Return to the Grand Xia

Desolate Era #14

by Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi, I Eat Tomatoes, 我吃西红柿

Fate had never been kind to Ji Ning. Wracked by illnesses and infirm his entire life on Earth, Ning knew early on that he would die as a teenager. What he didn’t know was that there really was such a thing as life after death, and that the universe was a far larger place than he thought.

A lucky twist of fate (one of the few in Ning’s life) meant that Ning was reborn into a world of Immortals and monsters, of Ki Refiners and powerful Fiendgods, a world where Dynasties lasted for millions of years. A world which is both greater…and yet also smaller…than he ever could imagine. He would have the opportunity to join them, and in this life, Ning swore to himself, he would never let himself be weak again!

The Era he was born into was a Desolate one, but Ning would make it his era.

Genres: Fantasy, Light Novel, Asian Literature, Martial Arts, China

ebook

About the author

Associated Names:
* Wo Chi Xi Hong Shi
* I Eat Tomatoes (English)
* 我吃西红柿 (Chinese)
* หว่อชือซีหงสื้อ (Thai)

Reviews

[Lazybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is getting quite good.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

- Quote: As the saying went, two fists found it hard to fight against many hands.
- Thoughts: Another good book from [I Eat Tomatoes] these last books in this series have been much better than the formers.
▶◀
These are my personal opinions, you may discord, my final rating of the book is not necessarily linked to this system and may diverge from it.
Book Storyline
- Originality: 3/5 stars
- Development: 4/5 stars
- Enjoyment: 4/5 stars
- Writing stile: 3/5 stars
- Funnyness: 1/5 stars
- Epicness: 3/5 stars
- Scaryness: 2/5 stars
- Smartness: 3/5 stars
- Addictiveness: 4/5 stars
- Plot twists: 3/5 stars
- Pace: 4/5 stars
- Storyline planning: 3/5 stars OR /5 negative stars
- Ending: 4/5 stars OR /5 negative stars
- Holes: 2/5 negative stars
- Self contained (Y/N): ×
- Cliffhanger (Y/N): ✓
- Adult (Y/N): ×
- Mystery (Y/N): ×
- Treasure Hunting (Y/N): ×
- Violence level: Normal, some killing and such
- Tech level: irrelevant
- Religion level: fictional daoism
- Main genre: xianxia
- Subgenre: Asian cultute, Anime
- Point of view: Main character, with interludes
- Aftertaste: good
World
- Originality: 4/5 stars
- Variety: 3/5 stars
- Consistency: 2/5 stars
- Impact on the story: 4/5 stars
- Maps: -/5 stars
- Real world (Y/N): ×
- Fantasy based on real world (Y/N): ×
- Journey (Y/N): ×
- Main scenario: Various places
Characters
- Total amount: lots
- Points of view: mainly 1, some interludes
- Main characters: Ji Ning
- Secondary: Crazy Five, Diancai, Uncle White and some antagonists
- Ordinary: lots
- Overall quality: 4/5 stars
- Main: 3/5 stars
- Secondary: 5/5 stars
- Consistency: 2/5 stars
- Connection: 2/5 stars
- Dialogs: 3/5 Stars
- Interactions: 4/5 Stars
- Romance ( Y/ N): ×
- Underworld Crew (Y/N): ×
- Training (Y/N): ✓
- Notable best characters: Not really anyone
- Notable worse characters: Not really anyone also
Setting
- Historical importance: 3/5 Stars
- Historical deep: 2/5 Stars
- Historical score: 2/5 Stars
- Geopolitical importance: 4/5 Stars
- Geopolitical variety: 3/5 Stars
- Geopolitical score: 2/5 Stars
- Setting overall score: 4/5 Stars
- Tension: 2/5 Stars
- Atmosphere: 2/5 Stars
- Supernatural (Vampires, werewolves) (Y/N): ×
- Superpowers (√/○): ✓
- Non-human races (Y/N): ✓
- Virtual Reality (Y/N): ×
- Monsters (Y/N): ✓
- Historical relevant period: Previous books
Rules
- Devised system: 4/5 stars
- System complexity: 4/5 stars
- System explanation: 2/5 stars
- Impact on storyline: 5/5 stars
- Rulebreaker (Y/N): ✓
- Type of Rule: Xianxia, Wuxia
Xianxia
- Battle phase: 4/5 stars
- Skill innovation: 4/5 stars
- Treasure hunting phase: 1/5 stars
- Cultivation phase: 1/5 stars
Series Storyline
These are scored based on the series up to the end of this book:
- Impact of this book in storyline: 4/5 stars
- Originality: 4/5 stars
- Development: 3/5 stars
- Enjoyment: 3/5 stars
- Writing stile: 3/5 stars
- Funnyness: 1/5 stars
- Epicness: 3/5 stars
- Scaryness: 1/5 stars
- Smartness: 3/5 stars
- Addictiveness: 4/5 stars
- Plot twists: 2/5 stars
- Pace: 4/5 stars
- Storyline planning: 3/5 stars OR /5 negative stars
- Holes: 4/5 negative stars
- Can be read as a standalone (✓/×): ×

[Monty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series is what it is but if you have come this far in the series some aspects may become annoying.

I have found that in the last few books/parts the author seems to have forgotten that his main character Ning is supposed to be intelligent. He more often comes across as dull dense or actively stupid in many ways, most damagingly so in conversation between characters.

The sense of obliviousness and lack of deductive reasoning is immersion breaking at times and makes a story that is already so-so all the harder to enjoy.

[Mnoraznan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mysterious figures working from behind the scenes. Finally, a hint is given!

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8

[Danny Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was fun to see how much Ji Ning advanced while he was gone. I love the returning home story. The story is definitely keeping me interested and wanting more.

[Saurabh Modi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels like a setup book for future arcs - starts a few story threads and ends on a cliffhanger.