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baihe_mediaI've been meaning to write proper reviews for both these novels since literally last year, but as I've been unable to find the time, headspace of energy (due to having had to work 6 to 6.5 days per week since the start of January and still counting, thanks capitalism), short, impressions-based ones will have to do.
The Rose in the Abyss (深渊的玫瑰, pinyin: shenyuan de meigui) by Wu Liao Dao Di (无聊到底) is a sci-fi novel set in a post-apocalyptic world that's been taken over by truly weird mutant creatures who thirst for the taste of human flesh (there's actually a good in-world reason for this). Huge black vines have sprouted everywhere and hang about menacingly in the background, though they never directly attack anyone. Humanity has been squeezed into their last two civilisational outposts: an underground city, and a city in the sky (held up by complicated and ultimately rather fragile technology). Our protagonist is Chai Yuening, the leader of a small mercenary band based in the underground city. While aboveground on a mission one day, she comes across Chu Ci, a mysterious young girl who seems to have lost her memory. Out of pity, Chai Yuening takes Chu Ci home with her, and it soon becomes very obvious (if it wasn't already) that Chu Ci is much more than she seems (i.e. not entirely human).
The novel addresses some very old-school sci-fi themes, chief among them the struggle between saving a single human's life vs preserving the human race as a collective in the face of insurmountable external challenges, and how should society respond to a former human who has become an Other. What I liked about the novel's approach to this is that it's never fully bleak: most characters are doing the very best they can under very difficult circumstances, largely in good faith and with compassion, and the narrative is mostly sympathetic towards them. This isn't the fake edgelord trolley problem setup of 'The Cold Equations'.
The relationship development between the main characters is a bit stuttery at first, but does settle into a smoother rhythm after about the first quarter. By the end, the emotional resolution of the story is very believable (at one point late in the book, I also found myself thinking: this is basically a Demeter-and-Persephone story, with Chai Yuening as a somewhat hapless and non-predatory Hades, but I don't know if the author knows she's written a Demeter-and-Persephone story). I did wish that more had been made of the found family dynamic between the main characters, Chai Yuening's mercenary band, and a former brothel owner they semi-adopt when the underground city starts falling apart, though I do acknowledge they would have been difficult to work properly into the last part of the story (which, plot- and emotion-wise, does require the two main characters to be roaming the post-apocalyptic world pretty much alone and cut-off from their usual support systems). There is also no explicit sex in the book, and only one possible implied, metaphorically-written sex scene near the end, but I can imagine fic writers having A LOT OF FUN with the premise.
Salieri and Mozart (萨列里与莫扎特) by Z Lu (Z鹿) is a showbiz romance between mostly self-taught pop singer Xia Qianzhi and classically trained opera performer Yu Qiutang. The 'Salieri and Mozart' aspect of it is fairly surface: it's shorthand for an established, craft-focused performer feeling that they're being outdone by a young genius upstart. The twist is that Xia Qianzhi sees herself as Salieri and Yu Qiutang as Mozart; the second twist is that Yu Qiutang sees it the other way. This was a very fun read. Xia Qianzhi is something of a tsundere, but does have a sense of humour and is very entertaining when she loses her temper. Yu Qiutang is a millennial with boomer habits, which Xia Qianzhi both deplores and finds endearing in turn: she absolutely will spend mornings doing tai chi and wander around the house in reflexology slippers. She's also earnest and unworldly in a way I don't think is entirely realistic for someone managing an opera troupe, but does set her up for very amusing interactions with Xia Qianzhi. The tone is mostly light and fun, but the book does take its characters seriously, and it does address the darker side of the entertainment industry, including sexual harassment and eating disorders (for once, 'oh, I can't eat that, I'll get too fat to fit into my costume' isn't just a throwaway line). It might be argued that the book wraps up these darker themes too easily and neatly, but that's perfectly understandable, as it's clearly mostly interested in developing the romance and professional rivalry (mostly one-sided on Xia Qianzhi's part) between the main characters, rather than going on a deep dive of the most sordid corners of the entertainment industry (if you want a novel that's about literal torture and murder in the entertainment industry, Ning Yuan's Something I Need to Tell You (有件事想告诉你, pinyin: you jian shi xiang gaosu ni) is the one to reach for).
It's also one of the most overtly political books set in the present-day that I've ever read. There are lots of references to life in national performance troupes, which are directly affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. At one point, Xia Qianzhi receives unwanted advances from a senior figure in the Chinese Communist Party, and I was pretty surprised that the author was allowed to keep this plotline in at all (it was, naturally, completely excised from the censored mainland print edition of the book).
I read the Chinese originals of both novels here and here on JJWXC. For Salieri and Mozart, I also read a print-exclusive extra from the mainland Chinese print edition of the novel.
The Rose in the Abyss (深渊的玫瑰, pinyin: shenyuan de meigui) by Wu Liao Dao Di (无聊到底) is a sci-fi novel set in a post-apocalyptic world that's been taken over by truly weird mutant creatures who thirst for the taste of human flesh (there's actually a good in-world reason for this). Huge black vines have sprouted everywhere and hang about menacingly in the background, though they never directly attack anyone. Humanity has been squeezed into their last two civilisational outposts: an underground city, and a city in the sky (held up by complicated and ultimately rather fragile technology). Our protagonist is Chai Yuening, the leader of a small mercenary band based in the underground city. While aboveground on a mission one day, she comes across Chu Ci, a mysterious young girl who seems to have lost her memory. Out of pity, Chai Yuening takes Chu Ci home with her, and it soon becomes very obvious (if it wasn't already) that Chu Ci is much more than she seems (i.e. not entirely human).
The novel addresses some very old-school sci-fi themes, chief among them the struggle between saving a single human's life vs preserving the human race as a collective in the face of insurmountable external challenges, and how should society respond to a former human who has become an Other. What I liked about the novel's approach to this is that it's never fully bleak: most characters are doing the very best they can under very difficult circumstances, largely in good faith and with compassion, and the narrative is mostly sympathetic towards them. This isn't the fake edgelord trolley problem setup of 'The Cold Equations'.
The relationship development between the main characters is a bit stuttery at first, but does settle into a smoother rhythm after about the first quarter. By the end, the emotional resolution of the story is very believable (at one point late in the book, I also found myself thinking: this is basically a Demeter-and-Persephone story, with Chai Yuening as a somewhat hapless and non-predatory Hades, but I don't know if the author knows she's written a Demeter-and-Persephone story). I did wish that more had been made of the found family dynamic between the main characters, Chai Yuening's mercenary band, and a former brothel owner they semi-adopt when the underground city starts falling apart, though I do acknowledge they would have been difficult to work properly into the last part of the story (which, plot- and emotion-wise, does require the two main characters to be roaming the post-apocalyptic world pretty much alone and cut-off from their usual support systems). There is also no explicit sex in the book, and only one possible implied, metaphorically-written sex scene near the end, but I can imagine fic writers having A LOT OF FUN with the premise.
Salieri and Mozart (萨列里与莫扎特) by Z Lu (Z鹿) is a showbiz romance between mostly self-taught pop singer Xia Qianzhi and classically trained opera performer Yu Qiutang. The 'Salieri and Mozart' aspect of it is fairly surface: it's shorthand for an established, craft-focused performer feeling that they're being outdone by a young genius upstart. The twist is that Xia Qianzhi sees herself as Salieri and Yu Qiutang as Mozart; the second twist is that Yu Qiutang sees it the other way. This was a very fun read. Xia Qianzhi is something of a tsundere, but does have a sense of humour and is very entertaining when she loses her temper. Yu Qiutang is a millennial with boomer habits, which Xia Qianzhi both deplores and finds endearing in turn: she absolutely will spend mornings doing tai chi and wander around the house in reflexology slippers. She's also earnest and unworldly in a way I don't think is entirely realistic for someone managing an opera troupe, but does set her up for very amusing interactions with Xia Qianzhi. The tone is mostly light and fun, but the book does take its characters seriously, and it does address the darker side of the entertainment industry, including sexual harassment and eating disorders (for once, 'oh, I can't eat that, I'll get too fat to fit into my costume' isn't just a throwaway line). It might be argued that the book wraps up these darker themes too easily and neatly, but that's perfectly understandable, as it's clearly mostly interested in developing the romance and professional rivalry (mostly one-sided on Xia Qianzhi's part) between the main characters, rather than going on a deep dive of the most sordid corners of the entertainment industry (if you want a novel that's about literal torture and murder in the entertainment industry, Ning Yuan's Something I Need to Tell You (有件事想告诉你, pinyin: you jian shi xiang gaosu ni) is the one to reach for).
It's also one of the most overtly political books set in the present-day that I've ever read. There are lots of references to life in national performance troupes, which are directly affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. At one point, Xia Qianzhi receives unwanted advances from a senior figure in the Chinese Communist Party, and I was pretty surprised that the author was allowed to keep this plotline in at all (it was, naturally, completely excised from the censored mainland print edition of the book).
I read the Chinese originals of both novels here and here on JJWXC. For Salieri and Mozart, I also read a print-exclusive extra from the mainland Chinese print edition of the novel.
