Grim Reaper
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Summary
This e-book bundle, categorized under "Sci-Fi and the Supernatural / Horror and Thrillers," contains seven complete Chinese horror-suspense novels. These seven works are by different authors and were originally published separately by Beijing Times Chinese Press, Anhui People's Publishing House, Beijing United Publishing Company, and other houses before being collected here. The seven novels vary widely in setting and theme: Hong Niangzi's Grim Reaper revolves around a fog-shrouded service station on the night of the Ghost Festival; Yu Xin's Ghost Covering the Eyes series is set in Black Water Town in the early Republic of China, where the Maoshan Taoist priest Mao Wuji confronts zombies and fox spirits; Gao Yang's Thousand Gates: Thousand-Hand Guanyin centers on the martial world's "thousand arts" and the eight generals of the Thousand Gates, built around a struggle over a Thousand-Hand Guanyin statue; and Jin Wanzang's Jade Pool Underground Palace, Ancient Corpse of the Secret Realm, and Dance of a Thousand Tongues unfold around the Guoguo state ruins of Mount Wangwu, the hidden legacy of aged wine, and a missing-person case in a Guangxi mountain village, respectively. On the whole, this collection offers a cross-section of Chinese online horror fiction from roughly 2012 to 2014, blending folk taboos, supernatural folklore, adventure, mystery solving, and martial-world intrigue. It suits readers who want to sample several authors at once; each volume can also be read independently, in any order.
Editor's review
The value of this bundle lies in its "overview" nature. For readers new to Chinese online horror fiction, buying seven books at once may seem heavy, but this bundle gathers representative works by Hong Niangzi, Yu Xin, Gao Yang, and Jin Wanzang in one place, making it a convenient way to see what styles these authors, who were active on platforms such as Sina Reading and Tianya, each excel at. Hong Niangzi's writing is eerie and delicate, and she is skilled at building a sense of oppression from everyday scenes; Yu Xin uses Mao Shan Taoist arts, zombie folklore, and Republic-era banditry to create a layered, suspenseful atmosphere, and the first two volumes of *Ghost Covering the Eyes* were promoted by Tianxia Bachang and others; Gao Yang's *Thousand Gates* series is known for its clever schemes and martial-world structure; and Jin Wanzang is good at embedding geographical features, folk customs, and archaeology into his adventures, giving his stories a somewhat documentary flavor. As a bundle of e-books, it is well suited for reading on e-ink readers or phones, taking up little space and allowing you to switch between titles. It should be noted that these works were serialized online and then published in print, with pacing and diverging plot threads typical of online fiction; readers who prefer tight, literary prose should lower their expectations.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy Chinese supernatural folklore and horror suspense and want to sample several authors at once
- Readers interested in Mao Shan Taoist arts, zombie folklore, and Republic-era themes
- Readers who like adventure-style mystery solving involving tomb raiding, archaeology, and folk culture
- Readers who prefer e-books and often read in fragments on commutes or before bed
Not a good fit for
- Readers who dislike gore, corpses, supernatural elements, or frightening atmosphere
- Readers who want tight, refined literary fiction and are sensitive to the loose pacing of online fiction
- Young or minor readers, as these books contain horror and violent descriptions
Reading tips
- Read Grim Reaper first, a complete story with a tight atmosphere, to get a feel for the tone of the collection
- If you like Republic-era folklore, read the two volumes of *Ghost Covering the Eyes* in order, as volume two continues the story of Black Water Town
- The three Jin Wanzang novels are independent of one another and can be read in any order or as stand-alone stories
- If you read late at night, control the pace; horror fiction can affect sleep quality
FAQ
Is this a single novel or a seven-book collection?
This is an e-book compilation of seven full-length novels: Grim Reaper, Ghost Covering the Eyes 1 and 2, Thousand Gates: Thousand-Hand Guanyin, Jade Pool Underground Palace, Ancient Corpse of the Secret Realm, and Dance of a Thousand Tongues. The seven books are unrelated to one another and can be read in any order, and there is no continuous storyline.
Are the seven books complete or excerpts?
According to the table of contents, each novel is complete. For example, Grim Reaper includes all eighteen chapters from "Car Accident" to "Epilogue: A Story Beyond the Story," and Dance of a Thousand Tongues includes its concluding chapters. However, the actual pagination may vary depending on the e-book edition.
Can I read only one or two of them?
Yes. The seven books are independent works by different authors and do not affect one another. If you are only interested in one author, you can read just that book without affecting your understanding of the others.
From which publishers do these books come?
The print editions were released by several publishers: Grim Reaper and *Ghost Covering the Eyes* were published by Beijing Times Chinese Press, Thousand Gates: Thousand-Hand Guanyin by Beijing United Publishing Company, and Jade Pool Underground Palace, Ancient Corpse of the Secret Realm, and Dance of a Thousand Tongues by Anhui People's Publishing House.
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