Kergonan

God’s Eyes Stopped at chapter 532 of 1115 As this novel of HideousGrain was high in the rankings, I decided to give a try to this author whom I never read before. Sadly, I was disappointed. I tried to like this novel, I really did, but its interesting premises were sapped by too many flaws that I can’t push through anymore. This tales has a fine setting at the beginning, but its latter expansions seem only to exist in order to justify the plot. The plot which appears quite chaotic with only the tiniest underlying coherence. Adding to that is the protagonist, Jason Stella, whose intelligence, maturity and personality vary on a large spectrum, depending on where the author wants to go. In fact, a number of secondary characters are better written than the MC. The power system is quite interesting, but suffers from the same coherence problem (the writer has a real problem with numbers). Finally, the writing itself is the main issue of the novel. Beyond the typos and mistaken homophones, the story is affected by filler and a very rough style. My current verdict, as of chapter 532 (a bit less than half the novel), is a 4 out of 10. I’m putting this one on hold, maybe indefinity, and it will be a while before I try another HideousGrain tale. I really hope he has improved since then. Meanwhile, I’m spend time reading other new writers, as well as those whose books I already enjoyed. Kergonan out

I am the God of Technology I decided to read to read a short novel as I often do between two long stories. And as I finished reading the very good “Humanity’s Greatest Mecha Warrior System”, I settled for this short tale also in the Sci-Fi genre. Sadly, it seems that I recently have no luck with short novels, as “I am the God of Technology” appeared to have an alright rating at first but in fact quickly became a drag, until it devolved in disgust. Dante is a okay overall protagonist, more an anti-hero, self-centered pretty much except when his family or love interest are involved. Not a complete sociopath, but definitely not a good person. His paramour Beatrice is a fine character with a detailed background, also more on the anti-hero side of the morality compass, but still right (she is in fact better written than the MC). Alas, beside them, the family and a couple other characters, the rest of the cast is quite bareboned. The setting and the story are low points of the tale. The protagonist has the power to switch between universes, first his seemingly native contemporary Earth universe and the space-opera Eternal Universe, then a number of quantum computer created universes with various elements of fantasy (western and eastern), science, post-apocalyptic or even anime, each with its own power system. Since all of these elements are introduced in a relatively short time, I felt like there was overwhelming arrival of new elements, but no real development in depth, just the parts that allow the MC to power level by taking advantage of the interaction between his universe-hoping power and the various systems of the worlds he visits. Beside the romance with Beatrice, the story is pretty much just that when I finished. The writing is another bad spot of the novel. First, Kotaro overuses breaking of the fourth wall in a not very subtle way, either directly or with references to other media franchises, so much that I felt I had in front of me a story that could not stand on its own. Next, not only there are a number of typos, misspelling and grammar errors, but the style itself can be qualified as raw, dry and stuffed. The author doesn’t try to ease the reading, especially when he gives huge list of items, powers or others things that make the novel appears less a sci-fi tale and more a technical manual or a catalogue. I had to force myself in a number of chapter and it is one of those lists, one full of plagiarised materials that made me drop. Because yes, I dropped this novel, a rare thing, but between the unrefined style, the overabundance of references, the lack of depth of the various universes and the just okay protagonist, I already had a hard time carrying on with my reading, but the plain plagiarism, even before the mid-point of the book was the last straw for me. My final verdict is a 3 out of 10. Now, I’m moving to a fantasy story, which I hope will show it is worth its high ratings.

Humanity’s Greatest Mecha Warrior System Another novel with a cheesy long title, but it’s a top ranker on Webnovel’s charts and others tales by Aoki Aku are also highly praised. After a lot of fantasy, I’m in for some science-fiction for a change, so why not ? The setting is not hard SF, more like a space opera, although more grounded than Star Wars. While it draws heavy inspirations from top SF universes (Warhammer 40K, Mass Effect or Alien/Predator, among others), it really feels unique and original. It also includes plenty of well-coordinated elements of strategy, politics, economy, diplomacy, social, technology … that give consistency to the whole and make it feel alive. It truly is one of the highlights of the book. The other is the characters, especially the two protagonists. Yes, because there are two, the power couple Keres Max and Nico Tarith, one can’t go without the other. One is a more classic hero down-to-earth with amazing tactical and psychological insights, the other is a battle-maniac with a gift for technology and massacre, both are intelligent, strong, funny and made for one another. The secondary characters are also well-made, not as detailed but good enough for the screentime they get. Of note are Nico’s mother Mary and the group of Envoy from the Alliance. The only downside is the final antagonist who, while understandably mysterious, doesn’t get enough attention. The power system is really well-thought. For one, it is not exclusive to the protagonists, in fact, this nanobots-based power is the trademark of the empire where they are born, they just have the highest level of compatibility possible with it. This system gives special powers specific to each person as they pass thresholds in their physical abilities while raising their physical peak to superhuman levels. Max tends to get, beside his initial mind-reading power, more combat-oriented abilities, whereas Nico gets more engineering/hacking perks. You could also consider the memories they get from their previous lives as part of their power, but since there are related to mostly unrecorded ancient times, they are a boon but not always relevant. The story is very good, with a fine progression of the stakes from the small and local (on a galactic scale) to the universe shaking, with a great variety of subjects, involving matter of war, politics, discovery, romance (amazingly told, that’s rare), a lot like Babylon 5, but more light-hearted. The problem here is the ending, which is rushed and a bit frustrating, although the author makes it clear this novel is only the first part of an epic tale. The writing is very good, the action gives sensations like fine anime mecha/power-armor combat scenes, the intrigue parts are also greatly described and the exchanges between the two MCs are a real treat. What prevents the writer from being qualitied as “excellent” are the various typos, grammar and homophones mistakes (few but a bit cringy for a tale that well-told) and the pacing, especially toward the last fifth of the novel. I understand that Aoki Aku intended to write a multiple parts story, and it relieved me to know this end is but a pause, but there should have been a better way to prepare the reader for this. Still, even with its bad sides, Humanity’s Greatest Mecha Warrior System is a very good SF novel, borderline excellent. Great characters (one of the best power couple of protagonists I’ve read about), fine system, excellent setting, a very good story served by a writing of equal level, my final verdict is a high 8 out 10 (and it could have been 9 with a better ending/transition to part 2). Aoki Aku deserves his spot as one of Webnovel’s best original author, I will be reading the next part of Max and Nico’s tale when it will be out and likely read another story by him in the meantime. Kergonan out

Deja vu.

MMORPG: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God I confess, the cheesy title made me strongly hesitate before reading this novel, and only its consistent presence at the top of Webnovel’s charts finally decided me to read this story. This is by the way the second volume of Raj_Shah_7152’s MMORPG trilogy (the first being “Rebirth of the Strongest Guildmaster” and the third currently underway “Villain with the Strongest System”), but not having read the previous volume did not prevent me from enjoying this tale. Because yes, I enjoyed it. The setting, a wide universe mixing fantasy and science fiction while integrated with a MMORPG-like system called Sigma, is very well written, coherent, with many levels of underlying mysteries unveiled as the story progresses. It also evolves significantly with the actions of the characters in ways that are natural and logical. The characters are the best point of the tale, from the protagonist Max Rajput, to his brother Rudra (the protagonist of the first novel and a true deuteragonist in this second part), to their companions, families, allies, antagonists and major sides characters, each is described with a complexity in relation to their significance. None of them is all white or black, everyone believably exists in shades of gray, with their merits and flaws, the antagonists can elicit sympathy and even the main characters’ shortcoming are not hidden, as well as their consequences. Another good point is the evolution of the character, especially the MC and his entourage, they change as the story moves forward, they accumulate power in various forms and experiences gives them new perspectives. The power system is well made and coherent, resembling a RPG with levels, tiers of power (from 0 to 9) with stats, skills and mastery levels. But what differentiates the main character from the rest is how he progresses in this system, more than the quite small cheat he gets as a regressor/reincarnator at the beginning. His advantage is mostly built with his hard work and suffering. The story is the final strong point of the novel, as Raj Shah gives us a true rolllercoaster of a story with action, intrigue, a bit of kingdom building (the shallowest part), romance (the harem part is well written) and comedy. It is not the best I’ve read, but it’s very good. The writing is a bit of a letdown, as it contains quite a number of mistakes, typos and misspelling, at least one per chapter, sometimes more, even by the end of the novel. Honestly, the author should get a proofreader. The style itself is on the other hand quite good and dynamic. So, despite the mouthful of a title, MMORPG: Rebirth of the Strongest Vampire God is a very good story with a fine setting, excellent characters, logical power system and a dynamic style of writing with sadly a serious need of a proofreader. My final verdict is a low 9 out of 10 (with a high 9 if the novel was to be corrected one day). Raj Shah certainly deserves praises as a great author and I will certainly read the last part of his trilogy once it is completed (although I’m not sure I will go read the first part, as part of it has already been spoilt for me), or I might for another of his tales in a different setting. Kergonan out.

Transmigrating to Modern Earth from the Future I started to read this novel because I wanted a good short story between the often thousand chapters long chapters tales I’m fond of. So, let’s go first with the one good thing about this book, the author has good grammar. Everything else is a letdown. It is not a short story, it’s a supposed-to-be long novel that has been abandoned by the author, so it’s not a completed story, more a short road leading to nowhere. The original premises, a hyper advanced AI from the ten of thousand of year in the future, sick of its pointless existence, tries to self-destroy ends up in a modern Earth in a human body, is wasted. The main character (Lumen) is a generic isekai character who ends up a collection of tropes, appears quite stupid at the end. And I say Isekai purposefully, as in the first 10 chapters, the action leaves Earth for an unoriginal fantasy tutorial then fantasy world setting, with a system trope which is good at first but unexploited. Finally, the writing is alright at the beginning, but toward the end of the first volume, it starts to go bad, and for the second (and final volume of the tale), the storytelling becomes incoherent, sloppy, repetitive (filler), just bad to the point I had to force myself to read the last chapters. In conclusion, this novel is a wasted opportunity, in character and setting (a cheat, as it almost doesn’t take place in modern Earth), the writing is awful and it is no wonder the author gave it up. My final verdict is a 1 out of 10. P.S: I can’t even thank the author for the effort of writing this novel, as the last 10 chapter were a torture to read, and he did not even have the sincerity to say in the synopsis that it was not a completed tale, but one which would remain unfinished. I wasted my coins for nothing.

"docks" not docs

Unlimited Power – The Arcana Path I started to read on Webnovel with The Wizard World, plus Throne of Magical Arcana is one of my all times favorite, so you can say I have a fancy for tales about magic and arcane. Seeing this novel well placed among the collections ranking of completed novels, I decided to give it a go… Sadly, I faced quite a disappointment. While the first fifth/quarter of the novel is pretty good, after that point, the writing starts to feel dry, the plot repeats itself with long isolation/grind sequences that even the numerous humorous cliches and trivia can’t make more digest. It leads to a rushed and mediocre ending, which I welcomed as, after reaching the third fifth of the tale I really had to force myself into a reading forced march in order not to leave that story behind without finishing it. The cast is okay, but the protagonist becomes a weak point of the novel, as he feels quite a feeble, bland victim of circumstances rather than a hero or anti-hero, even with the major plot revelation toward the end. The writing contains plenty of wrong uses of tense, grammar mistakes, confusions of homophones, at least one by chapter even in the last one. Clearly, the author needs to improve in this field. In conclusion, I dislike that novel enough that I don’t want to elaborate any further. Just know that Unlimited Power – The Arcana Path is a bad/mediocre novel, a bare 3 out of 10 which high ranking I just can’t understand. I wasted my coins on that book and I will stay away from all the other tales by ExSoldierLv99. If you want to read an excellent story of wizards and magic, go read Throne of Magical Arcana by the awesome Cuttlefish That Loves Diving, also on Webnovel, it is worth every coin. Now if you excuse me, I’m off to read Reincarnated with the Strongest System, hoping that it is the excellent novel its top ranking indicated, for I need to wash my brain of that last bad experience.

True, the title of this novel is not the most engaging one, but its good place in the ranking of both Novelupdates and Webnovel, as well as the first chapter of the manhua adaptation made me give it a go. So, was I well inspired ? The protagonist, Zhou Wen, appears at first as a gaming obsessed loner, he really is an intelligent, pragmatic and focused character. In fact, his ability to absolutely focused on a task or event is his main advantage. He also has a low emotional quotient, which leads to many comedic situations, especially in his relations with women (there is no romance, but most attempts on him are really funny). He also is something of an anti-hero at time, as shown with his mercilessness toward his foes. Overall, a very good main character. But he is not the only one, as most other characters are as well made as him. Whether they are allies (like Li Xuan), his foes, his mentor or others, they have their own traits, merits, flaws and goals. Those are important as part of the plot for the relations between some of these people with the MC can be fluid, depending if their aims (both over and/or hidden align with those of the protagonist). Speaking of the plot, this and the setting are the best points of the novel. What seems at first to be a story of academy life in a world of mixed martial arts cultivation and pokemon training is in fact a tale of conspiracies, power -play, rife with both epic fights and rich intrigue (even the epilogue has its surprises). Add to this the facts that there are few scenes of pure power suppression (most foes have weaknesses the MC can cleverly exploit) and that the special gaming phone Zhou Wen uses for power-up is both powerful but also has severe limitations, and you have an excellent story that will keep you on edge until the slightly rushed but fine and open ending (if you want a comparison, it’s not Lord of the Mysteries, it’s the level right below). The power system, while simplistic at first, is quite good, moreover the protagonist progression is not exactly the normal one. The translation is excellent, no mistake, typos of mistranslations I can remember of, as usual for CKTalon My final verdict for Let Me Game in Peace is a 9 out of 10. It’s one of the best novel available on Webnovel, I can only recommend it. P.S: Thanks to Twelve-Winged Dark Seraphim for writing this story and to CKTalon for translating it.

Doomsday Pillars The last short novel I read on Webnovel has been a big disappointment. Seeing that Earth’s Greatest Magus has been consistently well rated for the past two years and its author wrote a short story, I decided to give a try to Doomsday Pillars, both to erase the bad taste the previous tales left me with and to see if I would go for the writer’s longer novel at a later date. The plot of the story is classic but pretty well written story of a reincarnator in a zombie and later « demon » apocalypse, but done in a very « realistic », pragmatic and griity style. Moreover the plot seems to indicate a more complex metaplot encompasing all the novels in the Avan-verse. This lead to one of the flaw of the novel, as the ending is a bit abrupt and in the form of a cliffhanger since it is the first part of this universe’s « Apocalypse Trilogy », whose second book is being written as of now. The main character is a decisive factor in the tales, as he is not a young man, but a middle-aged husband and father who acts accordingly, and with a perserpective of the bigger picture. The other characters are also well-made although not equally. By the the way, the author changes perspectives to other characters in many points of the story, often for a serie of chapters, which adds quality to the story. On side note, the realistic, gritty mood of the tale means that (good) characters will die, sommetimes in poignant ways. The power system is well made but rough (it seems it’s explained in more details in other books of the Avan-verse) but fine. A big flaw of this novel is the high number of vocabulary (confusion of homophone) and grammar mistakes that can be found, as well as the occasional typos. There are less of these in the last tenth of the book, but a recheck would be needed. In conclusion, Doomsday Pillars is a fine short novel with a griity, realistic mood, good character and a well-made setting, although some of it only gives us a peek in the author’s universe (in which all of his tales take place), but it is weakened by an uneven writting quality (vocabulary mistakes) and an abrupt cliffhanger ending. My final verdict is a solide 7 out of 10, and I will certainly read other novels from this writer at a later date. Kergonan out. P.S : Thank to Avan for writing this novel