Volume 3 of
Case File Compendium is about the aftermath of the sexual assault in the
previous volume. If the reader is hoping for soul-searching, deep conversations,
healing and understanding, they will be sorely disappointed.
He Yu
plunges deep into his psychopathy, living in a reality of his own, where his
actions aren’t his fault, and pushing himself in Xie Qingcheng’s company—and into
the older man’s bed. He’s still demanding answers for what took place when Xie Qingcheng
resigned as his doctor. The latter isn’t willing to tell him anything, and only
gives in to He Yu’s forceful demands to get rid of him faster.
Xie Qingcheng
wants nothing to do with He Yu. He’s deeply traumatised by what took place, and
he hates He Yu with passion. However, since he bottles everything in,
he simply goes on as if nothing has happened, his rage surfacing only on occasion
with He Yu. Reader feels both annoyance and sympathy for him, as it turns out
he’s coped with hardships this way all his life.
Life keeps
throwing the two together, and they end up on the set of a same movie
production. Things get so bad that the reader starts believing this will end
with either of them killing the other. But before their hatred peaks, a serial
killer shows up and the two are caught in his web.
This was a difficult,
heavy book. On one hand, I’m happy that the events of the previous book aren’t
glossed over here, but there was nothing light to give the reader even a
breather. Even the revelation of the source of He Yu’s madness didn’t ease
things, as it’s a tragic story too.
We mostly
follow He Yu as he descends into his madness. The brief lucid moments are
always followed by worse delusions and violence. And Xie Qingcheng’s suffering isn’t
any easier to witness. There aren’t even any side stories and plots that would
take attention away from the two even briefly. And just as the plot changes a new
gear, the book ends in a double cliffhanger, with Xie Qingcheng ready to reveal
one of his secrets, and the pair in a mortal peril.
Nevertheless, this was a good book. He Yu’s mental illness is believable and Xie Qingcheng’s suffering relatable. It’ll be an agony to wait
for the next book, but I’m invested in the story now. It’ll definitely need all
the remaining several volumes before any sort of HEA can be achieved.
Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav Barsukov
Sleeping Worlds Have No Memorycombines two novellas, Tower of Mud and Straw that came
out 2021, and its follow-up, City of Spires, City of Seagulls, with a brief
intermission, The Man with All the Gifts, between them that gives the reader
insight into the actions of one of the characters in the first book. I read and
reviewed the first book in 2021 and liked it very much. You can read the full
review here.
In the first novella, Shea
Ashcroft, an aristocrat and politician, is sent to a remote town to supervise
the construction of an enormous tower. It’s a punishment, and he takes it as
such, but he’s willing to do his job as instructed. But when he learns that the
tower will lead to a destruction of the world by opening a portal to another
world, he has no choice but to destroy the tower.
The first
novella ends there, with the reader convinced that Shea has plunged to his
death with the tower. But he’s saved, in a manner that fits the world and doesn’t
come across as a deus ex machina solution. But now that Shea is alive, he has to face the consequences of his actions. Everyone knows he’s
the one who destroyed the tower. The queen herself comes to his trial to make
sure he’s executed for treason.
Shea isn’t
willing to wait for that. With the help of an enemy spy, he flees to her
country, only to end up in even more trouble than before. Now he’s the captive
of their prince who wants him for his information about the tower. Because the
tower Shea destroyed isn’t the only one. It’s about arms-race, and the enemy
isn’t willing to be left out, no matter what they say about destroying their
weapon too.
Meanwhile
Brielle, the engineer of the tower who was stranded in the alien world in the first
novella, struggles to find her way out before she dies of thirst or is killed
by a giant baby throwing a tantrum. But what happens when the two worlds
collide?
In the end, there’s only one choice for the other tower too, and Shea
knows it. Reality has changed already though, even if there are only two people
who know about it. Or maybe it has always been like that...
Second
novella is slightly more action driven than the first, but equally compelling
and the narrative tone remains similarly pensive as in the first, as Shea now
has new deaths on his conscience. Both Lenas feature too, even after death;
Shea’s sister in his memories, and the alien woman in the pages of her diary
Shea is reading for clues about the tower. The second novella ends in a better
place for Shea, but the ending is open enough that the reader can’t be quite
sure how he’ll fare from now on. Hopefully he’ll get what he wished for.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The City in Glass is a story of a city, a demon who loves it, and an angel who loves the
demon. It’s set in an imaginary world close enough of ours to be recognisable
in some parts, though not immediately identifiable as a particular culture or specific
time. A distant past, maybe.
Vitrine is
a demon, an immortal being of high emotions and capricious nature, but not evil.
She’s arrived to Azril centuries ago when it was still a shanty-town of
pirates. With love to its people and the town itself, she helps it to grow to a
bright jewel, watching its fortunes ebb and flow through time. And then, out of
the blue, four angels arrive and destroy the place and the people.
Only ruins,
ghosts, and Vitrine’s rage remain. In her anger, she curses one of the angels,
planting a part of her essence in his heart. Unable to return to his own plane
of existence with other angels, he stays in Azril, watching as she begins to
clear the destruction to make way for the town to reborn again.
The two don’t
like or understand each other. Her anger doesn’t ease, but he offers no
explanations to the angels’ actions. Years and decades go by as Vitrine clings to
her grief, reminiscing the people she’s known. The two barely interact, but
they are each other’s only company. Until she drives him away. She would want
it to be forever, but in the end, she sets a limit of fifty years.
When the
angel returns, he wants to bring refugees of a war to Azril to repopulate it. She
demands a huge sacrifice of him to let them come. He agrees, and so the city
comes alive again, and the cycle of watching it grow starts anew. It’s not the
Azril she’s known before, but it’s her city and her people and she loves them. But
it’s now his city too, much to her upset.
This was
such a wonderful read. It doesn’t really have a plot that would advance from
point to point. Instead, we walk the streets of Azril remembering the past with
Vitrine, so named because of a glass cabinet in her heart where she holds a
book with names of all the people of Azril—and the angel’s sacrifice. Years,
decades and then centuries flow past, and the city grows under Vitrine’s supervision.
Not that humans really know she’s there.
The angel
comes and goes. He doesn’t speak much, but the reader sees him change from a
cold vessel of judgement and destruction to a person who cares about the people
of Azril as much as Vitrine does. Her anger eases eventually, and his love for
her grows, though we have no indication of it other than that he keeps
returning to her. He’s never named, and even at the end she refuses to ask his
name or add it to her book. Instead, as a show of her love, she gives him her city—or gives him to the city.
Even
without a traditional plot, this was a compelling read. The tone is pensive, but the pace is good,
the language is rich, and Vitrine is ever changing like her city. The ending
was a bit of a surprise, and while it made an impact, it’s sort of disappointing in the way it was handled.
(MINOR SPOILER AHEAD)
I would’ve
liked for her to set him free, like she did to everyone she loved, something he
struggled with. She does ask if he wants it, but he doesn’t want her to ask. For
me, it meant he wanted her to give it voluntarily as an act of love, but she
takes it to mean he doesn’t want it. And although he goes to his fate
voluntarily, I would’ve found it more meaningful if he’d done it free of the
curse too. It’s a small mar though and doesn’t in anyway lessen my enjoyment of
the story.
I received
a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The second volume picks up where the previous left, i.e. right after the bedroom scene. The
book description says the men part as enemies, but that’s not the case. Shen Zechuan
simply leaves as if nothing has happened. He’s not affected by what took place
between him and Xiao Chiye at all, which irks the latter greatly, prompting him
to tempt the first at every opportunity.
But things
have changed between them and the men find themselves scheming together. It doesn’t
show outward though, and Shen Zechuan even manages to manipulate matters so
that Xiao Chiye is suspected of a wrongdoing, with the full knowledge and
co-operation of the latter. Shen Zechuan even makes sure that Xiao Chiye doesn’t
come to a permanent harm.
There’s
abundant of court intrigue going on too. Someone is making several attempts at
the emperor’s life, and the heroics of Shen Zechuan in saving him help his
star to rise in the court. He can’t become complaisant though, and has to work
relentlessly to keep his scheming going.
Both men
are busy and it keeps them apart. Whenever they come together, heat begins to
build, leading to some of the most erotic non-sex scenes I’ve read in a while.
The indifference Shen Zechuan affects is only a show and Xiao Chiye can melt
him in moments. The two are brilliant together, in and out of bed, matching
each other in scheming and passion.
The story
is much more compact than in the first book, taking place during a couple of
months. A lot happens during it, and at the end, the men are better off than
after the first. And like the first book, this ends in a middle of what
promises to be a good bedroom scene. It’s as well written and logical with all the complicated court issues as the first, keeping me entertained throughout. I’ll definitely read more.
Have you ever
watched a TV adaptation of a book that you like, which has changed the entire
premise, much of the plot and some of the characters, has a completely
different ending and a lousy sound quality, and still somehow manages to be
better than the original? I hadn’t either, until I watched a Chinese TV series
Guardian - Zhen Hun (2018). Some spoilers ahead, especially about the ending.
Promo photo of Guardian with Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.
Guardianby Priest is
a Chinese boylove web novel from 2012 that’s recently been published
in English for the first time. It was in three volumes, and I review them here,
here and here. It tells the story of two gods who meet at the creation of the world.
One is a soulless creature of the underworld, Ghost King, accidentally created
by the god of mountain, Kunlun, with other gui. Kunlun ends up sacrificing
himself to keep Chaos, Ghost King’s twin, from getting free from the
underworld. Distraught, Ghost King makes a deal with gods: Kunlun gets to
reincarnate endlessly while he guards the seal on Chaos and the two will never
meet.
Promo banner for Guardian by Priest.
Ten
thousand years later in present day China, the two meet. Kunlun is now Zhao Yunlan,
director of a Special Investigation Department that investigates supernatural
crimes, with no knowledge of his past. Ghost King is Shen Wei, a mild-mannered
professor of mythology, who knows who Zhao Yunlan truly is and has met him
often in his true form as a Soul-Executing Emissary from the underworld. Romance
ensues. But Chaos is about to get free again, and another sacrifice is needed
to stop it from happening. This time Ghost King is determined to make sure he’s
the one who dies to protect the man he loves.
The TV
series has none of that. I can only presume that government censorship and
rules about what can be shown on Chinese TV had a huge role in changing the
premise. Instead of a fantasy about gods and mythological creatures, it’s sort
of sci-fi, at least on the surface. All the gods and supernatural entities are
now aliens with psychic powers who came to earth ten thousand years ago. Science
is emphasised instead of magic and supernatural. Shen Wei, who is an alien
called Black Caped Envoy, battled with his twin, Night King, and sealed all
aliens to a subterranean world where they’ve been ten thousand years. In
present day, Zhao Yunlan is a head of a department that investigates crimes by
escaped subterraneans. Shen Wei is a professor of physics. And Night King is
about to get free and challenge humans once again.
Promo photo of Guardian with full cast.
For the
same reason, the TV series couldn’t openly be a gay romance either. In the
book, Zhao Yunlan pursues Shen Wei relentlessly from the start. There are
kisses and bedroom scenes, though behind the doors. Bonus chapters show the two
living their normal lives as a couple. Everyone is very accepting, and those
who aren’t are communicated with until they are.
Nevertheless,
the romance is the backbone of the series as well. And it works perfectly. The
director had taken a leaf out of the playbooks of Jane Austen adaptations.
Passionate emotions are supressed with ruthless determination and only surface
in the characters’ struggle to contain them, perfectly portrayed by the expressive
faces of the actors. Fleeting touches get a greater meaning than they would otherwise
have.
Promo photo of Guardian with Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.
In forty
episodes, there’s a lot of room for the relationship to develop. We are shown
how the men constantly put the other’s safety and wellbeing before their own,
often to a detriment of their own health.
Promo photo of Guardian with Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.
But instead of declarations of love
and happily ever after, we get the only way the two have for expressing their
love: self-sacrifice for the other and for the mankind. It only works in
fiction (don’t try it in real world), and even though it’s not what I would’ve
wanted for them, it’s an amazingly satisfying ending.
Promo photo of Guardian with Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.
There is
also more room for character development. In the book, the side characters
weren’t given enough time for their own stories and relationships to develop.
In the series all the side characters were given ample screen time and good
personal stories that were only hinted at in the book. Zhu Hong, the main woman
character who was sidelined in the book, had a good arc from a woman besotted
with Zhao Yunlan to a leader of her people, and I was especially happy with how
the friendship/relationship of Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi played out. It was
portrayed as a found family and brotherhood, but it was the secondary romance
in the series that was only hinted at in the book.
Promo photo of Guardian with Xing Peng and Jiang Mingyang.
All of this
was done on rather cheap looking sets, with fairly simple CGI and truly bad
sound editing where the voices of the actors were dubbed by different people in
post-production. Those knowledgeable of the production informed me that the company
ran out of money before the series was finished, and it showed. All the money probably
went into the clothing of Shen Wei who looked stylish throughout the series,
although other characters’ wardrobes improved towards the end too.
Promo photo of Guardian with Gao Yuer.
Nevertheless,
the sum grew beyond its parts. A lot of it is thanks to the excellent actors
portraying Zhao Yunlan (Bai Yu) and Shen Wei (Zhu Yilong, who portrayed four different characters, even if three were basically the same person), but it’s also
because the story was given time to grow. The publishing format of web novels
tends to make the stories a tad confusing at times, because there’s no
returning to earlier chapters for editing after publishing. Much of the book is
taken by Chinese creation mythologies and other stories, which were fine but
didn’t really advance the story.
Compilation of Zhu Yilong as Black Caped Envoy, Shen Wei, young Black Caped Envoy and Night King.
The book
began as an urban fantasy about supernatural investigations and turned to an
epic fantasy, after which the spooky atmosphere of the first book disappeared.
The TV series kept the investigations going throughout, even if they were never
as scary as in the first book. The chainsmoking of Zhao Yunlan was replaced by constant munching of lollypops, which they managed to turn into a mildly erotic moment at one point.
Promo photo of Guardian with Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.
The romance was slightly forceful in the book,
whereas the stolen touches and fleeting moments of intimacy in the series truly
made an impact. The contrived way the series tried to keep from mentioning
anything supernatural got a bit comical at times, but it didn’t lessen the
enjoyment. The ending was a bit hasty in both, but both were good. A kiss on
screen would’ve been perfect, but it wasn’t to be. And so, in the end, I liked the
TV series more. Both are good, but one is better.
Photo of Guardian with Zhu Yilong and Bai Yu.
Books are
available through Seven Seas Entertainment and on most retail sites. The TV
series is on Youkustreaming service with (badly translated) English subtitles.
Here’s a bonus video on YouTube someone has compiled of the best moments between the men.
And for those who are still on X, one of my favourite scenes I couldn’t find anywhere else.
