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A review by starryeyedenigma
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5.0
If there were more than 5 stars, I'd probably give that to this book and story, I love it that much! So far, this book and its screen adaptation have been my favorite this year. I haven't been so obsessed with a story or its characters, or music since Harry Potter days I think and I still cant stop obsessing or revisiting the story or some of the screen adaptation episodes now and then.
Its sad that we don't have an official English translation available to buy for this amazing book. I read a free online translation of the Chinese book, translated by GDC. So the writing may seem to be subpar because of the translation, but the overall story, plot, world building, culture, romance and the characters and so well written and thought of, that I've become a fan! If they ever publish an official English translation of the book that you can purchase, or even the comic version, I'm definitely buying it.
The story is set in the Xanxia universe, familiar with Chinese fantasy and folklore. I don't know how authentic the cultural references of the different sects are, but from what I read online, the author has taken various different Chinese dynasties as her inspiration to form the different sects and their culture/dressing/teachings, etc.
Amidst these different cultivation sects, is the story of our villain turned hero - Wei Wuxian, who is called the Yiling Patriarch and hated by all in the beginning of the story. He comes back as a re-incarnation and teams up with the rule abiding Lan Wangji to solve a series of supernatural events that are taking place in the present, and eventually solving the mystery of his own past.
Some of the scenes are really gory and there is a lot of horror in the book. So definitely not for the faint hearted. There is a lot of drama too and extremely heart breaking moments, so much so that I was crying for almost 25% of the book. But to offset that, there is a lot of romance and light hearted banter in the present and past scenes, that completely make up for the sadness and the gore.
I also have to mention here, that this is a great pick for Pride month, since the romance is between the two leading men- Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. In Chinese terms, it seems they call such novels BL(boy love) or Yaoi or Danmei, and apparently, theyre against their culture, so all the official and on-screen adaptations have removed the romance between the leading pair and shown them as best friends instead. However, if you watch the adaptation available on Netflix - The Untamed, even without the explicit romance scenes, you can almost feel the love between the two leading men and its simply heart touching.
I have a lot more to say, but I cant seem to find enough coherent words to write a better review. Let's just say, I'm a fan :)
Its sad that we don't have an official English translation available to buy for this amazing book. I read a free online translation of the Chinese book, translated by GDC. So the writing may seem to be subpar because of the translation, but the overall story, plot, world building, culture, romance and the characters and so well written and thought of, that I've become a fan! If they ever publish an official English translation of the book that you can purchase, or even the comic version, I'm definitely buying it.
The story is set in the Xanxia universe, familiar with Chinese fantasy and folklore. I don't know how authentic the cultural references of the different sects are, but from what I read online, the author has taken various different Chinese dynasties as her inspiration to form the different sects and their culture/dressing/teachings, etc.
Amidst these different cultivation sects, is the story of our villain turned hero - Wei Wuxian, who is called the Yiling Patriarch and hated by all in the beginning of the story. He comes back as a re-incarnation and teams up with the rule abiding Lan Wangji to solve a series of supernatural events that are taking place in the present, and eventually solving the mystery of his own past.
Some of the scenes are really gory and there is a lot of horror in the book. So definitely not for the faint hearted. There is a lot of drama too and extremely heart breaking moments, so much so that I was crying for almost 25% of the book. But to offset that, there is a lot of romance and light hearted banter in the present and past scenes, that completely make up for the sadness and the gore.
I also have to mention here, that this is a great pick for Pride month, since the romance is between the two leading men- Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. In Chinese terms, it seems they call such novels BL(boy love) or Yaoi or Danmei, and apparently, theyre against their culture, so all the official and on-screen adaptations have removed the romance between the leading pair and shown them as best friends instead. However, if you watch the adaptation available on Netflix - The Untamed, even without the explicit romance scenes, you can almost feel the love between the two leading men and its simply heart touching.
I have a lot more to say, but I cant seem to find enough coherent words to write a better review. Let's just say, I'm a fan :)