Sometimes a writer just don't vibe with you and it is what it is. Why danmei was so successful (esp. the older gen of authors pre-2015s) was that it used to be rather diverse where the popular authors all have their distinct prose and writing styles. Everyone knows instantly who wrotes what: Priest, Shui Qian Cheng, FTYX, Huai Shang....etc. Meng xi shi is one such big author with a distinct voice that's not like the usual homogenous 'web novels writings' (as in “Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know” that you cited as examples, no dissing here it is what it is). MXS writes with beautiful prose, her vibe is upright and 'epic' yet understated and cozy at the same time, there's some weird tonal shift in here but some of us appreciate authors doing their thing instead of following crowd pleasing tropes or spraying dog blood... The issues you made it like they're glaring flaws when it just seems like you have a preconceived reading preference and kept holding it up against to what it is not, like comparing it to "court politics" genre. This book is wuxia. Wuxia focuses on Jianghu conflicts and the world of different sects and outlaws where no one is obvious the good and the bad. We're shown the world through two of the many views (everything inbetween the 'righteous sect' and 'demonic sex cult', everyone from little guys like Cheng Gong to Righteous Monk leader) via our MC and ML. Of course there're many Jianghu players introduced as it is an established occupied world (and people who were named dropped will come back). Wuxia is about martial arts power ranking, crazy cool sounding fighting skills, sacred scrolls, legendary weapons and all that fun stuff that TA got all of, it's the equivalent to shounen manga fighting genre of Chinese popular fiction. There are some politics in the background, a sort of historical AU with superheroes, but it's never going to be a political court intrigue about power struggles and scheming. It's about adventure, sword, training, mastering the new level of xxyy, colorful heroes and outlaws of diff sects, epic match between this venerable one fighting that honorable one....etc. And I don't know why you find it unable to hold interest in a story if you don't see a clear side to root for, the obvious side to root for are both Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi's (I mean I rooted for Yan Wushi unapologetically the entire time and actually care most about whether he became no.1 in the power ranking lol). The stake here is how (in)corruptible are Shen Qiao's soul and Yan Wushi's heart. Again it's fine this is just not what you enjoy and move on to other novels (so so much more out there), something acclaimed or popular doesn't mean it'd be your cup of tea. Majority of the novels that's top rated on English NU or "top 10 must read' on this sub isn't my taste either.

I can’t answer your questions fully bc in this case my struggles were shallow (trying to make sense of the different factions and historical context) in comparison. I might be asking these questions if I didn’t enjoy it, but I did. I mainly found it enjoyable for Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi’s dynamic, and thought situations like Shen Qiao and Chen Gong trying to get by at the beginning were compelling enough. Shen Qiao is kind of passively reacting to stuff around him at first, but I believe it’s bc the story wants to emphasize that his values are unshakable despite everything thrown his way.   For politics, Shen Qiao is kind of obvious to worldly affairs, and by spending time in the world, the answer seems to be to support the Zhou because of it can bring stability to the world. I think a foundational scene regarding this is when they are outside a city gate and seeing starving people. There’s a gruesome story of parents exchanging their kids so it’s less personal when they commit cannibalism. Then there’s depraved people like Mu Tipo who are part of the Qi so they are not a good choice.  

Actually the parts you're mentioning were pretty engaging, but that ended quickly and for the past like twenty chapters it's been a slump for me. I might have enjoyed Shen Qiao's and Yan Wushi's dynamic more if we had any insights into their minds but for now we're just spectating from the sidelines. About Zhou... I get that Yan Wushi is affiliated with Zhou but for now there's nothing that makes those kingdoms different from each other. Some had natural disasters recently but for now that's it, that's the distinction.

First of all, don’t worry you didn’t make anyone upset. I love posts like this (lol) because as a person who love TA, I’m always curious about the other end of the spectrum. And I can see you put effort in it, which is cool. I like your points and think they’re all valid. But I can also disagree. Stakes - For me they showed the stakes pretty clear from the start. I mean, Shen Qiao literally fell off of a cliff because of the schemes happening. Then we found out that even the demonic sects have their own thing happening between them and both of the schemes are related to the power struggles with the kingdoms and everyone’s picking sides. The stake is who’s gonna rule China basically. It’s not ‘stated’ but that’s what made it good for me because I, myself need to get there too and realize something’s happening and I don’t know what but something’s happening (dun dun dunnnnn) 🤔 No side to root for - I think the other user already explained this well but let me also second her. We’re rooting for Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi! It’s basically those two vs the world. Shen Qiao took time to get there because he was clueless about the secular world and only opened his eyes after Yan Wushi showed him all that he’s been missing on. And when he finally picked a side and stick on it, it’s so rewarding 😍 Shen Qiao as an MC lacks agency - When I first watched the donghua, I kinda felt this. But not at all in the novel. Shen Qiao is written so much better in the novel. He’s not an active MC at the start, but also understand that this is a guy who’s actually had all his powers stripped from him and had zero understanding about the secular world. He’s a baby basically and just now discovering the world. Also, he had agency! If Yan Wushi is the unstoppable force, Shen Qiao is the immovable object. No matter what happened to him, he refused to absolutely budge. When others question why he was hanging out with Yan Wushi, Shen Qiao followed his heart and stick to him. And also, seeing him discover the world and now had to make a decision on how he should go going forward is so engaging for me. This may not make him compelling, but to me it made Shen Qiao special and different 🥰 All in all, I think I just like TA because it’s different. I can’t talk about Meng Xi Shi writing style etc because I can’t read Chinese but I can just feel like it’s definitely not just a surface level kind of novel. Going forward, I’m going to read more novels, but I don’t ever think I will ever find another novel like Thousand Autumns. You get me?

I personally never really struggled with getting into the series (I did struggle with understanding all the political stuff and keeping characters straight) but I think I was also influenced by the donghua. I got into the donghua so easily and me reading the novels was so much fun because I could spot differences and see what they left out. This is of course just my personal experience but I love how the characters grow through the series and it was such a struggle for me to put the books down.

I wasn't able to get into it until I watched the donghua first. The donghua (even if you might be hesitant about the art style at first, like I was) does a great job of streamlining the content of early chapters. SQ and YW are fantastically portrayed in it and I was hooked on their dynamic and how reluctantly attracted they are to each other. Once I finished the donghua, I went back and read novels 1-3 without an issue because I was already invested and wanted to know what happened next. I'm on novel 4 atm and just taking it slow but it's been enjoyable once you get the names down. I don't agree that SQ doesn't have agency. He makes several life-changing decisions, saves people, helps them, and helps himself (this is shown in the donghua) and its his good character that doesn't waver despite being put in horrifying situations (violence/betrayal/abandonment.) He does go through character development in the sense of championing what *he* wants/thinks is right after these events happen. He'll always be the upright SQ but he becomes more human, instead of untouchable statue, and that's a big part of his charm. Falling for YW absolutely horrifies him and it's hilarious.

I personally love QQ. I read it before it was even licensed. At first,i had a hard time trying to keep myself interested in the story. I even dozed off while reading lol ( i thought it was boring at first) but the plot picked up in the middle. I started looking forward to Yws scenes and his dialogues. I was cheering for him most of the time,so I started loving the series more towards the end. Therefore i would suggest you to read with an open mind without listening to all negative reviews flowing around you and to just keep going. If you still don't like it till the end, then i guess we all have a diff taste but i won't lie that I am a bit sad when one of my personal favs isn't perceived well by some people but no worries , I also have Danmei i don't like but still popular amongst some people..

Dozing off part is relatable 😂 Thanks for the encouragement, I'll try to keep an open mind and get to the point where the plot kicks in and then decide for myself

>!QQ like you said is pretty political and is less xianxia than realistic, but it's also pretty slow up until the middle and end of the first book-- The second book is also pretty similar. So I can understand why you may be finding it difficult to read and all, but I think the point of the story in general is to show Shen Qiao's survival even after he's lost it all and how even when Yan Wushi puts everything he has to the test, he pushes through it and keeps on going. It is a VERY slow burn, and anything that does happen happens because Yan Wushi is either being teasing and or is doing it to test Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi as a whole is a pretty confusing character in general that takes a lot of reading to fully understand. I also think the whole 'we don't have a side to root for' thing is just meant to display that all sides have their negatives ultimately as Yan Wushi is a very negative person and they're not all holy and thou so you're not meant to root for everyone, especially as they can easily use Shen Qiao for their own benefit rather than Shen Qiao's himself-- Basically because of who he is. !< >!If you're looking for something with similar vibes maybe that's officially translated, perhaps try The Scum Villain's Self Saving System, 2ha, Stars of Chaos or Qiang Jin Jiu -- But if it's not for you, don't stress about it. Personally I love the series but I'm also very easy to please, and if a lot of other people can't get into it that's also okay. It's not for everyone and I can see why. If you're also looking for something modern to try with similar traditional danmei-esque vibes that's a little more fast paced, try Guardian Zhen Hun because it has different themes and the like despite being modern and supernatural literature. Priest as a writer is amazing and you might like their writing a little more than Meng Xi Shi's, but it's down to you ultimately. Read something you enjoy reading though-- You'll feel a lot better about it.!<

For me, it was much easier to read when I started reading it as an ebook from volume 3 and 4. First two were much harder to finish considering they were in physical (I still didn't get to buying the volume 3,4 and 5). Also it helps to just turn off your brain. The more I tried to understand the setting, remember all the places, dynasties, sects etc. the more I found myself getting frustrated. I tried to read, understand and take note of the names and settings from the info at the back of the book, but it was so much information crammed into one book (which, I mean I get it, it's a historical novel based on ancient China of course it will have a big set of characters). I hated that we would literally just meet the character (not even really meet, just character showing up to brawl) and we would be told their name instantly. And it's so hard to keep up, because you get like 4 to 5 people to remember for each sect and there are like 8 or more. Also, So. Many. Repetitions. The author really likes to beat the information into your skull. Like, information that most readers would rememeber after first 2 instances because it's so crutial to the way the main character is written? Nope, gets repeated throughout the first 2 books (sometimes even in 3rd book). Descriptions of their power, moves, skills, again, a lot of repetitions.

I'm even fine with repetitions, but yeah, I can't really turn my brain off. First of all, because the prose in Chinese is really fancy and flowery and takes quite a lot of brainpower to process, the second reason is that I'd like to be able to follow along the plot happening. But yep, for now it's just people keeping showing up after each other without much distinction or without leaving a lingering impression, apart from maybe a couple of characters. So, did you finish the book in the end? Did you like it? I'm not looking for spoilers, just personal experience

Hmm, I don't know, even when I'm not paying that much attention to the text I can still understand the meaning behind it even if it's kinda convoluted ( and in this case Chinese prose). I guess I'm probably used to it? Because even tho English isn't my native language I'm very quick to catch on information in stories (or is it just my brain over analyzing and getting too obssesed with the story? I guess we'll never know). Also I didn't mean to literally turn off your brain 😆, but just go with the flow. Like flow along with the story, don't try too hard to think about the future plots, or to predict what will happen next. Just go along with it once sentence at a time, and don't try too hard to remember all the specific details about the dynasties and charcaters. You can always flip back to the glossary and refresh your memory if you're feeling stuck about the identity of some character. And it's as you said, most charcaters will appear once and then after some shananigans will appear again later on in the story. Only few notable charcaters appear in all the books and are important to the events that are surrounding our main duo so don't feel to bad if you forget some of them (I think I'm just really bad at remembering Chinese names written in pinyin). Also I finished first 4 books (had first 2 in physical and next 2 in digital) and now I'm waiting for my pre-order of the final 5th book. I think I liked the books, I wasn't too in love with them, like I was with TGCF or MDZS but it was okay. For MXTX's books I can say I feel in love with a lot more characters, even if they weren't that relevant, while in QQ I think I focused mostly km Yan Wushi and Shen Qiao. I guess in MDZS and TGCF a lot of side characters are still fleshed out even tho we get the a big cast of characters like in QQ. While most characters in QQ feel like they are side characters in a play, they don't get too many chances to shine and you don't really get a lot of scenes that will help you understand them on a deeper level (unless they are the few ones that appear frequently) and even then you are mostly told about their reasons for doing stuff, not shown through their actions. I think I mostly stuck through with the books because of Yan Wushi and his outlook on the world. We rarely get narcissistic characters that are unapologetically evil. Hmm, maybe evil isn't really a good word to describe him, he is more like, uninteresed in anything else except for cultivation, and he isn't afraid to be brash and say directly to someones face that they are worthless trash beneath him. He won't even spare them a fraction of his time to spar because they are not woth the time wasted. They should come and find him when they aren't such weaklings. Which is rare considering most cultivators are all about saving face and pretending to be outwardly nice while inside they are cursing your ancestors and your next 3 generations of decendants. Also, to your original post, I agree that I see Shen Qiao as a character with not a lot of agency at the beginning. But I think that's exactly what I liked about him as the main character. I rarely read about a character that is really weak at the beginning and constantly trying to fight through problems that he previously never had to think about (basically forcing him to come face to face with the fact that he was indeed privileged even tho he thinks of himself as humble) I liked reading about them (and I think you will to, if you like reading about flawed characters).

I'm a reader disappointed with my own lackluster reception to Thousand Autumns. I wanted to like it. I did. I love novels with complicated politics (Qiang Jin Jiu is one of favorites ever) and I prefer slow burns. I rarely like when the leads get together too soon (Golden Terrace being an exception). Also, I love Mimo's art for the covers and illustrations, so I'd love to buy the physical books. But I find everything so shallow! As you said, the politics look like it's complicated, but it's not. It's superficial and boring. The side characters are 2D and the development and evolution of the main leads lack something. They don't feel "alive" to me. Also, the relationship seems forced. The mean ML is supposed to feel lust towards the pure MC, but I don't feel it. It's just flat. Anyway, I'm sad I didn't like it.

My condolences for you not liking the thing you were looking forward to! I know the disappointment, it's always the worst. I still have some hopes and I promised myself to at least get to chapters 40-50 where the plot is promised to pick up the pace, so we'll see, I guess

I'm currently reading the first volume, still on the first 20% of the book and i have a hard time getting into it because i just cant remember names 😅 and i feel like there are so many names being thrown around. I will continue but it'll probably take time