great lang's eternal enemy the eighteen wolf tribes, the very fact that black iron camp set out to kill the wolf king/prince jia lai ying huo (who eventually dies, though not directly at their hand), the wolf tattoos on the assassins who tried to kill marshal gu twice.
the title was perfectly made for chang geng, he's a wolf tribe person, born under unlucky circumstances, and yet managed to turn around and kill off that part of himself from the barbarian wolf tribes. not to mention the fact that his modus operandi is to act like a lone wolf - only caring about its kin and territory, beholden to no one and highly independent.
the title of this book already gives new readers the impression that it is, essentially, going to be a book about violence. the implication of the sha po lang astrology was not apparent to me at first because despite being chinese myself i've never heard of it where im from. but based off direct translation of the words - 杀 meaning to kill, 破 meaning to break, crack, or shatter, and 狼 meaning wolf, i gathered that the story was going to be about killing things. and violence predominates in this story in the form of war and rebellion.
there were so many parallel scenes/ parts that made me smile, im going to try and screenshot them soon to post a sort of web weave thingy.
spl is not a danmei for everyone. coming here straight from yuwu and 2ha, the lack of in-your-face romance and the plot-heaviness of the story nearly put me off from finishing it. but if you find yourself enjoying it, know that one read will not be enough to fully appreciate everything. i know it wasn't enough for me.
(extended review below)
i finished sha po lang a few days ago and it was so good but i've also been thinking about how sha po lang is such a fitting title for the book - on one hand it alludes to the astrological system of being born under an unlucky star, on the other hand it can also roughly translate to 'kill the wolf'. and spl has plenty of mentions about the idea of fate and being forced into certain paths in life based on where and when you were born (the sha po lang star system) - chang geng's birth and existence was fated to be the nation's downfall, gu yun frequently laments if he was just born to be unlucky and born to take on the marquis position to live a lonely life eventually dying for the nation, shen yi is also cursed out by his aunt for being an unlucky star for the family, etc. there may be other mentions elsewhere but these were the pertinent ones i could remember clearly. spl also has plenty of allusions to wolves and wolf imagery - i think the whole idea of territorial expansionism, defense, great liang being surrounded by 'hungry wolves' in gu yun's words, the idea of the bone of impurity involving a child devouring its brother, great lang's eternal enemy the eighteen wolf tribes, the very fact that black iron camp set out to kill the wolf king/prince jia lai ying huo (who eventually dies, though not directly at their hand), the wolf tattoos on the assassins who tried to kill marshal gu twice.
the title was perfectly made for chang geng, he's a wolf tribe person, born under unlucky circumstances, and yet managed to turn around and kill off that part of himself from the barbarian wolf tribes. not to mention the fact that his modus operandi is to act like a lone wolf - only caring about its kin and territory, beholden to no one and highly independent.
the title of this book already gives new readers the impression that it is, essentially, going to be a book about violence. the implication of the sha po lang astrology was not apparent to me at first because despite being chinese myself i've never heard of it where im from. but based off direct translation of the words - 杀 meaning to kill, 破 meaning to break, crack, or shatter, and 狼 meaning wolf, i gathered that the story was going to be about killing things. and violence predominates in this story in the form of war and rebellion.
there were so many parallel scenes/ parts that made me smile, im going to try and screenshot them soon to post a sort of web weave thingy.
spl is not a danmei for everyone. coming here straight from yuwu and 2ha, the lack of in-your-face romance and the plot-heaviness of the story nearly put me off from finishing it. but if you find yourself enjoying it, know that one read will not be enough to fully appreciate everything. i know it wasn't enough for me.
ana_kp's review
4.0
Beautiful, engaging, politically and dramatically charged, dangerously complex and sweetly romantic, this has to be one of the best action-packed steampunk novels I have read!
Chang Geng is a wonderful example of a character that goes from weak to strong, and as many say "evolves like a pokemon everytime he appears". His early life has been a train ride of misery, but it hasn't diminished his capacity to care for and love people, something that we keep seeing as the story progresses.
Gu Yun on the other hand, is the steady character. The only development he gets, yet arguably the most significant, is how he slowly begins to place "self care" higher and higher on his priority list, if only to please and placate Chang Geng. But it's clear that he finally has something to live for now, and live happily too.
The plot is tight, political and the palace drama stays very firmly inside the boundaries of realism despite the whole steampunk genre. Every character here is nuanced, especially the Emperor Li Feng. Shades of grey is how I would describe the whole court!
Even the antagonists are well developed, and have victories and losses of their own. There is no easy and quick solution to the problems that arise, the MC and ML have to work and toil for every hard earned merit, and so the satisfaction of reaching the conclusion is really relieving!
But despite the war and battle and politics, there is a good amount of humor and sweet romantic scenes in the book! The relationship between Chang Geng and Gu Yun isn't rushed, but a slow build across the years.
Truly a beautiful combination of all the elements.
PS: Hats off to the translators who have done an incredible job, because the original chinese is on a literary level so high that it can only be regarded in awe!!!!
4½
Chang Geng is a wonderful example of a character that goes from weak to strong, and as many say "evolves like a pokemon everytime he appears". His early life has been a train ride of misery, but it hasn't diminished his capacity to care for and love people, something that we keep seeing as the story progresses.
Gu Yun on the other hand, is the steady character. The only development he gets, yet arguably the most significant, is how he slowly begins to place "self care" higher and higher on his priority list, if only to please and placate Chang Geng. But it's clear that he finally has something to live for now, and live happily too.
The plot is tight, political and the palace drama stays very firmly inside the boundaries of realism despite the whole steampunk genre. Every character here is nuanced, especially the Emperor Li Feng. Shades of grey is how I would describe the whole court!
Even the antagonists are well developed, and have victories and losses of their own. There is no easy and quick solution to the problems that arise, the MC and ML have to work and toil for every hard earned merit, and so the satisfaction of reaching the conclusion is really relieving!
But despite the war and battle and politics, there is a good amount of humor and sweet romantic scenes in the book! The relationship between Chang Geng and Gu Yun isn't rushed, but a slow build across the years.
Truly a beautiful combination of all the elements.
PS: Hats off to the translators who have done an incredible job, because the original chinese is on a literary level so high that it can only be regarded in awe!!!!
4½