The Guardian Novel
Jan. 21st, 2019 06:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rheasilviaThe m/m novel the Guardian series is based on can be read online – most of it has already been translated into English. It has a large fanbase, and many Guardian fans enjoy both canons. However, before reading the novel as a fan of the series, it may be good to know one thing:
The Guardian novel is very different from the Guardian series.
If you decide to check out the novel, I would strongly recommend reading it as its own thing, entirely independent of the series. Because otherwise, things get weird.
The series diverges from the novel significantly, in ways that go far beyond what censorship would have required. Sure, because of the censors, the world of the series was remodeled from a straightforward fantasy setting to scifi-fantasy. The explicit m/m relationship at the heart of the novel became a non-explicit gay romance, and Zhao Yunlan stopped smoking and took to lollipops (which I find infinitely more charming, and is also – ironically – occasionally borderline indecent).
But the series did not stop there. It blazed entirely new ground, both in terms of plot and characterization. It basically dismantled the novel and built select parts of it back together with a lot of original elements. Thus, the series isn't a scifi version of the novel, but rather something new that shares some of the novel's building blocks.
Most relevantly, at least for me: The series‘ Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are not at all the same people that the novel features under the same names. Their relationship is also very different.
Trying to reconcile the two canons isn’t possible; they are simply too different. Trying to make the series and novel characters match up also doesn’t work. So I recommend letting both canons stand for themselves and enjoying them on their own merits. They are simply two separate things, and that’s okay. :-)
(Personally, I stopped reading the novel because I much prefer the series' characters and their relationship, and didn’t want the novel’s versions in my head. Conversely, some fans of the novel are disappointed in the series, which makes perfect sense – not the same story, not the same characters.)
ETA: For anyone looking for an English translation of the novel -anotherslashfan has made me aware of this post by dtriad, where they list all of the translations they are aware of. As anotherslashfan noted, the translations by dtriad and foxghost give something of the flavor of the original novel.
The Guardian novel is very different from the Guardian series.
If you decide to check out the novel, I would strongly recommend reading it as its own thing, entirely independent of the series. Because otherwise, things get weird.
The series diverges from the novel significantly, in ways that go far beyond what censorship would have required. Sure, because of the censors, the world of the series was remodeled from a straightforward fantasy setting to scifi-fantasy. The explicit m/m relationship at the heart of the novel became a non-explicit gay romance, and Zhao Yunlan stopped smoking and took to lollipops (which I find infinitely more charming, and is also – ironically – occasionally borderline indecent).
But the series did not stop there. It blazed entirely new ground, both in terms of plot and characterization. It basically dismantled the novel and built select parts of it back together with a lot of original elements. Thus, the series isn't a scifi version of the novel, but rather something new that shares some of the novel's building blocks.
Most relevantly, at least for me: The series‘ Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei are not at all the same people that the novel features under the same names. Their relationship is also very different.
Trying to reconcile the two canons isn’t possible; they are simply too different. Trying to make the series and novel characters match up also doesn’t work. So I recommend letting both canons stand for themselves and enjoying them on their own merits. They are simply two separate things, and that’s okay. :-)
(Personally, I stopped reading the novel because I much prefer the series' characters and their relationship, and didn’t want the novel’s versions in my head. Conversely, some fans of the novel are disappointed in the series, which makes perfect sense – not the same story, not the same characters.)
ETA: For anyone looking for an English translation of the novel -
anotherslashfan has made me aware of this post by dtriad, where they list all of the translations they are aware of. As anotherslashfan noted, the translations by dtriad and foxghost give something of the flavor of the original novel. 
no subject
Date: 2019-01-21 07:28 pm (UTC)I wonder sometimes if I would like the novel better, not as something connected to the drama, but as a completely different story, if I could read it in the original language. The quality of translation can really make or break the text. I experienced that many times when I read a book or a poem in original English and then in Polish translation. Or vice versa. Some translations are sublime, some are really, really not. :)
no subject
Date: 2019-01-22 12:17 am (UTC)That is a very good question! The translation really can make a huge difference - even a good translation can't help but change the text, often in ways that do impact the reading experience.
For my part, I do think I would like the novel better if I had encountered it as a work completely unconnected to the Guardian series. I still don't think I would like it very much, but I might have read the entire book, at least. But since I already loved the series and its characters so much, I couldn't separate them enough in my mind, and ended up dropping the novel because I was afraid some impressions from the novel might "bleed over" into my view of the series.