Most Well Writen CNs & vice verca

『According to my opinion, I like ISSTH and WoC. They gave me much excitement which others haven't been able to yet.
IRAS is good as well as for the comedy and stuff.
Tried TDG as well. Story was good and all but romance irked me. Well these are opinions.』

 

Out of the CN I've found on NU The King's Avatar would probably be the closest I can think of as well written at least as far as story itself.
The runner ups just isn't far enough in translation for me to judge yet, for example TTNH.
As for bad novels, far too many to rank them, and the truly worst is likely ones so bad I never got far enough to fairly judge them as such lol

 

We all know Invisible Dragon would be in the worst in there if it was a CN novel.

But no matter how much of a disgrace it is, it still has its odd charms

 

So, putting my literary-critic hat on... to really figure out which is the best-written CN, you have to separate three distinct components:

1) Writing technique: how the writer uses words and sentence structure to achieve particular effects on the reader (the most obvious example is how I'm Really A Superstar's narrator leads you down one reaction path for a few sentences, then immediately reverses the reaction and goes in the opposite direction to achieve humour). Crafting clever, touching or memorable sentences / catchphrases (E.g. the "Lord Fifth" refrain from ISSTH) or the use of cliffhangers at chapter breaks also fall under this category.

2) Authorial technique: how the author structures the larger elements of story (plot, characterisation, pacing, emotional tone) to create a compelling overall narrative. (A good example is the characterisation of Diwa Qing Rou as a multi-dimensional antagonist in TTNH, showing his ruthlessness and intelligence through the blacksmith-sabotage plan, and his human side by mourning for his fallen brothers.) Things like foreshadowing (Er Gen uses this extremely well in ISSTH), logical consistency (if it's done well, you don't notice but if it's done badly, you do), and the handling of themes (loyalty, romance, the Dao, freedom, etc.) also fall under this category. (A lot of the Classics are good at this.)

3) Originality / innovation: how different is the novel from what we have read before? Does it improve upon or subvert genre conventions in an interesting way? Does it break new ground? (E.g. the King's Avatar is interesting because it gives you the viewpoint of a former pro-gamer and a peek into the world of competitive pro-gaming, unlike all the other gaming novels out there, which usually focus on gifted amateurs.)

I usually find that most of the really well-written ones are at least above average in most aspects, while outstanding in one or two areas. Douluo Dalu, for example, does a good job at everything, but is especially good at characterisation of its' supporting cast, and its' handling of the themes of sacrifice and family.

 

Surprised someone actually know how to critic in this community. *le gasp

 

The thing is, are we judging them based on English translated versions or the original work? I have this issue with Japanese LNs (and even otome), where I find the wording or story odd or not-so-exciting. Meanwhile my friend who actually studies Japanese is shaking her head at me over how many of the subtleties and twists of language I'm missing because I don't know Japanese. ; A ;

For what it's worth, I've heard many people praise Dream of the Red Chamber as a tightly written, beautiful work of art (at least the first half, which was written by the original author. There are some disputes over who wrote the second half). The genre won't appeal to everyone and might be boring to read, but the execution of the Chinese language is magnificent.

If we're talking "Well-Written" = "engaging, exciting, interesting" then I think @Dizzcity has a nice summary of what makes the cut. If we're talking purely from a structural/language/classics standpoint, then @kalp456 has their points as well.

Personally I like whichever types hold my interest longest, and has the coolest world-building/plot-twists. I'd say personal preference still rules here~ :3

 

There is also the fact that even translation quality aside pretty much all the novels on NU is at different translation stages ( aside for the few finished ones).
It is hard to compare a finished work with one that is half done or one that is perhaps only 10% translated.

 

True dat~
Especially if one novel's in the middle of a slow buildup arc and the other's already speeding through plot developments.
Maybe approximations would be the best way to go.

 

Well, this is probably biased:
I Shall Seal the Heavens, Long Live Summons, Otherworldly Evil Monarch, Transcending the Nine Heavens

No offence, but most people didn't read those or don't know about them. I knew about Journey to the West from some weird animation or cartoon I saw some 10 years ago or so... about Romance of the three Kingdoms I knew from the fact that I watched the tv series, I think I heard something about Water Margin though I'm not sure, and I read about Dream of the Red Chamber in some other novel, I don't remember where... but still haven't read any of those.