Oh I did enjoy this and will be seeking out the next one asap.

I can't give it 5* as some of the prose was a bit clunky for me and at times it was a bit melodramatic which I just cannot stand. But it was a sweeping epic, with complex characters and nuanced drives and emotions. I enjoyed the queer aspects and the themes of identity and fate were thought provoking. The pacing had some problems - the first quarter was quite zippy as was the last - the middle was slightly more patchy.

I'm not sure I'm entirely overjoyed with the direction it's going in and I'm not massively sure I actually like anyone in the book (maybe Xu Da?) but you can get behind them anyway - you can understand their drives and the motivation behind their actions.