The Unobjectionable Conqueror

Chapters 62-63

With the death of Pang Tong, things seem like they are falling apart for Liu Bei just as he is finally taking the Shu. It’s been interesting to see how the author makes Liu Bei remain heroic even as he conquers the Riverlands from his distant family. So far, Liu Bei hasn’t done anything too objectionable. All his actions are excusable. Can it last?

We get some bad omens in these chapters. It was very clear that Pang Tong’s death was coming before it arrived. Then, when Kongming left Jingzhou in Lord Guan’s hands, it sounded like it would be the last time Kongming would see him. With all the misfortune, I expected something could even happen to Zhang Fei as he attacked Yan Yan in the Riverlands. But no, Zhang Fei showed some growth in wisdom. He made an ally out of Yan Yan.

Poetry Writing Constraints

Chapters 78-80 Tons of plot in these chapters. Most importantly, we get the deaths of a major character (Cao Cao) and minor characters (Xiahou Dun, Hua Tuo, Liu Feng). Hua Tuo’s death is one of my favorites, given my love of lost books. His “Book of the Black

The Devil Goes Down to Arabia

Nights 681-695 After the last couple weeks, I was worried that I was tiring of the Nights. But there was some good stuff here! My enthusiasm for the Nights has been restored. We can thank al-Asma’i, who the index says was a real-life expert on the

Head is a Hot Potato

Chapters 76-77 With the biggest death of the book so far, and likely one of the biggest in the book overall, we really get the sense of the end of a great one. Sun Quan beheads Lord Guan and quickly regrets it. Sun is advised that Liu Bei will

Seriousness replaced absurdity

Nights 649-680 It’s hard for me to say why I found this story so much more tiresome than what came before it. Maybe I’m getting tired of the Nights. Maybe work is particularly stressful right now. If I were to look for an objective reason, I’d

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Poetry Writing Constraints

The Devil Goes Down to Arabia

Head is a Hot Potato

Seriousness replaced absurdity