Oh, how this took me down memory lane, reminding me of movies I adored in my teen years. A Thousand Li: The First Step is an Asian Historical fantasy novel with an intriguing magic system and compelling characters.
Long Wu Ying has so many obstacles in his path and I loved how he had very reasonable and believable reactions to his circumstances that really made me connect with him and root for his success. The classist system of feudal China is beautifully portrayed and came across powerfully. Although this novel can be classified as young adult, I absolutely adored that the character isn't whiney or bratty like so many YA main characters. I just love how he keeps his head down and keeps going no matter what, always remaining humble and respectful even when others are horrible to him and downright abuse their power. Nevertheless, he isn't all calm serenity either, allowing his anger to get the better of him sometimes or achieving things but in less-than-ideal ways.
The meditation and martial arts are portrayed brilliantly and it's clear the author is well versed in these disciplines. Although I know nothing of the fighting styles described, they are presented in a way that's deeply rooted in the culture while still being accessible to someone like me. I really appreciated how the author navigated that and brought in the magic through meditation, which was a first for me and really works so well!
Add to that the wonderful walk down memory lane with reminders of movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ong-Bak and Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke, I absolutely adored every moment of this read. Thankfully, this is, indeed, only the first step and I will so totally be continuing with this incredible series.
コメント