Since I never read the novel and wasn't used to the first name it doesn't really make a difference to me.
I guess it's because Japanese media commonly does this, that this doesn't strike me as weird. Anyway, I think people need to read this and realize that it's wordplay. I know most translators don't translate it, but 道 (Dao) also carries the meaning of the "Truth." So the title has a double meaning in that the main character's pursuit of the truth (Dao) is actually the pursuit of 魔. I guess the symbolism is kinda lost without understanding the context, though.
If it was a new novel with that name then I would like it. Changing the current one to this it doesn't sound right.
I also agree the truth was random in a way as the word means devil/demon at least that's how it is translated as in most novels but i don't think the way of demons would make sense as according to https://piggybottle.wordpress.com/beseech-the-devil/beseech-the-devil-sybolism/ Su Ming is the original devil and if su ming doesn't exist then their isn't any real devil, idk something like that ....
I prefer the older name because it related to a part of the story but I will deal with the newer name as long as the translation is good What do you mean by that, having a name change doesnt ruin the novel.......
The author's choice it may be... But does he even know English well enough to acertain that "truth" is the better word? And does this mean that all the other term changes are at his behest? Maybe he should leave that someone more qualified. Berserkers are way too narrow a term for these cultivators. Blood solidification sounds cheesy. And since Trancendance has been basically used at a very high level of cultivation in other high profile works, it feels out of place
Well, even if the author wanted the characters to sprout chicken wings and start flying around on magic broomsticks there's nothing much anyone can say about it. The difference between an authorized translation and an unauthorized one is that the authorized one will have to follow the author's wishes to the letter. We can suggest and provide feedback but if he wishes otherwise, we wouldn't have much say either. Now I understand most of your concerns and I apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Translations of book titles is more of an art than a science, and sometimes it's not even nice looking art. The "Mo" in "求魔" does mean devil, but it means a dozen other things as well. The translator may not understand exactly what the author intended the meaning to be, and so they have to settle on something and hope it's right. This happens even with "official" translated titles as well. For example, Jin Yong's 碧血劍 is usually rendered as "Sword Stained with Royal Blood" because of the words 血 and 劍, which mean blood and sword respectively. As it happens, there is a fancy sword in the book, and it is used to cut up someone who's royalty, but that's not what the meaning is at all. "碧血" actually refers to patriotism, so the entire phrase "碧血劍" actually describes the protagonist and how he's driven by a sense of patriotism. And so, the proper translation should be more along the lines of "The Patriotic Sword". If a semi-official translation like this can screw up this badly, please don't think so poorly of fan translators.
Curious about how much of a grasp he has on the English language, it sounds much worse and there's no mention of anything devilish in it.
A word like "truth" is not a hard concept for even a foreigner with a poor grasp of English to get. I'm pretty sure that Ergen would have a good idea of why he feels that word fits his book better than "devil" does. That said, it's not that unusual for an Asian writer to pick a terrible English name for his work.
Yeah I know this is an old ass reply but I tried this novel last month. When I saw the term berserker it was dropped. That word don't match at all. Hell if you play a lot of games well mmos or online games you already got a permanent idea of what a berserker is.
As a matter of fact, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the dumbed-down American title for dummies since the publisher thought Americans are too stupid to appreciate the original, actual title which is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The Philosopher's Stone is a legendary item that has been written about since 300 AD. The Sorcerer's Stone doesn't mean a thing. Edit: Just realized someone bumped up a very old thread, my bad.
I've learned to lower my standards considerably with qidian. If you can find piggybottles's translations then I'd recommend going through those and then trying this translation. By then you should be able to, err, withstand some of these absolutely wrong terms. Like who TF thought to put buck teeth on snakes when anyone can tell he meant H fangs?
"Devil" in comparison to "truth" conveys Su Ming's journey perfectly. Beseech the devil or pursuit of the devil either way the devil part is freaking important and should have been kept. Wang Lin has his Renegade Immortal that sums up his story. Fang Hao has his I shall seal the heavens that sums up his story. Give Su Ming some damn respect as the 2 trancendor.