First of all, stop cursing. I know Terror Infinity is not wuxia. I know it is a Yóuxì Yì Jiè (游戏异界) mixed with Jìnhuà Biànyì (进化变异).
I know my shit, ok? But as I stated on my first post, I'm an ass hole. And I will call this wuxia, because it's easier to group it like this. Better than xianxia, right?
I know my shit, ok? But as I stated on my first post, I'm an ass hole. And I will call this wuxia, because it's easier to group it like this. Better than xianxia, right?
OK. Now to the normal people. Hey. Hi! Remember when I wrote above that I would review 'books' on Fridays? Well, this is a book. But only available as a web novel. Maybe, maybe, it can be published here as a real book. It sure is in China. And some LN are being translated and published, even being listed on Amazon. But I doubt it.
The opening lines were for those that are used to read Chinese/Japanese/Korean light novels. They are a sensitive bunch when coming to naming things. I don't blame then, it's easy to get angry when someone mess with your babe. On the other hand, the identification of the genre is really complicated even if you decided to dive in it. Lots of terminology... What? You never heard of it?
It's lecturing time!
What is a light novel?
Light novel is a phenomenon worldwide that started in Asia. They were, initially, books aimed at middle to high school boys and girls. Yeah, it's the YA novels from the Orient. Except that it predates the YA as we know it nowadays. (YA = Young Adults. Like Harry Potter and ALL that came after).
Did you see the 'initially' that I put there? OK. Let's delve deeper. LN went the same way as manga. People grew up reading this stuff and finally decided to read real books. And then... They find it boring. It's something that happens. You grow up reading the tales and adventures of a martial artist an then go read War & Peace, yeah. The pacing sucks. You might enjoy it, but you'll always have a soft spot for what you grow up with. Then...we have genres.
In Japan, Korea and China, they quickly became famous and divided in different ways. The two most famous 'sources' are Japanese LN and the Chinese ones. Both has their own quirks and terminology. I'll start with Chinese, since they have more stuff that are akin to my tastes.
In Japan, Korea and China, they quickly became famous and divided in different ways. The two most famous 'sources' are Japanese LN and the Chinese ones. Both has their own quirks and terminology. I'll start with Chinese, since they have more stuff that are akin to my tastes.
Chinese LN divided in a huge bunch of genres. Don't believe me? Check this out. This is a list of all genres that are common in Chinese LN. Oh, and there are one more aimed at children, others aimed at YA and others aimed at adults. It's a real and hardcore market over there. It's not uncommon for teens to became authors and having great careers over there. The market is as great as the manga, and as varied as.
Now, don't get me wrong: I really enjoy some of this works. But come on... you gotta admit that it's a shit storm. Most of the stories are SO FUCKING ANNOYING! There are so much wish fulfillment on some of those stories that it resemble what a fucking 10 year old brat would write! Most of them follow a strict pattern of 'humiliation', then the 'development', be it skills, powers, daoist cultivation, the confrontation with the one that 'wronged' them or their families, and rinse & repeat ad nauseam. It's a tiresome genre...
BUT! There are some good ones. Some brilliant ones. And some that are a hit-or-miss, after all most of then are released daily, and you can see when some authors are on a weak/bad phase. Other recurrent fact is the repetition of plot. Some rehash the same plot SO MANY TIMES that you just skip chapters or simply give up. Yeah. It's that annoying.
Most authors simply write it on the internet, which explain some of the AWFUL names they use, like "I Eat Tomatoes" from the incredible Coiling Dragon (盘龙) or Zhttty from this one. There are worse, believe me...
Back on track, Terror Infinity is from the genre Yóuxì Yì Jiè (游戏异界), but has lots of influence of Jìnhuà Biànyì (进化变异)...
What are those words???
Yóuxì Yì Jiè (游戏异界) is a common genre of people being transported into the world of video-games. It's very common and with different results. I plan on reviewing the amazing The Rising of the Shield Hero (盾の勇者の成り上がり Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari), which is one of the first LN that I read. There is a ton of stories like these. And unfortunately, most are crap.
Jìnhuà Biànyì (进化变异) is based on mutation and evolution of people. Be it by an deity, an alien invasion or any other cause. I didn't find much stories on that genre being translated, which is a shame, since it's a more adult-oriented genre. The characters are usually more deep and the relations are more intricate. A bad example of this genre would be Gantz. Which I found interesting before going bat shit insane with his own bullshit. I know that this may vent some flames, but sorry: Gantz went from an interesting manga, to a crappy anime and finished as a shitty manga. The ending is stupid, and deep down, you know it's true.
So... Terror Infinity mix these two genres. How exactly? The premise of the story is that 'god' treats evolution differently from how we understand. How? Well... he pushes the specific race he wants into a Virtual Reality world and do a battle royale pushing people to the limit till they 'evolve'. Yeah... I don't think Darwin agrees with this idea. Nor the possibility of evolution in a single generation, but oh well... It's a dumb premise that tries to support itself with the famous Clarke quote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Way down the seventh volume they even give it a better explanation.
We start with Zhang, a white-collar tired of his life. One day, surfing the net while doing late night overwork, he saw a pop-up "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live… a real life?" and a Yes or No buttons. Tired and cynical, he laugh to himself and click Yes.
And he awakes in the world of Resident Evil (the movie). He meet a few people and a veteran explain that he is now in a different world, where he must survive the movie and collect points to upgrade himself and/or gather enough points to pay his way out.
As you can see, yes, this mix of genres is interesting.
The books are divided by movies: Resident Evil, Alien, The Grudge, The Mummy, Final Destination, Alien:Resurrection, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Mummy 2, Jurassic Park, The Mummy/Vampiric Mask (this one is fucking insane, since they mix the cast of The Mummy with the events of JoJo Bizarre Adventures Stardust Crusaders. No, there's no Dio Brando, unfortunately) and currently, in the translation page, they just finished Starship Troopers. Usually they go to the movie, fight to survive and then it's evolution time spending points. That should be a simple and stupid story, right?
Well, no. The author does a GREAT job with the characters he introduces. All of then has an interesting backstory, usually people that didn't had much luck on their life choices. Zhang, for example, was a good boy, in love with his childhood friend, living a mediocre and happy life. Then she died of cancer and he went into a spiral of self-destruction, with drugs, women, fights, all the while being stuck on the mediocrity of his white-collar job. Yeah. It's very easy to sympathize with him. When dragged on the universe of movies, he shines, since he really don't want to die. When he went to the 'god' dimension, he had the possibility of creating a companion, as everyone does... and of course, he brings his girlfriend back from the dead, which became an anchor on his will to survive. At the same time, you get the feeling that this girl he created is not a good thing, since he has an interesting relationship with another of his companions.
But you know what? Different from A LOT of other LN, this one is not a Harem. (Don't give me bullshit on sexism, ok? Asia faces sexuality way different from us in the West. There are Harem stories with man & lots of women, and woman & lots of men. Get over it.) And the relationship of Zhang and Lan is a cruel one. THAT is what take it apart from most LN. The way those relationships are portrayed is very different from the usual. The characters are not parodies of human beings, accepting to share their man/woman with others, understanding of his special needs since he/she is so different from the other people. No. They suffer for being in love with someone taken. One of the most touching parts is Lan in her bedroom, devastated by the knowledge that even if she and Zhang were very close in the movie, as soon as they came back, he ran to the arms of Lori, and there's nothing she can do about it. They struggle with their feelings in the middle of the battlefield, with Lan expressing very clearly that she loves Zhang in a situation where she believe she's going to die. And oh boy, let's get into other hard issue that's covered in this LN: ethics.
In the second movie, Zhang is confronted with another guy, a genius tactician: Xuan. Later we would discover that Xuan is a chinese prototype of genetic manipulation, but that's not the point. The point is that Xuan is a very matter-of-fact guy and treat people as expendables. They argue a lot and in the end Xuan dies... but not without handling a great lesson of strategic warfare to Zhang. That's the moment he start to see that, sometimes, sacrifices are necessary. Over the course of this LN, we see Zhang going from a very 'right & mighty' guy, that wants to be good and treat people with respect and 'save everyone' to a man that takes cares of his comrades and don't give a fuck to those he doesn't recognize as important. It's a very interesting descent into reality that Zhang goes thru and the results are more and more interesting.
Other turn on the series is when they confront with Team Devil. Basically, when someone awakens, (more info? Read the damn LN), he/she is cloned to this team by god. Zhang was cloned... and the results were horrible. Both Zhangs confront in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and the end result change the original Zhang forever. The ethical question of 'what would you do if you confront yourself' is a reality in this universe, and different choices generate hardcore different results.
I won't lie to you: even if there's a lot of ethical & character development, the main focus of this LN is combat. Different from most LN, the combat is much more strategic, with analysis of the terrain/movie, if it's a solo movie (where there's only one team) or if it's a team battle, which usually become a battle royale very quickly. The combat is usually very well detailed, but with a quick pace. There's always a sense of desperation, and as more characters dies, the worse you feel. That's a major point of interest: people die. And when people that you like, that you understand their life, their objectives, dies... the impact is bigger than if a minor character dies. And the worse part: the people they create, in god's world, they also dies when their creator dies...
In the end, I really recommend that you read this LN. It's a good one, in a sea of mediocrity. The morals, ethical and relationships are very good. It's still going strong, without signs of ending nowhere soon. Enjoy it while it lasts! There's a pattern on it, and you'll get it soon, but either way, the character development is above and beyond most LN. The fact that they are presented as human beings is also very advanced when you compare to most of the genre.
Go ahead, read it and enjoy!
Oh, and DO NOT READ the manga adaptation.
It's AWFUL.
Thank the gods that it practically died.
Tomorrow: what about hardcore sci-fi, with cyborgs, philosophy, and lots of reference to The Police? Of course we are talking about Battle Angel Alita!
See ya
Now, don't get me wrong: I really enjoy some of this works. But come on... you gotta admit that it's a shit storm. Most of the stories are SO FUCKING ANNOYING! There are so much wish fulfillment on some of those stories that it resemble what a fucking 10 year old brat would write! Most of them follow a strict pattern of 'humiliation', then the 'development', be it skills, powers, daoist cultivation, the confrontation with the one that 'wronged' them or their families, and rinse & repeat ad nauseam. It's a tiresome genre...
BUT! There are some good ones. Some brilliant ones. And some that are a hit-or-miss, after all most of then are released daily, and you can see when some authors are on a weak/bad phase. Other recurrent fact is the repetition of plot. Some rehash the same plot SO MANY TIMES that you just skip chapters or simply give up. Yeah. It's that annoying.
Most authors simply write it on the internet, which explain some of the AWFUL names they use, like "I Eat Tomatoes" from the incredible Coiling Dragon (盘龙) or Zhttty from this one. There are worse, believe me...
Back on track, Terror Infinity is from the genre Yóuxì Yì Jiè (游戏异界), but has lots of influence of Jìnhuà Biànyì (进化变异)...
What are those words???
Yóuxì Yì Jiè (游戏异界) is a common genre of people being transported into the world of video-games. It's very common and with different results. I plan on reviewing the amazing The Rising of the Shield Hero (盾の勇者の成り上がり Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari), which is one of the first LN that I read. There is a ton of stories like these. And unfortunately, most are crap.
Jìnhuà Biànyì (进化变异) is based on mutation and evolution of people. Be it by an deity, an alien invasion or any other cause. I didn't find much stories on that genre being translated, which is a shame, since it's a more adult-oriented genre. The characters are usually more deep and the relations are more intricate. A bad example of this genre would be Gantz. Which I found interesting before going bat shit insane with his own bullshit. I know that this may vent some flames, but sorry: Gantz went from an interesting manga, to a crappy anime and finished as a shitty manga. The ending is stupid, and deep down, you know it's true.
So... Terror Infinity mix these two genres. How exactly? The premise of the story is that 'god' treats evolution differently from how we understand. How? Well... he pushes the specific race he wants into a Virtual Reality world and do a battle royale pushing people to the limit till they 'evolve'. Yeah... I don't think Darwin agrees with this idea. Nor the possibility of evolution in a single generation, but oh well... It's a dumb premise that tries to support itself with the famous Clarke quote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Way down the seventh volume they even give it a better explanation.
We start with Zhang, a white-collar tired of his life. One day, surfing the net while doing late night overwork, he saw a pop-up "Want to know the meaning of life? Want to live… a real life?" and a Yes or No buttons. Tired and cynical, he laugh to himself and click Yes.
And he awakes in the world of Resident Evil (the movie). He meet a few people and a veteran explain that he is now in a different world, where he must survive the movie and collect points to upgrade himself and/or gather enough points to pay his way out.
As you can see, yes, this mix of genres is interesting.
The books are divided by movies: Resident Evil, Alien, The Grudge, The Mummy, Final Destination, Alien:Resurrection, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, The Mummy 2, Jurassic Park, The Mummy/Vampiric Mask (this one is fucking insane, since they mix the cast of The Mummy with the events of JoJo Bizarre Adventures Stardust Crusaders. No, there's no Dio Brando, unfortunately) and currently, in the translation page, they just finished Starship Troopers. Usually they go to the movie, fight to survive and then it's evolution time spending points. That should be a simple and stupid story, right?
Well, no. The author does a GREAT job with the characters he introduces. All of then has an interesting backstory, usually people that didn't had much luck on their life choices. Zhang, for example, was a good boy, in love with his childhood friend, living a mediocre and happy life. Then she died of cancer and he went into a spiral of self-destruction, with drugs, women, fights, all the while being stuck on the mediocrity of his white-collar job. Yeah. It's very easy to sympathize with him. When dragged on the universe of movies, he shines, since he really don't want to die. When he went to the 'god' dimension, he had the possibility of creating a companion, as everyone does... and of course, he brings his girlfriend back from the dead, which became an anchor on his will to survive. At the same time, you get the feeling that this girl he created is not a good thing, since he has an interesting relationship with another of his companions.
But you know what? Different from A LOT of other LN, this one is not a Harem. (Don't give me bullshit on sexism, ok? Asia faces sexuality way different from us in the West. There are Harem stories with man & lots of women, and woman & lots of men. Get over it.) And the relationship of Zhang and Lan is a cruel one. THAT is what take it apart from most LN. The way those relationships are portrayed is very different from the usual. The characters are not parodies of human beings, accepting to share their man/woman with others, understanding of his special needs since he/she is so different from the other people. No. They suffer for being in love with someone taken. One of the most touching parts is Lan in her bedroom, devastated by the knowledge that even if she and Zhang were very close in the movie, as soon as they came back, he ran to the arms of Lori, and there's nothing she can do about it. They struggle with their feelings in the middle of the battlefield, with Lan expressing very clearly that she loves Zhang in a situation where she believe she's going to die. And oh boy, let's get into other hard issue that's covered in this LN: ethics.
In the second movie, Zhang is confronted with another guy, a genius tactician: Xuan. Later we would discover that Xuan is a chinese prototype of genetic manipulation, but that's not the point. The point is that Xuan is a very matter-of-fact guy and treat people as expendables. They argue a lot and in the end Xuan dies... but not without handling a great lesson of strategic warfare to Zhang. That's the moment he start to see that, sometimes, sacrifices are necessary. Over the course of this LN, we see Zhang going from a very 'right & mighty' guy, that wants to be good and treat people with respect and 'save everyone' to a man that takes cares of his comrades and don't give a fuck to those he doesn't recognize as important. It's a very interesting descent into reality that Zhang goes thru and the results are more and more interesting.
Other turn on the series is when they confront with Team Devil. Basically, when someone awakens, (more info? Read the damn LN), he/she is cloned to this team by god. Zhang was cloned... and the results were horrible. Both Zhangs confront in Resident Evil: Apocalypse and the end result change the original Zhang forever. The ethical question of 'what would you do if you confront yourself' is a reality in this universe, and different choices generate hardcore different results.
I won't lie to you: even if there's a lot of ethical & character development, the main focus of this LN is combat. Different from most LN, the combat is much more strategic, with analysis of the terrain/movie, if it's a solo movie (where there's only one team) or if it's a team battle, which usually become a battle royale very quickly. The combat is usually very well detailed, but with a quick pace. There's always a sense of desperation, and as more characters dies, the worse you feel. That's a major point of interest: people die. And when people that you like, that you understand their life, their objectives, dies... the impact is bigger than if a minor character dies. And the worse part: the people they create, in god's world, they also dies when their creator dies...
In the end, I really recommend that you read this LN. It's a good one, in a sea of mediocrity. The morals, ethical and relationships are very good. It's still going strong, without signs of ending nowhere soon. Enjoy it while it lasts! There's a pattern on it, and you'll get it soon, but either way, the character development is above and beyond most LN. The fact that they are presented as human beings is also very advanced when you compare to most of the genre.
Go ahead, read it and enjoy!
Oh, and DO NOT READ the manga adaptation.
It's AWFUL.
Thank the gods that it practically died.
Tomorrow: what about hardcore sci-fi, with cyborgs, philosophy, and lots of reference to The Police? Of course we are talking about Battle Angel Alita!
See ya
Great novel, but too bad the main characters devolved into a cult Mentality of if your not in the team your an enemy, they laugh at genocide, Xuan becomes living plot armor, Zheng gets depicted as a spineless bitch in the later half in the presence of Xuan, Chinese nationalism becomes prominent and most abilities without a Chinese origin gets depicted as inferior to cultivation, romance get abandoned in second half, the evolutionary ability becomes broken and outright overshadows enhancements and training, and to top it all off numerous small and big plot holes and inconsistencies.
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