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A review by bencaroline
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
I would categorize this as a romp, and as a romp it works very well! I read it quickly and enjoyed it very much.
Looking at other reviews it seems like people took issue with how the dialogue is written, and I gotta say I really didn't feel that way. It's not the best dialogue I've ever read, but it never took me out of the story.
I'm not in the habit of writing full reviews, but I will note a couple things that feel remarkable to me:
1. There is precious little homophobia. If you get through the very first chapter, you are past the worst of anti-gay sentiment in the book (shame, no violence). Instead, it lives in a presumption of male homosexuality. "Casual queerness" is maybe an understatement--almost all the men in this story are queer.
2. There is a lot of sex in this book! This is central to the story--as an asexual person, I have read my share of romance novels etc and enjoyed them just fine, but the spicy content in those books does not always feel as essential as this book's sexual content. If you are repulsed by sex this is simply not the book for you. There are also graphic (though generally brief) instances of sexual assault that cannot be brushed past.
3. Nearly every character in this book is Asian. Most are specifically Chinese, though that specific demonym and China are scarcely (maybe never) named, and I think maybe as a white/non-Asian person there's a nuanced or historical reason for that and I'm just ignorant of it. Anyway this feels notable!
Looking at other reviews it seems like people took issue with how the dialogue is written, and I gotta say I really didn't feel that way. It's not the best dialogue I've ever read, but it never took me out of the story.
I'm not in the habit of writing full reviews, but I will note a couple things that feel remarkable to me:
1. There is precious little homophobia. If you get through the very first chapter, you are past the worst of anti-gay sentiment in the book (shame, no violence). Instead, it lives in a presumption of male homosexuality. "Casual queerness" is maybe an understatement--almost all the men in this story are queer.
2. There is a lot of sex in this book! This is central to the story--as an asexual person, I have read my share of romance novels etc and enjoyed them just fine, but the spicy content in those books does not always feel as essential as this book's sexual content. If you are repulsed by sex this is simply not the book for you. There are also graphic (though generally brief) instances of sexual assault that cannot be brushed past.
3. Nearly every character in this book is Asian. Most are specifically Chinese, though that specific demonym and China are scarcely (maybe never) named, and I think maybe as a white/non-Asian person there's a nuanced or historical reason for that and I'm just ignorant of it. Anyway this feels notable!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood
Moderate: Animal death