As a Romance of the three kingdoms fanatic, I was at first reluctant to read something so different and novel.
At first it seemed a little too un-historical and bizzare, judging from the multiple fictional characters and all, but when it picks up its pace, it turns out to be a true masterpiece.

The purpose of this manhua is to go against the stereotypes of character personalities and codes of honour, and observe everything from a different perspective, which makes things actually look much more realistic than in the old novel.There are no good and evil characters, no -good- loyalists and -bad- traitors, no heroes and tyrants.Every character has his own personality and way of thinking, making them far more brilliant and open to further development.
In adition, more aspects of every character are displayed in this manhua, making even the most brash and stupid warriors of the novel develop more tactfull and logical peronalities.

In my opinion, this is what actually shows Chen Mou's true genius.
The way he passes some ideals of society and politics through the historical figures, showing how government officials have always used history and fame to control the actions and minds of the people.

The battle scenes are outstanding, displaying each character's abilities in a very impressive way, though without straying too much from realism.

The only bad aspect of this manhua is the fact that it can become rather confusing for people who do not have knowledge of chinese history and geography, as it does not provide a map, showing the main locations in which the events occur.
I personally had no problems with this, as I know most places and events by heart, but many people to whom i recomended it rejected it for such reasons.

In general, it is an excelent work of art which everyone should try to read, being a fan of ROTK or not.