Review Detail of Trueon in Shadow Slave

Surrounded by a desert of mediocrity on this site, Shadow Slave stands out among all other novels like a fresh spring of water. It is by far one of the best novels I've read to date for the many reasons that I will list below: Writing quality: The writing quality is exceptional. I would compare it to some published books that have been audited by many experts, albeit with a couple spelling mistakes littered once or twice among the tens of chapters I've read. It is fluid, and vividly descriptive. Most of the time, novels are only expected to have decent writing that doesn't diminish the quality of the reading experience. For Shadow Slave, however, it only elevates the reading experience beyond what otherwise possible. Updating stability: The updating stability is also excellent, with two chapters being consistently released every day. To churn out so many chapters with such outstanding quality, I can only praise the author. Story development: The story development is fascinating. I will not go into too many details so as to not spoil it, but essentially, a select few people fall under some sort of curse known as the nightmare spell. Those suffering from this spell, dubbed as "sleepers" at first, will be dragged into a nightmare based off of fictional historical events. In it, the sleeper will be given a role to play, in which their performance at playing that role will be judged by a seemingly omniscient entity. For the first nightmare spell, this judgement affects the fate of the sleeper: how powerful they will become, what power they will have, and what drawback that power will come with. Some may become soldiers in the nightmare, others scholars. Our main character, Sunny? He becomes a slave, chained to a caravan traversing freezing mountains, doomed to be destroyed. For the first arc, Sunny must use his cunning to survive because of his weakness, and hopefully excel in this seemingly impossible trial where failure means death. The transitions between story arcs are logical yet fantastical. Nothing feels too abrupt, as everything is explained in the story properly. Every setting is vastly different from the previous, giving each story arc a completely fresh experience. Little details pertaining to future events in the novel are also mentioned, giving some good foreshadowing. Pacing is also great. Story arcs don't drag on for too long, but aren't so fast that they feel incomplete on any level. Furthermore, there is always a high degree of tension throughout the novel, as there is always some danger around the corner for not only the main character, but the surrounding cast too. Character design: Despite all of the praise I've been showering this novel with so far, my favorite aspect of Shadow Slave by far is the character design. For every piece of dialogue, every action taken, decision made, you name it, the characters feel like real people: something rare on webnovel. Besides unimportant characters, every person in this novel feels like an onion, with layers of background and personality that gets peeled back every few chapters. Seemingly bland characters turn into some of the most likable and relatable people you will ever read about due to their backstory, emotions, and development. Another part I love about the character design is that it is not sexist. I know many people like novels with soulless women or men that exist only for the sexual pleasure of the main character and reader, but if you are like me, you will detest that; it takes away from the quality of the book if done in excess (which it usually is). The women in Shadow Slave are not sexualized, nor are they damsels in distress. So far the women have been the strongest characters in the book, emotionally and physically. They also don't fawn over the main character, which I appreciate. In fact, they act just like real people. Of course, there is potential for wholesome romance in the future, which I sincerely hope will not be harem. Lastly, I'd like to point out the characters' humour in this novel. Because this novel's concept is so dark, placing bits of humour in it is much appreciated. I genuinely found myself laughing at certain moments, which I will not spoil for the sake of your future enjoyment. World background: The world background is similar to the characters—an onion. Although it hasn't been fully explored throughout the novel yet, the layers are slowly being pulled back. With each story arc, we are being shown little details that dictate why the present is the way it is. Given by how this novel is going so far, I'd imagine we will eventually gain an in depth reason for the existence of everything in this novel, such as the nightmare spell and the entity that judges the sleeper. tldr: Because Shadow Slave is outstanding in all aspects, you should give at least the first five to ten chapters a read, and see if you enjoy it. It was a bit of a long review, but I tried to make it interesting. I hope I have somewhat peaked your interest if you've read the entire review. ***Author, I really hope that you continue writing this novel to completion. Please don't end this novel on an abrupt note, without explaining the existence of the nightmare spell and who or what created it.