I recently finished Guardian: Zhen Hun (Volume 1) by Priest, and while I can see why this series has a passionate following, I had mixed feelings abouI recently finished Guardian: Zhen Hun (Volume 1) by Priest, and while I can see why this series has a passionate following, I had mixed feelings about this first volume. It’s a story full of potential, interesting ideas, and a unique supernatural world—but it didn’t fully land for me.
What drew me in initially was the setting: a hidden world of ghosts, gods, and ancient mysteries beneath modern-day China. I enjoyed the premise and liked that the story didn’t rely on the usual Western tropes you often see in urban fantasy. Zhao Yunlan, the head of the Special Investigations Department, is an engaging lead with a playful charm, and his interactions with the stoic Professor Shen Wei were among the highlights of the book.
However, the pacing was uneven. Much of the volume felt like setup, and by the end, I didn’t feel like the story had truly started. There were a lot of introductions—of characters, of supernatural elements, of long-term mysteries—but not much plot movement. I often found myself wanting something more immediate or emotionally gripping to latch onto.
The translation also posed some challenges. While I appreciate the effort of bringing this novel to an English-speaking audience, the prose occasionally felt awkward or overly stiff, and some humor or nuance may have been lost. It made certain passages feel flat or confusing when I suspect they were more vivid or meaningful in the original Chinese.
Character-wise, Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei definitely have chemistry, and there are hints of a deeper backstory that I suspect will unfold in later volumes. But in this installment, their development felt surface-level. Many of the side characters blended together, and I struggled to care about them because they weren’t given enough depth or distinctive voices.
Overall, I’d say Guardian: Zhen Hun (Volume 1) is a decent start with a lot of promise, especially for fans of slow-burn stories with supernatural intrigue and emotional subtext. Personally, I wanted a bit more plot momentum and stronger character development to really hook me. I may continue the series, but I’m hoping future volumes offer more payoff for the setup laid out here.
It's over. What will I do with my life now? I will miss them everyday.
...............
Mo dao zu shi is one of my favourite things in the world, for thIt's over. What will I do with my life now? I will miss them everyday.
...............
Mo dao zu shi is one of my favourite things in the world, for those who don't know. I read the original book two years ago, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. It's as if a small portion of my universe revolves around them.
But I never read the manhua because I saved it for the moment when I started missing them and wanted to start all over again, and I believe the time has come.
Merged review:
It's over. What will I do with my life now? I will miss them everyday.
...............
Mo dao zu shi is one of my favourite things in the world, for those who don't know. I read the original book two years ago, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. It's as if a small portion of my universe revolves around them.
But I never read the manhua because I saved it for the moment when I started missing them and wanted to start all over again, and I believe the time has come....more
I feel like I'm in the minority here because I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would have liked to. I believe I was expecting a heart-st3.25 stars
I feel like I'm in the minority here because I didn't enjoy this book as much as I would have liked to. I believe I was expecting a heart-stopping, gut-wrenching read, which it didn't provide, and it was a turnoff that the most of the romance occurred in the extras. Simply said, the romance was lacking. Their relationship/dynamic was never fully developed, and by the conclusion of the book, it was still unclear. It's not like there wasn't enough material to create anything more elaborate.
With all the scientific justifications for utterly unbelievable, foreign concepts, the narrative becomes unduly convoluted. The character growth seems to have stopped, even though the characters have changed significantly and were heavily hinted at in the previous book. I feel like this was overly prolonged.
There are no adequate words to express how much information was included in this novel. Thus, if science fiction is what you're searching for, this is it. It's such a compelling tale that occasionally raised interesting points....more
"Humankind's interests take precedence over all else. It's not kindness to a single person, it's kindness to the fate of all
3 little mushrooms
"Humankind's interests take precedence over all else. It's not kindness to a single person, it's kindness to the fate of all of humankind. This is the source of unwavering conviction"
First of all, the concept is really original and captivating. This cute little mushroom has taken on human form and is now exploring this post-apocalyptic planet to discover the purpose of life and how people adapt to survive.
This is entirely my fault; although I'm not a huge lover of science fiction, I wanted to give it a shot because I adore Damei and it had a great rating. Nevertheless, I wasn't happy with the outcome.
I'm relieved that the pace is quick and simple to follow because I was feeling disconnected at times. I just couldn't get into this book.
However, I really want to discuss the incredible worldbuilding and the attention to detail that went into the post-apocalyptic world and how everything works. It's as though our MC An Zhe and we, the readers, are going through this together.
I don't want to say too much about the characters because I didn't find it interesting or have a connection to any of them. An Zhe is incredibly sweet and pure, while Lu Feng is a highly interesting character. Even though I'm not a huge science fiction lover, I feel like this one has truly given me a whole new perspective.
Writing such a strange work of fiction in 1923 takes a very strong and courageous writer. The classic quality of the prose makes it so lovel3.5 stars
Writing such a strange work of fiction in 1923 takes a very strong and courageous writer. The classic quality of the prose makes it so lovely, therefore I'm very annoyed that it has to be so brief. Aside from its queer aspect, the discussion of a lady fleeing her current reality to live in a distant place also resonated with me. Additionally, I would like to point out that Sappho served as a major inspiration for our author, as this prose makes clear....more
Cocteau tries to be deep and poetic, but it comes off as fake and full of itself. The story, if you can call it that, This book is all style, no soul.
Cocteau tries to be deep and poetic, but it comes off as fake and full of itself. The story, if you can call it that, is a dull ramble about fleeting affairs and vague sadness, written like he’s trying way too hard to impress someone at a pretentious Paris café.
For a book about queer desire, it’s shockingly cold. The people he “loves” feel more like props than real humans. Nothing really happens, and yet somehow it still manages to drag.
TW/CW : SPOILERS (view spoiler)[suicide; abuse and stereotyping of sex workers; underage sex; children mutilated and abused; threat of raping someone tTW/CW : SPOILERS (view spoiler)[suicide; abuse and stereotyping of sex workers; underage sex; children mutilated and abused; threat of raping someone to death; corporal punishment (whipping); past attempted peeping/voyeurism; human decomposition; mild self-harm; forced marriage; some vague noncon fantasies; sex between corpses; terrorizing/threatening a small child, forced feeding; cruelty to sister/daughter-in-law, freezing to death; bloodletting; fatphobic comments; blood, self-sacrifice; derogatory comment over dark skin; referenced child neglect; reference to false accusations, abuse, sexual assault; murder of a child; slave auctioneering of an underage and virgin girl; reference to genocide, cannibalism, sexual slavery; femicide; corpse putrefaction; parental death; hostage; (nonsexual) rough manhandling; possessive talk; allusions to past rape; a child starving and dying; graphic sexual assault; graphic rape; noncon substance use; gangrape and murder of underage girl; child incarceration; beheading; torture; mass murder; arson; sexism; whorephobic commentary; genocide; forced impregnation; homophobic slur (hide spoiler)]
[I didn't realize this book would be that dark; in fact, these trigger warnings are something to be aware of.]
About half of the book is contained in the official translation (that is, up to book 5). And it took me two days to finish the second half after a month to finish the first.
This is something: the entire second half kept me on the edge of my seat. It is simply impossible to keep up with all the twists and turns since there is so much going on. Additionally, certain triggers should be avoided.
The novel really went to an extreme and was a complete trauma dump that happened back-to-back.
I have so much to write about right now, but I guess I'll wait till the individual volumes are available to discuss them. I believe the remaining volumes won't be released for another year. Anyhow, it will be worthwhile to reread them....more
STORY 1 : Dessication - ⭐⭐⭐ STORY 2: The fig tree - ⭐⭐.5 STORY 3: Leaving things - ⭐⭐ STORY 4: K - ⭐⭐.5 STORY 5: In the winter - STORY 1 : Dessication - ⭐⭐⭐ STORY 2: The fig tree - ⭐⭐.5 STORY 3: Leaving things - ⭐⭐ STORY 4: K - ⭐⭐.5 STORY 5: In the winter - ⭐⭐⭐ STORY 6: Anomaly -⭐.5 STORY 7: Lemon boy -⭐⭐⭐.5 STORY 8: Supergiant -⭐.5 STORY 9: Nip -⭐⭐ STORY 10: Natalya -⭐ STORY 11: Persimmons -⭐⭐
Some of these stories were really good, but none of them really resonated with me; they all felt underdeveloped and unimportant. To be very honest, my expectations were higher. Although there are a few intriguing pieces in this anthology, it doesn't feel well-rounded. A little disorienting is the genre blend. However, it goes without saying that I will value the apparent, which is the excellent and admirable use of language. The writing style was fairly engrossing and strongly conjures up images. Even yet, it was conceited, poorly executed, and fell short of its expectations. Too bad it will be a chore to complete. In the end, I read it through quickly just to be done with it....more
I'm not sure if this is a result of the translation or just Negron's writing style, but I found the language to be far too "simple". Admittedly, a fewI'm not sure if this is a result of the translation or just Negron's writing style, but I found the language to be far too "simple". Admittedly, a few stories caught my attention and presented incredibly fascinating and pertinent scenarios or issues, but the great majority aren't that great.
STORY 1 : The chosen one - ★★★☆☆ A young child who is hated by his father and brothers but adored by his mother falls in love with the men and boys in his church and neighborhood.This was strange but entertaining from the beginning; we were informed that the lad would not be like other males, and he duly demonstrated this.
STORY 2 : The vampire of Moca -★★☆☆☆ A tenant and a landlord's forbidden one-sided lust quickly gave way to jealousy and longing. I enjoyed the way the locations were described, but other than that, I didn't find anything particularly noteworthy about this. It was quite mediocre.
STORY 3 : For Guayama- ★★☆☆☆ a sort of epistolary tale in which a woman writes a friend to beg for money to maintain their dog's life. This was strange, and I was bewildered for the first two of the four pages before realizing that it was a sad and humorous story.
STORY 4 : La Edwin- ★★☆☆☆ This narrative, which centers on a phone conversation between a gossip queen and her buddy, illustrates the impact of bisexuality on homosexual individuals and how their relationships are affected. narrated in the first person, it was a little frightening but illustrates how rumors spread.
STORY 5 : Junito- ★★★☆☆ A man who encounters Junito informs him that he intends to travel to the United States due to the country's greater acceptance of homosexuality. He believes his younger son is gay and will not put up with his kid being teased or tormented. I thought this tale was really accurate because many people who exhibit predatory behavior today excuse their actions on being gay, which is really wrong and put a really bad image about the queer folks.
STORY 6 : Botella- ★★★☆☆ When a married man goes out with men and one of them is unexpectedly killed, he becomes involved. This one was by far my favorite, and I think it would make a fantastic dark comedy script.
STORY 7 : So many- ★★☆☆☆ a conversational tale about two neighbors discussing the need to watch children's behavior to prevent them from being queer. The foolish worry of what their family will say if a child is queer as well as the machoism that parents or relatives instill in youngsters because they do not behave "as they are supposed to behave" is something that needs to be talked about more.
STORY 8 : The garden- ★★★☆☆ a narrative about a family and a dying individual. a lovely story about how family need not only be biological relatives.
STORY 9 : Mundo cruel- ★☆☆☆☆ Very speculative that I didn't get this; it seems like there was a deeper significance....more
Everything he said had a mixed effect on me; his generalization infuriated me, but I won't deny that there were brief instances in which I a2.5 stars
Everything he said had a mixed effect on me; his generalization infuriated me, but I won't deny that there were brief instances in which I agreed with his ideas.
I'm still debating between a two and a three since, when we break the story down into its four parts, the third act was the longest and most uninteresting, offering nothing that was necessary to advance the plot beyond making the book longer. The main character attempts to blend in as well in an attempt to conceal his homosexuality. He nearly marries a woman, but he breaks her heart, and he still sees her after she marries another man. I had issues with this portion.
My favorite part of the book is Part 1, which establishes the overall tone that gradually fades and becomes more detached. Things that I had initially loved quickly became less interesting to me.
I understand the language and the deal. All I wanted was for it to be anything more than this mask narrative. If I admit that there were moments when I truly didn't comprehend what he was trying to communicate, I might come across as quite naive. The relatable elements that initially drew me in, such as violence, sensuality, and a youthful yearning for death, were quickly abandoned....more
"He had surely misheard. He was so ugly, so harsh, so clumsy with his words, so uninteresting. He was a total fool without a single rede
3.75 stars
"He had surely misheard. He was so ugly, so harsh, so clumsy with his words, so uninteresting. He was a total fool without a single redeeming quality. Who would like him?
"I like you."
We should take a time to discuss the confession sequence and the chef's kiss, which is a stunning scene that follows. The thousands of pages it took to get to this point in the scene were worth it.
I occasionally need stories like these to evoke strong emotions in me, and it's preferable if those emotions are suffering and agony.
This volume had a lot going on in addition to the introduction of numerous new characters. There was a lot of action and stuff occurring, and by stuff I mean all kinds of stuff, in contrast to the previous volume.
With about half of the book left and no idea how long it will take to finish this series, I will now switch to the unofficial translation....more
Regretfully, this volume wasn't as enjoyable to me as I had anticipated. The bulk of the novel was empty of any significant events, which pr3.25 stars
Regretfully, this volume wasn't as enjoyable to me as I had anticipated. The bulk of the novel was empty of any significant events, which presented a dilemma.
“He murmured, “Three thousand, seven hundred and ninety-nine.” He had counted as he walked. That was the number of steps up to the main gate, the number of steps that Chu Wanning had climbed that day, carrying him on his back. He was certain that for as long as he lived, he would never forget Chu Wanning’s hands, cold as ice, chafed raw and bloody.”
I am at a loss for words regarding this book. Overall, it's nice, but not as thrilling or fascinating as the second or third book. Nevertheless, I feel like I have a better understanding of how some characters feel about one another, and I'm excited for the fifth one.
“In his last life, he had been a destroyer. In this one, he wanted to be a protector.”
If I were to give stars solely based on smut and romance, I would have rated it five stars, but the plot dragged and was repetitive with little forward motion.
“For as long as you live?” “For as long as I live.” “I might walk very fast, with no regard for you.” “That’s all right, I’ll chase after you.” “I might not want to walk anymore and just stand there.” “Then I’ll stand with Shizun.”
Although I don't think it's on par with volume 3, I also believe it's unfair to rate it that way because each volume is supposed to flow organically into the next. That must be the reality of turning danmei webnovels into hardcover volumes.
“I want to hold an umbrella over Shizun for as long as I live.”
rracotta Bride had an intriguing premise with its blend of historical elements and romance, but sadly, it didn’t quite live up to its potential. The prracotta Bride had an intriguing premise with its blend of historical elements and romance, but sadly, it didn’t quite live up to its potential. The pacing felt uneven, and the plot often meandered without clear direction, which made it hard to stay fully engaged.
The characters lacked depth and felt somewhat stereotypical, making it difficult to connect with their journeys. While the setting had promise, the story didn’t use it to its fullest, missing opportunities to create a richer, more immersive experience.
Overall, Terracotta Bride was a disappointing read for me. I’m giving it 2 stars because it had sparks of interest but ultimately failed to deliver a compelling or memorable story.
The fear a 70-year-old mother has for her 30-year-old lesbian daughter is portrayed in this short story. Her daughter resides with her mothe3.25 stars
The fear a 70-year-old mother has for her 30-year-old lesbian daughter is portrayed in this short story. Her daughter resides with her mother in cohabitation with her girlfriend.
The novella follows the mother's journey as she struggles to reconcile her acceptance of her daughter's right to be accepted with her worry that she will end up alone.
We also get to observe the mother's life as a dedicated caregiver at a special needs facility, where she meets an elderly woman named Jen. The mother fears that her daughter will turn out to be like Jen.
At the same time, this literature is very plain, addressing very evident topics in a straightforward approach. The story is composed in a simple yet strict and effective manner.
Though none of these characters really stood out to me, I believe that this would have been a more engaging story if the narrative had only focused on the mother-daughter bond.
My primary concern with this is the repeated quote and procedure, which I can somewhat understand given that we are inside the narrator's head. However, given the simplicity of the work, it's also possible that the author used this as a writing trick to make it easier to write.
Still, if you're looking for a really quick read this Pride Month, I'd recommend it....more
The person he liked, in this life and the last, was Shi Mei. But for some reason, moments before death, he had chosen to bury himself under 3.5/5
The person he liked, in this life and the last, was Shi Mei. But for some reason, moments before death, he had chosen to bury himself under the haitang tree in front of the Heaven-Piercing Tower, where he had first met Chu Wanning.
These kinds of moments make me want to read Danmei forever, but I wasn't that invested in it after volume 1 ended, so I didn't think I would pick up the second volume. It took me two whole months to pick up the next volume, but I ended up loving it even more than I had anticipated.
Thus far, the narrative is incredibly skillfully written; the reader is able to comprehend Mo Ran's suffering and realize that he is not a bad person by seeing the vivid portrayal of his feelings.
The first volume opens with a noticeable character development that is good, especially for Mo Ran (we will also overlook the fact that some of his actions are dubious, but his reborn self is far nicer than his previous one, so i think the dubious things can be overlooked).He keeps telling himself that he is a typical 15-year-old boy and not the strong Taxian Jun, and that he shouldn't live in the past. He wishes to live a different life in this one since he believes he is to blame for all the horrors that occurred in his previous existence. This became evident when he began to see people from his previous life reappear in this one.
❤️ “I’m human too…” I also feel sorrow and pain. Mo Ran… I also feel pain.
The second volume is when Chu Wanning's growth is most apparent; at this point, he is somewhat "nicer" to Mo Ran.
We also won't overlook his younger embodiment; in fact, I believe this plot device ought to be employed more frequently because it is so endearing and charming.
“He paused, then pulled Mo Ran closer. ‘Listen up: This person is mine. I’m taking him.’”...more
daph pink ♡
>
Books:
queer
(193)
