"The New Voyages" review

This one is actually a collection of short stories by fan authors, which makes the stories seem more like episodes of the series. It has also the distinct honor of being introduced by Roddenberry and most members of the cast. The stories are generally well-written and in character.

Some spoilers ahead:

Ni Var (by Claire Gabriel; intro by Nimoy) takes the plot of "The Enemy Within", but applied to Spock and the division between his Vulcan rational part, and his human emotional part. Besides the fact that I'm not sure such division works at that biological level, the two Spocks aren't all that different really. And it's not a very novel concept, specially right after a similar plot in previous book "Spock must die". But bonus points for Kirk giving the middle finger to his own reflection.

Intersection Point (by Juanita Coulson; intro by Doohan) is one of the best stories. The Enterprise is seriously crippled while navigating through an anomaly cloud, which is quickly contracting and threatens to crush the entire ship. Anyone who enters the cloud to retrieve a crucial component of the ship, is mentally destroyed by its eldritch qualities. Great tension and difficult choices.

The Enchanted Pool (by Marcia Ericson; intro by Nichols) is an attempt to write a fairy tale with Spock thrown in the middle for good measure. A bit of purple prose, and doesn't quite work. The resolution of the mistery is ingenous, even when convoluted.

Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited (by Ruth Berman; intro by Barrett) is actually the other half of a fanfic (Visit to a Weird Planet, not published here) where Kirk, Spock and Bones end up in the real world, right in the studio where they're filming Star Trek. Here instead, we follow the actors, who appear in the Enterprise and have to improvise to avert a danger. The other story was more fun, since Kirk and co. are more clumsy and hilarious in our world (being even "attacked" by fans), while the actors are just slightly less competent than their counterparts.

The Face on the Barroom Floor (by Eleanor Arnason and Ruth Berman; intro by Takei) is a really fun story. Kirk gets into a fight in a bar while in shore leave, is detained, teams up with a ratty thief, and crashes a party, while his crew search for him frantically. In the line of TOS best comedy-adventure episodes.

The Hunting (by Doris Beetem; intro by the editors) is a bit "meh". Spock goes into a Vulcan ritual which requires to mind-meld with a wild beast, and McCoy accompanies him. When Spock goes wild in the process, the good doctor has to hunt him and give him back his sanity. There could have been a more homoerotic fight between them, as in "Amok Time".

The Winged Dreamers (by Jennifer Guttridge; intro by Kelley) is another high point. The Enterprise crew falls under the influence of some creatures that make their fantasies seem real. So real that people can actually die if imagining the wrong thing. Spock is less affected, but slowly begins to hallucinate too, and the triumvirate fall into paranoia as neither they (nor the reader) can tell what's real and what's not anymore.

Mind-Sifter (by Shirley Maiewski; intro by Shatner) drags a bit at the beginning, when Kirk wakes up in a sanatory, his mind almost destroyed. It gets more interesting once Spock and McCoy start a quest to search for him. Great interactions between these two, reminiscent of "The Tholian Web".

After the eight stories there's still a little poem about Spock and Leila.

Spirk Meter: 10/10*. Not all stories are equally slashy, but the parts which do, are slashy in spades.

Ni Var has Kirk worrying about Spock all the time, and "human Spock" wondering if what he feels for the Captain is friendship... or love (something which happens too in one of Roddenberry's story concepts for a movie, around this time).

Intersection Point has a clear parallel between the anguish of a female crewmember, after a man (obviously her boyfriend) loses his mind in the anomaly, and Kirk agonizing once Spock has to enter the same anomaly.

The Enchanted Pool, where Spock refuses to kiss a beautiful female time and time again. Even when the woman assures him it's the only way to break a spell and escape. Even when Spock is doing far more dangerous things ALL THE TIME to solve problems. Of course, he considers the kiss a total waste of time once it doesn't work.

The Face on the Barroom Floor: Kirk is invited to a bar by McCoy and Sulu, who have found three women to pass the time, one for each. What does Kirk do? He gets out the bar two seconds later, puts on a samurai costume, and goes instead to a bar full of muscular, rowdy men, to get thrashed by them. Of course.

The Winged Dreamers has Spock wishing to stay on a planet with Kirk, just the two of them, for ever and ever. McCoy totally gets what's going on.

And I thought that Mind-Sifter would be about the love between a (quite unproffesional) nurse, and her mentally unstable patient, Kirk. But oh man, where do I even begin!? For starters, we have Kirk using his mind link with Spock to cry for help, across the galaxy and several centuries. And later he's concerned about how much can Spock read into his mind. Then we have McCoy informing the nurse that no, Kirk can't stay with her, because his love is his career and his... (trails off, having said too much). Gallant Spock carries an unconscious Kirk in his arms, and tells the nurse that, no matter how much she loves him, Kirk DOES NOT love her back (bitch!). If that wasn't enough, there's a lenghty conversation at the end, where Kirk almost melts in love and appreciation for Spock, and the Vulcan blushes at his own emotional display.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

A very simple explanation of why SV, The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, doesn't contain Noncon or any of that shit

WARNING: It's full of SPOILERS, so CAUTION!

I decided to come and waste my time making this thread/post because I've seen a lot of discussions about it. I'm even doing it in English and not in my official language for the simple reason that I've seen more foreigners talking about it than Brazilians.

Well, let's start by making something clear. SV is a BIG, HUGE, SCANDALOUS satire on novels with harem in which EVERYTHING can be solved with SEX.

Did we get that point? Good.

Moving on.

SV, for having this as a central point, often brings criticism and scenes that prove it. I could easily take several, but at the moment I only have the novel in Portuguese with me, and I'm not going to go after the English version just for a thread/post. So you can go and get it for me if you think I'm talking shit. We'll discuss it if necessary.

Back to the point... These parts are scattered throughout the reading and are easily found if you just pay the slightest bit of attention.

Now, you might be asking yourself: "Why the fuck is this crazy woman bringing up all this talk?"

Context, my dear. Context.

Context to talk about the problem I've been seeing: the issue of noncon, lack of consent and 500 other issues.

It's been said that Shen Qingqiu says no and asks Binghe to stop at various points in the novel. And, indeed, he does.

Only he does it at moments that don't involve ANY, I REPEAT, ANY SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP! In fact, if you go back and read it again, and if I'm not remembering wrongly, in their first kiss, he pushes Binghe away and Binghe himself doesn't insist, he just complains a bit, saying that it was unfair that he couldn't do something like that even in a dream. In other words, he basically RESPECTED and didn't FORCE Shen!

Another part to comment on is that, most of the times when Shen scolds or pushes Binghe away, these are times when they are fighting like two primary school children. Their actions, words and everything else carry an incredible childishness.

That scene of them fighting in the demon realm shortly after Binghe finds out that Shen is alive is one of them. (bonus: in it we also have the narrative of Shen UNILATERALLY hitting Binghe, and at NO point does he hit back. He just threatens, trying to scare, but always without actually doing anything.)

The second kiss I honestly don't remember very well when it happened, but I do know that Shen didn't say no or even push Binghe away completely. I vaguely remember him scolding a little, but not explicitly denying it. Which, in my opinion, shows that he himself was perhaps confused by this possible new dynamic in their relationship and was a little afraid of how such uncertain feelings could end up affecting them both.

Now let's move on to the central point: Maigu Mountain.

My novelistic trauma and also SV's most suffocating chapters, where you see just how human, broken and entirely unstable Binghe is. Both thanks to his own mind and Xin Mo's corruption.

The whole Maigu Mountain scene is made to be uncomfortable. It's not supposed to be something nice, something memorable or even enjoyable, whether for Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu or anyone reading.

This scene is the pinnacle of satire and criticism, making it clear how unrealistic it is to expect sex to magically solve all problems. But the important thing here is the fact that Shen Qingqiu KNEW what was going to happen and was WILLING to go through it. Only because he BELIEVED it would work and also because the system pushed the whole situation in that direction.

And please don't even bring Luo Binghe into this discussion. He is one of the biggest victims in this scene. He has NO conscience whatsoever and is completely screwed up and lost in Xin Mo's corruption, even going so far as to ask Shen why he didn't kill him, drive him away or something. In fact, he was completely willing to die, both because of this and because he thought Shen would sacrifice himself for him again.

Apart from that, we also have an extra where the author brings back The Resentments of Spring Mountain and the fanfiction made by the three sisters, making BingQiu read it and bringing us a scene where Luo Binghe himself and Shen Qingqiu themselves read it and say that it's TOTALLY OOC and impossible for Luo Binghe to force Shen Qingqiu to have sex with him. Luo Binghe even makes it clear that he would walk away or kill himself at any sign of discomfort or denial that Shen Qingqiu showed, in whatever form it came.

So, in short... NO NONCON IN SV, RAPE OR ANY OF THAT SHIT! LUO BINGHE IS A CHUNNY WITH TRAUMA AND A BEAUTIFUL CRYING LADY! NOTHING BUT THAT!

I believe we're clear? (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

Wenren E and Yin Hanjiang from Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know

you can read my review on the novel here👇

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (ORV) - Novel Review

(without major spoilers)

Novel Main Character - Dokja

Original Novel - Three ways to survive an apocalypse (TWSA)

ORV by SingShong is one of the best korean webnovels out there spanning 551 chapters. It is an action-packed, apocalyptic, fantasy and a surviver-thriller while also being a sci-fi in disguise. This compelling story is an intense ride from the get-go. The story explores journey of Dokja, an average officer-worker, as his lifestory transitions genres from non-fiction to fantasy, on an auspicious day when the novel(TWSA), which he alone had been reading for the past ten years turns into reality. The world-building in this masterpiece of a novel is simply spectacular. The setting of this world is as such : Dokkaebi - Creatures that stream the scenarios via their channels Constellations - Mysterious beings that watch the livestream and reward the humans who perform well. They are held highly by the dokkaebis.

Insert : [ The constellation, avg. Tumblr content reader, is impressed by how well you summed up the premise.] [ 100 coins have been sponsored.]

While humans are simply the subject of entertainment to these great Constellations. As the story progresses, we see our characters adapting and navigating this unfamiliar reality through their wit and an attribute that they gain upon clearing the very first scenario. There is a lot of moral ambiguity in this story. While Dokja may initially come across as annoying and ruthless to some, try to stick with this novel for a bit long. As all his actions can never be explained by categorizing him as such, he can only be truly understood when you don't limit him to your perceptions. Also not just him, all the relevant characters in this novel have incredible depth to them. Although there is neither romance nor drama elements in the story, the naturally developed bonds between the characters resulting in the emotional intimacy they share compensates for it. The plot twists in this novel are an absolute killer. This novel is a perfect example of plot twists done right. The story is well planned and never gets predictable which is indicated by the amount of foreshadowing it encompasses. ORV also has a webtoon adaptation (a shout-out to the comic fans out there). So unless you are solely into horror, crime or romance genres; I suggest you give it a try. Finally, this novel for me, is an existence that I would forever celebrate.

A novel about imperialism, racism, and ancient Peruvian culture slowly morphs into a magical world of walking statues, glowing pollen trails, and a queer love story through generations. I look forward to reading Pulley’s The Watchmaker of Filigree Street.

7.5/10

I have read Qiang Jin Jiu and honestly think I'll never recover

(Spoilers ahead!)

Oh god, where to start this? Maybe I should start with the very begging: I didn't understood shit. I just saw a kid being tortured and lots of information. When I felt it was too much, I went after the translated map and OMG that was so helpful! Bless the translators for that. After looking carefully at the map, things started to make sense.

As the story went, before the end of book one I was not very familiar with all the characters. I kept mistaking Hai Liangyi for Hua Siqian lol. But during my reading I started to take some notes and was never confused again. The thing is, this book has A LOT of characters and some of them are introduced early but only become major players later (Yao Wenyu, Hua Xiangyi...)

Even though this huge ensemble would make characters easy to forget, this doesn't happen. The author managed to create likeable and rememberable characters pretty easily??? I fell in love with many of them at first read, even if they didn't show up a lot. And there were characters that got me completely off guard, I wasn't expecting them to be so cool and relevant, BUT THEY WERE (Fei Sheng, Kong Liu)! And the antagonists were also brilliant, I love a good story where everyone has a point and no one is actually evil: People from Biansha had their truths and in a war there are no right sides, Xue Xiuzhuo wanted the best for Dazhou (even though I can't forgive what the did to my baby Yuanzhuo), and Li Jianting??? WHAT A LEGEND! Also, Feng Quan plot twist left me speechless, what an interesting character. Every character was very human (in the good and bad way), everyone had their own goals and beliefs. I actually might do a second post screaming about every character because I have a lot to say about them. (hello hasen my love)

The Plot??? Perfectly done. AND WELL EXPLAINED! I was always a little afraid of reading novels with a lot of politics, but I really dug this one. The problems with grains, provisions, registry, army and BRO THERE WAS EVEN SOME AGRARIAN REFORM SHIT

The way this author write the MOST well written battles I have read, without using any magic... it's just... I never thought I would be so enthusiastic about cannons, rocks and GRAINS.

The conflicts in Zhongbo could be all repetitive, but they weren't at all. Each prefecture that Lanzhou took back had a interesting story.

The war with Biansha was also brilliantly written. The way Amu'er was attacking Dazhou from the inside out and the scorpions with those hammers??? My man was a genius. Sadly, he could never have predicted Bai Cha and her son.

Talking about that, the family relationships are a great point in this. Seeing flashbacks about Lanzhou, Ji Mu, Ji Gang and Hua Pinging made me CRY! They were so happy... And seeing Xiao Chiye with his brother and HIS DAD LIKE... Xiao Fangxu and Ji Gang best daddies. Fei Sheng and Yin Chang too, what a beautiful chapter the one that they talk after Fei Sheng has a fight with Qiao Tianya.

Talking about Qiao Tianya, it was refreshing to see a novel with more LGBT characters. The secondary pairings were great, they didn't steal the spotlight from cezhou, but were very enjoyable (even though THAT happened between Songyu). I just wished we could have seen more Qihua moments and OH GOD KONG LIU AND LUO MU??? That got me truly off guard, wasn't expecting at all. Also, I found really interesting how Lanzhou basically got a LGBT parade following him at the end, that was truly the gayest empire ever. I have so many headcanons here, let me scream them: Xue Xiuzhuo is AroAce, Li Jianting is a non-binary legend and Huo Lingyun a Bi King. Also, Fei Sheng is not straight. Said it.

The little animals in this??? I WAS TERRIFIED WHEN LANG TAO XUE JIN FELL IN THAT HOLE YALL I THOUGHT HE WAS GONNA DIE. But luckily he didn't. Meng, Hunu, Feng Shuang Ta Yi were all the cutest, I need more novels with cats.

THE CHILDREN - Ding Tao, Li Xiong, Xiao Xun and Jiran. They served chaos, humor and cuteness. I really liked whenever they showed up.

THE LADIESSS - If you have read my other posts you know I love some powerful women. This story did not disappoint me in that sense. Hua Hewei had some despicable acts, but she really got everyone on her hands despite never leaving the inner palace, good for her. Hua Xiangyi is a way better version of her aunt, my girl was smart and cared for the people, an amazing woman. QI ZHUYINNN owns my life, I really adored the fact that she was a badass and that she never hated the fact she was born a girl, slay. Bai Cha was really out there helping women that were sold and their children, that is some real sorority there. Lu Yizhi was so kind, loved seeing her interactions with Lanzhou. Li Jianting was everything, her story was one of the saddest and yet she was doing her best to become a ruler. Duo Er'lan was amazingly brave, even more than Hasen, mad respect for her.

And last, but definitely not least, there is cezhou. I have no words to explain how much I adored these two. The way both of them got their own development and had their own private goals and went after them, so good. They are so well written that I wanna scream. The chapters that are focused on Lanzhou's feelings are not big in number, even when he is the main character, his feelings are shown in discreet ways (the handkerchief!) and most of the time we don't know what he is plotting or thinking. But when we take a peek at what's going inside of his heart, it's... astonishing. And I love seeing how he actually cared for the side characters, even though he doesn't show a lot.

And Ce'an kind of caught me off guard, I thought he was going to be a totally different character but he went and delivered

Xiao Chiye was a perfect fit for Lanzhou and Lanzhou was a perfect fit for Xiao Chiye: they were both in similar situations where only them could understand each other's suffering, and after they leave Qudu we see how much of a match made in heaven they are (not just romantically, but strategically).

THE SEXUAL TENSION AT THE BEGINNING YALL... They were scheming/fighting and flirting at the same time. Iconic.

Read this, you won't regret it!

By the way, I started reading the story in December and finished by March, but I completely forgot to post this! College has been frying my brain these days.

Hopefully I will resume my Sha Po Lang reading and come back here to tell my opinions on the book. (Not sure when though.)

See ya!

𓆝 ! — Xiao Zhang.

Carrd

Autor : Wu Zhe

Capítulos : 101 capítulos + 3 extras

Género : Vida estudiantil, conflictos familiares, amistad, moderno, romance.

Mi calificación : ★★★★☆

Le gustan las pirtuletas. No lo llames pollo. Muy feroz pero también llorón. Recógelo y devuélveselo a Lin Wuyu.

Tenía ganas de una lectura ligera escolar y de romance que me ayudara a sanar el corazón y esta fue la novela ideal para hacerlo. Hace bastante estaba entusiasmado con leer algo de Wu Zhe y esta fue la primera novela que me motivó, especialmente por los artes que tiene que son preciosos.

Nos presenta a dos chicos de personalidades totalmente diferentes y que en un inicio no imaginaron que podrían volverse amigos. Ding Ji, un chico especializado en la lectura de la fortuna con excelente memoria y capacidad de análisis, y Lin Wuyu, el conocido Dios del estudio, siempre el primer lugar, se conocen en un parque y el primer pensamiento de Lin Wuyu sobre Ding Ji es que ¡definitivamente es un estadador! No imaginaron que terminarían apoyándose mutuamente para salir adelante ante sus conflictos.

El desarrollo de su relación romántica es algo hermoso de ver, partiendo por el inicio de su amistad y como poco a poco van tomando confianza, hasta el momento de darse cuenta de sus sentimientos románticos. Lin Wuyu salió del clóset en el primer capítulo, pero no fue el mismo caso para Ding Ji que ni si quiera antes se había enamorado. Esta historia tiene una de las confesiones más humanas y sinceras que he conocido, mostrándonos todas las etapas del proceso, desde el miedo, la incertidumbre a la esperanza y el cariño. El miedo de nunca haber experimentando sentimientos de ese tipo y cómo ir enfrentándolo poco a poco, ya sea la misma situación de empezar la relación o el contar a la familia.

No solo muestra un vínculo romántico de gran desarrollo, también nos presenta conflictos familiares desde temas del abandono a la manipulación emocional, la soledad y la independiendencia a temprana edad. ¡En esta historia odiarás a todos los padres! Pero si tienes algo contra la verdadera familia de Ding Ji (sus abuelos y tía) tendrás que meterte conmigo.

El apoyo y el amor incondicional, el dolor y el rechazo, la compañía y la soledad, esperanza y crecimiento. Todas esas son cosas que vas a encontrar aquí.

La lectura se siente ligera y refrescante, tiene muchos momentos en que sonreirás y reirás como bobo, pero también en que llorarás y sentirás impotencia. Ellos muestran una forma de amor genuina y especial, del paso a paso. Te juro que subirán tus expectativas del amor cuando hayas terminado de leerla.

No solo la familia es importante, sino que además la amistad y compañerismo, todos los personajes secundarios tienen algo especial y es asombroso el avance de amistad entre Lin Wuyu y Xu Tianbo (su mejor amigo e interés romántico inicialmente), o el nivel de apoyo entre Ding Ji y Peng Peng.

Si estás en el mundo del danmei seguramente leíste cosas que te destrozaron cada parte de ti, ¡pero no te preocupes! Xiao Zhang toma cada trocito de tu corazón y lo repara. ♡

ok after the initial shock of 'tf did i just read?!🙃' I'm ready to offer my two cents on Big Dragon the novel

SPOILERS AHEAD (I'm on phone and don't know how to add a cut)

[it's a short novel and the extras (if any) are not available in english so it feels pretty rushed in the middle, the translation is bad so please bare with me]

it's a wattpad novel alright, the sex is constant and overwhelming, like it's a live character, it makes as many appearances as the two leads, literally every encounter they have post the video taping scene ends up in Dragon (Mungkorn) (hate?)fucking Big(Yai) senseless for hours on end (ok i know og novels of bls are badddd to begin with so credit to production team for wringing something anything palatable out of this hot mess)

these two have a violent history going back to freshman year, this part is pretty much glossed over in the series so far, (but they talk about it at the end of the novel so let's see) they have beaten the crap out of each other on several occasions before the fateful night

later they have some revelations through jealousy and half assef communication, and start (?) dating, but it's too anticlimactic as they're practically living together even before they realise they actually love eachother and Big announces this to his father* and officially moves in with Dragon, Dragon is dragging Big to mostly his own occasionally Bigs apt to fuck him raw every time Big does something out of anger or jealousy, they don't talk and resolve their issues they just fuck and move on to the next issue, rinse and repeat for a looong time

*yes the Big's father is a good father, a lovable goof and loves his son to no end, at least that parts pretty good i like this version of fathers

the bodyguards are pretty much bg characters and their relationship with their masters isn't as fleshed out as in the series but it's hinted so ok

the sister is mentioned once and there's no sign of a previous or new mother in Big's life,

they both have a string of ex female lovers and neither go exclusive for each other from the get go, they still try to date other women but Dragon doesn't get jealous until a man is involved with Big, Big on the other hand is jealous of anyone within a 2meter radius of Dragon

phi Da ain't his dominatrix, i was disappointed but again hat's off to the production team!

now the big engagement or should I say the non engagement, we get so lil of the lesbian couple! urgh! the girls simply run away to England with Dragon's help and Big finds out as they're about to leave, so it's a pretty short lived heartbreak that leads to their mutual confessions, it's a pretty much non existent plot

dragon's parents are never mentioned again

And now for the faen fatale the episode 11 material the big shabang the short lived breakup is caused by *drumrolls please* an mpreg scare!

yes you read that right and ohhh boyyy if they keep this in the show!! we're IN for a ride mates, like it's not funny, they never once laugh about it, it's real, real pain real emotions flying everywhichway, real heartbreak over mutual misunderstanding and lot of confusion,

like i said, A+ episode 11 material!! totally cursed 👌

Big in his streak of jealousy and being cut off from Dragon's lil dragon for too long drinks a "scientific potion" he got at a rave that it's inventor claimed can make men pregnant (worth mentioning - everytime Dragon ignores him for work for days on end, he does some stupid shit, he's a total bitchass princess about it, and ends up getting fucked raw, everytime)

now several months later, after the post engagement reconciliation, Big starts throwing up left and right and can't stand stinky food like fish, he thinks he's pregnant (enter the entire video of I'm pregnant you're not pregnant here coz that's what happened) again through miscommunication Big thinks despite Dragon wanting kids he just doesn't want one with him and wants him to abort it,

so Daddy's lil princess runs back home full dumped preggers mode and his father's just like 🤷 ok I'll take care of my grandchild that bf of yours can go fuck himself! while Dragon is actually concerned for his bf's life coz how the hell he gon deliver the babee?? (their himbo brains just *chef's kiss*) there's some mention of uterus but the translation is so bad i can't make head or tale of that part,

they finally talk and understand each other(?), a night of ceaseless pounding ensues, next day Dragon makes a doctor's appointment and the doc tells them flat no preggers here, they come back home and bawl their eyes out in eachother's arms, well Big more than Dragon, Dragon's just happy his bfs (ass) gon be safe, Big is disappointed he won't get to use the baby names he picked out (yes he did that)

and just like that they move back togather and continue to fuck till the end of times

(there's some talk about future kids and more dumbassery from Big about him not being able to get pregnant but that's to be expected after Dragon having fucked his brains out for over a year now)

for the finale Big takes Dragon back to the renovated club so they can "make some new good memories in the old place" where it all started,

and it ends as it started, with a big bang fest at the same suit (now renovated) two perfectly fucked up bookends to a perfectly fucked up story (affectionate)

*bows in you're welcome*

REVIEW: Mo Dao Zu Shi

AVISO: Tá cheio de SPOILERS, então CUIDADO!

Vou começar esse aqui sendo bem sincera e deixando claro que já faz um bom tempo que li, portanto, a maior parte já ficou meio embaçada e perdida na minha memória. Mas vou tentar o meu melhor! MDZS é, sem uma melhor colocação, uma jornada política com certo romance. Você vai se encontrar em meio a esquemas, tramas e alguns momentos tão gays que vão te dar vontade de dar um soco na parede. Tipo, estou falando sério. A cena da declaração não sai da minha mente até hoje. Não consigo superar o fato de que o Wei Ying escolheu JUSTO aquele momento incrivelmente tenso para finalmente cuspir o que tanto estávamos esperando. O melhor nisso tudo é o "vilão", que ficou apenas de lado nessa hora e meio que incentivando tudo, como se ele próprio já estivesse de saco cheio e quisesse juntar aqueles dois de uma só vez, não importando o custo ou o que. Isso realmente me pegou demais. Agora, deixando isso de lado… MDZS também faz um trabalho incrível com toda a descrição de cenário e emoções dos personagens. A escrita foi muito bem dividida em todos os momentos e te faz conseguir sentir com clareza o quanto a autora se dedicou ao longo do caminho. Algumas pessoas podem acabar se sentindo desmotivadas ou até mesmo confusas graças a quantidade de flashbacks. Mas, por favor, não ignore ou passe apenas o olho neles. Alguns podem até parecer irrelevantes, mas no final, você vai acabar descobrindo que todos e tudo nessa história estão ali por um bom motivo. Outro ponto atrativo nessa leitura foram sem dúvidas os personagens. E não estou falando dos principais! Claro que eles são importantes e MUITO interessantes, mas eu realmente gosto de como os secundários conseguiram me fazer prender a respiração algumas vezes. Além de também terem feito a proeza de mexer demais com as minhas emoções, me fazendo querer chorar muito e começar toda uma revolução por causa deles. Acredite em mim, essa é uma verdadeira vitória. Não sou das mais emocionadas, muito menos costumo sentir muito quando não é nada relacionado aos principais, então foi bem curioso… Resumindo, é uma ótima novel que recomendo para qualquer um. Mas não como uma primeira leitura se você nunca leu nada parecido. Isso porque você pode acabar se sentindo facilmente perdido e desanimado com a quantidade de informações, os nomes de cortesia e toda a balela de cultivo com o bônus político. É preciso ter alguma paciência para essas coisas. Então é bom ter uma certa determinação ou muita dedicação se você quiser ler MDZS e ele for seu primeiro contato com esse gênero. Acho que disse tudo o que eu queria. Espero que você leia e goste!

The Man With the Scarred Neck

My post about Aron Beauregard's novels did its job. It brought me new reading material.

I got to read @sanityisforlosers The Man with the Scarred Neck. On the scale of splatterpunk 1 to WTF this was a 3. It had plot. It was engaging. I had to know what happened next. So I read it all.

I do appreciate the preface note and the warning at the beginning of the book. The author's letter to the reader was also an awesome touch. I also was grateful to see the help and resources for victims page. The author did a great job on helping their readers understand the idea behind story.

This novel would be something I would recommend that my partner read that wouldn't scar him for life. He has a very high standard for splatterpunk/horror novels and I feel this would pass his test.

I give The Man with the Scarred Neck a 4 stars out of 5.

If you have any other recommendations for me, please let me know.

In the novel "Doctor Faustus" by Christopher Marlowe

Faustus had given his soul to the Devil Lucifer in exchange for knowledge and power for 24 years

Just like Faustus, I want to do the same. I wanna offer my soul to the devil Lucifer and Mephastophilis

"Planet of Judgment" review

A novel from 1977, by Joe Haldeman. It begins with a rather generic "stranded on dinosaur planet" plot, but then the story becomes far more unhinged and entertaining. By the end, I was wondering what drugs was the author taking. So yeah, recommended novel, for sheer insanity.

As usual, Spock is gay. Also, McCoy is probably gay too.

Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise arrives at a strange rogue planet, with its own artificial sun. Of course Kirk has to investigate the anomalous planet (aptly named "Anomaly"), and he lands there with some security guys in a shuttlecraft. The fact that the transporter doesn't work, should be hint enough that this planet is trouble. They encounter giant beasts similar to dinosaurs. Also pterodactyls. And soon discover that the usual laws of physics don't apply as they should. Their phasers only work on stun, they have no communications, and the shuttlecraft is dead. So far, no redshirt has died, so the Enterprise sends another shuttlecraft with more redshirts just in case. At last, since it's obvious everyone is trapped on that planet, Spock decides to send three more shuttlecrafts with a ton of people (including himself, McCoy, Chapel and Uhura) so the party can begin.

The first part of the novel deals with the crew trying to survive in the wild environment. There's also two strange, stream-of-consciousness scenes to show Kirk and McCoy's dreams. The crew spots some hominid creatures that they take for cavemen. Also, two redshirts finally die. One being half-eaten by a giant flower, in a surprisingly gory scene. There's more body horror ahead, as one injured redshirt vanishes suddenly, and returns the next day significantly changed. He has no eyes, ears or nose, as if they had never been there in the first place, and hair is quickly covering his whole body. It's discovered then, that the supposed cavemen are actually a very advanced telepathic race, and have mutated the crewman into one of their own, to better communicate and study the humans. (By the way, the crewman is very happy with the changes.)

The aliens, called Arivne, only need the scientists (Spock, McCoy and three others) for their experiments, so everyone else is sent back to the Enterprise. Then, they force them to relive traumatic moments of their past, in order to learn things like "decision-making" or "betrayal", which their species, living in perfect unity, doesn't know. There are interesting glimpses into Spock and McCoy's past, as part of these visions. Such as Spock being bullied by his human cousins as a child, or McCoy's divorce. It's finally revealed that the Arivne are doing all this to prepare against the attack of other, insectoid aliens, that will soon invade the whole galaxy (McCoy describes one as an "ugly son of a bitch"). The aliens, called Irapina, are sending first three champions to test the waters. If Spock, McCoy and Kirk (who's been returned to the planet to not miss the fight) can defeat the three Irapina, they'll withdraw to invade another, less interesting place (like the Romulan Empire).

This is where things become really, really weird. As the battles against the Irapina take place inside hallucinations, that can nonetheless kill the loser (a bit as in "Spectre of the Gun"). Come to think of it, something similar happened in "Spock Must Die". These early novels truly loved their hallucinations... We have McCoy battling the baby Irapina in a poker game, set in the Wild West. Which ends with McCoy decapitating the alien with a card. Yeah. Spock takes a math quiz on a sinking game board. Then Kirk fights in a naval battle against pirates, while Spock is busy inside a star, trying to make it go nova (Spock has practice with this, as earlier he had created a volcano by pushing to the surface from a planet's core).

Anyway, it's all gloriously crazy. Even though the ending seemed a bit rushed. There are also some seemingly abandoned plot threads. For example, the love triangle between a female scientist, another guy and a professor. I thought that these three characters would have more relevance later on, but eventually, nothing is done with them.

Spirk Meter: 7/10*. I was determined to give this novel a low rating, even a zero. After all, how slashy can it be if Kirk and Spock barely interact? It turns out, it can be fairly slashy... For starters, the most traumatic experience in Spock's past that the Arivne could find, was his battle against Kirk in Amok Time and the thought he had killed him (the whole sequence is taken from Blish novelization, which is a rather lazy way to fill pages, if you ask me). Relieving the scene makes Spock cry actual tears. Then, what is Spock's biggest worry while stranded on the planet? Being eaten by dinosaurs? Nah! The greatest danger for him is that Chapel would try to seduce him! Even though poor Chapel doesn't even interact with him in the whole novel, and has been nothing but professional. He goes as far as suggesting that McCoy seduces her, to get rid of Chapel himself (too bad for Spock, McCoy's gay too; more on this later). So far, this isn't much. But then, near the ending, it's Spock's love for Kirk that saves the whole galaxy once more. During the final confrontation, the Irapina cheat at the game and merge the two hallucinations: Kirk battling on the pirate ship, and Spock creating a supernova. If Spock succeeds at his test, the heat from the nova will kill Kirk. Of course, he chooses to fail his test and die himself, so Kirk has a chance. He does it out of "logic, morality, and a vestige of an emotion he might deny: love" (direct quote). The Irapina hadn't predicted such sacrifice in the name of love, so they declare the battle null, which gives Kirk and Spock another chance.

This is as far as Kirk and Spock are concerned. Now, what's the deal with McCoy? For starters, during his dream sequence, he wonders about the fact that he has never been truly interested in a woman, not even his wife. Later, Spock asks McCoy to explain sex and love to him, since he doesn't understand why Chapel is so interested in him. McCoy explains that women (and men) are attracted to power, which Spock has; intellect, which Spock has in spades; fairness, which is congenital for Spock (these are his words); and of course, that mysterious aura of strangeness, that is so very Spock's... And yeah, it doesn't seem AT ALL that McCoy has reflected a lot about Spock's appeal... After this, Spock asks him to seduce Chapel himself. McCoy refuses as he doesn't see Chapel that way. Spock assures him that he won't ask him to do anything against his nature, to which McCoy becomes very defensive. There's a long passage then, where McCoy ponders about his reasons to prefer the other female scientist in the party (all very un-romantic, practical reasons) over Chapel. As well as the fact that, despite being familiar with the female body because of his work as a doctor, he kind of fails when it comes to women. Something that he can't confess to Spock, but has confided to Chapel; the reason why he can't see her as a lover, and why Chapel can't be attracted to him either. What does Chapel know? It's also noteworthy, that this whole scene serves absolutely no purpose for the plot, since Chapel disappears from the story quite early and nothing happens between her and Spock. Last but not least, during the re-enactment of McCoy's divorce, we learn that a major reason for his wife abandoning him is that she was sexually frustrated. And neither of them were happy in their marriage. McCoy doesn't take it so bad, joining Starfleet right afterwards... So yeah, in my opinion, there's something about all this that screams "closeted homosexual".

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

REVIEW: Heaven Official's Blessing

WARNING: Contains numerous SPOILERS, so CAUTION!

<< REFERS TO THE UNREVISED VERSION >> This is the author's third work and also her longest. TGCF, unlike SV which seems to focus more on the emotional and MDZS which focuses more on themes such as forgiveness and overcoming, seems to pay more attention to the feelings and relationships between the characters. The fact that the MC, Xie Lian, has lived for just over 800 years is definitely not something that can be easily overcome. Having lived, felt and related to numerous types of people over such a long period of time, it's completely natural that he would end up making extremely difficult decisions or be driven to almost irreparable psychological damage. In fact, I still find it incredible and truly admirable how he managed to overcome and move on even in the midst of many things. Even if there were moments in the current timeline when you can see that some of those wounds were merely treated, but never truly and completely healed. Most of his relationships in the beginning are completely in ruins, and don't seem to have any chance of recovery. But even with all that, he has still managed, not to mend, but to patch up many wounds that have emerged over the years. The other characters were also written and developed in a very human way, which was an unparalleled point of attraction in my opinion. What really stuck with me was that no one in this story can be described as entirely good or evil. Everyone walks a fine line between these two sides, fighting and doing the best they can for themselves, their loved ones and for a hope of happiness. All their decisions, actions and emotions are extremely relatable if you simply put yourself in their shoes without having any kind of prejudice in mind. They show that we can all reach a point of no return if we are pushed to the limit. Moving on, another crucial point in this story is undoubtedly the romance. It was developed in a very sweet way. So sweet that you end up melting with every interaction. HuaLian really is that fairytale couple, who have an enviable and perfect love, with a true sense of eternity. It's completely impossible to look at them and not feel like you're floating or have that warm feeling in your chest. To tell you the truth, I think they're the couple with the cutest vibe out of the three by this author. I'd say they're like that teenage romance or the taste of first love. That love that burns, that warms you, that won't let you forget it. A gentle love that makes you feel complete and totally welcomed. With this person, you feel like the whole world could turn its back on you and everything would still be fine. Because that person, that person alone is enough. That person you know and feel will never, ever abandon you and will always be there for you, supporting you no matter what. That's how HuaLian makes you feel. That's how they are. A simple, sweet and engaging definition of the word love. TGCF is also a very good story in terms of holding your attention. There are lots of things happening all the time, well-developed schemes, backstories to be discovered, new characters and a whole range of extremely attractive contexts that you can't take your eyes off. Everything was very well written and crafted, with nothing that seemed tedious or unnecessary throughout. MXTX, for me, is an author with a real talent for writing. Everything is very captivating and can hit you hard if you choose to give it a chance. Well, I'll stop here, as I feel I have nothing more to say. I hope you give this baby a try!

[Review] I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang [230308]

I just finished binging I Hope This Doesn't Find You by Ann Liang in a day. It was absolutely amazing. I loved every second of it.

The way the author captures every emotion Sadie feels is so captivating, so realistic, so... perfect. I found myself tensing up with when she was worried; I found myself staring intently at the screen of my tablet, my brows furrowed; I found myself smiling along with her.

It was so satisfying reading this novel: the misunderstanding trope wasn't dragged out or annoying, every scene played in my mind exactly like a movie would, and the imagery used was nothing short of spectacular, flowing with the scenes and in the perfect tone.

The character development was absolutely lovely – something very refreshing and satisfying – they were the opposite of cardboard-plank characters, they all had a purpose to serve and they acted as real humans did, they weren't too childish, too mature, too plain or too flashy.

As I kept reading, I found myself falling in love with the characters more and more – the vanity of Julius, the relatable-ness of Sadie, everything about Abigail... One thing I found especially delightful was how, even though Julius and Sadie were enemies, they were quite the same. [Spoiler Starts] They both loathe the thought of someone pitying them, they both try so hard to be so perfect, they both are equally as obsessed with each other, they make each other feel alive – they just live their lives in different ways. [Spoiler Ends]

Being of Chinese descent, I Hope This Doesn't Find You was even more fun due to the 汉语拼音 embedded within the text – I could hear every word spoken out so smoothly, it was truly an enjoyable experience that evoked immense joy within my heart.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel! 10/10! I feel the constant need to gush about it.

Some of my favorite annotations that I made reading it (I'll add my fav quotes another day):

Chapter 1: slay Julius | young and rich, tall and han- | ah girl u ok ah

Chapter 2: girlie what | um girl you're a bit tad bit teeny bit uh obsessed | sus

Chapter 3: I love this guy he's so silly | RIP Sadie, rest in peace our soldier | #relatable I have hot hands

Chapter 7: #slay | HSHAHAHA

Chapter 8: he can scrub !

Chapter 9: oh no! hee hee

Chapter 10: i like how we finally have a normal ml w/o tragic backstory

Chapter 11: liar you're obsessed too <3 | he's so silly how jelly | CS student aye #relatable | we like em cats

Chapter 12: ew

Chapter 13: yoi

Chapter 14: YOI!

Chapter 16: jelly season 2. | haHA | I love this woman :)

Chapter 17: I LOVE ABIGAIL T-T!!!! | ♡ chill gal

Chapter 18: aw not salty? | yeah. salty. | GIRL WAKE UP. U. P. UP | oh my god can't you SEE | oh Abigail how I love you lol

Chapter 19: awie | slay Rosie | SHE'S REFORMED!!! | Julius is just like Sadie aeaeaergh

Chapter 20: OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING YALL!!!!!!! | hee hee

Chapter 21: SLAY MAX!!!!!! | ♡ character development | !!!!AEAEAE | bro prolly took 9 min & 40s crying and squealing & blushing | ♡[scribble]♡♡♡♡♡ | Stan julius for clear skin ♡

One question kept popping through my mind as I read this novel.... Where is my Julius Gong? I'm a top student (sadly, I'm not any kind of athlete or leader, though I do work out). I get good grades. Relatively. So, uh, God, where can I order a Julius Gong? dfjkdshjfksdf (I'm an agnostic, by the way)

I Re-Read Star Wars: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule | The High Republic | REVIEW

Celeste Ng’s style of writing feels so effortless that if it weren’t for the grief and dread blanketing the pages, I would easily call this a One Day Read. Her tragically hopeful ending knocked the wind out of me. This is far sadder and deeper than Little Fires Everywhere, in my opinion.

8/10