Something is Not Right Review
Web Novel Review: Something is Not Right by Cyan Wings
Nothing is right and I’m disappointed. Cyan Wings is the author of one of my favorite danmei; Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know. When I came across this web novel I was expecting another great read. Unfortunately, this one simply doesn’t work for me and I want to discuss why.
The Story
Twenty two year old emperor Jingren is trying his best to be a good ruler. He’s pushing for policies that will help the common people and playing complex political games to keep his Kingdom running smoothly. When one day he’s accidentally knocked out by a crying maid who’s come to plead for her brother’s life. Through a series of weird coincidences the woman is able to bypass all of the emperor’s guards and approach him.
After the emperor wakes up, while he’s recovering from his head injury, he notices that his memory isn’t working correctly. He can’t remember the face of his Empress and several of the other people around him. He can recall details about their personalities or their back stories but not their faces.
Unbeknownst to him some of his concubines, eunuchs, and his ministers are all competing to earn his affection. At first glance they appear to be transmigrators but it’s later revealed that they’re players in a game.
This is a game based on a book in which an emperor meets a young woman who saves his life during an assassination attempt. The two become close and he eventually falls so deeply in love with her that he’s willing to give up everything including his Kingdom for her.
This means that the Emperor is an NPC (non player character) based on the character from the book. The goal of the players in the game is to get Emperor Jingren to see them as his most beloved person for whom he would give up everything. However, this NPC version of the emperor is so true to the original values the character held before he met that woman that he would never choose love over his duty. Giving up on the country for one person is not in his nature so all of the players are having a difficult time moving his heart.
Empress Xiao Jinyi is the only one who genuinely cares about helping and protecting the emperor. The Empress is brave, handsome, and obviously a man. Yes, the Empress is a man. How or why this happened is part of the mystery. This and the other curiosities of the novel are what kept me reading far longer than I should have.
The Downsides
The novel has imperial harem and political intrigue tropes with the added twist of crossdressing and transmigrators. The problem is that the story is hard to follow. Dumping all the information about its setting too early would be dull, but withholding details when there’s so many different elements at play can turn mystery into confusion. Information is slow to come and when it does it still doesn't make sense.
The next issue is that I don’t find the characters that likable. Most of them are random schemers of no importance and Emperor Jingren is too cold and calculating for my tastes.
The main characters in Devil Venerable aren’t exactly warm and cuddly, but they’re not normal people. There are things I’d expect and accept from the members of a demonic sect but find difficult to condone in a supposedly just ruler.
The Emperor’s intentions are good in theory, but he’s the kind of person who treats people as if they’re pawns. For example, once he knows that the Empress is a man and therefore incapable of giving him a child he plans to find a concubine to impregnate. He boldly declares that the child will know and have no other mother but the Empress.
I’m sure this is meant as a declaration of his love. He can’t promise to only be with the Empress because as a ruler he needs to have an heir to the throne. His decision to give the woman no status and to have her child be raised solely by the Empress is meant to show his loyalty to Xiao Jinyi, but what about that child’s mother. What if that woman wanted to keep her child? With the way the harem works refusal wouldn’t be an option.
Regardless of where this is taking place. Whether in a game world or reality, in ancient times or modern, it’s a cruel plan that thankfully never comes to fruition. If you like the main couple and get caught up in the romance of the moment you may miss the plan to treat a woman like a broodmare. I didn’t and I like them both less because of it.
To enjoy this novel you need to not think too hard about the world building itself. The plot is unusual and there a several twists to the story but thinking about it makes the entire thing crumble into dust. Ask no questions, focus solely on the romance, and you might have more fun than I did.