Discussion Has anyone else noticed these novel synposes

Isn't in most of the times a extra synopsis added by the translator of the project or someone kindly summed it up in the reviews?
If not; then I'm sorry on behalf of translator-chan's unappreciated efforts, but I ain't gonna think of starting to read it, if there is no sufficient information given by tags or reviews xd

 

Do not look at them as insights into the novel instead look at each of them as singular presentation of various Chewbacca defense.

If Chewbacca lives on Endor you must not read.

 

Yep, that's why I refuse to read any novel without a decent synopsis! If the author can't even make that, then they definitely can't make a good book.

... Sorry, I'm going to ask a rude question.

Did you ever go to a library/bookstore and read a physical copy of a book?

If you did, then you probably read the book synopsis' beforehand, and I'm pretty sure the synopsis didn't spoil the book's end for you.

I have no idea what did you read in recent times to make you think a synopsis is the same as a resume.

 

CN novels especially the Qidian ones have this problem.
Several reasons for the one you mentioned:
1. The author has already finished eight novels. He has a large, stable reader group who will read his novel without knowing who the MC is, whether the MC is human or whatever.
2. CN authors like to express in the synopses a feeling, emphasizing on delivering a concept, a style, like the art movie trailers, which is likely to be lost in translation. Especially when there's bad/inaccurate translation. For example: the essential word 末法 is translated to "the ends of Earth", which makes no sense.
3. What you want to see in the synopsis (background setting, genre, etc.) is actually in the prologue.
4. This novel is intrinsically bad.

 

yes, i think poetic synopses are pretty much kitsch in chinese novels, as authors seem to put their works on a pedestal and regard them as a work of art. most of the time though, they used it to be more flexible with regards to plot, giving them more room for structural changes when readers' tastes are not according to their expectations.

 

The mistake people seem to be making about the descriptive piece is that it's a synopsis. It's not - it's actually a blurb. And while blurbs can be a summary of the story, they don't have to be. That said, blurbs for Chinese stories aren't the most helpful things in the world.

Partly this comes from the length of the story and the uncertainty of what the plot is, but I don't think it's the real reason. The fact of the matter is that literary Chinese is a pretty poetic language to begin with and it's tradition to make the blurbs at least somewhat poetic. And that's often just going to communicate tone an mood instead of plot.

The worst I've come across are historical novels because their blurbs can communicate tons of information, but often only to people who are already familiar with the events. "靖难削藩，迁都修典" was the first eight characters in the blurb for a book I read, but it's completely meaningless without knowing what they specifically refer to. My general policy is to not read the blurb until I finish the book.

 

No worries, being rude is normal in NUF.
So,

It is kind of hard to make someone understand others point of view, since You didn't understand what I was trying to say then there is no need for further explanations.
After all, who gives a sh1t about it if someone would understand your point of view in upside/down.

 

Empty sinopses and completely unrelated covers are the main offenders. Those make me think that CN authors just have no idea what they will write before starting. I mean, i am not telling you to plan 500 chapters before starting but you should at least make sure the person in the cover looks like your MC, ffs the MC is described in chapter 1!

 

I don't think that Chinese authors have that much control over what gets used as a cover for their books. Sometimes the same goes for Western writers as well. I recall a particular one who kept complaining that the characters in her covers don't look anything like the descriptions, and this happened with artwork specifically commissioned for the book!

One of the reasons why Michael Whelan is such a legend in SF&F artwork is that he took the time to read the material before he planned his paintings. The end result is that they ended up complementing rest of the book and probably sold more copies! Most artists don't go to such efforts so their covers tended to look a lot more random (Darrell K. Sweet being a pointed example). Chinese books are a bit more extreme, but I don't think that they're that different from the Western experience. They just suffer more because of the ready comparison to Japanese books and their approach to covers.

 

I still love Whelans covers for CS Friedman's Coldfire trilogy. Those and Robert Gould's Elric covers (and one other Elric artist I forget who) are the best, IMO.

 

That other artist might be Whelan again. Michael Moorcock used to sing his praises for accuracy. Apparently it's not something that's easy to get right.

 

What I want, the Heavens shall not lack! What I don’t want, had better not exist in the Heavens!” This is a story which originates between the Eighth and Ninth Mountains, the world in which the strong prey upon the weak. “My Name is Meng Hao! The Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, I shall seal the Heavens!“

 

I used to see a lot of them with descriptions that don't say anything, but a lot get cleaned up by the translator so I can't find them any more.

I also think they might actually sound poetic in Chinese... but doesn't translate well..

 

Reading a synopsis just now I couldn't help but remember this thread and wanting to post it...:

There is a type of person, his entire life is a legend.

There is a type of person, awesomeness overflows from his brows.

There is a type of person, his name is Lin Fan.

Everybody: “Lin Fan, I want your babies.”

A domineering life of swag and awesomeness, needs no explanation.


The Strongest System

 

tbh based on my experience and knowledge~ it resulted from no full plan on story I guess~ it's WN after all~
oh also so it sound catchy on original language? who know~