So after my rollercoaster adventure with "The DUMB Husky and His White Cat Shizun," I have started reading another Chinese BL novel which I saw from pinterest entitled "Sha Po Lang" by Priest. It's quiet intriguing and based from some feedback I read, it has a good story too and the author is kind of poetic, so I tried it...
And here is my view about it.
I would like to agree with those feedbacks as this story is really worth reading. I love the characters in the story😍 especially of course the main characters: Gu Yun and Chang Geng.
Gu Yun is kind of shameless but his shameless is something you won't find annoying but rather cute. Honestly, I think, he's like Wei Wuxian but more than. Chang Geng, then, is a sweet little bean but because of his so called 'mother' he has to control all his emotions or else it would drive him out of sanity.
Both of them are smart. I like how they would strategize and manipulate the enemy. It feels like you as a reader would be playing mind games with them, too. I would like to commend Priest for a well-written plot and well-described action scenes. Priest likes to use a lot of metaphors especially Chinese metaphors so if you don't know any of it, then there's a possibility of getting lost. Luckily, the translator is explaining everything...but, I still tend to get lost.
However, if you're the type of reader looking for romance, I guess, you won't be satisfied with it.
Well, I like how Gu Yun and Chang Geng's love developed. I like the tension between them, but for me I am still like looking for more...
on the part they did *it, honestly, I don't know whether the translations have lapses or my reading capabilities are still lacking, but it used too much metaphors that I failed to grasp the s*x part... I mean, I wonder whether it happened or not. Then on the latter chapters, when Shen Yi asked if they did it, Gu Yun answered (not verbatim) yes, and I was like, really??! So they really did it...but how?! Well, I guess, I was just used of if not a detailed love scene, then at least a simple but direct one like in Erha. It's my first time to read a love scene that used too much figures of speech I wasn't able to distinguish that they were already doing it😅 (why do it seems like it's my main concern?)also, perhaps my reading comprehension is really bad, there are chapters where I wonder how they arrived on that conclusion...
There are too much mysteries on the story. If you wouldn't read it thoroughly, you would fail to get it, yet it would make you turn to pages after pages. Eventually, you would fall in love with the characters. Aside from the emperor who is eaten by his jealousy hence he becomes irrational, every character is intelligent. You also need to look forward to Gu Yun's 'soul-crushing tune' that could make the enemies fall😅. You would feel awed how they would analyze each scenario.
It just that, it has too many metaphors 😭
Finally! I finished reading it! 😭 I was so happy at the same time sad that's it's already done. Somehow, I was also able to figure out Priest's writing style so, on the latter chapters I was no longer wondering in the dark. And it really makes me awe how poetic and eloquent Priest was. No explicit content, but the intimacy of the characters is sooo heart warming.
This novel is just so perfect.
Recently, I'm reading Lord Seventh and Faraway Wanderers. All I could say is if you're looking for strong, witty, intelligent, and humurous characters, and a well-interwoven plot, you definitely have to read Priest's works!! It might be painful at the beginning (if you're a first time reader and not used of metaphors), but 💯 worth it.
