I am so very late with this review. However, every good story is worth being savored (pun intended). Before delving into the subject, I would like to mention that I have read up until chapter 5 and the following comments only pertain to these aforementioned chapters. I must say that the three first chapters may be, without a doubt, the most satisfying chapters I read for a long time. Some readers haver called them exposure-heavy, and for people who have no interest, or no very basic knowledge, in Soviet history, these chapters may appear as arduous and long. To me, however, they truly illustrated the author's mastering of history. What transcended through these few chapters, and that according to me sets the tone for the whole story, is the fact that the author does not believe in extreme ideas. The concepts of perfect good or perfect evil do not seem to apply to this work. There is a constant search for equilibrium and empathy. These few first chapters send such a strong message against discrimination, underline its nefarious effects on the development of societies and announce that the author wishes to underline the importance of food, yes food, as a source of growth, a source of development and a way to bridge our differences. And all of this, through a coming-of-age tale in the form of a cultivation story. Writing Quality: I feel that the writing quality in English of this story does not do justice to the talent of the author. I believe he might be thinking in Russian when he writes, and often this translates to the Russian syntax being transposed into English. At times this might make it more difficult to grasp what the author wishes to convey if one does not have a pre-existing knowledge of Russian. However, my having some pre-existing knowledge of Russian, I can assure that this is an excellent writer. And as we say, practice makes perfect. The more this author will write in English, the more he will polish up his skill and one will have the chance to say that one knew him when he was just beignning his "career". Story Development: As previously mentioned, the first three chapters were supremely interesting. They mixed actual postmodern historical facts and happenings with spiritual beliefs proper to, what I would believe, Central Asia. The beginning is so important in explaining how the main character came to be, to explain his thirst for discovery and knowledge that is at the basis of every good cultivation novel. Character Design: I personally feel that we have discovered little about the main character's personality so to say. We know his backgrounds, we know how his quest began. There is a description of his personality, however there does not seems to be a transposition of what we know to be his personality into his thoughts and actions. The character seems to be accepting of certain things as facts, without questioning them, though said things might be surprising and destabilizing to normal people. However, I believe that this is actually the norm in cultivation novels and thus cannot go into depth. I believe that as the story progresses more of the main character's personality shall be uncovered. World Background: What truly makes this story fascinating is how well the author blends realism with fantasy. He can make one believe that indeed all that is written that pertains to fantasy is true. This is the best type of fantasy, a sort that blends in organically with our own reality. It makes us belief that we can be the heroes of our own fantastical story. No vampires, werewolves and the likes here. Rather, one is invited to take part in a journey accompanied by spirit animals. Overall, a read that promises a lot and delivers it quite well!

First and foremost, I would like to commend the author for writing this wonderful novel! Despite not having English as their first language, the author has depicted the story very well. From the story development, character design and the world background, everything is written well. It can be seen that the author did a lot of research for this novel. The novel is like a whole new world, having its own system and all that. As I have not read a similar novel before, I can't compare it to others. But I should say that this novel is great! I learned a lot of things as well! I will certainly read this once more after the author finished their rewriting or editing. Keep up the good work and good luck, author!

Well, joking aside, your world background is pretty detailed. Well, pretty much all of the characters and background are well detailed. And I think It's actually good how extremely detailed this is. Even though this novel has many details about world background or whatnot, It still didn't bore me and I actually appreciate this story of yours. Well, keep up the good work and stay safe from the Covid-19

I thought it was a simple food novel, but I was wrong. so wrong. It was all about food but so much more than food at the same time. It is deep and questions and addresses the most basic principles of human society and how they function. The narrative is a different, it felt more of a tell than show, like a documentary. But it has its own interesting perspective in telling the story. The dialogues are somewhat broken and confusing. The world background sounds like some ancient world with empires, wars etc but it seems to be set in the modern world with latest trinkets and all. Overall its a interesting story that stands out from most of the other stories in here.

As someone who loves food and history, this novel is really interesting. Honestly, this is the first time I read this kind of story, and I pretty much enjoy it. I appreciate the author's seriousness in doing the research needed to write this novel. Hopefully someday I have a chance to try some of the real recipes in this novel :D :D

It was a lit book about cooking and stuffs. The vocabulary and grammar were superb, but there was a time when I feel like it was a bit hard to digest. Sometimes the sudden change of pov also made me a lil bit confused. However, it didn't disturb the other thing as it was still understandable. I recommend this book because the author sure did a lot of research before he wrote!!! It was full of historic and some unexpected things.

What a nice plot..... I love the story, it gave insight on other culture especially their food. Strong mc . well written and Unique story. You did a good job in given the detail. Keep it up.

As a cook myself, it is fascinating to know the gourmet practices of other culture. This indeed very descriptive in terms of complexity of taste. This is a good read for foodies! There are some hiccups in the technicality of writing, which is the grammar. However, that is something that could be easily improved. Although, I do have qualms in some concepts that are explained elaborately. If it is a concept or idea that is already elaborated prior, like in encyclopedias or dictionaries, you do not have the need to explain it to a lengthy extent in your novel, since the readers will do that in their own minds. Withal, if it is a concept unique to your story, then please do elaborate it in your writing!

The story was well thought by the author and it was researched carefully. The narration of the story was excellent and the pace was slow, so it will be likable to the slow-paced readers. For the new readers, please check this book when you like foods and as well as a slow paced story. Congrats author for a great work! I will review again if I finished the book.