Take a photo of a barcode or cover
unforth_duckprintspress's Reviews (1.13k)
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've already read a fantranslation of this entire book but I'm absolutely delighted by the official English translation, it reads so smoothly, and I'm absolutely ready to fall in love with Wangxian all over again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail
Internalized homophobia, mild dubious consent
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you've read other DMBJ books you know exactly what to expect; you wouldn't be looking at Book 6 if you didn't already get through the nonsense that is the first 5. Compared to those I'd say this is one of the better ones, though it's the last officially translated into English and it leaves a LOT of loose threads so it's definitely not gonna feel conclusive or anything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood
Minor: Vomit
Amnesia, snakes, bugs, probably others I'm not thinking of.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
If you've read other Graverobber's books, you should have a good idea what to expect.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Animal death, Gore, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's definitely not perfect, but I enjoyed it a lot overall, even compared to much of the other danmei I've read. It's got a solid, heavily political plot, with layers in layers of stuff going on, and despite the stakes being very high it all works out in a way that's plausible. The main ship (mlm) is loveable and have a fascinating dynamic. I'd definitely recommend this to danmei fans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Torture, Kidnapping, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Half the ship definitely has a consensual non-consent kink and wants to get tied up/controlled, but everything they do is consensual.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Aside from a rushed ending, Book 4 has been one of the strongest and most cohesive installments so far. It was nice to get some answers to a lot of the mysteries broached thus far - especially in the first two books. Unsurprisingly, we were left with a whole lot of new questions, but it would be The Lost Tomb without that. :D I enjoyed this one a lot, and read it in only a few sittings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Violence
Moderate: Blood, Murder
Don't read these books expecting coherence, just go along for the ride and roll with whatever insanity Wu Xie runs into next.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
I feel like I should write a "real" review but honestly I can think of no reaction beyond the incredulity I wrote in my blog so I'm just going to copy and paste that (and edit out the curse words, and block out the entire thing as being spoiler-ridden.)
I finished reading the third book of the Graverobber’s series last night (as in, the books by Lei Xu that the Lost Tomb series’ are based on) and can I say, from the bottom of my heart,
WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK
did I read?
Like, I don’t know what about that book is more abso-dang-lutely insane. Is it that we’ve now gone THREE ENTIRE BOOKS without the protagonists name ever being said? Is it that there’s never any explanation for how this entire other group of grave robbers know so much about this place, yet it never occurs to Wu Xie that this might become a problem again in the future? Is it the fact that I’m absolutely positive based on how the first two books went that none of this will ever be relevant again? Is it that once again, they’ve gone an entire book without getting basically any loot? Is it the absolutely ridiculous amount of random stuff that’s perpetually in their bags, yet somehow Wu Xie NEVER seems to put together that that’s because of the tree, even at the last extreme when he oh-so-fortunately finds a flare gun? Is it the realization that Wu Xie finds this tree that can grant any wish, learns it can control people, knows that it’s powers can be extended by carrying parts of it away, and then just kinda shrugs, goes, “well that’s a thing that happened” and never talks about it again? Is it the casual, “oh, look, the bronze tree reincarnated undead youthified corpse of my oldest friend’s mom kinda looks like she has an evil gleam in her eye and I know they’re both impossible hell beasts that will likely murder people just for funsies and then feed their blood to a snake god so they can make lamp oil but I guess I’ll just never think about it again” which is a LITERAL PARAPHRASING of the last sentence of the book? LIKE THAT’S LITERALLY WHAT HAPPENS WHAT?????
WHAT. THE @$^@$%. IS THIS BOOK???
WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK
did I read?
Like, I don’t know what about that book is more abso-dang-lutely insane. Is it that we’ve now gone THREE ENTIRE BOOKS without the protagonists name ever being said? Is it that there’s never any explanation for how this entire other group of grave robbers know so much about this place, yet it never occurs to Wu Xie that this might become a problem again in the future? Is it the fact that I’m absolutely positive based on how the first two books went that none of this will ever be relevant again? Is it that once again, they’ve gone an entire book without getting basically any loot? Is it the absolutely ridiculous amount of random stuff that’s perpetually in their bags, yet somehow Wu Xie NEVER seems to put together that that’s because of the tree, even at the last extreme when he oh-so-fortunately finds a flare gun? Is it the realization that Wu Xie finds this tree that can grant any wish, learns it can control people, knows that it’s powers can be extended by carrying parts of it away, and then just kinda shrugs, goes, “well that’s a thing that happened” and never talks about it again? Is it the casual, “oh, look, the bronze tree reincarnated undead youthified corpse of my oldest friend’s mom kinda looks like she has an evil gleam in her eye and I know they’re both impossible hell beasts that will likely murder people just for funsies and then feed their blood to a snake god so they can make lamp oil but I guess I’ll just never think about it again” which is a LITERAL PARAPHRASING of the last sentence of the book? LIKE THAT’S LITERALLY WHAT HAPPENS WHAT?????
WHAT. THE @$^@$%. IS THIS BOOK???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Murder
Minor: Body horror, Vomit
Don't expect this book to make much sense. Just close your eyes and go along for the ride. If you've made it through the first two, you've got a decent idea what kind of ridiculousness to expect.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I simultaneously enjoyed this book more and less than I expected to. Early on, the first few chapters, I was a little worried about how much manipulation would be involved in the relationship between Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi. Those fears were quickly proved unfounded (so quickly that I'm not even going to spoiler tag it). However, when all was said and done, I didn't feel like Meng Xi Shi *quite* managed to complete the "enemies to lovers" bridge. While there's an author's note about why things are handled as they are, I didn't really find it satisfying, and I'll admit I'm already pondering writing a "fix it" that bridges what I perceived to be the gap. That said, I still enjoyed the book, and I thought the political aspects of the plot were handled interestingly, though again, I could have wished there was a little more detail so that it'd feel a bit more "complete."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence
Minor: Sexual violence
There's some dubious consent kissing between the main two characters, before they're in a relationship.
