I discovered Wuxia by a strange yet surprisingly common train of boredom. First I watched sitcoms. Then I discovered anime and I was happy for a time. One day I found out that anime was often times based on Japanese manga and for years I was content scrolling the internet for my chapter updates. Then one fated afternoon my weekly chapter wouldn’t update and I was reading the comments and saw one leaving a link to the light novel. I remember thinking it was odd that one story could exist in so many different mediums. Light novel, manga, and anime. It wasn't long after I started devouring Japanese Light Novels that I stumbled through into Wuxia. So now, after reading so many Wuxia novels I want to give it a go myself, and after brainstorming a couple ideas Dual Passives was born.

Wuxia is a type of Chinese Writing and Film that primarily focuses on martial arts, sorcery, and chivalry. The main differences between Wuxia and common Young Adult Novels found in the US is length of book, and length of chapters. Wuxia novels generally stretch much longer than a common Young Adult Series. If Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Eragon are good examples of modern YA, then the common series length is 4-7 books with each book spanning from 300-500 pages. A typical Wuxia series has a book count of 15-20 books with each book being 100-300 pages on average. Typical chapter length in the US is roughly 10-20 pages while in Wuxia it is 2-5. However, don’t judge a chapter by its length because Wuxia is fast paced and plot oriented with each book covering just as much ground if not more than a typical US novel despite the page count differences. This is primarily due to simple language and a sparsity when it comes to environmental details. The last big difference is scope. Most common American YA will pit the heroes against a Villain whose goal is destruction/dominance of a country, continent, or world. Not all Wuxia but a large amount will pit their protagonists against the heavens themselves, concluding most series with the protagonist being at an almost god like level of power.

In conclusion, if you are interested in trying something that is plot oriented, fast passed, martial arts/sorcery based, and content that will last you for what feels like forever you may want to try reading Wuxia. 

If you are interested in reading more Chinese Wuxia or South Korean light novels here is a great site with great translators that started my journey:

http://www.wuxiaworld.com