- #1
I'm really enjoying this novel so far. The premise of a modern guy getting transported into the body of a beautiful but crazy female martial artist is ripe for comedy, and the author delivers in spades.The main character, A-Qing, is an absolute riot. Her complete lack of understanding about the murim world's culture and her foul-mouthed, confrontational personality leads to countless hilarious interactions and misunderstandings. Yet she also shows flashes of an existential crisis over her reality, giving surprising depth.The action sequences are great, mixing traditional murim fighting with A-Qing's unhinged berserker mentality. The world-building of the murim itself is well-researched and immersive.Most impressively, the novel manages to be a martial arts gender-bender comedy without feeling creepy or fetishistic at all. The gender swap is treated as just an absurd premise to mine for laughs, not sexualized.My only minor gripe is some of the humor relies a bit too much on Korean-language puns that can get a little lost in translation. But the translator does an admirable job explaining them.Overall, this is a fresh, funny, well-written murim novel that transcends its genre trappings. I highly recommend giving the "crazy b*tch" a try! The opening chapters had me hooked.