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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
So this begins with a bang, including but not limited to Ouyang going completely OoC. Weird choice but okay. (Or perhaps he was OoC in the first book and this unhinged way is his truu self. Who knows?
All in all, the vibes are much the same as with the first book. There’s Fate and people who want to grasp their Fates and make it happen. There are warring factions, warring nations, warring people. There are also a lot more POVs to follow than in the first book, probably because the scope is also so much bigger. In the first book, it was just about Zhu growing into her destiny and who were her opponents but here there are several people aspiring to be the emperor, most are plotting against each other on several fronts, and also most don’t have dependable people standing next to them. Likewise, in book 1, it was very clear who was about to become the sun, in book 2 we have several candidates who could drown the world (although the selection narrows down significantly by the halfway mark).
In all honesty, the continuous plotting and backstabbing was both the strength and the weakness of the book. I mean, I’ve probably read too many plotty books with endless twists and turns which have pushed me into a sort of burn-out. This doesn’t mean the book was bad because it wasn’t; juggling the different groups and different plots and different war fronts was skillfully done and the POV changes were easy to follow. It’s just that…I don’t know. Oh, another plot twist? Another backstabbing? Oh, another brilliant move from Zhu? Okay then.
I enjoyed Zhu and Ouyang’s slowly growing relationship (up until to a point of…eh…not enjoying it) and Zhu and Xu Da’s easy brotherhood. However, I’m not sure I actually liked any of the characters much. Everyone was tormented by something or other and driven by hate, revenge, or petty greed. Zhu was likeable in book 1 but the further her campaign went, the more she changed as grief and loss caught up to her and she was no longer able to just glide above worldly woes. I guess it wanted to underline the fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the end, Zhu gets what she wanted–but at what cost?
All in all, the vibes are much the same as with the first book. There’s Fate and people who want to grasp their Fates and make it happen. There are warring factions, warring nations, warring people. There are also a lot more POVs to follow than in the first book, probably because the scope is also so much bigger. In the first book, it was just about Zhu growing into her destiny and who were her opponents but here there are several people aspiring to be the emperor, most are plotting against each other on several fronts, and also most don’t have dependable people standing next to them. Likewise, in book 1, it was very clear who was about to become the sun, in book 2 we have several candidates who could drown the world (although the selection narrows down significantly by the halfway mark).
In all honesty, the continuous plotting and backstabbing was both the strength and the weakness of the book. I mean, I’ve probably read too many plotty books with endless twists and turns which have pushed me into a sort of burn-out. This doesn’t mean the book was bad because it wasn’t; juggling the different groups and different plots and different war fronts was skillfully done and the POV changes were easy to follow. It’s just that…I don’t know. Oh, another plot twist? Another backstabbing? Oh, another brilliant move from Zhu? Okay then.
I enjoyed Zhu and Ouyang’s slowly growing relationship (up until to a point of…eh…not enjoying it) and Zhu and Xu Da’s easy brotherhood. However, I’m not sure I actually liked any of the characters much. Everyone was tormented by something or other and driven by hate, revenge, or petty greed. Zhu was likeable in book 1 but the further her campaign went, the more she changed as grief and loss caught up to her and she was no longer able to just glide above worldly woes. I guess it wanted to underline the fact that absolute power corrupts absolutely. In the end, Zhu gets what she wanted–but at what cost?
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whew. Second book slump? Not for Shelley Parker-Chan, nosirree.
The plotting is so breathtakingly intricate and yet perfectly woven together—although a bit of a giveaway if you're at all familiar with the history of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The wait is long, as befits a novel that goes deeply into military strategy and history, but it pays off because each and every instance of loose ends being tied up was so satisfying.
I didn't know how the story could get any more brutal after She Who Became the Sun, but this one was an entirely new level of vicious. My heart felt bruised and battered after reading it, and I found it in me to pity nearly every character I came across—even Wang Baoxiang, Madame Zhang, and Lady Ki, shockingly enough. (Except Jiao. Jiao can rot in hell.) There's betrayal, sadomasochism, torture, sexual violence, and manipulation aplenty. And, as all the best historical novels are (although I hesitate to term this book as purely historical, when there are so many fantasy elements present throughout), the book ends with no clear-cut "good guy" emerging, leaving plenty of questions that are almost impossible to answer about the nature of victory, and what is worth sacrificing in order to attain it.
All I can say is, I'm glad I wasn't around in Imperial China. Brrr.
"I claim my place. And if the pattern of the world refuses to let that place exist, I will change it."
The plotting is so breathtakingly intricate and yet perfectly woven together—although a bit of a giveaway if you're at all familiar with the history of the founding of the Ming Dynasty. The wait is long, as befits a novel that goes deeply into military strategy and history, but it pays off because each and every instance of loose ends being tied up was so satisfying.
I didn't know how the story could get any more brutal after She Who Became the Sun, but this one was an entirely new level of vicious. My heart felt bruised and battered after reading it, and I found it in me to pity nearly every character I came across—even Wang Baoxiang, Madame Zhang, and Lady Ki, shockingly enough. (Except Jiao. Jiao can rot in hell.) There's betrayal, sadomasochism, torture, sexual violence, and manipulation aplenty. And, as all the best historical novels are (although I hesitate to term this book as purely historical, when there are so many fantasy elements present throughout), the book ends with no clear-cut "good guy" emerging, leaving plenty of questions that are almost impossible to answer about the nature of victory, and what is worth sacrificing in order to attain it.
All I can say is, I'm glad I wasn't around in Imperial China. Brrr.
"I claim my place. And if the pattern of the world refuses to let that place exist, I will change it."
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes