3.25
adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

 I decided to give the novels a try after watching the drama, CQL.

And after reading just volume 1, I will say, I appreciate the novel for expanding and clarifying the lore, but I think my "canon" will be the drama. 

MXTX truly struggles to relay exposition in a smooth manner, instead choosing random info dumps that derail the plot and make it very unclear who knows what. I have no idea what information Wei Wuxian knows (or how he knows it, after coming back) and what information is included just for me, with him unaware. 

This story is a diamond in the rough. Knowing what I know about how this ends (and also how much has been changed from original text to adaption, as I have also read the manhua and also several posts comparing the drama to the novels), I think the drama improved this story which lays down an amazing foundation. Great ideas, intriguing characters, but so much mess in between. 

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