Here I am. A bit later than usual, but I’m here with another Weekly Wrap-Up. It’s still Monday somewhere. I’m not late! I didn’t miss it!
Anyway, this past week has been a bit of a disaster. In terms of posting, at least. And in reading books. Again. Ugh. I don’t know what it is about Thanksgiving week every year, but it seems like I every year need part of the next week to recover before I can start being productive again. Ugh.
You know the drill, let’s wrap up last week!
Wednesday 12/4: Can’t-Wait Wednesday
Last Wednesday, I did another Can’t-Wait Wednesday. It had been a bit since I last participated, but there’s been a recent release I was a bit interested in.
Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by Tressa @ Wishful Endings. It focuses on books you’re looking forward to reading, usually new releases.
On Friday, I participated in the weekly post, First Line Fridays. Three weeks in a row now! First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words. It’s a fun little post that focuses on guessing books based on their first lines.
Yesterday, I finally, finally got my review finished and posted for MDZS (Mo Dao Zu Shi), known in English as Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (MXTX). It’s been a bit of a long time coming, but then again, it’s also a very long book. I gave the whole thing ★★★★✯.
So yeah, last week was once again a bit of a disappointment. Both in blog posting and in reading books. But hopefully, this coming week will be better, especially in regards to the latter. 🤞🍀
This week I’m definitely posting my monthly reading wrap-up for November 2024. I know it’s late as all hell, but I’m still doing it. It just doesn’t feel right otherwise.
Regarding other posts I’ll end up doing… I’ll probably do the usual suspects, but also maybe something different. Whether it be a monthly post or a post I haven’t done in a while remains to be seen, though. As with every week, we’ll see.
Anyway, as always, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope you all have a wonderful day/night!
RELEASE DATE: 21 December 2021 – 2 May 2023 (originally serialized online and in Chinese in 2015)
BOOK DESCRIPTION OF VOLUME #1:
This historical fantasy tale of two powerful men who find each other through life and death is now in English, for the very first time.
Wei Wuxian was once one of the most outstanding men of his generation, a talented and clever young cultivator who harnessed martial arts, knowledge, and spirituality into powerful abilities. But when the horrors of war led him to seek a new power through demonic cultivation, the world’s respect for his skills turned to fear, and his eventual death was celebrated throughout the land.
Years later, he awakens in the body of an aggrieved young man who sacrifices his soul so that Wei Wuxian can exact revenge on his behalf. Though granted a second life, Wei Wuxian is not free from his first, nor the mysteries that appear before him now. Yet this time, he’ll face it all with the righteous and esteemed Lan Wangji at his side, another powerful cultivator whose unwavering dedication and shared memories of their past will help shine a light on the dark truths that surround them.
My Review
“Who was it?” another boy asked.
Wei Wuxian cleared his throat quietly.
“The Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian,” Lan Sizhui replied.
Wei Wuxian cleared his throat again. “Um, why him again? Can we not talk about something else?”
No one paid attention to him. Lan Jingyi waved him off anxiously.
This book. This monstrous, gigantic book. I love it. It has its flaws, of course, but on the whole, I think it’s an amazing story.
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, originally known as Mo Dao Zu Shi, and almost always shortened to MDZS, is a (very long) Chinese historical danmei fantasy novel by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (otherwise known as MXTX). And it’s a great book.
Also, it’s gay.
It’s also notable that it’s spawned numerous adaptations. There’s an animated series adaptation that I adore, a live action version known as The Untamed that I don’t give a crap about (I have absolutely zero interest in watching it), a graphic novel adaptation and an audio drama. So yeah, a lot of adaptations. I personally discovered this novel through fanfiction, and have thoroughly enjoyed it ever since. (It’s how I knew I’d like the book.)
But yeah, this book is a long one, too. And as a result, I have more to say than I normally would. So, I’m gonna break this up a bit.
The Characters
“Because that’s just how you are,” he continued with a smile. “To put it nicely, you’re chivalrous and free-spirited. To put it bluntly, you offend people wherever you go.”
To me, the characters are the heart of MDZS. Yes, the plot is fantastic. And everyone loves the romance here a ton. But I think the characters are what hold it all together.
🖤🪈 Wei Wuxian is our protagonist here. The book is told in third person perspective, and it’s pretty much just him. He’s a fun main character to follow – Wei Wuxian is smart, funny, kind and utterly without shame, and I enjoyed his personality and perspective. He’s also the character archetype that I affectionately the stupid genius, because he’s also one of the most oblivious characters I’ve ever seen.
🤍🗡️ Lan Wangji is the deuteragonist, and spends the novel supporting Wei Wuxian. He’s reserved and kind, and will do everything he can to make sure Wei Wuxian is happy and healthy. Lan Wangji is also the love interest. (This isn’t a spoiler – it’s very obvious he’s in love with Wei Wuxian from the beginning. Well, to the readers at least – Wei Wuxian is another story.)
I also really enjoyed all of the supporting characters to some degree, though there are far too many to talk about. My favorite dynamic in the novel, however, was between Wei Wuxian and the juniors. I really liked the teaching role he took with them – and not just because it made world building and exposition feel very natural.
The Plot
“One step at a time,” Lan Wangji said.
“How did you recognize me?” Wei Wuxian asked.
“Think for yourself,” Lan Wangji replied.
Speaking of the plot, it’s definitely one of my favorite things about MDZS. I loved the gruesome mystery that gradually unfolds with the mysterious disembodied arm that appears the day of Wei Wuxian’s rebirth, as well as following where it went. 🎁📖 The present plot was my favorite of the book, and I feel that it’s the stronger of the two that exist within.
⏰📃 The other plot, because I wasn’t kidding when I said there were two, takes place as an extended flashback, and covers all the stuff leading up to Wei Wuxian’s death, as well as his revival thirteen years later. I felt that this plot was necessary to understand the full scope of the novel, but I definitely enjoyed it less than the current plot. (This isn’t unusual for me, though. Whenever there’s a current plot and a past story told in flashbacks simultaneously, I pretty much always enjoy whatever is going on in the story’s present. The flashback stuff is why I gave Volume 3 four and a half stars, though.)
🗺️✨ The world building was also fantastic. As I mentioned above, it really came across very naturally because of the way it was presented to the reader. Making Wei Wuxian a bit of a teacher was a great decision for the exposition of this novel.
The Romance
“Or, in other words – I fancy you, I love you, I want you, I can’t leave you, I whatever you.”
I really enjoyed the ❤️🔥 slow-burn ❤️🔥 between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. It was generally well written and has a sweet conclusion. These two have a great dynamic and good chemistry. MDZS also features my favorite love confession that I’ve ever seen, and I think one of the best ones I’ve ever read, objectively.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy about this relationship were the sex scenes. Now, I don’t like reading smut or about sex to begin with, so I’m a bit biased there. But I didn’t like the smut here at all. Some of it definitely has to do with the fact that sometimes the consent seems a bit dubious to me, but that’s neither here nor there. And the less said about the incense burner dreams extra, the better. (Please, for the love of God, just skip that extra/chapter if you ever read this book. My eyes.) (I think you can guess why I only gave Volumes 4 and 5 four and a half stars. Though with Volume 4 it was also the flashback stuff.)
The Writing
“No one can walk along a single-plank bridge their entire lives and never fall,” Wei Wuxian explained. “It can’t be helped.”
Since this is a translation, it’s nearly impossible for me to comment on the writing and prose. But I can certainly talk about this novel’s translation itself. Which ranges from… not the best to generally okay. (The Exiled Rebels translation found online is said to be better, but I also found it to have its own issues. Different ones, but I think they both have problems. It’s a very good translation for free, though.)
Not gonna lie, the translation for MDZS starts off rough. Like, Volume 1’s translation is straight up noticeably awkward and clunky and not the best. Volume 2’s is a little bit better, but there’s still something to be desired with it. The quality of the translation is specifically the reason why I gave the first two books four and a half stars. Because they had a lot of my favorite arcs, and would’ve otherwise been five stars.
In Volume 3, the translation felt like it had a noticeable improvement, to me. Even from the get-go. And Volumes 4 and 5 were slightly better than 3, which was great. I just wanted to warn anyone interested that the translation starts out rough, even though the story itself is definitely worth it. (Or you can just read the free translation online.)
The Extras
Wei Wuxian easily derailed this argument with some nonsense of his own. “Don’t you go trying to intimidate people with Lianfang- zun’s name. Furthermore, Little Apple is a steed that Hanguang-jun gifted me! Why would you guys bring Little Apple down the mountain to a Night Hunt? And allow it to be injured too?!”
“Liar!” the Lan juniors responded as one. They refused to believe that Hanguang-jun, with his taste and class, would pick such a steed as a gift. Even though Lan Wangji didn’t refute the statement, they vehemently refused to believe it.
MDZS features some short stories at the end of it. I enjoyed most of them, and thought they fleshed out the world and characters a bit more. (Hated the extra sex scenes, though. All of them. Especially the incense burner extra. Never going near that again. Whoo boy.)
My favorite extras were the ones with the night hunts, though I also enjoyed the one with the villains just hanging out. Most of the others were pretty good or at the very least okay, however.
Final Thoughts
“Lan Zhan,” he called. “Look at me. Quick, look at me!”
Wei Wuxian was calling to him with a smile on his lips. Just as he always had, Lan Wangji looked at him.
Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation is a masterpiece. I loved almost everything about it, and had trouble putting it down. I read this entire 500,000+ word monstrosity in five days ’cause I liked it so much. It’s a really engaging story.
Like One Piece, however, I find it a bit difficult to recommend simply because it’s so long. Well, not as difficult, because MDZS is still far shorter and much less time consuming to get into. But it’s still long. So if you can handle long fantasy novels and enjoy LGBT+ relationships in fiction, as well as good character writing and world building, then I can recommend this. Just mind the translation.
Also, it would be remiss of me not to talk about the art here. It’s gorgeous, it’s beautiful, and it’s ultimately the reason I decided to go with the official translation. The book covers are pretty and vibrant and the illustrations within the volumes themselves are also very lovely.
But yeah, as always, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope you have a fantastic day/night.
