The Sun's Blood

Heirs of Sun and Storm, Book 1

By: Jeremy Bai

Narrated by: Travis Baldree

Length: 22 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Immortal cultivators are outlaws. They are hunted and executed, and their magic is illegal.

Anti-cultivation propaganda posters are plastered on every street corner. The Counter-Cultivation Division investigates, the elite Black Corpses are sent in for the kill. None are spared. Mercy does not exist.

But did the cultivators really bring the War of Tribulation? Are they actually responsible for the Heavenly Curse? Are they truly the bloodthirsty psychopaths the government paints them to be?

Wang Fan, a homicide detective, believes that officers like himself are tasked with championing the rights of the common citizens. But when a seemingly routine case goes awry, he finds himself dragged into the darkness of the cultivation world. By the time he realizes the Black Corpses have their sniper rifles aimed at the back of his head, Wang Fan has no choice.

He has to fight the system to survive.

©2022 Jeremy Bai (P)2022 Podium Audio

Amazing Story

This is one of the finest cultivation stories I have read. The mix with a dystopian future and a detective‘s perspective make it very unique. Travis Baldree’s performance is as usual incomparable. Loved it.

Cool setting! Poor execution!

I think the setting was intriguing, and by far the best part of this story. Unfortunately revelations in that topic were either only sort of fleshed out, or at times inconsistent.
The cultivation was not well done. The main character stumbled into every advancement, gathering unearned and shockingly pointless skills.
This leads to the true flaw of this book, it has deus ex machina occur for just about every problem that pops up. The solution always just comes or is given to the protagonist before or during the conflict. They even discuss how lucky they are, but then just keep making bad decisions and getting lucky. Also the MCs interactions with women are, well not quite problematic, but often painfully awkward.
I will probably keep an eye on this author. I did really think the story concept was cool, maybe with experience some of the other issues will flesh out.

Great original cultivation novel.

Great novel. The speaker was exceptional. Really made the story come to life. I recommend it to anyone who wants a cyperpunk cultivation novel.

A fantastic read/listen

I have both the Kindle and audible versions. both are great. I grew up on sci-fi fantasy, and only started reading translated Chinese cultivation novels about 3 years ago. I enjoyed those, but the settings and content soon got pretty similar. Jeremy Bai's translated works were generally better and easier to read through. when I learned that he had written one of his own works, I was very excited. It's a fantastic read. He definitely has a great background and wealth of knowledge to draw from. I hope he continues to write!

When's the next one?

Loved it. Can't wait for the next one to come out! Main point I liked was there wasn't an insane amount of boot licking (I.e. "this humble one trembles before masters strength! Please let this humble one serve new master!" - I find this dialogue annoying but luckily it's not in this book (: )

Modern far eastern touch on cyberpunk

Enjoyable character development and story arc. Can’t wait till the next installment.

Spoiler alert. It has people in it.

Lots to like but one significant flaw

Jeremy Bai is a talented writer. His plot was fairly unique and the cast of characters were diverse and both the protagonists and antagonists were developed with ample backstory.The MC was close to being a Chosen One without actually being one. The battle encounters were creative and ruthless and the story progressed in a fairly even pace. I would have given the story at least a 4 star rating except for the on-again/off-again juvenile romantic encounters riddled throughout the novel and, still, in the end, the relationship was left as unsettled as when it first began, worrying me that this would continue on into book 2.

Travis Baldree's performance was superb but I would guess even he would have found the lingering going-nowhere romantic passages a bit tiring halfway through.

barely a cultivation novel

this book was such a let down. it barely has any cultivation in it. it has multiple adults who have teenage maturity when it come to romance and feelings. most of the book is them talking to each other and rescuing the same person over and over again. I came to for the spin on cultivation but there was barely any in it.

Great Narrator, Pretty Good Story

Honestly, the narration alone makes this worth listening to in your free time. I really enjoyed the MC's cop-like attitude and the personal anecdotes that he tells himself about his family's cop stories that let us understand his moral compass. Very well done.

Great story!

I enjoyed the world building on display. The mix of technology, spiritual magic and culture clash was fantastic! I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment.