Very cool power couple story! The MC is a tough, scrappy human who lives on the fringes of Yun City, the last human city. The ML is a bioroid, biological android, developed hundreds of years ago to help humans survive the first apocalypse.

Only once the danger was over, humans got nervous of having all these creatures who were stronger, highly intelligent, and very long lived so there was a war and most of them got destroyed. Now the cause of the first apocalypse- a terrible black fungus that infests humans... more>> and destroys the environment is surging and new mysterious things are happening so the last few bioroids being kept in stasis are brought out to fight it. The first bioroid awakened is our ML and - for human's safety - he's partnered with the MC as his "controller" - though the MC is not the type who 1. Goes along with that whole scheme willingly. 2. Is willing to control anyone any more than he's willing to be controlled.

I put all that in cause the synopsis and title tell you nothing about the story.

I really like that this is a post-apocalyptic where humans have progressed enough to start rebuilding, but are still struggling to solve problems - and that includes factional problems between themselves. The author's choice of making the MC a bright, uncorrupted, wild soul as a foil to the ML who's lived through so much of all the good, bad and in-between of humanity is great, and they really do connect quickly.

Also the character of the deputy director and his role in running the city and fighting the war, that character I've seen before, but the author's decision on his character and personality was really interesting and added a lot to the story.

Overall, the story had a lot of fun, snappy dialogue, great action scenes, intricate plot building with only a few issues and I really enjoyed it from start to finish. <<less

I started this as a Wu Zhe reader but not really a sci-fi enjoyer, but I really liked it! I tend to really easily get lost with complex lore, so I went into this locked IN and really tried to pay attention, and I didn’t get lost!! So I think it’s pretty easy to follow if you’re concerned about that~

As always Wu Zhe is great at writing realistic characters and this book doesn’t disappoint.

I don’t think I’d reread just because the idea of the robot-zombie-apocalypse stresses me out but I’m... more>> glad I looked past my bias against sci-fi and gave this a read lol!! <<less

Reviewing Peach Blossom Spring leaves me with a somewhat bittersweet feeling. While I found it an excellent novel, it was also an extremely exhausting and tiring read.

In terms of content, it has no flaws whatsoever (as far as I read). The plot is engaging and surprising, with considerable coherence and complexity. The worldbuilding is unique and creative, with a good use of apocalyptic sci-fi. The characters are likeable, present, and very human, some with many layers (I particularly LOVED Li Feng's ambiguity). The MC and ML are characters that are... more>> a pleasure to follow, each with their own struggles. The couple is very cute, realistic, and full of chemistry. The writing, the dialogues, everything is good.

So... what made me drop it?

The answer is: the pacing.

The material is awesome, but, in my opinion, the author didn't know how to harmonize everything. There are too many complex things happening one after the other or simultaneously. We don't have time to process one piece of information before we're bombarded with an imminent danger. The story itself is suffocated by the sheer amount of information.

You barely have time to process the overall worldbuilding before the author drops a super complex and important piece of information and the protagonists immediately embark on a mission. Right after that, a frenetic action scene unfolds into several other action scenes without a pause. While you're barely recovered from all that, another bombshell is dropped. In the midst of all this, the worldbuilding keeps growing, the MC and ML need to deal with their personal problems, the romance has to develop, the side characters need moments of attention (so they aren't abandoned), and the plot somehow keeps getting more and more complex. All this in just 100 chapters.

Can you understand?

There's no time to breathe. We don't have pauses to process anything.

I only read 60 chapters, but I feel like I read an entire book saga because of the sheer amount of content. I kept getting headaches while reading, not because it was too difficult to assimilate, but because there wasn't enough time to process everything smoothly before something was updated or new information appeared. It's just too much things going on for the number of chapters it has.

And I say this as a sci-fi/fantasy reader. I'm used to complex worldbuildings and plots.

With all the richness this novel has, it would need at least 160 chapters to present everything in a calmer way. I personally would prefer more calm chapters amidst the big discoveries and action scenes. More time to process information before introducing new details. Longer moments dedicated to the characters, whether in the intervals between missions or even in small moments during them. If that were done, it would certainly be one of my references for post-apocalyptic sci-fi novels.

---

I put this novel on hold for about 4 months. I thought A LOT before dropping it for good, because it really is that good, but the pacing was killing me. Maybe someday I'll try giving it another chance, but for now I'll stop here, chapter 61.

Now, do I recommend it?

Yes, if you're interested in the content (Shrike1978's review provides a good overview of it), I recommend giving it a chance. Who knows, maybe the pacing won't bother you so much. But prepare your mind to take in a LOT of information. <<less