Synopsis
Gods. Devils. Men. Red will surpass them all.
Red wakes without memories in a cursed prison – the moonstone mines. To escape, he embraces a dark power that would put him in the crosshairs of cultivation sects if discovered. He must disguise his true abilities while racing to advance his cultivation – outpacing the moonstone mines’ deadly curse.
But cultivating is more than just a pursuit of survival. Red seeks the strength to understand the nature of his mysterious power and the truth behind his own forgotten past.
Review
Review of first two books in the series out till now.
This is a Xianxia fantasy books featuring Cultivation style progression elements.
First off, the cover was brilliant and that’s what prompted me to take a deep dive and all the excellent reviews and rating, got me to try this.
As the blurb states, the story starts off following Red, a mysterious kid in the deadly moonstone mines. It is a ruthless world, where Red has to survive not just the other prisoners but also unknown monsters lurking in the shafts. How he navigates the situation and unravels the mystery behind his own past set up the plot for the series.
To start with, the prose is neat and tidy. It is descriptive in the right places, immersive and conveys the reality and the horrors of the setting really well. The character work is stellar too. Red especially is a superbly written character. The experience of surviving in the mines made him a headstrong and ruthless characters, but also one who shows the right emotions so as to have not lost his humanity. The balance between his casual disregard for life and violence and his near emotionless but continuing support for this sect-mates is just perfect. The side characters all have been etched well and have their own personalities and roles to play and stand out without blending into the background just for support.
The world in itself is very interesting blending political intrigue with fantasy elements of Cultivators, bandits, zombies, necromancers, demons, monsters and what not into one seamless backdrop. Each have their role the play and hey all co-exist without it just becoming a mish bash of different genres. Of course, nearly all of them surround Red in a spiderweb of intents and purposes that unravel throughout the series.
Book 1 was a bit of a slog to get through. First 35% was pretty much about mines and monsters with the plot barely progression and the next 35% was mostly exposition on the Cultivation world and magic system which though interesting to read didn’t really move the plot along. The last 30% was the cherry and the cake and made up for the deficiencies prior. It really upped the pack, the intrigue and the overall experience. It took me nearly a week and a half to get through the first 70% and I binged the last 30% in one sitting.
Book 2 was so much of an improvement. It stuck to the story and the progress was steady from the get go. The political machinations and involvement of demons, necromancers and zombies push Red into a path he’s still not ready to tread and the second half is a nice twist into a challenge set by a unknown by powerful person. Just breezed through Book 2 in two days, that’s how much I liked this.
Overall, the series has done more than enough to retain my interest and I’m raring for the next in series to be out.
If you like a xianxia novel with great prose, intriguing plot and interesting characters, give this one a go.
Highly recommended!
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