Review By: Anonymous
Published: 2020
Genre(s): YA Graphic Novel, Manga, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Comics, Queer, Mystery, Historical Fiction
Audience: Grades 11 and 12, Adult
Content Warnings: Ghosts, undead
Goodreads Link: Grand Master of Demonic Cultivation Volume 1
Publisher’s Summary:
Feared and hated for his sinister abilities, Wei Wuxian–the grandmaster of demonic cultivation–was driven to his death when the most powerful clans united to destroy him.
Thirteen years later, Wei Wuxian is reborn. Summoned by a young man who sacrificed his soul in a forbidden ritual, Wei Wuxian is now bound to seek vengeance on the stranger’s behalf or risk the destruction of his own soul. But when an evil entity emerges, a familiar face from Wei Wuxian’s past suddenly appears amidst the chaos–Lan Wangji, a powerful cultivator who will help shine a light on the dark truths that surround them.
Review:
The graphic novel is pulled directly from the novel Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. It follows Wei Wuxian through his soul coming together in a new body to find his way back to Lan Wangji. They find each other while solving the mystery of why Wei Wuxian was brought back and his quest to solve the mystery of the one armed killer. I felt that the graphic novel moved too quickly through the story of the novel. While it is true that so much of the story can be told through the art of a graphic novel it still felt like it was only capturing the major points of the story. A lot of the subtleties and nuances were lost. Time was not spent on introducing each character like it was in the novel. Perhaps because we can see them in the graphic novel they felt no need to. However I had trouble keeping track of which character was which and their personality traits were mostly lost.
As a former music teacher, this could be great for introducing students to eastern and Chinese instruments. One of the features of this story is that the characters play instruments to control their spiritual powers, or from a westerners perspective, their magic. The flute and the guqin are featured heavily as the weapons of the main characters. While a flute is something students may have seen before, I do not think many will be familiar with the guqin. A whole lesson could also be done on instruments that students are familiar with and how they might be used as weapons or conduits of magic.
I believe that students would enjoy it because of the elements of magic and mystery. Who does not love a good ghost story? They definitely would not be expecting this from a music class. The graphic novel aspect will make it a quick and easy read as well.
