City of sin, unlike most other Chinese novels on WW, has a western and dnd like theme which was what initially attracted me to this novel, well that and the fact that Richard, the main character, was a mage ( i love mages).
But what trully made me fall in love with the story was Planar warfare. There are multitudes of planes scattered through the CoS' world and they are classified by power level of their denizens. Those from more powerful planes, such as Norland (Richard's home), invade the lower planes and plunder their resources, why? In order to build up their strength and defend themselves against the invaders. As for seemingly strong worlds that keep to themselves? well it's only a matter of time before invaders find them. Richard, being from a Primary plane, is one of the invaders for most part which is a rather novel concept as opposed to most stories where main character's world is the one being invaded.
Main character, Richard, starts off as a naive and kind kid with a bit of madness that flared up only when he was pushed too far but gradually grows to become a ruthless ruler who only cares about those around him and his subordinates. He is not afraid of being perceived as evil and he is not a hypocrite either.
Side characters are rather interesting and consistent through the story for most part but eventhough a lot is invested into developing their charcters initially, they gradually are pushed to the side and are not mentioned that often around halfway through the story.
As far as the pace of the story goes, it is rather well paced except for the last book where the author tries to wrap up all the lose ends which makes it feel rushed for most part.
Overall this book is a must read, specially if you like cold and calculating main characters who are not afraid to commit evil.
City of sin, unlike most other Chinese novels on WW, has a western and dnd like theme which was what initially attracted me to this novel, well that and the fact that Richard, the main character, was a mage ( i love mages).
But what trully made me fall in love with the story was Planar warfare. There are multitudes of planes scattered through the CoS' world and they are classified by power level of their denizens. Those from more powerful planes, such as Norland (Richard's home), invade the lower planes and plunder their resources, why? In order to build up their strength and defend themselves against the invaders. As for seemingly strong worlds that keep to themselves? well it's only a matter of time before invaders find them. Richard, being from a Primary plane, is one of the invaders for most part which is a rather novel concept as opposed to most stories where main character's world is the one being invaded.
Main character, Richard, starts off as a naive and kind kid with a bit of madness that flared up only when he was pushed too far but gradually grows to become a ruthless ruler who only cares about those around him and his subordinates. He is not afraid of being perceived as evil and he is not a hypocrite either.
Side characters are rather interesting and consistent through the story for most part but eventhough a lot is invested into developing their charcters initially, they gradually are pushed to the side and are not mentioned that often around halfway through the story.
As far as the pace of the story goes, it is rather well paced except for the last book where the author tries to wrap up all the lose ends which makes it feel rushed for most part.
Overall this book is a must read, specially if you like cold and calculating main characters who are not afraid to commit evil.
