#cnovel recs

[tls123]

i miss reading cnovels, does anyone have recommendations? 🥺🙏🏼

[lizhly-writes]

ohhh novel recs pretty please? favs/best of a genre/best of 2022? love your writing so what you read must be great too

Hi there.

It has been a while since you sent this. I would like you to know I didn’t ignore it -- thank you very much for your opinion of my writing, by the way! It is simply… I wanted to recommend you a lot of things. I binged to try and find some things that I could 100% recommend with my entire chest! With no stipulations! With no regret!

I only found one thing. I panicked about only having one thing, and kept trying to find more things. In retrospect, I should have gone through completed novels, because that would have stopped me from going “this was good until this one thing happened”, like I did with... several novels, but hey.

I was actually going to reread all of these just to make SURE, but if I did that, I would probably accidentally make this into a best of 2023 list, SO. Here we go.

The one novel that I will recommend with my entire chest is!!!

Demon Venerable Also Wants to Know

'Second male lead' receives copy of the shitty romance novel he lives in and immediately goes "haaaaa why the fuck am I supposed to like this female lead". He starts investigating and comes to some wild ass conclusions. Some of them utterly ridiculous! Others that show that the original shitty romance novel is not quite as brain dead as it initially seems. I like the layers to this thing, the shenanigans they get up to, I even fully like the romance in here (BL, if you were wondering), which is kind of rare for me. Also, shout out to the most interesting og female lead in this genre I've ever seen! This novel is without flaw! Without any possibility of error! I really, truly, had zero complaints. If I actually ranked this novel on novelupdates, I would give it a full 5 stars!

Honorable mentions:

100,000/Hour Professional Stand-in

This is the kind of cnovel you read if you are just so, so incredibly tired of our dear sister transmigrator getting pursued by some weird possessive CEO. Our mc is very calm, very heartless, and perfectly happy to extort so much money out of the people in love with her twin sister. The ending drags a little, and there is a romance in there which I think is unnecessary, but overall, still very good.

Zombie University

Ta-da! The zombie apocalypse happens, and our main character has get deal with it with his ex hovering uncomfortably right there in his adventuring party. I have not finished this novel, and in fact, I am not even caught up on this novel -- I believe I must have left off around chapter 30? -- but it gets a mention here because I really like survival-type stories, and furthermore, I was frankly blown away by the characters and the dynamics between them. I pawed sadly at the novelupdates page for about two weeks before I accepted that I wasn't getting an update anytime soon. AND NOW I SEE IT'S UPDATED WAY MORE SINCE THEN SO I WILL BE CHECKING THIS OUT AGAIN.

Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

An unlimited/infinite flow novel, in which our mc is an NPC throughout various instances, or Nightmares, as they call them. I will admit that it can get repetitive, since a lot of the time, our characters are trying to figure out what the fuck is going on and end up reiterating some points, and then our mc is in a primarily passive role -- might be frustrating to a witty reader who is very good at putting things together themselves, but I personally liked it, haha. I was admittedly not very fond of the ending, but I enjoyed the characters finding out the mysteries behind the instances, and the larger mystery made me want to claw my hands through the pages to figure out what the fuck was happening.

I Ship My Adversary X Me

Guy ends up shipping himself with his fanon adversary. I find guy really eloquent in his narration, which only helps with the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. Living in this guy's head is so fun. There is a manhua. It is cute, but read the novel, the vibes are way goofier. Uh, there is like... one nsfw scene, if I recall correctly, but it's easily skipped, if it bothers you.

When a Fanfic Protagonist Transmigrated Into The Original Novel (kinda nsfw)

Pretty much exactly what it says on the tin. This pokes fun at the tendency to warp ostensibly straight male characters into certain BL stereotypes in fanfiction. The translation is unfinished, but what was there killed me. It is really ridiculous and I love that.

Don’t Hide From Me! (also kinda nsfw no, i change my mind, it's not super explicit, but it's significantly more nsfw than the previous two up there.)

Character A plans to confess his crush on his homophobic best friend, Character B. The plot is the leadup and followup to that. Also blatantly ridiculous, because our Character B treats our Character A in what most people would consider very unplatonic ways, which confuse character A, and also me, and also everyone I liveblogged to, because I liveblogged the entirety of my reading of this on discord. Unfinished, but on this list anyway because I screamed a lot about it and shared exactly how ridiculous it was with everyone around me and ended up roping at least three people into reading with me. It was that kind of novel. If you read, I recommend reading with friends because you will want to shake someone over it. I certainly did.

[pink-linoleum]

thousand mile ice plains

[optimisticmiraclefest]

Oh gods this novel is way too hilarious......

A military general bride and a wastrel prince groom getting married-

The prince runs off before the wedding night bc he doesn't like the bride 'being too manly' but the bride in question ends up spoiling his concubines with jwellery and whatnot (bc they were intentionally dressing down to not get on her bad side) and they collectively decide to "treat her like a second master" - pfft (they literally grind ink for her and serve her like they would do to their husband lol)

The master in question still hasn't come back home and this is just the first five chapters-

[fateandloveentwined]

danmei chinese webnovels rec update

[link to part one]

hiya:) Haven't read that much the past year but it might be well to recommend some novels I rated higher on my records.

per personal preferences most of them are knives with a happy ending and main character-centric besides romance. I also like political intrigue though that's not the most common thing in danmei novels.

(mc = main character; ml = main lover i.e. second main character)

ranked in descending order of each genre. novels are linked for convenience, or links to novelupdates descriptions are provided if found.

xianxia/cultivation background

好喜欢封如故的性情，洒脱微笑背后不见天日的苦涩，十年慵懒风陵山中寒雪中布下环环相扣的一局。风陵山上都是痴儿，他们都太聪明了，一个个玲珑心肝似的，赤诚相待，却也总是在浓若蜜醪的时候君子之交如若甘露，整本读下来，我简直觉得他们就是完美演绎了”相濡以沫，不如相忘于江湖”的明训。好别扭，有时候真的很压抑，封如故深晓韩兢为谁久久不语，韩兢深爱常伯宁而不表露。而最是谦谦君子心存理想盛世的常伯宁，最终在喜帖上将对封如故多年藏匿、自己隐约略懂未明的爱意一并埋去，知道韩兢不愿相认，也就任由他离自己远去了。 ……都是痴儿。

全道门都欠我一个人情 by 骑鲸南去 (All the Dao Sects Owe Me a Favor)

I couldn't summarise it well. What I wrote (part of):

琢玉 by 白书墨 (Carven Jade)

mc's character a little similar to wei wuxian (mdzs). The two main leads are of the same sect but one turned "astray" after. MC is given the chance to live again.

晚来天欲雪 by 妄鸦 (Evening Snow)

Devastated by the tragedy which befell his past, reincarnated mc decides to live his second life idyllically and forget about the rest. What he didn't expect is that people of his last life are not letting the past rest.

historical

穿成病弱返派后 by 木漏日

This is better titled "病美人想早点去世" i.e. sick mc wishes to die sooner, the title the author wished to change to. mc transmigrates back in time and completes missions in this dynasty according to system's commands, becoming both hero and antagonist of the protagonist in the book. I think mc gets near the verge of death many times too many but I rated it 4 out of 5 so I guess it was enjoyable still... that and the resolution was rewarding. mc cares a lot about his sister in the present life, and everything that he does for the system and the protagonist is basically for her.

entertainment industry

隐婚 by 久陆

A rather depressive take on contractual marriage and unrequited love. All goes awry at the fifth year of their contracted covenant in which the marriage is to end. I reread it recently and it still remains one of my favourite books of this genre. will probably read the other ones this author has written soon.

穿成豪门假少爷后我爆红了 by 穿山

mc was reborn into the body of another. Emotionally intricate nested narratives and emotionally charging scenes.

intergalactic

讯息素缺失报告 by 松子茶

alpha/omega dynamics in which mc signs a contract with an ominous overlord to provide for his child after the death of his previous spouse. It's not particularly cathartic but the tone of the novel overall is rather repressive.

人鱼文偏执反派翻车了 by 弃脂焚椒 (The Paranoid Villain in the Mermaid Novel Has Overturned)

i think this is a rather popular one idk. A little bit draggy, but the premise of the insane overlord and the heir presumptive is well thought out. I did enjoy it but was not particularly in love with the ml's characterisation which essentially surrounds the mc in everything that he does.

quick transmigration

I've only discovered my fondness for quick transmigration the past year but essentially it goes not without conditions:

there is a good convincing backstory that readers try to sleuth out while reading the worlds

mc and ml characterisation is consistent

the dimensions/worlds are well-written and elaborate enough.

漂亮炮灰手拿反派剧本 by 木漏日

am I spoiling it but oml the last world is amazing.

黑月光跑路失败后 by 弃脂焚椒

the worlds are well-written. character consistency at the start is a bit wobbly but it gets way better quick. I like the intergalactic worlds this author writes.

general author recs: 木漏日 (consistently good reads, political intrigue), 弃脂焚椒, 三千大梦叙平生 (some good ones)

haven't read that much of theirs but they should be good: 骑鲸南去, 白书墨 (author has het books that are really popular too)

Again read in chinese and they really aren't the most popular ones so I'm not sure how many of them have translated versions. If you do MTL/check novelupdates you might find something that helps.

Some are from more than a year ago so (sorry!) I really don't remember enough to write about them in detail. I might supplement them with longer reviews (since I have written them for some at the time of reading but again it is slightly unlikely given current workload).

thanks💙

[hheartsdramas]

okay frens, since i am spending at least one more day recovering from sickiness and may want a diversion that’s not watching a drama…what cnovel should i try?

the only ones i’ve read are the blossoming love and mdzs.

i like angsty romances with happy endings, if that exists in cnovels. i like a fl who could kill me. i am absolutely not afraid of spice or violence. translated to english. influence me, please!

[spockandawe]

I haven't had a chance to say much about it yet, but I've been reading cnovels again lately! I'm reluctant to drop too much momentum to pitch them quite yet (I'm waiting for an id card appointment and getting good reading done) but briefly

I'm also waiting for the male protagonist to usurp the throne today (highly recommend diving in without reading a summary or looking at the cover, which i did. light, but fun! the side characters are delightful)

Devil venerable also wants to know (my initial reading of the older translation stalled literally like three chapters before shit popped off. And the newer translation is much easier to follow. Highly, HIGHLY recommend, mad i didn't read this sooner. It's been licensed, right? I'll be buying it, 100%)

Peerless immortal surrounded by demonic disciples (I don't remember why I stalled, but it's very fun, and shizunfucking is a key part of a balanced breakfast. Would be improved by poly, alas, but that's the case for so many books)

[trenchcoat-full-of-recs]

Favourite fics of 2023

Now that the year is over, I figured I'd cast my eye back over the previous year to see what were my favourite fics I discovered that year. Notably, they may not have been published last year--just the ones that I read during that time period.

I have absolutely no idea what they will be, so I'm curious to dive into my bookmarks...

MDZS/CQL

Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark -- oooh, apparently it was last year that I consumed this. It's a behemoth of a story at over 700k words; it's a slowly sprawling tale, and I read and reread it during the same year. And it's been one of the rare WIPs that I have been following faithfully. It's an AU in which WWX and LWJ, early on during the Gusu lectures, have the extra-canonical chapters' dreams about each other (that's to say, the ravishing in the library and the peaceful domesticity) and this triggers them realizing their feelings, which in turn changes rather a lot of things. This sounds underwhelming, but the fic really is very good and rather epic in scope! I have appreciated how it depicts WWX--intensely intelligent, precocious, but in need of guidance; and he and LWJ are darling together. I only hope it keeps being this good for the next 700k words or however much it takes!

You'll See Me Again by anon -- oh man, I loved this one. It's sadly a short-ish WIP (12k> words), but the concept is brilliant: it's NHS, who's time-travelled back and is determined to fix everything by getting WWX as his younger brother, and it's told from NMJ's baffled point of view. It's very good! I just wish it were longer.

Mourning Dove by jaemyun - a WIP featuring a dark LWJ who's very fed up with the hypocrisy of the cultivation world. Hasn't updated in a while, though...

SVSSS

This was the year I read SVSSS! Boy, did I ever love it. This naturally unlocked a new fandom for me, so here are some of my favourite fics:

A Transmigrator and a Time Traveler Walk Into the Bamboo House by VeryCharismaticDragon - this is super lovely! This is Binghe who time-travels from after SQQ's self-destruction to the start of the story. And he's determined to change things, even as he's trying to understand them. The whole thing is great.

The More You Don't Know by Neery - this is sweet and angsty in just the right way. Binghe is convinced SQQ only loves him because he doesn't realize he's a demon, and does his best to hide. (There's also a canon divergence in there.)

The Peace Between Divine Pec- ah-hm sorry - uh…Peaks by AceOfDivineChlorophyll - I need to catch up with the latest chapters of this, but I have it bookmarked as "absolutely love it, mega oblivious SQQ thinks he's LBH's advisor and not realizing that he's effectively the empress (something everyone around him sees) and of course not realizing also that he's super in love with LBH."

Particular by thehoyden - a very sweet SQQ/LBH a/b/o!

The King's Avatar

This is also the year when I consumed this canon!

Born of Fire (We Shall Not Fall) by TheDefenestrator - I loved this fic so much. So much. It's my favourite take on omegaverse I've ever seen in any fic, ever. It's got a super lovely Ye Xiu/Han Wenqing slowburn and Ye Xiu joining Tyranny, but it's also set in this universe which brings this omegaverse context into everything and makes it extra delicious. It's so well done. I just hope it updates one day.

here in search of your glory by Synoshian - I also adored this long slowburn long slowburn Ye Xiu/Han Wenqing WIP where Ye Xiu joins Tyranny.

Bond/Q

a bloodless coup by Ark - scorchingly hot, great characterisations, very well done.

There's a lot more fics that I read and enjoyed last year, but these were in my bookmarks as absolute faves, so I figure it's fair enough to end it here!

[ehyde]

I finished reading "How To Feed An Abyss!", coming back to the last quarter of it now that it's fully translated. It's a similar concept to "Little Mushroom" (nonhuman main character in a post-apocalyptic world) but overall a very different mood.

Bad things still happen, but HFA feels a lot more hopeful. Parts of it feel downright cozy. There are entire chapters devoted to the beauty of ordinary, mundane moments. The titular abyss (in human form) joins a community theatre (what's the point of art when the world is ending? No, what's the point if there *isn't* art?)

The romantic development is also a bigger part of the story than in Little Mushroom and although there are a couple of things I didn't like about the ship, I'm glad the romance was there. I definitely liked the fact that they could be open with each other and fully trust each other (as of about halfway through the novel; there's hidden identity and secrets before that point).

Which is to say: I recommend it! https://www.novelupdates.com/series/how-to-feed-an-abyss/

[dtriad]

saw this comparative review of 3K Workers and 穿进赛博游戏后干掉BOSS成功上位 linked on Weibo and aaaahhhh

值得注意的是，《三国打工人》建构女主角道德观念的方式，恰与西方女性主义的关怀伦理学思想存在奇妙的呼应。关怀伦理学批判康德式的个人道德主体，提出道德主体是在社会关系和情感关系中形成的。在关怀伦理学看来，道德自我并不是在与他人的分离中建立的，而是在与他人的社会联系中建立的，当道德自我处于社会关系中时，他与他人自然具备了共情关系，对他人的痛苦的反应是道德行为的来源。《三国打工人》的开头部分被不少读者认为比较“慢热”，就是因为主角陆悬鱼并没有在刚刚穿越的时候就主动参与到历史事件中，而是在洛阳作为平民生活了一段时间。这段时间里，陆悬鱼过的是纯粹的市井生活，她找了一份杀猪的工作，在居民区住下来，和同事、邻居逐渐熟悉，建立了情感联系。在董卓迁都长安时，她与邻居结伴同行，极力试图以自身武力保护身为平民的邻居，并不试图参与“讨董”的历史潮流建功立业。但很快长安同样城破，面对邻居好友的死亡，陆悬鱼痛不欲生，带着活下来的邻居东行，一路上，看到了乱世生民流离的景象。在一次去往徐州的经历中，陆悬鱼看到了三国乱世中杀戮最重的画面，即被曹操屠城后的徐州。这次旅途终于改变了陆悬鱼，她回到平原城，找到早就结识的刘备，开始招兵买马、建立一方势力。《三国打工人》开头市井生活这一部分，可以视为陆悬鱼道德主体的准备阶段。她的主体身份不来自天然形成的个人主体，而来自社会化的、交往关系中的人。这些同事邻居，为陆悬鱼这个无论是身体还是精神都不属于所处世界的外来者，构建出了真实的社会关系。这些社会关系不仅使她有了社会身份、有了“家”，还使她能够从现实存在的社会联系中，找到能够与这个时代的其他民众共情、移情的情感来源，从而陆悬鱼能够作出基于情感联结的道德判断，而不仅仅是以外来的道德标准或建功立业的功利主义价值观对待东汉末年的人。与《赛博》中的隗辛相对比，这一点就更为清晰：在险象环生的赛博朋克世界中，隗辛起始阶段没有任何真正的朋友，她的朋友都要在后来她取得一定对自身的掌控后，才逐渐出现，在共同战斗的过程中建立友谊。隗辛的目标，是作为个人主体掌握道德自主性；而陆悬鱼的行动，则由对生命的移情引发。在《三国打工人》这种道德构建中，可以看到女频网络文学与女性主义道德哲学的共鸣。

— 燕碧天, 女频网络文学中的道德问题——以两部“大女主”网络文学作品为对象, 《文艺理论与批评》 (2025, Issue #1)

it cites a novel quote that I love (and yes I immediately knew what scene what chapter it's from lmao): “我的天国在地上。我要让别人看到它。” My kingdom of heaven is on earth. I want other people to see it. 🥹 🥹 🥹

(3K Workers runs on a prose style that can seem quite casual—the author even tagged it 轻松—but it keeps busting out SO many memorable lines & moments!! and scene transitions... and character deaths)

[dangermousie]

You are the BEST! They all sound good, especially the last one!!!

And I started golden age legitimate fei ages ago and liked it but got sidetracked. Time to pick it back up!

Ok reading Princess Agents gave me a hankering to read a novel with what the original set up of it was - warlord with a grudge x capable assassin or soldier OTP.

Pls give me your web novel recs. I don’t care if they are het, danmei or baihe.

Don’t care if there is a translation (tho if there is, that is of course awesome.)

Thank youuuuu!

[dragonji]

just confided 3 pages of lukewarm bitching to my notes app abt a novel I finished yesterday and I already feel so much better about it. being a hater cures fr

[optimisticmiraclefest]

✨A Precious Pearl in the Imperial City✨

Author: Butterfly's Shadow Beneath the Moon / Yue Xia Die Ying

This here is our fl, Ming Jiuzhu aka the sweetest cinnamon roll ever who would absolutely throw hands (and she has done that multiple times throughout the novel lol) if anyone slanders her benefactors aka "demon consort" Su and her son the "arrogant idler price" Chen Wang

A very brief summary:

Fl who was raised by two daoist priests isolated from the world has a unique temperament aka "naive charming cute idiotic(?)",

Ml spoiled by his parents since childhood is a idler noble prince- prideful and arrogant,

Arranged marriage between the two of them with more of a past connection than expected,

💕 A "kind hearted fierce girl" * "tsundere shameless boy" pair aka the fluffiest cutest pairing ever that will give you endless cavities 💕

✨fl being kind and innocent inside the palace post marriage- lighting the entire place up with her sincere nature✨ , she is truly ml's lucky koi.........

Ml steps up and starts taking his duties more seriously bc he wants to be as amazing as fl idolises him to be 🥺 aka both his dad and his dad in law practically drag him to his job kicking and screaming lol (poor him, he literally gets nightmares of books chasing him around thanks to fl's dad tutoring him)

Do read this novel bc it has-

"Normal" families who wouldn't look out of place in our current time period aka fl's entire family and ml's parents -loving and doting towards each other with no ulterior motives (except all the times fl and ml flattered their respective families to fleece pocket money from them pfft-)

Normal families typical of their time period aka scheming plot-ty vibes where everyone are guarded against one another even within the same family

The highlight of the novel is when these 💥two entirely different worldviews crashing against one another💥 in the most hilarious ways

Everytime the "normal" families interact, they 'adjust' it to their own views like-

Fl's parents "agree" to the marriage => they are selling their daughter off for glory

Emperor punishes the maternal family of one of his other kids => he is paving the way for his favourite son (no that family really was pretty fucking terrible)

Ml punishes a crappy noble guy (very creatively, his "punishments" are pretty much a running gag- a fun one) =>the favour got to his head so he is arrogant and willful and so on.......

Some are more hilarious than the others (like that one time fl 'instructed' all the concubines on how to properly write scriptures aka glorified imposition lol)

From the main pairing to their respective families and all the side characters from the story teller lady with the glib tongue to the consorts of the previous emperor, all of them are pretty memorable, all with their own stories to tell.........

(Bai Shao is my favourite side character tho- a neat example of repaying kindness of a drop of water with a gushing spring, she ended up being surprisingly badass)

As for my experience rereading this gem, I laughed out around every chapter - reading it in class was in hindsight a terrible idea.......

[fateandloveentwined]

cnovel recs

A continuation of this post.

Is anyone perchance interested in more chinese web novel recs? I have been rather taken up by them last year, and have posted a number of reviews on another site.

link to recs: https://lycorxian.notion.site/49551e76236241f094d383eb206cc1c2

I haven't considered translating the reviews because the books are chiefly written in chinese yet to be translated (and goodness it's... taxing ploughing through your own terrible writing attempting to translate anything). However, if a rec list happens to interest you, that you would like to hone your chinese reading skills or are simply on the lookout for more cnovel recommendations, go ahead and have a go at these novels I recommended.

Links to the reviews are just at the rightmost part of the notion database (scroll down), they are in trad chi in consideration of the posting platform though it should simply be a matter of web browser translation to simplified chinese.

Thanks and enjoy!

Edit: since tumblr really has a grudge with my links, either try copying this: https://lycorxian.notion.site/49551e76236241f094d383eb206cc1c2

or use the QR code here

[sillysistersusi]

So, I have a question to everyone out there who likes baihe novels. I've been thinking about starting to read one (I only read danmei so far) and I wanted to ask you all about your opinion.

I wanted to start with 'the beauty's blade' since it isn't a really long book and this way I could find out if I like baihe or not (I think I will, since I'm a not really straight girl yk), but I'm afraid to start it and then end up not liking it.

I also thought about reading 'female general and eldest princess' but I heard from a lot of people that it drags on a lot and that the princess is very manipulative and toxic ... I, however, have no idea how much of this is true and what I should do now.

So I would like to beg the baihe fandom for their help😅🥰🥰

[bubbletecito]

✦ ִֶָ — MIST [unlimited].

Carrd.

Autor : Wei Feng Ji Xu.

Capítulos : 103 capítulos + 3 extras.

Géneros : Acción, misterio, ciencia ficción, unlimited flow.

Mi calificación : ★★★★★ ♡♡♡

Mientras se pueda cambiar el final, estoy dispuesto a morir por él mil veces.

Yo creo que con decirles que esta novela la tenía organizada para leer en diez días y mágicamente se convirtieron en cuatro, ya he dicho suficiente. Siempre he dicho que mi género favorito es la ciencia ficción espacial-futurista que toque temas de viajes en el tiempo y dimensiones/líneas paralelas, y esta novela tiene absolutamente todo lo que me fascina.

Nos presentan un futuro donde existe una organización llamada Gestión del tiempo de Tianqiong, donde los trabajadores especializados se dedican a viajar a momentos específicos en el tiempo para evitar guerras o graves sucesos, o para registrar momentos relevantes en la historia: se les divide en Guardianes y Registradores respectivamente.

Ya este tipo de mundo me hace pensar en una serie que amo y que recomiendo enormemente llamada "Viajeros", está en Netflix y no tiene el reconocimiento que merece, pero les juro que si ven esa serie y leen esta novela sus vidas serán 350% mejor que antes. Además es como si mezclaras esa serie con la película de Interestellar, Oblivion, Solaris, Looper e Inception, sumándole un romance gay de lo más erótico y dulce, un desarrollo de la trama atrapante y si eres un soñador de ciencia ficción como yo, tu cerebro será estimulado por todos los escenarios que esta novela te presenta.

La construcción del mundo es una cosa que voy a aplaudir totalmente, cada escenario que te crea y los detalles al narrarlos tienen el equilibrio preciso para estimular la imaginación y al mismo tiempo no abrumarte sino que cautivarte, en muchos instantes me tomé el tiempo de releer escenas solo porque las descripciones e ideas en mi cabeza me hacían suspirar y emocionarme. Yo en lo particular adoro esos escenarios que no sé bien cómo definirlos más allá de compararlos con todas esas películas que nombré antes, a continuación les dejo el arte de una escena donde el cielo está cubierto por un océano y aparece una ballena, ¡solo de recordarlo se me eriza la piel!

De personaje nos presentan al protagonista Ji Yushi, un joven que padece de hipertimesia, una condición que le hace recordar cada detalle de su vida, incluso las cosas más insignificantes y aunque suena como un súper poder muy genial, trae graves consecuencias psicológicas y emocionales. Es abiertamente gay y un Registrador, pero a falta de un integrante en un grupo de Guardianes se le solicita la ayuda, sin embargo ellos son un grupo de homofóbicos que definitivamente no quieren la ayuda de Ji Yushi. Pero al final, terminarán rogando que por favor no se vaya del equipo. Ji Yushi es uno de los protagonistas más hermosos e impresionantes que he leído, su personalidad y pensamientos, la forma en que se va desencadenando a lo largo de la historia y vamos conociendo más de él es algo que me agita el pecho, si tuviese que describirlo como la mezcla perfecta de otros personajes diría que es como Fang Juexia (fanservice paradox) y An Zhe (little mushroom), es un personaje que te cautiva, encanta y hace doler tu corazón.

Después está el interés romántico, Song Qinglan, el líder del Escuadrón 7 y quien es el más homofóbico (con sus razones que entenderás a futuro), pero posee un fuerte sentido de compromiso con su equipo y un alma tan rebelde como confiada, que poco a poco irá creando un lazo y entendimiento tácito con nuestro protagonista y caerá igual que nosotros ante sus encantos. Un hombre tenaz y seguro, tan firme y confiable como una gran montaña que no se deja vencer o intimidar por el miedo, feroz y letal, pero al mismo tiempo con un lado cálido y preocupado, tierno. Leer a Song Qinglan es como escuchar una canción creada por Artic Monkeys y Lana del Rey. No solo es un personaje fascinante, sino que además posee un nivel de magnetismo y erotismo que te hace fantasear sin dificultades. Te eleva las expectativas a un punto inalcanzable (pequeño spoiler: compra comida especialmente para los hijos de Ji Yushi, es decir, sus gatos, eso lo hace 100% más atractivo y ardiente y dulce que cualquiera) y te prometo que suspirarás por él hasta el cansancio.

Ellos son en definitiva, mi Imperio Romano (junto a toda la novela en sí).

El avance de su relación lleva el ritmo preciso y adecuado, generándote la desesperación y emoción precisa, que al terminarla se siente como haber comido tu plato favorito hasta enguatarte y sentirte a punto de explotar.

Los personajes secundarios son algo que no se puede olvidar, cumpliendo unos roles importantísimos para el desarrollo y disfrute de esta historia. El Escuadrón 7 está formado por personajes entrañables y carismáticos, haciéndote reír y llorar a la vez, te enseñan no solo sobre compañerismo, sino que además de la amistad, confianza y familiaridad, el apoyo incondiscional y cariño que se tienen entre todos es algo que he visto en pocas novelas, y ver la forma en que va evolucionando respecto al protagonista es gratificante. Aquí se sienten vivos y participativos, generando vínculos y momentos que te pueden poner muy sensible.

No solo la escenografía es alucinante, sino que la trama es atrapante y cautivadora, llevándote a misiones y momentos que te harán explotar el cerebro, los giros de la trama y cómo poco a poco vas a ir conectando los cables hasta el final te tendrá expectante y emocionado. Tiene lo justo de pelea, misterio, tensión y romanticismo, mezclado con un toque futurista a otro nivel.

Sé que al decir todo esto parecerá exagerado, pero por esta novela estoy dispuesto a meter las manos al fuego y tirar toda la carne a la parrilla, mi mejor lectura del año y veo difícil que puedan quitarle el puesto en lo que queda. Tal vez no sea para todos, porque sé que los temas de espacio-tiempo puede ser complejo o exasperante, pero les prometo que si le dan la oportunidad no se arrepentirán y si son amantes como yo del tema, ¡será de lo mejor que hayan leído!

Y si tuviese que compararla con unas canciones, diría que es como escuchar Inamorata (moreux), Empathy (crystal castles) y Pure Imagination (superhuman).

Repetiré por segunda vez que MIST [unlimited] se volvió mi Imperio Romano y espero que la disfruten tanto como yo lo hice.

Le tomé un cariño particular y estoy seguro de que volveré a leerlo en un futuro próximo, no se sentirá como la primera vez pero sé que me seguirá generando nuevas y asombrosas sensaciones.