Like all Purebred with their menial jobs, Ken ekes out a living sweeping the floors of Kyoto Peacekeeping Central. His kind serve as a benchmark for XHumans to measure how far they’ve progressed, and a reminder of what homo sapiens once was.
His life changes when eight-hundred-year-old Ryu crosses over from the World of Rivers and Lakes, looking for a lost temple; and Aya, a beautiful hacker whose Sensory Interface perceives the EtherCloud as Feudal Japan, learns that XHumans aren’t as perfect as they thought.
They’ve edited out the genes which allow for Cultivation.
That will give Ken a chance to surpass them. And maybe use mythical martial skills to save the world from an oppressive government, spirit beasts, and alien invaders.
A Cultivation system based on Daoist Five Elements and Eight Trigram Theories, written by an Acupuncturist/Wing Chun Sifu.
WARNING: This story contains graphic scenes describing the Daoist methods of Dual Cultivation, but no harem elements. Suggested audience 18+.
JC Kang's unhealthy obsession with Fantasy and Sci-Fi began at an early age when his brother introduced him to The Chronicles of Narnia, Star Trek, and Star Wars. As an adult, he combines his geek roots with his professional experiences as a Chinese Medicine doctor, martial arts instructor, and technical writer to pen epic fantasy stories.
Disclaimer: I read this one as a judge for SPFBO 7 but the rating and review reflects personal opinions only.
I did not know what cultivation novels were prior to reading this one so here is a little something I found online about it: Cultivation (variously referred to in Chinese as xiūliàn [修炼], xiūzhēn [修真], xiūxíng [修行], and xiūxiān [修仙]) is a Taoist concept by which humans can extend their lifespan and gain supernatural powers through practicing a set of martial and mystical arts involving meditation and the cultivation of Qi. In many novels, the ultimate goal of cultivation is to become an immortal and attain godhood. The “Cultivating Method” could comprise martial arts, Buddhism, or Taoism depending on the doctrine of different religions.
There is a difference between this kind of stories and progression stories such as the very successful Cradle series although they do have a lot in common. I am always looking for fresh new ideas and so I was happy to try this one.
The story follows three main protagonists: Master Ryusuke, Kentano and Aya. The characters are very different but the circumstances have them working together. Ryusuke has come from another dimension with an important mission that has universal implications. Aya is the world’s smartest person and she’s a hacker who has Cystic Fibrosis. Kentano is a cleaner who is a purebread. Their stories come together quickly and they try to protect the world from other dangers that also came from Ryusuke’s dimension.
I liked the prose, it needs some concentration but it I wouldn’t say it is hard to follow. The characters do have different voices and they are distinct and we are moving consistently between the three main POVs. The female depiction kind of was a turn off for me as it is a bit objectifying of women which we commonly see in fantasy stories by white men and I thought this would be different.
The world-building is good, I enjoyed the magical system and its integration within the advanced technologies in that dimension. However, I think too much of a good thing may not necessarily be a good thing and that’s how I felt about the world and magic here, it kept getting more complex to the point that I kind of lost interest with all the illustrations and explanations involved. I thought the fight scenes were pretty damn cool specially at the beginning and I think that less complexity and just more explanation of the system was needed.
Summary: I think it is a refreshing kind of story that I am not used to which is always a good thing and a change from the tropes we find in western fantasy. The writing and characters were good but I think more focus should have been put into the writing and world-building. I am happy I got to discover a new genre with this book though!
The story was a kind of fun mix of aliens, futuristic prejudice and society problems that continue despite major advances in science and technology, mixed with ancient Japanese martial arts. However, the non sequiturs of perfunctory sex and objectifying lust of the male characters did not fit in the storyline, and we're a distraction. The descriptions of the females as lustful for strangers did not ring true, either. It felt like open narrative. why ruin a nice sci-fi with that crap?
For the uninitiated: Now, I’m not expert but in brief Cultivation Books ((xianxia, wuxia etc) are books where the characters progress to develop their body using Asian Philosophies (Tao/Dao etc). As they gain understanding (also called enlightenment) over their body, weapon or soul, they can transcend and surpass normal human abilities. Think of the gravity defying sword fights in Crouching Tiger Hidden dragon, here!
Now I’ve read enough books to realize how difficult it is find ones of good quality among the numerous available options, so when I hit the metaphoric jackpot, I have to post a review!
First, the Setting…the most common setting for Cultivation books are medieval Asia. Which make the future Japan setting quire refreshing from get go. We have a vibrant future culture where most humans have genetic upgrades living longer and stronger lives, whilst a minor groups who have fallen too far behind in the cycle for upgrades continue as inferior ‘purebreds’ in a nicely done trope inversion.
The plot starts with introduction of mysterious stranger (Master Ryusuke) comes through a portal and finds a modern society where most humans are genetically enhanced and crime is nearly zero. His clan forsook the training and secluded themselves in an alternate dimension centuries ago learning to live and survive with the monsters and demons of that realm. Now with the barrier between somehow weakening, he has come back to kill the demons who have slipped through.
He meets 17 yo Kentano, a purebred cleaner in a medical facility and 18 yo Aya, a master hacker. Events throw them together as they seek to evade the peacekeepers and fulfill their objective. Once they realize their objective may have a bigger implication in Galactic politics between two alien species who have been visiting Humans, things get more complicated.
The plot moves at brisk pace all through, never lagging as we are treated to a roller coaster ride. The dynamics between the characters is done realistically as we get to see an expanding story through their interactions. There are lots of cracking martial arts scenes mixed in with some good old enhanced solider tropes which adds to the flavor and excitement.
The fight scenes especially deserve a special mention as we get to see the author’s expertise reflecting in the prose. Being a martial arts master himself, JC Kang’s scenes delve way past the superficial and provide insights into the cultivation techniques themselves, which I rare found in other books.
Overall, this was a light and fun read and if this becomes a trilogy/series, I’d be happy to dive into the next book!
What I liked. Interesting take on the orc, elves, and human genre. The sci-fi Zack Snyder sucker punch imagery of one of the protagonists life when she hacks a computer is interesting. The Asian/Japanese motifs are great for anime inspired readers.
What I didn’t like. The Frankenstein genre smash up is hard to wrap my head around. It’s crucial to the world building but hard to immerse my self into. What genres you ask? Well these, 1) cultivation 2) future authoritarian sci-fi 3) time traveler (Back to the future) 4) D&D elves, orcs, and want not races + 5) Japanese fantasy/mythology This was all done in one book. I couldn’t stop my self from disengaging from the book and to try identifying what new genre elements we’re getting introduced. It’s like looking at Frankenstein and pondering what relative his arms might have came from. What a mess.
The cultivation is also very textbook, in the sense I felt as though the author literally plagiarized alternative medicine text books for all of the boring regurgitated explanations.
The author also had ab annoying habit of having the protagonist use phrases from 2015 by a guy who’s supposedly 800 yr old that spent only 15-20 yrs of his life on earth before leaving. I doubt very much such slogans and slang would have been so easily remembered by such a man. Some may find it funny I found it very distracting when reading the book. It just kept reminding me about the fact Frankenstein had a serious overbite.
This is one of the best cultivation novels I have read by far, I found the action to be exhilarating and non-stop and the fighting styles really detailed. I love the story line and the characters especially that of Ryusuke, the cultivator who comes through a portal in order to close all portals between worlds to save earth from being over run by Yokai. What he finds on earth was a highly technologised country with people all being genetically modified to make them stronger and better erasing all factors deemed weak or inefficient. However he comes from the land of rivers and lakes and his fighting skills are tremendous and he can see through to the core and energy levels of the people he encounters and what he sees is weak people. He takes Kentaro, a purebred under his wing as Ken is awed by him but also knowledgeable in the old fighting skills and shows an interest in learning. He is also a quick learner wanting to become someone capable, since purebreds were not genetically modified and seen as low caste in their society. Ryu also gets to meet Aya, a hacker of great skill but one who is seriously ill in a society which strives for perfection. She spends most of her life in EtherSpace as she feels stronger and capable in the cloud but when she finds out that Ryu had once suffered the same illness and overcame it she looks him up and also becomes his student. Together Ken and Aya and Ryu strive to battle with the yokai entering through the open portals which Ryu had come to earth to close. They also get help from Siena, an Elestraen, who is very powerful and skilled in her own fighting skills. I love the fast paced action throughout the book, the number of different yokai, we get to meet and the bond built on respect between master and students that of Ken and Aya with one another as they move past the prejudice which has been inbred in them through their highly stratified society. This is a must read for all readers who enjoy martial arts and cultivation novels!
I stumbled into this title because the audiobook is narrated by Travis Baldree, who I quite enjoy. The blurb suggesting a cyberpunk future world mashed up with xianxia cultivation sounded interesting. Unfortunately, an awful lot about this book didn’t work for me. Very near to the beginning, the cultivator shows up in the future world, sees that a lot of the (genetically modified) women are very attractive, and thinks something along the lines of, “I really need to recharge my cultivation with one of these lovely ladies.” And I thought, “uh-oh.” I don’t think I’m a prude. I recognize that most of the erotica that pops up in known spicy books barely holds a candle to the average HBO show. I often find listening to erotica in audiobooks to be a bit cringe. But my real objection is being blindsided by the erotica. I was not expecting (very minor spoiler warning) there to be a super-sexy alien elf woman that’s super horny for the cultivator. I was not expecting them to “cultivate” together multiple times, quite publicly. My issues with this title are not confined to unadvertised spiciness. The descriptions of cultivation and martial arts are extremely detailed. While this could lend the book a certain amount of authenticity, I found it to bog down the action and be generally rather boring. The plot points are full of coincidences, questionable choices, and carefully manufactured difficulties (for instance, here’s a hack that’ll save the day, but it’ll only ever work one time). The character interactions felt quite contrived, and I have serious doubts about the way the story resolved. The prose was fine, and if you can skim past the detailed descriptions of how good posture will make you a super powerful cultivator, there’s plenty of martial artist versus power-armor fight scenes.
This was my first venture into Cyberpunk and I must admit to enjoying it. The story is well paced with characters developing as the tale progresses. It has plenty of action with over the top action sequences of a Jackie Chan Chinese martial art movie / PlayStation game with an interesting twist on how to boost your energy levels. Don't want to reveal much of the plot and spoil the enjoyment. Ryu has returned to earn after a long life in a parallel plane. He has returned to close off the portals that will allow creatures from the parallel. He finds things greatly changed while he has been away. The humans have developed into two distinct groups genetically modified and non modified. Throw two alien races in completion for energy sources into the mix along with two untrained initiates who will develop and grow as the story progresses.
This book is the start of a series that seems to juxtapose cultivation and a dystopian future. The humans have been engineered themselves into super humans, Xhumans, but have unknowingly lost the ability to cultivate. The exception is the Pure breed humans who are second class citizens and looked down on. They can still cultivate and advance. This is about a cultivator who returns to earth with a mission but ends up training a new batch of cultivators. The current Xhumans and the authoritarian regime seek to stop them along with some interplanetary cloak and dagger. Seems like there is a major galactic resource war (energy) and the powers in cultivated may be part of the answer. Good book and I look forward to the next one.
For my first journey into the cyberpunk world, this was quite an experience. Through in some fantasy elements, some good old fashion martial arts fights, and even some sex, and you’ve got something quite unique. Oh and add in a tie to all the works J. C. Kang has written. This makes the universe expand quite a bit.
This book stands out because of the unique atmosphere it places for a cultivation novel. A sci-fi novel with tons of fantasy elements in a nice surprise.
Overall, one of the best reads in a while. J. C. Kang continues to impress even in a type of novel I’ve not read in before, though the inner sci-fi fan is quite satisfied with me finally reading something sci-fi again. I highly recommend you give this a read, whether or not you’ve read other works by J. C. Kang.
This is a great story that combines high tech scientific fighters against an ancient fighter with special powers who is trying to save the people of this realm from demon like monsters that are entering through portals from his realm.With the help of new friends that he teaches his fighting technics to,they have to battle both the monsters and the high tech soldiers to close them.Its action packed from start to finish and filled with great characters with and ending that leaves you wanting more.I received a beta copy of this book to leave an honest review and found it very hard to put down.A must read.
As the subtitle indicates, Quantum Cultivation meshes two disparate genres, futuristic cyberpunk and traditional Chinese martial arts. The combination works brilliantly. It’s great fun to see martial-arts masters using Qi power against mechanized armor, and hackers tracking down aliens – or are they elves? The author knows his stuff and makes this plausible within the conventions of both genres.
Not only is the worldbuilding remarkable; the characters are enjoyable and engaging. And there’s a late-blooming connection to another storyline that may surprise even Kang’s regular readers.
*Audio book review* Extremely annoying and cringey at times. Almost 95% of the characters are retarted or complete morons. Lots of complaining and envy from the MC sidekick. The future is horrible because everyone likes to be under big brother and everyone is "beige" and total whinny arrogant superhuman. The MC tries to explain "basic" things, and they look at him as if HE IS THE RETARD. I had a huge notes on the tons of CRINGE FACTOR this book had, but I gave up after 200 words. Interesting concept but just horrible characters.
Intriguing storyline and world. I've never read any Cyberpunk books before so this was a first and hopefully not my last venture into this area. Martial arts enthusiasts will enjoy the fight sequences which are detailed and very fast paced. There is an interesting way for the main character to replenish their energies and advance in their quest! The story is well thought out and the world building is excellent.
I enjoyed reading what I hope is the first book I’m this series. As I watched quite a few Kung Fu movies I enjoyed the references. There is good chemistry between the characters. I did not love the last chapter as it was pretty anti climatic. Although it left plenty of room for more story, it could definitely use some action. There is plenty of opportunity and making it so singular will not encourage further interest.
One of my favorite things about cultivation is the purity and chastity of most cultivators… in this they seem to all be free and loose with their sex.
Promiscuity disgusts me so I guess I’m too much of a prude to enjoy it.
If you aren’t bothered by people sleeping around outside of committed relationships then by all means please read this, it’s a deal breaker for me but I loved everything else about the story!
I am a big fan of Cultivation and Xianxia novels, and I can faithfully say that this novel does not disappoint! It has a vast system of cultivation that is really engaging and interesting to a westerner like me, and the cyberpunk aspect blends surprisingly well with the cultivation aspect. I highly recommend this novel to any fan of Cultivation, and I can't wait for the next book!
I have loved all of J.C. Kang books. This book was not exception. I picked up on a few grammatical error; however, I believe I read it before it was sent to the editor/publisher. If you read this book you will not be disappointed.
Only cultivation book I have read with diagrams of cultivation movement/poses . Has an interesting premise. Want to the world of rivers to be explored more in the next one.
This was a really good book. It sucks you right in and then it is a hold my beer and watch kind of ride right to the end. Really fun characters, interesting situations, dimensions, aliens, etc. I enjoyed this book and recommend it.
I loved the idea of mixing basically pulp cyberpunk and cultivation, but in practice this is a mess of clashing elements which made me feel a bit dizzy. It didn’t help that no one had any personality, apart from ‘quite thirsty’. It was a bit dull and I just didn’t care about them.
Kinda funny speed cultivation with mature method between breathing. I starting to see why litrpg etc is mostly long because most of the novel is either instructions on breathing or stats. This story is short but it is still a kinda good story with different characters than the usual suspects!
This is an excellent tale incorporating martial arts, personal growth, a horrible society and an utterly appalling danger that must be stopped at all costs. Enjoy !!
excellent I found this story absolutely fascinating.With all kinds of bad things happening there is an underlying theme of calm gentleness politeness and kindness that underlies Asian martial arts.