KatherineWhite

The primitive-looking villagers casually controlling nuclear fusion is the kind of tech contrast that makes these settings shine. The idea that they use human bodies as fuel is dark and memorable. I'm still wondering how they built that pillar – is there a higher intelligence behind them? That mystery is a big plus.

2 The "blood relatives massacre" chapter is brutal but compelling. The old man killing his own son in bed? The servant finding evidence of the fourth concubine? The "fifth concubine's love poems with the tutor"? It's like a soap opera with blood. The fact that only two kids survived is just tragic. It raises the stakes for Yang Nuo—he's the last heir.