Here I am, waiting for the next release, and writing this review in the meantime. I’ve decided to be succinct, so here it goes.
In terms of writing quality, it is not bad. Mediocre or even slightly above average. Compared to other novels I read on this site, prior to the creation of my account, it fares quite well, but not so well that it stands out. There are sentence structuring errors here and there and incorrect spellings for certain words/terms which slightly draws away from the experience. Not by much, but for a neophyte grammar critique, such as myself, the effects are significant.
In terms of consistency in updating, I can’t really comment much since I have been binge-reading up until this point, but over the past few days, I don’t think there have been any changes, although you are free to correct me if I am wrong. I have also not found any indication of the author’s update schedule or anything similar to estimate how many updates they are planning to make per week, which is fine, since some authors don’t operate on a strict schedule, but for me, I don’t find it particularly reassuring to not know how many chapters I should expect.
The story development and characters are by far the key elements here. They outshine the majority of the decent novels I’ve read in the past few months, even encouraging me to create this account for the sole purpose of reading it.
Both the plot and characters are unique and intriguing, the latter even more so. The experimentation of the dual-protagonist system is, in my eyes, a significant success on quite a few levels. The inter-personal dynamics were also highly well done. Especially in regards to the key characters and the main duo themselves.
Their decisions throughout the story are logical and more or less realistic, or at least in relation to a majority of other novels (I won’t mention any names) that allow their characters to go on multiple nonsensical jumps in logic to arrive at a certain outcome. Some might argue that there are too many time-skips in the beginning chapters and I will have to say that I partially agree. While I find it reasonable to skip over their infancy, the segment regarding the separation from the protagonists’ home town, for example, was done way too abruptly and glossed over in a few sentences.
The separation felt far too abrupt, even for me, considering the presence of Rean and his ‘filial’ sentiments.
That connects to the topic of the narrative’s world building. I can’t say the world building is average, per se, but it certainly isn’t top-grade, in my opinion. Of course, it is still leaps and bounds ahead of most other cultivation-type novels, but I feel that even taking into account the ignorance of the twins and their non-existent information network, the world seems a pinch too shallow in my eyes.
Also, I feel the need to applaud the author for not developing any form of romance. Thank you for that. Really, I mean it. Though, as soon as any semblance of romance shows it’s disgusting face, I will be forced to drop this series, unfortunately. I am sick and tired of romance. It’s like a drug. You get a fleeting high when you start to use it, but then with continued exposure to it, not only do you become immune to it, it starts to become a poison for your mind and body. At least, that’s what I have found out.
Overall, it is a great novel, but for whatever reason, it seems to be overshadowed by the authors more prominent work ‘Is that a Wisp?’, which I have not yet read, unfortunately. The pacing is great, and the balance between high-tension scenes and more casual scenes are very well done. The author has managed to find success where many promising others have found naught but failure.
In any case, I do hope for updates sooner rather than later. Those two are very interesting to observe.
Nomination Award for WSA 2020 Contest