I am posting March + April all the way in September because that's just how behind I am on reading and reviewing. I promise I haven't stopped reading!
Books Mentioned
- Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
- Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat
- Remnants of Filth Vol. 3 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou
- Qiang Jin Jiu Vol. 1 by Tang Jiuqing
- Sakamoto Days by Yuto Suzuki
Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution by R.F. Kuang
Rating: ★★★★+0.5 (4.5/5)
This is truly a book unlike any I've read before. I am a known lover of R.F. Kuang's works; The Poppy War kick-started my love for adult fantasy novels at a time when I was too intimidated to give them a try; and Yellowface, though deeply divisive, was a standout novel to me that excelled in tension-building and sardonic commentary on POC narratives in literature. Babel is a wonderful reflection of R.F. Kuang's fascination with linguistics and colonialism in academic spaces, and successfully weaves these principles into a heart-wrenchingly riveting story about friendship, coming of age, and the necessity of revolution.
One thing I have noticed in Kuang's stories is that she isn't afraid to write a relationship that is difficult to define. The cohort in Babel is shown to be not unlike a found family, but even then each relationship within this group has its own dynamic, and not all of it is positive. The relationship that stood out to me the most in the book was Robin's relationship with Lovell. Robin's internal conflict with how he views Lovell is a highlight of the book; his respect, gratitude, fear, and resentment resonated with me very strongly. Though the broad theme of the book is about oppression in academia, Kuang also does a good job in representing themes of oppression and imbalance in the individual relationships between the characters.
I had very high hopes for Babel, and while I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience, I do have a few criticisms for it. Though I have changed as a reader and a writer and no longer believe in the principle of 'showing not telling,' I do believe that at times, showing and not telling is warranted. It took me a while to believe the relationship between the cohort, because a good 2 years of their relationship was just told in a few paragraphs. It was hard for me to believe that Ramy and Letty were ever friends. I don't think I even really bought the relationship between Robin, Ramy, and Victoire until the latter half of the book. I only forgive it partially because it got there eventually, but I did wish there was more to make me believe in the camaraderie of this cohort.
This was one of the hardest books I've ever had to rate. Babel is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to everyone. However, I am very sad to say that contrary to popular opinion, it isn't my favorite R.F. Kuang novel. But even so, it's a wonderful novel and truly a labor of love. I love languages and linguistics, and it was fascinating to see how Kuang crafted a magic system based off languages and the meanings that are lost in translation. She truly does deserve all the praise that she gets for her mastery of the craft, and I am looking forward to her next novel, Katabasis.
Dark Heir by C.S. Pacat
I was surprised with how much I loved this book. Looking back on the previous installment, Dark Rise, I do remember enjoying the latter half of the book, but finding myself disappointed with the first half. My only gripe with Dark Heir is also the slow start, but it found its footing a lot faster than Dark Rise did. Pacat continues to write a very interesting and captivating dynamic between Will and James, and the mysteries that they are trying to solve in this book coupled with Will's internal crisis of coming to terms with his newfound identity, truly made this book such an addicting and memorable read.
Pacat writes very memorable characters. I found myself enraptured with the backstory of Anharion and Sarcean, and I was surprised to feel so much for characters who didn't feel so significant in the first book, such as Elizabeth and Devon.
Again, Pacat writes a devastating cliffhanger to end the book, so I will once again be waiting (im)patiently for the final installment of this series.
Remnants of Filth by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou
Predictably, I rate Remnants of Filth Vol. 3 just as high as its prequels. At this point of the story, it's difficult to speak about the storyline now that it's almost at the halfway point, but in this installment there is a lot more plot than in volume 2.
One thing about Asian literature that I have noticed is they really know how to write good family drama. I was extremely invested in the mystery of the Yue and Murong clans, given how callously Murong Chuyi treats Jiang Yexue and Yue Chenqing.
This volume was extremely heavy emotionally, and gave way to a lot of mysteries that made me consume the entire book in one sitting. Meatbun truly is talented at writing deep-cutting knives.
Qiang Jin Jiu by Tang Jiuqing
Qiang Jin Jiu is one that I've been hearing lots of good things about since my university days, and it's only now that I've decided to pick it up. The rumors are true, it is extremely heavy on the politics and it took me quite a while to understand what exactly was going on. However, slowly assembling the puzzle pieces and coming to see the big picture was a very fun experience.
Of course, I couldn't review a danmei without touching on the romance. I love Cezhou with my entire heart. I loved them when they were enemies, and the tension between them was palpable. I loved them when they came to terms with their feelings for each other; the tenderness between them was heart wrenching.
In all, the reviews were right: Qiang Jin Jiu is a masterclass in the balance of political drama and romance. It reminds me of the historical dramas I love to watch, specifically "Nirvana in Fire," and I highly recommend this danmei for those who enjoy both political dramas and an enemies to lovers romance.
Sakamoto Days (Vol. 1-16) by Yuto Suzuki
Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5)
It has been a long while since I've gotten so invested in an action manga. I would have to say the last time I had such an interest in this type of shonen manga was Tokyo Revengers. All that to say, Sakamoto Days is an action-packed manga about a renowned assassin who leaves his old career to pursue a life of mundanity and raise his family in peace. However, when a bounty is put on his head, he finds it impossible to hide from the skeletons in his closet, and decides to step back into the world of assassins in order to protect his family and loved ones.
Sakamoto Days is a wholesome manga at its heart; it tells the story of the lengths one would go to to protect their loved ones, and Sakamoto unknowingly builds this found family around his actual family. It was very touching to see the relationships develop between Sakamoto and Shin, Lu Xiaotang, Heisuke, and even those who aren't as regular of a presence in his life such as Nagumo, Amane, and even Shishibe. Overall, I believe Suzuki Yuto did an amazing job with developing and designing the characters. Each of them have their own charm, and I found myself really caring for each of them, even those that didn't/haven't gotten much screentime.
The plot is also extremely compelling and I binge read all 16 volumes in 2 days because of how riveting it was. Now, I feel a little disappointed that I caught up to the manga so fast and have to wait for weekly updates like everyone else. But I'm delighted to find a manga that captivated me this much, I feel like in the world of action shonen manga, it's been a long time coming.
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Though it's been so long since I've posted here, I've actually been pretty consistent with reading. I think I've just been reading extremely long webnovels and reading books that I have unfortunately had to DNF a good 50% of the way in. But even though I've been in a bit of a slump lately I have missed reviewing the books that I've read!
—璇
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