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!
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Thank you for your detailed feedback! Yes, the collapse of a great country (from within its elite) caused a lot of waves. The only country in the world - a social state with free medicine and education, has disappeared. Under their ruins, burying many millions of people who could not survive the disappearance of their country. What do we have leftover? On the one hand, independence, on the other hand, the prerequisites for neo-colonialism. People have become poorer. Former communists, became exploiters. Not all of course, but those who were originally hypocritical. The generation of the 90s saw it all. The reviewer is right. The original story in Russian. This is an attempt to translate into English. The grammar is Russian, and tracing paper is English. Well, as an author, I need to study in more detail the construction of phrases and sentences from the point of view of English grammar. But the main thing is to start writing and studying, I think in 1-2 years I will be able to write more or less tolerably in English. Each Asian country had a destiny to become a colony of another European country. Every Asian, African people knows at least two languages - their own language, and the language of the empire, whose colony was their country. The cold war is lost. English - now you need to know it in order to communicate with the world. Need to learn new :) The name of the fictional country "Small-An" actually has a real basis during the Tang Empire, as one of the principalities of the kingdom of Tsao was called (Just one of the territories of Central Asia). At that time, from the 6th to the 8th century, this kingdom was a vassal of the Tang empire. Probably because the character does not question, he believes, which means he considers some things to be facts. Since his background, like that of many residents of Central Asia, is communist and then some went into atheism and free love. And others found faith. Therefore, the worldview of the main character is simple, he tries to follow the 10 commandments. That in the 21st century is perceived by some as something archaic. During the communist doctrine, the character’s family fell under political repression, so the view of the world is different. Not typical. And after political repression there were clan repressions. Therefore, the character’s look was not at all typical for a free person. He has a character stable stamps imposed by the ideology and propaganda of the past country. On the other hand, he has self-censorship, but also a desire for free choice. At the same time, he does not tolerate rudeness, rudeness, coercion to choose. The contradiction of Western civilization and Eastern. On the other hand, the character is trying to find common ground. How cool the review is written! The author expresses his admiration and appreciation to the referee! The reviewer was able to get to the bottom of the story! It is respectful! That's what specials mean! With appreciation
