Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel), Vol. 1

Heaven Official's Blessing: Tian Guan Ci Fu (Novel), Vol. 1

2020 • 432 pages

Ratings40

Average rating4.6

15

  I've read a pretty good amount of novels that were originally written in Chinese and translated into English.  Sometimes they can be awkward due to how different the languages are.  This is especially true for wuxia novels, as in the original Chinese they use poetic and elegant terms for fighting moves and names that do not translate in a smooth way.  However I do think that this book, the first in a series of eight print versions of a web novel, does not suffer from the same translation issues that a lot of wuxia novels do.  This is because the translators didn't even try to translate the names.  It's amazing how natural the book feels to read as a result of this decision.  Sometimes less is more when it comes to translation and this book shows that.  
Good translation aside, this book is a damn good time!  It tells the story of Xianle, a former prince who becomes a god before being kicked out from heaven, then repeating this process before finally sticking as a god on his third ascension.  The book mostly focuses on his adventures after ascending for the third time and I think that's a smart decision.  We don't need to linger on Xianle's past too much.  During his adventures he encounters a number of fun situations and meets some very interesting figures.  One thing that I like about the book is how everything ties together.  Minute details mentioned in one chapter often become very relevant a few chapters later.  This attribute rewards those who read carefully while also allowing for fun surprises for those who don't.  While the twist of ‘this character was actually this one in disguise' does wear out a bit by the end I still had a really fun time reading it and I look forward to reading more of the story in future installments.
 

January 5, 2024