This novel is an absolute KINO work. I'm not fond of writing about what isn't in a work, but rather, what is in a work; however, it should first be established that LoTM is devoid of most of the commonplace tropes you find in CN novels. Of course, if you examine it closely, you'll find that it does indeed adhere to some frustrating qualities. Namely, the constant "SASUGA FOOL" and the mental gymnastics Alger especially will go through in order to achieve the requirements for a certain plot point to occur. Nevertheless, these problems are, for the most part, unrealistic at worst, but still within the scope of being believable.
All of the major characters in LoTM have well-established traits and personalities, along with motivations. Derrick has his naive-and-steadfast character, focused on freeing his home-city from its foggy jail; Alger has his mature and experienced, sometimes overthinking personality; and of course, Klein with his constant lampooning. Also Klein's stepping counterclockwise four times. And also his tapping his glabella twice. An especially noticeable trait about LoTM's major characters, in comparison to most CN novels, is that they all progress. Not just in terms of their "cultivation" (named Sequences in this novel), but also their personalities. A fault I do have to give, however, is that the development is extremely slow for many of these characters. Of course, that's a given, given the length of the novel. Still, it is somewhat irksome.
In regards to the story development, LoTM excels in this regard. There is never a moment where you feel that one scene or event is out-of-place, and you receive a sense of gratification when Klein, or any of the characters, really, manage to piece one event with another using in-world knowledge that was previously already provided. For the most part, the story has either action sequences, or sequences with Klein/others planning/thinking/conjecturing/lampooning about matters. When you have the odd occasion where it's a sort of "filler" chapter, you don't really feel that it's out of place for the most part, as most of the "filler" chapters are there to relieve the reader out of the constant action - and when not doing that, to develop a character some more. And I use "filler" in quotations because, later on, almost all of these chapters will 100% not be filler, as they will have some meaning later on. This is a writing technique used by the author I've never seen before in any other webnovel, in which he uses even "fluff" chapters to insert meaningful information that will tie in together. It's amazing.
As for the world building, this novel has one of the best I've seen in my entire life - whether that be in regards to web novels, light novels, or even well-acclaimed stories from the West. It's hard to summarize without an entire novel to write, but in essence, LoTM's lore really does make you feel as though you're reading about the story of a person who is actually real, in a real other world. All the sects/churches/gods and their supernatural backgrounds and lore tie in very neatly, and if you check out the wiki, you'll find that there is boundless amounts of information about the world that was very obviously all planned out by the author from the start.
Another incredible detail about LoTM is the amount of settings in which it contains. The story takes place in many different locations, from your "atypical" victorian-era city which is actually full of secret supernatural gangs, churches, and pirates, all the way to the City of Silver, which is separated from the rest of the world and at the technological level of a medieval age. This is in most part due to the varying amount of main cast members in the story, as well as another major point about the MC which I won't talk about because spoilers.
And just in case you're worried, none of these locations are forgotten about. In LoTM, there is no "other region" full of more advanced versions of previous characters like in CN novels. Characters of all varying power levels, straight from the middling novice Sequence 9 to a Sequence 4 (already beginning to enter Godhood) can be placed in the same city. This means that the main characters in LoTM will regularly go between new places and old places in its world.
Lastly, I should talk about the thematic elements in this story. That's right, thematic elements! Unlike many other online web novels (I know I've said this many times), LoTM contains actual themes and ideas around its narrative. The first volume, "Clown", details the idea of laughing at fate - smiling at circumstances that you cannot resist, smiling at that which is greater than you. The second volume, "Faceless", contains the author's depictions of the lives of normal citizens amidst the ocean of the supernatural. How do they, who are mortal and powerless against the mysterious, the monsters and the corrupt Beyonders, exist beyond the frame of the story of the "protagonists"? These are the type of ideas that the author of LoTM have integrated into his story, and they work very well.
For all of these reasons I've stated, LoTM is a wonderful work, and
definitely my favourite WN I'm currently reading. And also, the favourite one I've ever read in my entire life, period.
