A review by cwg
Mist by Wei Feng Ji Xu, 微风几许

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

Liked the missions, the time travel aspect, and the supporting cast, but I wasn't... super into the main pairing. Primary problem was dissatisfaction towards what story could have explored, but didn't. Concepts are thrown around but are frustratingly not fleshed out enough---supporting cast, society, etc. are outlined but not explored in detail. Felt that prioritization was ultimately towards the couple (primarily the MC). I get it, but still. Didn't really feel for them as a couple---seemed like the "why" of their relationship was lacking something.

Truly adored the concepts, however. Loved how Team 7 bounced off each other (grievances about supporting cast being underutilized aside), and I enjoyed seeing the underlying mystery unravel with each mission completed. Time travel shenanigans were especially fun. Fun ideas explored in this novel, really. 

As for thoughts on the ending...kind of lukewarm, honestly. It was a long build-up, only for there to be a quick resolution.

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Some bonus stuff, primarily for self-reference in the future.  

• Favorite arcs: Ouroboros, Chaos, Rubik's Cube
• Least favorite arcs: Our Reality, Resplendent Times, Who Am I
• Favorite Character: Zhou Mingxuan 
• Other Notes:
  "They were each other's salvation."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Vomit, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Additional Points of Discussion (Unfinished):

I do love the "power couple" dynamic that Ji Yushi (MC) and Song Qinglan (ML) have with each other, because, together, they make one heck of a team. I love the trust that they grow towards each other, how they can rely on each other when their life is at stake. At the same time, I feel it highlights a major problem with the novel: that is, the lack of a role the rest of Team 7 plays in their missions. Because it's those two that do all the heavy lifting, they are the ones to shine. Hardly do we see the other members take on more than a supporting role. We also do not get to learn much about them outside of their surface-level traits, we hardly know anything about them. They are fun charac (SQL is a *very* endearing ML, but what we actually know about him amounts to about as much as the other characters... more on that).It's a wonderful novel with great ideas, but I feel like they were almost sidelined in favor of relationship development (which in itself was sweet, but a bit... boring, in all honesty). For example, I loved the other members of Team 7 (fun banter, personalities, etc.), but there's not much to them beyond what's shown in the first few chapters. Any info that *is* shown is minor details/implied content. Same comment applies with the "one-off" characters (e.g. Big Beard, love rival, Captain Qi, etc.).A more detailed example I included is in the spoilers below. Spoiler Zhou Mingxuan. I was especially disappointed with how Zhou Mingxuan's conflict in the time bubble was executed. The whole conflict about him and his grandmother is discussed---there's a good point about not wanting to leave because here he's able to spend time with her---but it ends up stilted by their quick departure from the bubble. MC reaches out a hand to him, talks to him about the unreality of the situation settling in once he gets used to everything, but everything---from the "betrayal" to the turnaround---feels too quick. I don't recall if ZM properly accepts his extended hand because of how tense the situation was then---the moment passes and they just sort of just... shove on the artificial mask and then he's forced to run along with them, so it doesn't even feel like ZM had made his decision then. In addition, I didn't feel the connection between MC & ZM to be close enough for the moment itself to feel substantial. Once they escape the scenario and are situated back into an "in-between" zone, MC & ZM apparently have a heart-to-heart on the beach, but that's only an alluded scene. We don't actually get to see any of it because then there's a PoV switch to SQ as he's finally processing his feelings. And we hardly see MC & ZM interact after that. SQ being a blubbering mess was a cute moment in itself... but I wish it didn't come at the cost of getting to know some of the other characters. [collapse] While I feel the world is invigorated by the concept of time/space travel, I don't feel the world itself as actually being alive. There's not enough on actual world-building or other people, alternate societies, etc. Rather, this story's focus is ultimately bound to the MC, his conflict, and/or his relationship with the ML. Unfortunately, I find that "Mist" is weighed down because of that.One thing I will say about the relationship: I do love how they grow to look after each other while in action. Zombie behind one of them? The other will take care of it. An intended killing blow? Nope, the other will get a blow in first. Truly a power couple.But together, I feel that they lack... something. I'll have to think on that for later.---I write this having just finished reading everything, so my thoughts are kind of all over the place. I'll likely edit this review some more with time.