Reverse Stroke

Name: Reverse Stroke
ISBN: 9787530691465

言九鼎Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

3.2

Word count: 77K words
Chapters: 37
ISBN: 9787530691465

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Summary

This collection of military novellas brings together three recent works by Yan Jiuding: Cang Feng (Sheathed Edge), Ni Feng (Against the Edge), and Zhong Feng (The Central Edge). Grounded in the everyday life of the barracks and focused on moments of extraordinary trial, the stories press the question of what true heroism is, portraying a group of contemporary soldiers loyal to their mission and willing to shoulder responsibility.

The protagonist of Ni Feng is a lieutenant colonel saddled with a disciplinary record; while awaiting reassignment to civilian life, he braves surging floodwaters to rescue comrades and disaster victims, and in the end wins a new self and a new ending. Zhong Feng follows Staff Officer Yao Hong, master of information-age offensive and defensive techniques, who, misunderstood by his superiors, stays true to his original purpose and hones his craft, stepping forward at a critical moment in an exercise to turn the tide. In Cang Feng, young officer Lang Xiao'an passes through life and death, loses his memory, endures tempering, and remakes himself. Full of suspense, twisting and gripping, with vivid characters, the stories reflect the sweeping tide of military reform and forge a strikingly new kind of soldier.

Editor's review

Yan Jiuding's collection of military novellas turns its lens on the "extraordinary moments" of barracks life. The three works stand alone yet echo one another: Ni Feng follows a lieutenant colonel with a disciplinary record who, while awaiting reassignment, encounters a flood and rebuilds himself through rescue work; Zhong Feng follows Staff Officer Yao Hong, who holds firm to his expertise despite misunderstanding and turns the tide at a critical juncture in an exercise; Cang Feng follows young officer Lang Xiao'an, who passes through life and death and memory loss before reshaping his convictions. Rather than molding heroes through slogans, the author places his characters inside real predicaments—disciplinary records, misunderstanding, memory loss—making "true heroism" a question that must be pressed. The plots are dense with suspense and tightly paced, the texture of everyday barracks life is solid, and the book suits readers who want contemporary military fiction in novella-length portions. Read one piece on the commute or before bed; read all three in sequence to see how the author turns the image of the "edge" layer upon layer.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Adult readers who enjoy contemporary military fiction and care about soldiers' inner lives
Readers who prefer novellas and want to finish a complete story in a short time
Those curious about barracks life against the backdrop of military reform
Writing enthusiasts interested in the author's handling of suspense and character predicament

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer long, sweeping battle scenes and dense combat description
Romance or urban-fiction readers with no interest in military terminology or barracks life

Reading tips

Read in the order Cang Feng, Ni Feng, Zhong Feng over three evenings, noting how the image of the "edge" shifts across the three.
Pause briefly after each piece, recall the protagonist's hardest choice, then move on to the next.
Don't stop to look up military terminology; follow the characters' circumstances and emotional threads first.
After finishing, write a short hundred-word review comparing how the three protagonists respond differently to misunderstanding or disciplinary action.

About the publisher

Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Founded in August 1958 and restructured into Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. in 2009, Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House is known for publishing essays and fiction, and it hosts the journals Fiction Monthly and Essays. Its 757 titles in the library span classic works, culture, folk literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, foreign literature, and general biography. They include Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Zhu Ziqing's selected essays and Classic Essays, Fu Lei's Twenty Lectures on Masterpieces of World Art, and a Chinese translation of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa's Rashōmon, as well as cultural and performing-arts titles such as the illustrated Biography of Liang Qichao and A Dictionary of Crosstalk. Its authors include Lao She, Zhu Ziqing, Wu Qichang, Fu Lei, Xue Baokun, Gao Yucong, Wei Zhiqiang, and Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.

版权信息
逆锋
旅长来电
姜枣茶
演习
牺牲
洪水
杨子安蓝
穿越
营救
雨过天晴
同行者
中锋
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十
十一
藏锋
一
二
三
四
五
六
七
八
九
十
十一
十二

FAQ

Are the three novellas connected by characters or plot?

According to the available information, each focuses on a different protagonist: Ni Feng on a lieutenant colonel with a disciplinary record, Zhong Feng on Staff Officer Yao Hong, and Cang Feng on young officer Lang Xiao'an. The stories stand independently, but all are grounded in everyday barracks life, focus on moments of extraordinary trial, and jointly press the question of true heroism. They can be read in any order; reading them together brings out the thematic echoes.

Will it be hard to follow without experience of barracks life?

Not really. The stories move through character predicament and suspense; the military background is a stage, not a threshold. Readers need only follow the protagonists' choices in the face of disciplinary action, misunderstanding, and memory loss to enter the story. Occasional terminology won't affect comprehension of the main thread—skip what you don't understand.

Would it make a good gift for a friend who likes military dramas?

Yes. The novella length is moderate, the stories are suspenseful and the characters vivid, making it fairly accessible to readers used to military film and television. But it is a collection of novellas with a strong literary quality, not a popular military novel dense with battle scenes; before giving it, you might confirm the recipient is open to this style.

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About the author

言九鼎 Author

Yan Jiuding is an author about whom limited public information is available. Only one work by this author can currently be identified: the social novel Ni Feng (Against the Wind). Based on the available information, Yan's writing focuses on social themes, and the work is classified as a social novel, suggesting an attention to real life and social relations presented through fiction. Since the author's real name, English name, nationality, dates of birth and death, and writing career are not clearly recorded, it is not possible to outline the author's life, nor would it be appropriate to speculate about their background. As the only known representative work, Ni Feng is the main basis for understanding Yan Jiuding's writing. The title and classification suggest a degree of social observation and narrative tension, though the specific content and style should be judged from the book itself. Overall, Yan Jiuding is a writer known for social fiction whose work deserves more attention from readers and researchers.