First of all, I have to say I was debating quite long and hard about whether to leave a positive or a negative review. I am very torn regarding how to review Coiling Dragon and honestly I don't think it deserves the 100% positive reviews it currently has. I have many issues with its writing. However, I did read the whole thing without dropping it, finished it in a time just shy of 2 months and overall enjoyed it. That's why I'm leaving a 'recommend' review. (However I wouldn't be mad if someone with a bit stronger opinions than me read it and left a 'not recommend' one)
As to more detailed review, let's start with the positives. I feel like Coiling Dragon is a good starting novel, a decent story to be your first if you plan to get into CNs. The plot is quite simple and straightforward, making it easy to follow. However, I was sometimes also pleasantly surprised by some of the developments, which did not follow the most cliche tropes and instead were quite fresh. Therefore, while it is straightforward, it isn't predictable. The power system is also easy to understand and provides quite clear guidelines on how things my develop, leaving little room for "power of friendship" or other similar derivatives. Also, the story is quite consistent throughout and quite exciting.
The humor is also present with a few characters providing comedic relief, but it's kept in moderation, so not every conversation has to contain a punchline. The romantic subplot is also done really well, at least as far as Chinese fantasy novels go. It had its own unique points and while it kinda goes down in quality as the story proceeds, it still has its own charm.
As for the side characters, they are mostly as well developed as the main character (which might not be a positive thing, depending on how you interpret this). They have their own lives and issues aside from serving as people standing next to the MC and aren't easily forgotten unless it is logical to move past them.
Now, for the more negative opinions. First of all, the main character of Linley is a bit unlikable, in my opinion. He starts of really great, but then from book 5 onward, every now and then he has some absolutely dumb moments which really had me pulling my hair in frustration reading them. Also, personally I just don't like some of the principals that he follows, especially later on.
There also is an issue of the quality of writing. While the translation is top tier, the original material isn't that great at moments. There are a few parts where I have a strong feeling IET knew he wanted to include a certain story development, but somehow missed the best moment to include it, so he had to forcefully insert it 'by force'. One of those moments almost had me drop the novel for real.
Another aspect is that Linley is simply too lucky. It might sound like a weird issue, but it comes to the point that no matter what Linley does he will obtain the most optimal result, so why should the reader even care about the process.
While I did say the story is consistent and characters not easily forgotten, there are some parts that I feel like were set up to do something interesting, but in the end were neglected or outgrown too quickly.
Another thing is that there is a big arc of the story where the fights became quite repetitive and there really was nothing too exciting about them, but it got better again towards the end.
All in all, if I could precisely give my score, I would give Coiling Dragon something like 55-60%
First of all, I have to say I was debating quite long and hard about whether to leave a positive or a negative review. I am very torn regarding how to review Coiling Dragon and honestly I don't think it deserves the 100% positive reviews it currently has. I have many issues with its writing. However, I did read the whole thing without dropping it, finished it in a time just shy of 2 months and overall enjoyed it. That's why I'm leaving a 'recommend' review. (However I wouldn't be mad if someone with a bit stronger opinions than me read it and left a 'not recommend' one)
As to more detailed review, let's start with the positives. I feel like Coiling Dragon is a good starting novel, a decent story to be your first if you plan to get into CNs. The plot is quite simple and straightforward, making it easy to follow. However, I was sometimes also pleasantly surprised by some of the developments, which did not follow the most cliche tropes and instead were quite fresh. Therefore, while it is straightforward, it isn't predictable. The power system is also easy to understand and provides quite clear guidelines on how things my develop, leaving little room for "power of friendship" or other similar derivatives. Also, the story is quite consistent throughout and quite exciting.
The humor is also present with a few characters providing comedic relief, but it's kept in moderation, so not every conversation has to contain a punchline. The romantic subplot is also done really well, at least as far as Chinese fantasy novels go. It had its own unique points and while it kinda goes down in quality as the story proceeds, it still has its own charm.
As for the side characters, they are mostly as well developed as the main character (which might not be a positive thing, depending on how you interpret this). They have their own lives and issues aside from serving as people standing next to the MC and aren't easily forgotten unless it is logical to move past them.
Now, for the more negative opinions. First of all, the main character of Linley is a bit unlikable, in my opinion. He starts of really great, but then from book 5 onward, every now and then he has some absolutely dumb moments which really had me pulling my hair in frustration reading them. Also, personally I just don't like some of the principals that he follows, especially later on.
There also is an issue of the quality of writing. While the translation is top tier, the original material isn't that great at moments. There are a few parts where I have a strong feeling IET knew he wanted to include a certain story development, but somehow missed the best moment to include it, so he had to forcefully insert it 'by force'. One of those moments almost had me drop the novel for real.
Another aspect is that Linley is simply too lucky. It might sound like a weird issue, but it comes to the point that no matter what Linley does he will obtain the most optimal result, so why should the reader even care about the process.
While I did say the story is consistent and characters not easily forgotten, there are some parts that I feel like were set up to do something interesting, but in the end were neglected or outgrown too quickly.
Another thing is that there is a big arc of the story where the fights became quite repetitive and there really was nothing too exciting about them, but it got better again towards the end.
All in all, if I could precisely give my score, I would give Coiling Dragon something like 55-60%
