#yuan mingzhe

[aworldforastage]

audio fandom hours: 诟病/Morbid Attachment audiodrama!!! ╰(▔∀▔)╯

Mao'er just released the preview for the new AD adaptation!!!

They are using the same voice actors from the (unfinished/abandoned?) voiced manhua: 袁铭喆/Yuan Mingzhe as Ji Wang and 文森/Wen Sen as Qi Boyan

As a fan of these voice actors, I was squealing with joy when I saw the news. But even though I like their voices so much, I would hesitate to call their collaborations my favorites. I didn't like the 诟病/Morbid Attachment voiced manhua that much. It isn't optimized for the audio medium, so the dialogue and pacing felt choppy and uneven when heard out loud. Yuan Mingzhe's voice is also quite deep (this is Xiao Chiye, for heaven's sake!), which means Wen Sen sometimes go very deep voicing the gong, and I just don't think his delivery and control are at their best in those ranges. Yuan Mingzhe has gotten a lot of experience voicing softer shou characters since then, but Ji Wang's character is an Alpha and shouldn't sound soft, so I do wonder how it'll get handled this time.

And, I know it wouldn't be possible for 诟病 of all projects, but I wish they will switch the gong-shou roles in the future. Wen-laoshi has only taken a few shou roles, but his voice is so versatile. There are so many possibilities! And please take a break from the "angsty reconciliation" genre! My frail weak heart is still waiting for a full-length 小甜饼/sugar pie AD from them someday.

(Other projects starring by Wen Sen/Yuan Mingzhe: 诟病/Morbid Attachment voiced manhua, After Dawn/黎明之后 AD, Tan Lian AD. All angsty reconciliation stories @_@)

[hunxi-after-hours]

《问鹿三千》: a crash course

aka just when I thought I couldn’t get any nicher, I got into 《问鹿》

plot...summary... ish???

Winter — a famous qin master confronts a mysterious new rival who is intent on sabotaging him, a rival who seems to know far more about him than anyone should.

Spring — an assassin is sent to murder a prince, only to find that the prince she was sent to kill is long dead, and the imposter more than he appears to be.

Summer — a young emperor has reclaimed his throne from his usurper uncle, but even after the dust has settled, he searches obsessively for a lost sword, uncaring of how much blood he must shed to find it.

Autumn — a wandering hero who seeks death is cursed with immortality, while a divinity descends from the heavens to investigate the mystery of his own past.

The seasons turn and pass; lives intertwine and part forever. Ask the flowers the color of devotion; ask the qin the sound of determination. Ask the lost what they dream of at night; ask the carefree what it means to fight for someone. Ask the ghosts who they linger on to protect; ask the living the pain of losing someone.

The Deer God governs all of time and memory — ask him, and he may just tell you.

some bullet point notes, because that plot summary made no sense:

this is a 原创古风广播剧, which is to say, a wholly-original gufeng audiodrama

there is no original novel here!! there is no answer key!!

which means that this is both 1) hella ambitious and 2) super cool because these parts were basically written for the voice actors

oh yeah, I should mention the cast, shouldn’t I? since this is a 光合积木 production, you have 姜广涛/姜sir Jiang Guangtao, 宝木中阳 Baomu Zhongyang, 胡良伟 Hu Liangwei, 马正阳 Ma Zhengyang, AND 袁铭喆 Yuan Mingzhe. And then they decided to throw 边江 Bian Jiang into this already stacked cast just for funsies I guess, which no one was expecting but we’ll never stop laughing about (“这是一个湖边的故事” — 胡良伟, 2021)

tl;dr the plot is composed of a series of interconnected/serial stories — autumn is the primary throughline, and while these two dumbasses try to recover their memories because somehow both of them ended up with amnesia, they encounter the stories of winter, spring, and summer

there are happy endings! there are sad endings! there is romance! there is tragedy! there are complicated family dynamics! there’s trauma! oh god there’s so much trauma! there’s dumb gay shenanigans! oh god there’s so much dumb gay shenanigans! there’s exquisite post-production! there’s a talking rabbit who’s the reincarnation of a former emperor and mad about it!!

sometimes your central trio is composed of an invisible emo himbo ghost (yes, he manages to be both emo and himbo at the same time), the rabbit that he accidentally stole godhood from, and the amnesiac deer god who got them all thrown out of heaven. let’s just say that the comedic potential is realized

I’m doing a terrible job of pitching this audiodrama because of its scope but trust me when I say that I love it dearly; I feel like I don’t see works like this often (serialized, original to itself, tailor-made to play to the strengths of these incredibly talented voice actors) so I’m just excited to see how the story will progress because unfortunately for me, I’m invested

(lies down) season two whennnnn—

[materialsscienceandengineering]

New discovery supports reusable helmet padding

While developing a reusable liquid nanofoam material for football helmets, Michigan State University researchers have made a big discovery that puts the material that much closer to practical use in a variety of applications.

Weiyi Lu, an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his research associate, Mingzhe Li, found that liquid flowing into a nanopore acts more like a solid. The liquid pulls itself apart like stretching a piece of saltwater taffy creating a thin "neck" in the center of the nanopore that eventually breaks, causing the liquid to flow out of opposite ends of the nanopore.

This discovery will have a significant impact on the prototype design of liquid nanopore pads that aim to be more effective and resilient than foam pads.

"From previous research, we knew how the liquid flowed into the nanopores and now, we know how it flows out," Lu said. "Our laboratory testing and the simulation work of Baoxing Xu, an associate professor at the University of Virginia, and Yuan Gao, a postdoctoral scholar at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, helped make this important discovery

Read more.

[sketch-shepherd-art]

More THoK sketches. I FINALLY finished concept art of the main cast’s family members so here they are in order:

- Marisol (Cierra’s sister)

- Chonglin (Shirong’s younger brother)

- Mingzhe and Yuan (Shirong and Chonglin’s parents)

- Chanda, Pema, Seem, and Shanvi (Asura’s wife and daughters)

- giant caribou mother (Tuaq’s mom) 

The reason I haven’t reupload my old 2017 concept art of the original main five is because I plan to redraw them all. 

[writerkingdom]

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[aworldforastage]

A very subjective recap of my audiodrama journey in 2023 "Year of the Rabbit"

This is entirely based on personal preferences and not at all an objective assessment of quality

If applicable, cast members are listed with the gong first.

"Web Drama/网配" here refers to the free, not-for-profit productions

All AD's are on Mao'er FM (Missevan) unless indicated otherwise.

Favorite Completed Dramas

The Golden Terrance/黄金台 -- (Web Drama/网配)

Jia Xu/贾诩 x Yacejun/雅策君

Three not-for-profit productions of The Golden Terrance launched in 2020, but this is the first and only one to be completed! I'm just so grateful and amazed that so many talented people contributed to make this happen -- all for free! It's not perfect, but it's comparable if not better than for-profit productions at least 90% of the time, and I think it really did this beloved novel justice. Go listen to it!

Famous/In Name Only/有名

Wei Chao/魏超 x Chen Jiaheng/陈家恒

I did not know I needed to hear Lan Wangji's audiodrama VA speak in a southern/canto-style accent, but it has been life-changing.

"Famous" comes with all the bells and whistles you could possibly hope for in a professional, for-profit production. It has eight original songs, tons of little skits and bonus content, wonderful performance and polished post-production. The team brought their own vision to the adaption, leveraging the of creative potential in the audio medium while staying true to the text. If we have to nitpick, I'd say Liang Yu sounds a bit old for a man on the cusp of 30, but Wei Chao's magnetic voice is more than enough to make up for it.

After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine/残疾战神嫁我为妾后

Shi Zekun/史泽鲲 x Liu Sicen/刘思岑

This is the guilty pleasure personal favorite I have been playing on repeat in the background -- a comforting little sugar pie AD. Objectively speaking, this production has noticeable flaws, from built-in plot holes from the source material to uneven performance and mixing of some minor characters' dialogue. However, I really like the sweet, lighthearted story and the lead voice actors' performance, and we got the entire thing in one season!

“Next season please start tomorrow!"

The Sword Named No Way Out/剑名不奈何

Zhao Yi/赵毅 x Chen Zhang Taikang/陈张太康

I'm very conflicted about this one! This is the first time I really understood the charm of Zhao Yi's voice, but I don't like his character (gong/love interest) or the romantic arc. I am intrigued by the twists in the plot, but we still don't know who is the main conflict halfway into the story, because the novel is just written this way. I'm absolutely charmed by the supporting characters, but I suspect their roles will be reduced in the next season to make way for the the main romance. I really can't get into this novel for some reason, so I'm waiting on the AD to satisfy my curiosity.

"Top flower vase of the mainland entertainment industry"/内娱第一花瓶 -- (Web Drama/网配)

Liu Sicen/刘思岑 x Shang Tong/商桐

This free drama has released 3 stunning seasons since 2021. The screenplay and post-production is a little rough in places, but that's nothing to compared to quality and scale of the output -- the first few episodes of the AD convinced me to commit to reading this 900K words long novel! With free Web Dramas, you can't really guarantee or expect anything. It updated fairly consistently since 2021 but lead CV Liu Sicen currently has an insanely busy lineup of paid projects and likely no time for this. I'm very grateful for the seasons we have had, but I still dream of this AD releasing one more season to at least finish the main story -- and end on a happy note after the reconciliation!!!

Onmyōji/阴阳师 -- (on Manbo & others)

Yuan Mingzhe/袁铭喆 & Zhao Chengchen/赵成晨 [No CP]

Ironically, I think this is the series with the smallest chance of getting a second season, despite its star-studded cast, excellent production, and iconic source material. It sounds great, and I love the main voice actors playing something different from their normal dynamic. However, the series struggle to attract a wide audience as a general/non-BL drama. I'm taking comfort in the fact that the source material is a collection of short stories, so it doesn't feel too incomplete at the end of Season 1.

"well, that ... happened"

A lot of the ADs released in 2023 are said to feel like the work off a "production line"/流水线. It does well enough to maybe satisfy the fans of the source material and fans of the voice actors, but there's not much that's special about it to draw you in if you are not already interested, and is far from realizing the full potential of the story and the AD medium. There were a few shows that I had been very emotionally invested in, but ultimately they were a bit underwhelming.

The Demon Venerable’s Wistful Desire/魔尊他念念不忘

Yuan Mingzhe/袁铭喆 x Ma Zhengyang/马正阳

Probably the most well-received drama out of the three here. The source material -- a comedic xianxia transmigration story -- helped it stand out in field a dominated by modern urban dramas. I didn't find the story to be particularly compelling or innovative as a fantasy/xianxia story, but the voice actors gave solid performances.

Flower Vase/花瓶 -- (on Manbo)

Peng Yao/彭尧 x Liu Sicen/刘思岑

Does anyone still remember this show from last year? Flower Vase is an iconic novel in the scum gong/substitute/crematorium sub-genre, and because it's short and relatively old, there are already two complete free Web Dramas (and more incomplete ones). This work is good, but not enough to make most people willing to listen to this story again or really stand out over the free versions. I liked this one mostly because I was (and still am) in a phase about Liu Sicen's voice.

Morbid Attachment/诟病

Wen Sen/文森 x Yuan Mingzhe/袁铭喆

I'm a fan of Zhe-ge and Wen-laoshi to downright unreasonable degrees and even I have nothing to say about this drama except "it finished." Seriously, you have these two on your cast, in an extremely popular story that features a pop star, and we have like two and a half songs, no duet, and not a single song from YMZ. I still put it on when I want to hear their voices, but it definitely didn't deliver on the potential of one of the most popular stories on Changpei.

"not bad but I had higher hopes "

All of these are based of very popular novels that I read and liked but didn't love, and I ended up feeling the same way about the ADs. It's a coincidence that Taikang has leading roles in all of them.

TGCF/Heaven Official's Blessing/天官赐福 Season 1

Chen Zhang Taikang/陈张太康 x Su Shangqing/苏尚卿

Since the AD is based off the new revised version of TGCF that me (and most people) haven't read, it's hard to tell if the show has completely misinterpreted parts of the novel or if it's just new content. I can't truly dissociated TGCF from the unpleasantness of all the fandom drama, which dampens my enthusiasm for it quite a bit. However, I'm happy enough with both the production and the performance in the 2023 release that I listened to it a few times. But at an emotional level, I'm just not as excited as I expect myself to be for a project of this level of fame and quality.

Swallow the Sea/Tunhai/吞海 Season 2

Zheng Xi/郑希 x Chen Zhang Taikang/陈张太康

It took me a while to realize why I was struggling with Swallow the Sea. It's hard to follow mystery/procedural stories if you are only getting 40 minutes of content once every week -- you would have forgotten everything by the time the new episode airs! I never realized before because I got into AD's late enough that a lot of iconic shows (like Modu and Poyun) have been completed and available for binging. Now I think I'll wait until this one finishes all its seasons.

Thrice Married to Salted Fish/三嫁咸鱼 Season 1

Ma Zhengyang/马正阳 x Chen Zhang Taikang/陈张太康

I felt a bit underwhelmed by the novel when I finished it, and I wouldn't have cared for the AD at all if it weren't a collaboration between Ma-laoshi and Taikang. Ironically, I really love the ending theme, which the audience hated so much the studio had to put out a new mix. Maybe this story is just for people with very different tastes?

Everybody's talking about you

I haven't listened to these yet, but I heard so many good things about these three in the past year.

Qiang Jin Jiu/The Ballad of Sword and Wine/将进酒

Yuan Mingzhe/袁铭喆 x Jiang Guangtao/姜广涛

Does this need an explanation? After its surprise return just before Chinese New Year, the newest (free) episode racked up more plays in a few weeks than entire seasons of some ADs. This is what a real superstar looks like!

But personally, I plan to wait until the series finishes first. I waited for almost two years for Season 4 -- I can wait a bit longer for an indulgent binging experiences.

The Selfish Gene/秉性下等

Shun Zi/顺子 x Sun Lulu/孙路路

This drama has the closest thing I have seen to "universal acclaim" in the AD fandom in 2023. It's one of the few 2023 dramas to break through 10 million play count, beating out many productions with bigger IPs and more popular voice actors.

I definitely want to listen to it, but now I want to wait until I'm in the right mood to really enjoy it.

Stealing The Wind But Not The Moon/偷风不偷月 -- ("Voiced drama"/Audiobook, on Ximalaya)

Sang Yuze/桑毓泽 x Yang Chaoran/杨超然

2023 saw a lot of activity in the 有声剧 area. I think of them like audiobooks because they keep most of the narration, but they are still called "dramas" and the actors still put a lot into their character performances.

This production has been received very well, especially compared to the audiodrama that is currently airing on Mao'er. I held back on the AD because of this, even though I have been very excited about a Liu Sicen x Shun Zi collaboration. However, I'm not sure I want to get into a new platform for this, even though it definitely put Ximalaya on my radar.

I'm waiting to see how it goes ....

Some series are off to a strong start, but there's still a long way to the end ...

I Became a God in a Horror Game/我在惊悚游戏里封神 (Season 2/?)

Shun Zi/顺子 x Dao Mei Si Le/倒霉死勒

Season 1 have play counts that can rival TGCF, and Season 2 seems to be starting off strong after arriving at the end of 2023. The hype alone has gotten my interest, but then I realized it would take probably 10 seasons to finish this novel, so I think I'll wait a bit first ...

The Reincarnated Minister/再世权臣 (Season 1/ ?)

six people x Dao Mei Si Le/倒霉死勒 [NP]

I heard the plot of this novel is actually quite good, and I am really impressed with the quality of the free episodes. However, this novel is looooong, and I'm not sure I will enjoy the NP outcome in the end. But if they can keep up the good work for a few more seasons (lol years?), maybe I could be tempted into getting into this.

A Clear and Muddy Loss of Love/泾渭无间 (Season 1/?)

Hao Tian/浩天 x Xu Xia 徐佳琦

Unlike the other two, I followed Season 1 of this one as it released.

GL deserves more love, but I'm not very optimistic about this drama carrying through to a satisfying conclusion in a timely manner. A novel of this length would normally take 4-5 seasons on Mao'er, but its stats are not encouraging. In the final of episode of Season 1, they did that ridiculous montage that rushed through so many things, probably trying to save on costs. I understand GL has a smaller fanbase than BL, but it's still disheartening to see one of its biggest IPs being handled liked this ...

A Special nod to a few web dramas

The amazing labors of love we get to enjoy for free.

"Spoil"/作践 (Web Drama/网配, completed)

Zhao Chengchen/赵成晨 x Gu Chen/顾辰

(2021-2022, 12 episodes + 1 extra). I only listened to the first four episodes, which prompted me to read the novel, but then I found it a bit too dark for me to want to revisit AD. That being said, I am very impressed with the episodes I heard, especially the screenplay. I didn't feel lost at all even before I read the novel. It set up some complex scenes and conflicts very clearly, better than many for-profit dramas imo.

The Golden Terrance/黄金台 (Web Drama/网配, in progress)

Xu Xu Dian Deng/续续点灯 x HolyNight

(2020-- ?, 7 episodes so far) This drama didn't update in all of 2023. I lost hope when then other version finished, but then they suddenly came back with a long new episode early in 2024! I think this adaption is a bit more abridged than the one that already finished, but fingers crossed that they finish this!

"Dao Zhan Shan He"/ 刀斩山河 (Web Drama/网配, incomplete)

Shang Tong/商桐 x HolyNight [switch CP/verse]

(2020-2022, 6 eps) The production officially ended, which is a real shame because it was pretty good for the parts it covered. I listened to this because I really liked the novel, and it actually encouraged me start exploring the other Web Series that has been abandoned/incomplete, because the good work of the staff and actors deserve to be appreciated even if they didn't have the resources to finish the story.

The most disappointing ....

Mr. Melancholy Wants to Live a Peaceful Life/忧郁先生想过平静生活

Wen Sen/文森 x Sun Lulu/孙路路

I'm disappointed with this drama, but I sort of understand why it came out this way. The novel plays heavily off dramatic irony to carry its humor and suspense, and that is hard to express in audio -- at least, I don't think there is a well-established formula for it. However, I still think it could have done much better to cover the scenes and action in a straightforward manner.

The Return of Cambrian Period/寒武再临

Guo Haoran/郭浩然 x Ma Zhengyang/马正阳

I can understand why "Mr Melancholy" is hard to adapt, but I really, really don't understand why this straight-forward, plot-driven action adventure has turned out so poorly. The episodes are too short and fragmented to engage listeners. A lot of the dialogue could have been edited during adaptation to make it more natural and smooth. Many scenes use music and sound effects that are very cheesy and dated, which almost sounds like an inside joke about the age of the novel that no one wants that at the expense of quality. It's just a long list of little problems that seem incomprehensible for a production that had the budget to hire an all A-list cast.

"Tan Lian"/贪恋

Wen Sen/文森 x Yuan Mingzhe/袁铭喆

My favorite voice actors tackling an original screenplay! I was so excited, but ....

the story is just not good, to the point I'm wondering how did everyone get through making this AD, because it makes so sense as a narrative! If it's a comedy, maybe everyone can at least get some laugh out of it, but it has be a angsty scum gong story. "Confusing and miserable" just don't make an appealing combo.

Final Thoughts

When I first got into danmei in 2022, I mostly listened to the "backlog" of famous productions, and I was really blown away by the quality and variety. 2023 was the first year of me "following" the current releases, and it was a little disheartening tbh. The industry seems to be a at a turning point, experimenting with new people, genres and formats, with varying results. Maybe it will work out better in 2024.

[aworldforastage]

latest obsession: demon-hunting "best buddies" from tenth century Japanese aristocracy

(poster from the Chinese audiodrama)

I'm talking about the Onmyōji stories by Baku Yumemakura, which is about on Abe no Seimei, a famous master of onmyōdō who lived during the Heian era in Japan. In Baku Yumemakura's short stories, he is a handsome but eccentric young man who solves mysteries involving ghosts, demons, and other evil occultists. Accompanying him is his friend Minamoto no Hiromasa, a nobleman and musician. The series started in 1988 and has spun manga, movie, and video game adaptations.

As with most of my entertainment, I discovered this franchise because earlier this year a Chinese audiodrama based the series was released. The main voice actors, 袁铭喆/Yuan Mingzhe (Seimei) and 赵成晨/Zhao Chengchen (Hiromasa), are familiar names for the danmei AD crowd, but the story is technically not romantic and not BL, so the play count is rather low despite raving reviews for the production and performance.

(Posters from the audiodrama)

Although there is no explicit romance in the original stories or the adaptations, Baku Yumemakura apparently confirmed that Seimei and Hiromasa love each other but do not know it. In the AD, they really nailed that sense of adoration hovering between the boundaries of friendship and something more.

There are also two live-action Japanese films, Onmyōji released in 2001 and Onmyōji 2 in 2003, which have attracted some English-speaking fans to the franchise. Since I never read the original novels, I only know the characters' personalities from the adaptions, which already vary between versions. Hiromasa has very intense himbo vibes from the movies, while Seimei feels a more overpowered and other-worldly in the AD.

I have been happily indulging in the fanfics while I take a break from reading original novels. I'm super happy and grateful that a seemingly small fandom has such so many prolific writers!

[aworldforastage]

audio fandom hours: The Return of the Cambrian Period/寒武再临 Trailer drop!

After a few very slow weeks on Mao'er FM, we get surprised with this star-studded production from Tencent and Voice Gem, with 马正阳/Ma Zhengyang and 郭浩然/Guo Haoran in the lead roles, and a absolute feast of side CPs:

Yuan Mingzhe/袁铭喆 as Liu Feiyu + Wen Sen/文森 as Tang Yanqiu

Zhao Yi/赵毅 as Chen Shao + Dao Mei Si Le/倒霉死勒 as Wu You

Liang Dawei/梁达伟 as Shen Changze + Shen Lei/沈磊 as San Ming

Zheng Xi/郑希 as Chu Xingzhou + Jiang Guangtao/姜广涛 as Rong Ran

Yang Zai/羊仔 as Mu Fei + ... another version of himself as the Demon Pine Tree?

The iconic Ji Guanlin/季冠霖 is also here (as Dai Kuilin), 斑马/Ban Ma-laoshi is playing cat who can't talk yet, and Shan Xin/山新 is playing a young male character.

The production value sounds fantastic in the trailer, though that doesn't always transfer into the drama proper. But we have high hopes because so far, this show looks like nothing if not expensive. It will air Fridays starting on Dec 22.

Fans have been getting antsy with Mao'er because it has not announced any new danmei dramas after a lot of shows finished airing in November. This trailer is a pleasant surprise and has racked up 40K+ views in just 12 hours. It certainly knows how to get people excited, bringing back familiar CPs and exciting new pairings.

I'll probably wait for audience reception to the AD to decide if I want to read the novel first, but it's something to look forward to in 2024!

[aworldforastage]

paused reading: Desharow Merman/德萨罗人鱼 by 深海先生

[from the draft box: Oct 5]

I'm about halfway through but I think I'll pause or slow down for now.

Synopsis [based on the first 60 Chapters]

Near the end of the Cold War, Russian biology student Desharow joins the research expedition of his dreams to search for merfolk, an elusive but well-documented creature in their universe. Their vessel captures a mature male merman, who seems uniquely interested in Desharow, while Desharow himself is too engrossed by the creature to notice the anomalies surrounding their mission.

The merman, Agares, escapes containment and eventually forces himself on Desharow. As Desharow struggles with his personal fear of Agares and the admiration and sympathy he feels for him as a biologist, he gradually recovers old memories that may explain their connection. Meanwhile, the military interest in merfolk research causes one complication after another, and their ruthless actions may be more dangerous to Desharow and regular humans than these mysterious creatures of the sea ...

Thoughts

The relationship and personal arcs are not really working for me. The warnings/tags on novelupdates very much apply. The main couple takes nearly half the novel to overcome their *significant* inter-species language and communication barriers, which also means I haven't seen much satisfying relationship development from their less-than-ideal first encounters.

My greatest motivation to keep reading is knowing the final arc is called "Rise of the Merfolk: World War III" (according to the chapter listing on Baidu) , which sounds really interesting because I haven't read a lot of modern-setting stories with wild premises like that.

The plot so far has been quite a ride. We go from research vessel -> military mission -> pirates -> Americans soldiers disguised as pirates??? -> secret Nazis??? -> sea creatures and whirlpools and maybe wormholes -> surprise connections to WWII atomic weapons ...

So yeah, right now the plot does look very much like it's headed for "World War III" territories, and I'm not even sure it's going to be humans vs merfolk or just between the humans.

Meanwhile, as I was reading, season one of a commercial audiodrama dropped on Mao'er, featuring Yuan Mingzhe and Hu Liangwei. Everyone was freaking out about how this smutty novel would get an adaption, and unfortunately it did have some issues, and debuted one week later than originally announced.

Not sure if and when I'm coming back to this novel, so that's it for now ...