Zoro52

This novel is definitely flawed, but not soulless. The worst sin an author can do is write a story without passion and a piece of themselves in it, and I think I can safely say that's not the case here. This review was written around 300-ish chapters in. Character writing: Midgard knows how to design interesting and charismatic character concepts (Jojo is my personal favorite), but struggles with designing nuanced roles. Everyone is either part of the "good guys" or part of the "bad guys". All the characters working against the protagonist are always irredeemable evil, greedy, meant to be crushed and shown justice to. There is no attempt at more complicated morals or motivation. There are no proper rivals to actually challenge the protagonist, that would spice up the story and make it more engaging, or interesting, complicated villains. Particularly Demetris in the early chapters was disappointing, being just a teenager elevated to a role he was too immature for, surrounded by bad influence since young age. There was potential for some interesting corruption themes there, but his character arc was wrapped up with "yup, he's completely evil now" with little to no exploration of anything else. Dialogue: This is another weak area of the novel. Specifically the characters' tendency to sometimes speak with fancy "I shall" and whatnot, making one half-expect them to unironically say "Thou shalt not pass". Other times, the same character will speak like a howdy southern cowboy. This is a tendency that multiple characters show, and it definitely takes the reader out. I think this can be explained if the author is a non-native english speaker. Along with this, some lines are simply said, cheesy. I would put the "kindness is death" quote here, though it was quite funny. The moral degradation progression could be done better, but it could also be done worse. Worldbuilding: By far the strongest side of this novel, and what kept me hooked on reading. The power system is original and pretty interesting, and the variety and creativity of powers is very neat, even if some are more stereotypical (there's nothing wrong with that). The factions in conflict offer some potential directions of the story and there's some intriguing mysteries too. It's clear that the author put thought and passion into this, which is something I adore. Plot armor: There's a lot of it. Yup. It's a power fantasy, what else to say. The protagonist is definitely a Mary Sue, and the story won't let you forget that he had a hard childhood, during which he worked real hard, so of course he's undefeatable now. It would be nice see him defeated with lasting consequences even once, but the world will actively bend itself so that he wins. To wrap this up, I believe that with some pointers, Midgard can develop his writing to make something really good. Keep it up. This is meant as a constructive critique to encourage the author, were he to ever see this. Okay, I'm going to sleep now. I don't know how to end this. Um.