REVIEW: Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol 1

Is arriving late better than not having arrived at all? I think so which is why I’m here now to talk about Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang. I have recently been on a priest kick. Many of you may remember my Guardian: Zhen Hun video series (I promise I will finish this one day) and I’ve also been hooked on Silent Reading: Mo Du. I haven’t reviewed it yet but I’ve also been reading Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire. That said, I can’t get enough! I needed more priest to dive in to, which is how I arrived at Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang.

I got the push to up this on my TBR after speaking to a future podcast guest (which you’ll hear very soon.) Up until now I hadn’t heard too much about the series, except a few of the complaints about the age gap and the psuedo-incest vibe. But if there is one thing about me to know, it is that I do not write things off until I personally experience them. I try and take reviews, good and bad, with a grain of salt because we are all arriving at stories from different places, with different tastes, which influence how we feel about them. I’m not one for anything incesty BUT I knew I had to check this out for myself. I also trust the taste of the person who recommended the series to me and it’s priest, so I felt primed to enjoy it.

This review will contain spoilers.

About Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol 1

Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang takes place in a fictional Chinese era where the past meets steampunk. The world is filled with steam-powered machines like flying kites, autonomous puppets, fighting armor, and more. In this world of wonder, we meet Chang Geng. He’s a homely teen living in a poor town on the outskirts of the border. He lives with his mother he barely interacts with and his stepfather, who lovingly took them in, is away. Chang Geng spends his days with Shen Yi and Shen Shiliu, brothers and outsiders who rescued him a few years ago from a wolf attack. As thanks, Chang Geng’s stepfather let’s them lease a courtyard and makes Shen Shiliu Chang Geng’s godfather. This was a local custom and done as a way to show thanks when there wasn’t a way to do so financially.

One day, raiders attack the town and Chang Geng learns that those in his life aren’t who they seem. Chang Geng’s “mother” is actually his aunt and has led the raiders to their town. Shen Yi and Shen Shiliu aren’t brothers, but members of the Black Iron Battalion. Shen Shiliu is actually Gu Yun, the famed Marquis of Anding and leader of the Black Iron Battalion. They had been sent on a mission by the Emperor to bring back Chang Geng, who is believed to be the fourth Prince.

My Thoughts

The Overall Story

I wish I could say I was surprised at how quickly I was sucked into this world but it’s priest, I knew this would happen. From the first day where I only read the first two chapters, I started dreaming about the story. The world Sha Po Lang exist in is so different and vivid, I felt like I was transported to it every single time I picked up the book. Steampunk China wasn’t on my bingo card of things I would be reading this year but now, I’m suddenly obsessed.

The violet gold resource being at the heart of the conflict so far is interesting. The fight for resources has always been a thing (and is currently a thing) so this really grounded the story for me. It’s interesting to think about how this one thing paints the story and immediately highlights the disparities of those who have access to it and those who don’t. Then we see how innovations with said resources are being sold to those with less, like the farmers being given farming puppets to do their work. But then what? I couldn’t help but think about how timely this story felt as our current zeitgeist consist of the AI dilemma. Especially when those in power want AI to replace workers and then what will those workers do? And the resources that AI data centers consume, ultimately hurting those with less the most.

This first volume sets the scene for the issues with violet gold and how there are many players, foreign and potentially close to home, invested in it. Then we have Gu Yun and his ties with the emperor, Chang Geng and his potential ties to the thrown, and a questioning of where allegiances lies. One of the main conflicts in this volume, the Dragon Threat Arc, feels like the first domino that will take the entire domino run out.

The Godfather of it All

Before I get into my thoughts on Chang Geng and Gu Yun as individuals, I want to explore their relationship more. As I mentioned above, priest makes it very clear the the nature of this “godfather” relationship is simply a way for Commander Xu to show thanks to Shen Shiliu for saving Chang Geng’s life. They are not related by blood and while Gu Yun does offer guidance to Chang Geng, he does not “raise” Chang Geng. There is an age gap of “seven or eight” year, making Gu Yun 20/21 when Chang Geng is 13 years old at the beginning of the story. We can see clearly through Chang Geng’s point-of-view that in aiding in Shen Shiliu’s care, he’s harboring a crush on him. He sees him as someone to care for, but does not see him as a “fatherly” figure.

Once Shen Shiliu’s real identity of Gu Yun is revealed and they move to the capital, Chang Geng is “in his care.” However, the care is loose. Gu Yun often avoids Chang Geng, and often feels suffocated by how much Chang Geng tries to dote on him. He doesn’t have a lot of consideration of him, and kind of sees himself as a godfather with none of the caring of one. It’s to the point where Shen Yi has to point out to Gu Yun how his uncaring nature is bordering cruel.

Suffice to say, I went in expecting to feel a lot ickier about their relationship, only to realize neither character is viewing the other in this familial role and while Gu Yun has shown care towards a level of concern for Chang Geng, it isn’t in a way where I feel authorities need to get involved.

Gu Yun

Gu Yun is interesting. I found it difficult to get a read on him for majority of the volume. It wasn’t until the final chapters that I finally felt like I understood him, or at least some of him. Now this isn’t to say the information isn’t there. priest includes a lot of his thoughts, and we learn about his childhood and growing up. We get his perspective on caring for Chang Geng and how he wants to do right by him, but the heart isn’t there. We see the duty he has to Chang Geng, the duty to his country, his ties to the emperor, but it all feels so hollow. It’s almost as if his thoughts are also just a facade he’s putting on and is afraid of revealing even to himself who he really is.

Although we only know Gu Yun as Shen Shiliu for a short time, it’s enough to let us know that there is and always has been a separation of the two identities. Shen Shiliu is a disabled man who lives with his disabilities and is doted on. Gu Yun is a man who has become successful despite his disabilities, even to the extent of accomplishing a lot when the ailments are at their peak. While “Shen Shiliu” in the beginning of the story is the “fake” persona Gu Yun dons in Chang Geng’s town, Shiliu is also his milk name. Shiliu is and isn’t at the same in the core of Gu Yun. The impression I’m getting is that the real Shiliu, the man underneath the military accomplishments, the responsibilities, and the pride sits at somewhere in the middle of both, but isn’t fully materialized.

It’s important to me that I separate Shen Shiliu and Gu Yun as two separate but equal people because to me, it feels like a major point of the story hinges upon Chang Geng, and perhaps later Gu Yun, reckoning with the revelation that they are one entity. The Shen Shiliu we meet at the beginning of the story is full of charm and funny but witty comebacks. Later Gu Yun maintains this as his personality too. He’s smart but also incredibly aloof at times. Gu Yun is this accomplished military leader who is revered by everyone but I get the sense that none of this is meaningful to him.

Gu Yun is interesting but I’m curious to see how he will transform once he learns of Chang Geng’s feelings and takes him seriously. He feels a lot like Fei Du from Silent Reading: Mo Du to me in the sense that no one has gotten close enough to them yet to truly make them come undone. Gu Yun may feel a sense of duty to care for Chang Geng but it isn’t until Chang Geng “defies” him that we see the “fatherly” pretext start to unravel.

“On his way out, the devious Marquis of Anding snuck undetected into the courtyard occupied by Commissioner Yao’s young daughters and stole the bamboo flute the little girl had left on the swing.”

Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol. 1

Chang Geng

In my (short) time reading danmei, I don’t think I’ve come across a character like Chang Geng until now. A main driver in my desire to write this review was so that I could put all my Chang Geng feelings in a place to unpack them. I felt so many things for him throughout this first volume. Sometimes sadness, sometimes fear, and then a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Chang Geng seems to be someone who has lived his short life with an understanding that his life is what it is. We learn that his mother isn’t his birth mom and that she has tried to kill him many times. He’s been inflicted with a curse that will make him distrustful and violent. Yet, he sees Shen Shiliu as a light at the end of the tunnel. He’s told he’s a long lost prince and he essentially goes, “nah, but good luck with that!” He’s not entirely passive, but he also seems to just want to be in a way that we do not typically see with main characters. At least, initially.

After the loss of his “parents,” Chang Geng goes to the capital with Gu Yun but is in conflict the entire time. He can’t reconcile that the person he’s fallen for, the one he’s been caring for who is deaf and blind, is actually the famed Marshal Gu. Chang Geng no long knows how to act around Gu Yun, and certainly doesn’t know what to feel. He barely had feelings towards his “mother” and stepfather. What little he did have was poured into Shen Shiliu. But realizing who he knew was essentially a lie, is painful. He is also angry with himself that he feels this way and he feels inadequate. He’s in this period of “growing up” that’s uncomfortable and making his emotions unstable.

“As for what remained of his affection and concern, he had entrusted it all to his young godfather. Now that Marshal Gu had swept in out of nowhere and erased his little yifu from existence, the greater part of his emotional attachments crashed to the ground and cracked open a bloody expanse in Chang Geng’s heart—and that stung.”

Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol. 1

After Gu Yun returns to the border (and doesn’t even say goodbye), Chang Geng takes initiative into seeking out the monk Liao Ran to deal with the pains in his heart. Chang Geng understands that while he’s been hiding away, he needs to see more of the world. Perhaps this can help him move forward. Chang Geng and Gu Yun will reunite after this, but this is the first step Chang Geng takes with his own two feet. The first defiance towards the rebellion in Chang Geng’s heart. It feels painful (because it is) but it is also necessary.

We see at the end of the Dragon Threat Arc when Gu Yun is finally saying “come with me” after initially leaving Chang Geng behind, Chang Geng says no. Even though he would have loved this over a year ago, now he sees what his yifu wants isn’t what his heart wants. It isn’t just Chang Geng growing up here; it’s him finally coming to terms with his direction for his life on his terms. He no longer feels like a passenger in his own life. He is willing to go his own way, even if that means being separated from Gu Yun.

“If your heart contains only a corner, wrote Liao Ran, worries the size of a house must be squeezed into a corner. If your heart is as large as the world, worries the size of a mountain will be no more than a drop in the ocean.”

Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol. 1

I know (due to the synopsis of volume 2) that a long separation is ahead for Chang Geng and Gu Yun. I’m so invested into Chang Geng’s personal journey during this time and I’m hoping we get to follow along this, even if its short. At the end of volume 1, Chang Geng feels as if he’s on the cusp of a great discovery of himself and his feelings. He almost wishes to tell Gu Yun the truth, including about the curse, but instead, he holds fast to himself. As painful as it was, he stood up to his dear yifu in a way he probably didn’t see coming. This is the making of a man who will make a way, come hell or come high water.

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Where to Buy Stars of Chaos: Sha Po Lang Vol. 1