I am halfway through book two and I am loving it. This book is incredible, it is not perfect, but it is beautifully written, fresh, and inspiring. It more than deserves a five-star rating by any measure.

First off, it is written well within the boundaries and tropes of the cultivation genre, which is steeped in Eastern myth and medicine. One of my favorite things about the Cultivation sub-genre is how rich and true to inspiration it can be with its source material, while still accessible to the Western reader.

Like many of you, I am mostly bored with the middle age European style of fantasy and I have loved the golden age the genre has been experiencing recently.

Virtuous Sons does everything a Cultivation Novel should do, but with an entirely new Mythos and Culture to draw upon and It. Is. Glorious. Extremely well-built world and incredible characterization.

On top of all of that, the writing, especially a few particular battle scenes has some of the best writing I have ever read. Period. The cadence dialogue/fight scenes are just works of art, and I reread them several times to enjoy their rhythm and word choice again and again.

To top it all off, this Voice acting on the Audible version is top tier. I listened to the first book, then got it on KU to enjoy some parts again and move on to the second while I wait for next month’s credit.

This book was not an immediate smash hit on release. But I think in Ten years it will stand out as one of the best pieces of fiction released in the genre.