Chinese BL/Danmei Recommendation and Reviews

Sha Po Lang

Author: Priest

Genre: Steampunk, Wuxia (Martial Chinese Historical), Political Drama, Yaoi

Pairing: Gu Yun (shou), Chang Geng (gong)

Plot:

Chang Geng used to have a peaceful life as the Mayor's son and the unofficial adopted son (not really, this title is pretty one sided, I'll explain later) of Shen Sixteen, the deaf-blind more useless brother of the the two Shens who lives like hermits on the outskirts of town. The other brother, Mister Shen, is a master good at many things like martial arts, academics, medicine and dabbles on machinery as well and serves as Chang Geng's teacher and voice of reason on the Shen household. This is a steampunk after all so there are many robots and sci-fi weapons working through a magical substance called Ziluijin, which will be important althoughout the story. After their town was attacked by the barbarians, many secrets were revealed. Chang Geng was actually the emperor's son with a barbarian goddess, he had a birth condition called Bone of Impurity, and the Shen brothers he knew were actually generals sent by the emperor to bring him back to the palace. His deaf-blind adoptive father/yifu was none other the General Gu Mang, the youngest most powerful general the world has ever seen.

The adoptive father thing is a little more like a joke or an endearment, so please don't be bothered about it. This is a story with good wordbuilding involving wars with the Westerners, politicians scheming for power, and many interesting mecha.

Read if you like:

- Historical, Action, Fantasy and Sci-Fi mixed in two one

- Power plays and imperial court drama

- curses and mysterious rituals

- a playful, smart general shou x a clingy, maybe a little childish but very clever and scheming gong

Warning! Don't Read if you:

- dislike parent/teacher x child/student dynamic

- dislike big age gaps (I think it's 7 or 8 years?)

- don't like clingy gongs (it may even come off as Gu Mang just pampering Chang Geng at times instead of a mutual reflection)

- don't like tons of politics

Spoiler filled Personal Review:

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I love all of Priest books, their plots and worldbuilding are so unique and they make me feel like my IQ is rising by 50 every page that I read.

Sha Po Lang is a very cool and also a thought provoking story about how politics and fight for power really works, and why people make the decisions they do for their country or for greed for control. The lore is wonderful and the Bone of Impurity blew my mind. I like how it wasn't really clear if it was supernatural or just a mental disability caused by exotic means. The steampunk aspect is top-notch as well as the war parts. I like the side characters very much but my heart goes to Cao Chun Hua (please, just give him a hot boyfriend). Shen Yi and Miss Chen's dynamic is so awkward and kinda cute.

Now onto the main couple.... They're fine, I guess.

Nah, I'm just kidding Chang Geng's clinginess grew on me over time. For the majority of the book, it worried me that what Gu Mang only feels for Change Geng was Agape, which is universal and sort of familial love, and he always keep on referring back to the adoptive father thing too. But then we see that they're feelings are mutual, Gu Mang desires for Chang Geng and definitely love him more than as a kid he had to take care of. Their relationship is really sweet, I feel satisfied by their development at the ending and the extras. The way Gu Mang keeps on being dumbfounded by Chang Geng's clinginess though and his own words biting him back is hilarious.

9. 4/10, let me know your own thoughts in the comments. I first learned about this because of the announcement that it'll have a live action this 2021, but a lot of the reviews I heard worries about the quality of the steampunk elements would be. They have to have a huge budget for all that CGIs. But who knows, there's still hope, I'm looking forward for any adaptation for Priest's works because she deserves it.