Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor

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To be honest, I’m just glad I’ve watched some cdramas, brushed up on a bit of Chinese history and watched all of Xiran’s videos diligently in the past year or so, because otherwise the experience of reading this book wouldn’t be the same. I’m not saying that you won’t enjoy the book if you don’t know the history - you still will because the story is written in such a way that everything that needs to be learnt is told in an organic way and you learn it along with the main character. But if you do know some little history and pop culture tidbits, it just makes you feel more excited and in the know. The magic system is also very interesting because it’s based on myths and legends and how much people believe in them. The writing is fun and quirky and full of banter, and the action starts right from chapter one, so there’s not much here to get bored. We are always on the move with the characters, going on heists and summoning legendary historical or mythical figures and just overall having fun all throughout. i really loved that this was filled with historical facts, but it got really confusing and i would've liked it more if it had been focused on a few things and dug deeper, instead of going in all different directions. Nawotka, Ed (24 September 2021). "Publishing in Canada 2021: Novelist Xiran Jay Zhao on Blending SciFi and Chinese History". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 24 March 2021. Cannot stress how excited I was that my store got an arc for this one. This review has no story spoilers.

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor | Rock The Boat Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor | Rock The Boat

Brooks, Rachel. "Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor (Zachary Ying #1) by Xiran Jay Zhao". Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 26 June 2022. Interchangeable Asian Cultures: Given a twist. Zachary is Hui and Melissa is Miao, and both bemoan the fact that everyone seems to think that Chinese people are all Han. a b Armstrong, Vanessa (11 May 2022). "Here Are the Finalists for the 2022 Locus Awards". Tor.com . Retrieved 12 May 2022.Okay, so there are legends basically everyone in a culture knows. Like Americans and their Batman and George Washington. For us in China, it’s Qin Shi Huang and Tang Taizong. We all know who they are and the legendary stuff they did. Them being in the minds of so many people generation after generation is what makes their spirits so powerful.” last thing i want to mention is that neo cihi, the audiobook narrator, really brought this story to bursting, vivid life! their expressive and multifaceted voice was so much fun to listen to, and i'm going to keep an eye out for more stories narrated by them in future. the only note i have is that i might’ve preferred a narrator who could pronounce the chinese words and phrases more accurately - but i understand this may’ve been a deliberate choice on the part of the author and publisher! and it ultimately didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.

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way too fast-paced, it was hard to understand what was going on and to picture the scenes most of the time Zachary Ying is an entertaining fast-paced middle grade novel in which Zach learns about himself, in both the sense of his culture and the type of person he wants to be. Author Xiran Jay Zhao is a master at keeping the stakes high while keeping the story fun. The Proud Elite: All of the emperors. They draw power from their legend and thus talking it up does serve a purpose, but they are very full of themselves in general and frequently boast about how amazing they were while putting down the other emperors. Cast from Hit Points: Tang Taizong’s spirit bow harms its user with every shot, as a reference to how he used it to kill his own brothers.I was really excited for this book and the first 25% were totally fun. but due to real life I couldn't enjoy the middle section like I wanted to. however, the ending portion kinda saved it.

Zachary Ying Series by Xiran Jay Zhao - Goodreads

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. I have never been passionate about (any) Asian culture so I really appreciated the history and cultural lessons. The presentation of the plot through altered reality games was clever and well done. I’m sure it would grab any kid who is mostly focusing on playing such games. I’ve recommended it to my son.Deliberate Values Dissonance: Zachary is horrified when he learns about the atrocities that the emperors have committed, describing them as "basically supervillains". Qin Shi Huang fully admits to it, but points out that everyone around him was doing the same or worse.