Honestly, I started this novel out of boredom and I was sucked right into Shen Miao's world. I cannot emphasise on how much the book captured my time Honestly, I started this novel out of boredom and I was sucked right into Shen Miao's world. I cannot emphasise on how much the book captured my time and interest - so much so that I spent one-nighters on chapters.
A word of warning: this is not a book for people who do not have the strongest of hearts. This is a tale of revenge, much like The Count of Monte Cristo. There are acts the female protagonist commits that will shock a normal person. But Shen Miao's not a normal person. She's an Empress who was reborn to take revenge on those who did her and her family evil. It really was enthralling to see the thousand steps that the main character took just to stay ahead of her enemies and this anti-heroine was someone I was rooting for.
NOTE:
I wasn't entirely happy with my experience though. I have a very healthy appreciation for translators and I am very glad that some people put their time into translating very long Chinese novels and for that, my hats off to Chubby Cheeks.
However, everytime the male lead did something vaguely romantic or his actions were deemed to be too cringy by the translators themselves, there'd be a side-note snarking at him. It was so unprofessional because goddamn, I'd be entranced reading and suddenly there's a comment that throws me off. It left me feeling disappointed and uncomfortable because I'd be enjoying myself and woot, there's a comment making fun of the male lead.
After a certain amount of these notes, I just started to feel angry because these notes were always during my favourite parts. I was begging the translator in my head, Please just let me read and enjoy the novel, your comments are just pulling me out of the headspace that I'm in. etc etc.
Most translators reveal their personal opinion in the end notes of a chapter which is a good form of ettiquette. The only reason why personal comments by the translator should be mentioned within the novel is if it is to help unravel the meaning of a particular sentence or shed enlightenment on a Chinese custom or something similar.
It's just translator ettiquette.
So again, while I appreciate the translator for undertaking The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage because it would have definitely not been easy, I do not think I would ever read another translation by the same group because (1) the quality of the translation was mediocre and I felt that I was still losing a lot of meaning behind some chapters. And (2), I do not want to see those comments again.I can fully understand them being made in a lighthearted way but please, just post them at the end of the chapter.
Overall: it is a great novel but do be prepared. The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage would really benefit from a proper translation and I would pay all my money to see that happen (otherwise, all eleven dollars in my bank account.)
The most sinful thing you can do is to deny life's guilty pleasures. Especially when they are offered by the likes of Matthew Reilly
Some people considThe most sinful thing you can do is to deny life's guilty pleasures. Especially when they are offered by the likes of Matthew Reilly
Some people consider The Great Zoo of China as Jurassic Park 2.0 but I like to think that Reilly modified the plot to include dragons and his own flair for over-the-top action sequences and really made the concept his own. Stephen Spielberg doesn't own the concept of animals running amok of a zoo and overtaking its human overlords. Reilly took it and made it more fun; more unrealistic.
To people who try to argue that CJ was Reilly's most unbelievable hero so far, when has he actually ever wrote a realistic one? Jack West and Shane Schofield serve as Reilly's other acting heroes and they themselves have saved the world like eight times over and counting despite their own human selves.
That's the point of a Reilly book: it's there to entertain. Now sit down and read about some dragons. ...more
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