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A review by baekseung
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
2.0
This rating goes for all five volumes.
As a huge fan of the live action, ‘The Untamed’, I was equal parts excited and nervous to read the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s other novel, Heaven Official’s Blessing, so I thought: why not give this a go, especially since I wanted to read the scenes that had been cut out of the drama due to censorship.
I’m not sure whether it is due to the translation or if the source material is similar, but it felt like a poorly written fanfiction. The overly-colloquial language used, the way the story seemed to show itself on a platter instead of being unraveled… The more I read the worse it seemed to get.
Word choice aside, the content itself was rather questionable and made me less able to appreciate the scenes where the relationship developed. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of how the relationship seemed to develop only when Lan Wangji was drunk. I’m aware that Lan Xichen had mentioned that Lan Wangji struggles to talk about his feelings, but I feel that it would have been much better to see him slowly learn how to communicate his feelings for Wei Wuxian over time, as opposed to all at once while he was drunk, and then pretty much going back to square one with very little development.
I was also uncomfortable with the lack of consent. Although it’s clear that it’s something Wei Wuxian is into, the boundaries are never set before the lack of consent is established.
Honestly, I would only recommend this to people who enjoyed either ‘The Untamed’ or any other adaptations. As a book on its own, I would not have enjoyed it if not for my love of the live action adaptation. I did enjoy reading some original scenes that had been cut out or changed, and while my experience wasn’t wholly negative, I was quite let down by both the language and the content.
As a huge fan of the live action, ‘The Untamed’, I was equal parts excited and nervous to read the novel. I thoroughly enjoyed Mo Xiang Tong Xiu’s other novel, Heaven Official’s Blessing, so I thought: why not give this a go, especially since I wanted to read the scenes that had been cut out of the drama due to censorship.
I’m not sure whether it is due to the translation or if the source material is similar, but it felt like a poorly written fanfiction. The overly-colloquial language used, the way the story seemed to show itself on a platter instead of being unraveled… The more I read the worse it seemed to get.
Word choice aside, the content itself was rather questionable and made me less able to appreciate the scenes where the relationship developed. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of how the relationship seemed to develop only when Lan Wangji was drunk. I’m aware that Lan Xichen had mentioned that Lan Wangji struggles to talk about his feelings, but I feel that it would have been much better to see him slowly learn how to communicate his feelings for Wei Wuxian over time, as opposed to all at once while he was drunk, and then pretty much going back to square one with very little development.
I was also uncomfortable with the lack of consent. Although it’s clear that it’s something Wei Wuxian is into, the boundaries are never set before the lack of consent is established.
Honestly, I would only recommend this to people who enjoyed either ‘The Untamed’ or any other adaptations. As a book on its own, I would not have enjoyed it if not for my love of the live action adaptation. I did enjoy reading some original scenes that had been cut out or changed, and while my experience wasn’t wholly negative, I was quite let down by both the language and the content.