Introduction:
Monarch of Heaven's Wrath is an Eastern Fantasy story by the author ShiranuiShukumei.
It is the 4th book of this genre this author has written and it is the most popular and unarguably the best in the opinions of the majority of readers.
Featuring a ruthless MC, good action, interesting plot and excellently written romance, Monarch of Heaven's Wrath is probably my #1 pick for anyone looking to get into Original Eastern Fantasy and in the top 3 recommendations of Original Eastern Fantasy in general.
WRITING QUALITY - 5/5
The writing quality of the author was originally pretty good for an unedited work, but since The Godless One (1st book, on hiatus on RRL) the author has improved greatly and this improvement is clearly visible even when going from his older works (The Godless One and The Demon's Gate), to his most recent ones (Against the Heaven's and Monarch of Heaven's Wrath).
His writing is descriptive, yet not overly so and he has developed his style of writing through an accumulated chapter count that is over 600 chapters worth of writing released.
STABILITY OF UPDATES - 5/5
A weak point of the authors when he first went on Web novel, update stability is something that Shiranui has improved quite a lot since he first started on Web novel.
While this instability can be partially attributed to the fact that he is writing 2chps/week for 3 different stories simultaneously, the author would also be at fault for a lack of planning.
Regardless, Shiranui's update stability for this novel, in particular, is great.
He generally releases a minimum of 2chps/week and will notify people in advance of any inabilities to upload at certain times.
Although his update stability for The Demon's Gate and Against the Heavens is worse, it can be argued that this book, Monarch of Heaven's Wrath has by far the most solid background given the considerable amount of chapters that were spent on developing characters, the world, cultivation system and the relationships between characters.
STORY DEVELOPMENT - 5/5
The story really starts to kick off once a particular chapter is reached (Chapter 40 is where it starts introducing important characters and Liang Chen's path is truly begun) and before that is primarily the usual Eastern Fantasy beginnings.
However, once the story kicks off, boy does it make the time worth it. The plot advances at a steady pace with many things hinted at that will affect future events and plot points within the story while simultaneously links this story to the other ones.
This book even reveals the layout of the author's entire multiverse system that houses all the stories he has written a solid 20+ chapters (depending on which book) before either of the other two he is concurrently writing.
CHARACTER DESIGN - 5/5
If I were to say what is my favourite part of the story, I would honestly be stuck between this and the world background.
On one hand, one particular aspect of the world background is absolute brilliant while the rest is amazing; on the other hand, the characters of this book and how they develop is just too well done.
I will say this now, at the heart of this story, it is Liang Chen's story.
It is not a revenge story as most seem to think when they read the start; it is not a romance story as most seem to think by chapter 90 and it is not a story of an arrogant young master.
Liang Chen is, well, he is Liang Chen.
Although some aspects of characters are influenced by characters from other stories (e.g. Liang Chen sometimes reminds me of Qin Lie from Spirit Realm at certain points), Liang Chen and those who can be considered lead characters are all unique.
They have their faults, their fears, their pasts and everything that a real person would have.
This is what I believe is the biggest improvement of all that Shiranui has made through his writing.
From the rather generic Huang Ying of The Godless One to the demonic Yao Jun of The Demon's Gate to the arrogant Li Yang, the author has steadily improved with his development and creation of characters.
Being honest, Liang Chen is by far my favourite character of any of the author's work and is one of my favourite Eastern Fantasy main characters of all time.
WORLD BACKGROUND - 5/5
The world background of this story is a well-constructed and detailed place.
The stage for the story has been set incredibly well.
The cultivation systems are well articulated and they are a nice mix of the generic systems and unique flairs that I have only seen Shiranui have.
Every element he uses has its own unique touches, every system of cultivation has its own unique touch.
I mean, he has so many little things that only he would add and it all just makes the world background and how cultivation works itself that much more realistic.
OVERALL - 5/5
In summary, the story Monarch of Heaven's Wrath is a great story with a high potential to match some of the legendary stories such as Martial World, Coiling Dragon and Stellar Transformations.
This is if the author sees it to the end and maintains the high quality it currently boasts of.
The characters are realistic, the plot develops smoothly and the world is unique and immersive.
The cultivation system has its own Shiranui flair to it and the combat is incredibly well done.
Overall, I would highly recommend this story for beginners and experienced readers of Eastern Fantasy alike.
