I started reading An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom out of curiosity and not expecting much, but I found myself pleasantly surprised for a time.
Like Tales of MU, I appreciate how Mei Lin openly discusses non-mainstream sexualities in the story, though I have misgivings about how they are portrayed. As far as I read, which was quite extensively, often non-mainstream sexualities were treated as coping mechanisms for trauma or family issues. I think this can be dangerous, because while she acknowledges and even celebrates these sexualities, it portrays them as "not normal" and without possibility of being natural orientations of their own. Admittedly this may have changed since the last time I read.
I was intrigued by several of the story lines, especially the ultimate role and fate of Teacher, and the eldest royal daughter’s relationship across time with a strong woman leader. I also appreciated her deft use of violence that is realistically brutal, but doesn’t wallow in it like a gore-fest. Near the end of my time reading, I found myself dragging with the pace and quantity of the story, but I liked it enough that I may pick up reading again.
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Although this story is Mei’s first fiction piece, her 30+ years of professional writing (and web design!) shine through in this lovely story. I discovered it at the beginning, but as other have noted, the first few chapters take awhile to engage you. I re-discovered it around ch. 17 of book 2 and became a rabid convert.
The History is well-written (vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, formatting, etc. are all superior to your average internet entry), with the quality consistent in almost every chapter, plus sensitive and realistic handling of adult topics, absolutely wonderful characters with lots of depth and quirks (almost no one is clearly "good" or "bad"), an easy-to-follow plot that still retains oodles of mystery, and a rich background world. Also, her update schedule is very reliable so far!
If you must have some detail before diving right in, it is technically a fantasy that draws heavily on 1800s fashion with only occasional overt magic (focused primarily around religion and the character of the Teacher). The protagonist is a sixteen year-old prince and heir of the central kingdom and the story starts with his arrival in the capital as a good-hearted but somewhat spoiled and certainly naive young man to begin his formal training as Heir.
I’d recommend this story to anyone except those who are too immature for/offended by explicitly described sexuality or if they simply can’t stand people-focused fiction (versus something like "hard" scifi).
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My serial-reading experience online is fairly limited. I’ll confess that. However, I find An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom to be engaging, delightfully articulate, and not nearly as "mixed up" or "scattered" as another reviewer did.
Temmin, the overarching protagonist, is an adolescent crown prince on the cusp of manhood (in more ways than one). The story is, in part, a character study on him, and in part, something greater. It links Temmin and (so far) his family to historical events from the setting in a somewhat innovative fashion, a textbook that Temmin studies from that is alive, giving depth and humanity to what might otherwise be drear historical examples.
The erotic writing is different from what I have found at other sites, in a way I’m having a hard time qualifying at present.
The beginning is slow, but the pace has improved appreciably.
As Sonja Nitschke remarks, the website itself is well-maintained.
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