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A review by emergencily
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation: Mo Dao Zu Shi (Novel) Vol. 1 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu
5.0
1500 page slow burn Chinese martial arts fantasy gay romance novel? It's like they set up a mouse trap and this bait was personalized just for me.
A lot of fantasy romance novels fall into the trap of either focusing too much on crafting their worlds, leaving the development of the characters and romance to the wayside, or the reverse situation where the focus on the romance leads to a shoddy story. Thankfully, MXTX manages to balance all of these well.
The plot and world building is genuinely interesting and well-crafted, both resting comfortably on the laurels of generations of well-established xianxia tropes and culture, and breathing new life into them. The author's somewhat excessive use of time skips back and forth over the course of the story can sometimes stall the pacing, and confuse you when reading.
I do think the translation has something to do with that occasional confusion - it’s been translated in a way that’s clearly very faithful to the original text, with plenty of foot notes and a glossary for context. I normally love that, and while I do appreciate it, I actually think they really could and should have localized this a bit more. Sometimes the prose and flow is just way too awkward sounding in English because they focused on preserving the exact original’s literal meaning a little too much vs focusing on communicating a clear meaning, and natural, better flowing style and prose.
For readers unfamiliar with the tropes & terms of xianxia, combined with a large cast (each of whom has about 5 different names and titles) it means it takes some perseverance to get through the first volume and make sense of it all. But once the story hits its stride, it's a tense page turner: a murder mystery, high fantasy, martial arts action, high stakes thriller, family tragedy, and slow burn romance rolled into one.
The MC, Wei Wuxian, is the star that holds it all together. You can't help but fall in love with him - mischievous and trouble making, lackadaisically arrogant, and enduringly kind and loyal. Seeing his character grow over the course of the novel is a treat. He’s a well written character with a lot of depth. You see him start as a bright and promising young man who spirals and implodes on himself, trying to reconcile his ideals within a corrupt society and to protect his loved ones. His self destruction is partly due to an actual conspiracy against him, but a lot due to a mess of his own making: his hubris, rash temper and emotional immaturity. He's also strongly situated as a main character within a larger cast of characters who are all incredibly interesting, loveable and frustrating, in their own rights. They all have deep motivations and exist not just to fill out the world but to serve as interesting foils, foreshadowing and parallels of alternate outcomes. All the recurring characters are connected by a web of complex and unique relationships that the story takes its time nurturing (EEJU - Everyone Is Jin Ling’s Uncle). And of course the relationship btwn Wei Wuxian and his love interest Lan Zhan as their bond withstands death, betrayal, war, and time, is the one you root for the most.
Oh and a note - the extra chapters are mostly fun and nice additions to fill out some missing B side scenes and characters, but for gods sake skip that incense burner chapter where they bone. Gotta be some of the least sexiest sex I have ever read in fiction, second only to Murakami sex scenes. Christ almighty.
A lot of fantasy romance novels fall into the trap of either focusing too much on crafting their worlds, leaving the development of the characters and romance to the wayside, or the reverse situation where the focus on the romance leads to a shoddy story. Thankfully, MXTX manages to balance all of these well.
The plot and world building is genuinely interesting and well-crafted, both resting comfortably on the laurels of generations of well-established xianxia tropes and culture, and breathing new life into them. The author's somewhat excessive use of time skips back and forth over the course of the story can sometimes stall the pacing, and confuse you when reading.
I do think the translation has something to do with that occasional confusion - it’s been translated in a way that’s clearly very faithful to the original text, with plenty of foot notes and a glossary for context. I normally love that, and while I do appreciate it, I actually think they really could and should have localized this a bit more. Sometimes the prose and flow is just way too awkward sounding in English because they focused on preserving the exact original’s literal meaning a little too much vs focusing on communicating a clear meaning, and natural, better flowing style and prose.
For readers unfamiliar with the tropes & terms of xianxia, combined with a large cast (each of whom has about 5 different names and titles) it means it takes some perseverance to get through the first volume and make sense of it all. But once the story hits its stride, it's a tense page turner: a murder mystery, high fantasy, martial arts action, high stakes thriller, family tragedy, and slow burn romance rolled into one.
The MC, Wei Wuxian, is the star that holds it all together. You can't help but fall in love with him - mischievous and trouble making, lackadaisically arrogant, and enduringly kind and loyal. Seeing his character grow over the course of the novel is a treat. He’s a well written character with a lot of depth. You see him start as a bright and promising young man who spirals and implodes on himself, trying to reconcile his ideals within a corrupt society and to protect his loved ones. His self destruction is partly due to an actual conspiracy against him, but a lot due to a mess of his own making: his hubris, rash temper and emotional immaturity. He's also strongly situated as a main character within a larger cast of characters who are all incredibly interesting, loveable and frustrating, in their own rights. They all have deep motivations and exist not just to fill out the world but to serve as interesting foils, foreshadowing and parallels of alternate outcomes. All the recurring characters are connected by a web of complex and unique relationships that the story takes its time nurturing (EEJU - Everyone Is Jin Ling’s Uncle). And of course the relationship btwn Wei Wuxian and his love interest Lan Zhan as their bond withstands death, betrayal, war, and time, is the one you root for the most.
Oh and a note - the extra chapters are mostly fun and nice additions to fill out some missing B side scenes and characters, but for gods sake skip that incense burner chapter where they bone. Gotta be some of the least sexiest sex I have ever read in fiction, second only to Murakami sex scenes. Christ almighty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia and Incest
Minor: Rape