2024 Baihe Reading Round-Up

[douqi]

I read 19 baihe novels and two baihe novellas this year. Here's the full list in order of when I read them, with links to my reviews where available.


1. Traitors' End (诛佞, pinyin: zhu ning) by Liu Yuan Chang Ning (流鸢长凝), a historical romance that veers unexpectedly into political intrigue towards the end. Review here.

2. Revolutionary Road Season One (革命之路, pinyin: geming zhi lu; later retitled to The Path of Life (生命之路, pinyin: shengming zhi lu)) by Ning Yuan (宁远). Contemporary mostly-realist novel focusing on the lives and loves of four childhood friends. Review here.

3. Revolutionary Road Season Two by Ning Yuan. Sequel to the above, with more melodrama. Discussed in the same review.

4. Dynasty of Beasts (禽兽王朝, pinyin: qinshou wangchao) by Yao Yi Chang An (遥忆长安). Very bleak historical novel about a female prince and her obsession with her father's wife. Review here.

5. The Wayward Disciple (孽徒, pinyin: nie tu) by Jiang Yi Shui (江一水). Xianxia shizun romance that failed to live up to its promise, though with interesting world-building elements. Review here.

6. Scrapped (谁将报废, pinyin: shui jiang baofei) by Lü Bu Wei (吕不伪). Near-future sci-fi thriller that's ultimately about creativity and humanity in the age of AI/late capitalism. Gripping but bleak read. Review here

7. Ravenous (护食, pinyin: hu shi) by Ning Yuan. Fun, gloriously pulpy urban fantasy. Review here.

8. The Guest (嘉宾, pinyin: jiabin) by Yu Shuang (鱼霜). Novella whose tragic ending would have worked better if there had been a clear thematic through-line. Review here.

9. The Favourite (宠爱, pinyin: chong'ai) by Da Ying (妲婴). A xuanhuan novel with an intriguing premise and world-building, most of it unceremoniously dropped in the back half in typical early Da Ying style, but which I still found weirdly enjoyable. Review here.

10. Divination (打卦, pinyin: dagua) by Chui Feng Cheng Qu (吹风成曲). Contemporary supernatural thriller with great banter between the two leads, but needed more detail on the world-building and much better pacing on the romantic development. Review here.

11. Above the Fates (万丈红尘之轻, pinyin: wanzhang hongchen zhi qing) by Si Bai Bai Shi Si (四百八十寺). Corporate thriller that was not as smart or compelling as it was hyped up to be. Review here.

12. To Embers We Return (焚情, pinyin: fen qing) by Ning Yuan. Ambitious historical cyberpunk with well-drawn, complex characters, dramatic emotional entanglements, and great action scenes. I'm currently translating it so am not in a position to provide an objective review, but yuerstruly has helpfully posted one here.

13. A Broken Bough (折枝, pinyin: zhezhi) by Kan Chang Ting Wan (看长亭晚). Compelling historical novella focusing on the stifling, co-dependent relationship between a princess and a noblewoman. Review here.

14. I, Qinghuan (一世清欢, pinyin: yi shi qinghuan) by Wu Xin Tan Xiao (无心谈笑). Well-known tragic shifu romance which did not at all live up to the hype. The author's grasp on the wuxia genre was also uneven. Review here.

15. Hunger. Lust (食色, pinyin: shi se) by Ning Yuan. Fun, food-themed contemporary romance with screwball comedy notes and some moments of melodrama. Review here.

16. The Little Alpaca (小羊驼, pinyin: xiao yangtuo) by Wu Liao Dao Di (无聊到底). Transmigration novel in which the protagonist ends up in the body of the villainess' pet alpaca. Cute, fun and unexpectedly wholesome. Review here.

17. An Endless Story (有终, pinyin: you zhong) by Xiao Xie Chun Feng (小谢春风). Crime thriller I found not particularly satisfying on either the plot or romance fronts. Review here.

18. Serenade of Tranquility (清平乐, pinyin: qingping yue) by Ruo Hua Ci Shu (若花辞树). Court intrigue novel with the author's trade mark sense of historical realism and attention to detail, but let down by its failure to engage fully with its own premise and more than a whiff of 'not like other girls'. Review here.

19. In Love with a Substitute (和替身谈恋爱, pinyin: he tishen tan lian'ai) by Xiao Tan Luan (小檀栾). Quick transmigration novel featuring an agent from the 'substitutes' department of the Transmigration Bureau. Some quite compelling writing in the first half let down by an increasingly pedestrian approach to the transmigration worlds in the second half and a dull, hackneyed meta-plot. Review here.

20. A Difficult Woman (难缠, pinyin: nan chan) by Yu Shuang. A contemporary romance set in baihe writing and audio drama circles. I didn't find this particularly substantial, but it was an easy, pleasant read. Review forthcoming.

21. Something I Need to Tell You (有件事想告诉你, pinyin: you jian shi xiang gaosu ni) by Ning Yuan. Contemporary sort-of realist with sci-fi elements. I'm still working out what I think about it, but my main impression is that it felt like three different novels stuffed into a trench coat. Review forthcoming.

If I were giving out awards:

Best reads: To Embers We Return, Ravenous, The Little Alpaca.
Compact and compelling: Scrapped, A Broken Bough.
Fun and mostly light: Hunger. Lust.
Biggest letdowns: Above the Fates, The Wayward Disciple.
LET ME EDIT YOU: In Love with a Substitute.