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thetypedwriter · 3 years

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Lore Book Review

Lore Book Review by Alexandra Bracken

Lore by Alexandra Bracken was one of 2021’s most anticipated YA novels and it's easy to see why. The plot summary itself is enough to pull you in with the intriguing concoction of calling it the combination of The Hunger Games and the Percy Jackson series.

What’s not to love when you fuse the illicit danger of Katniss Everdeen with the mythological enchantment of Rick Riordan’s masterpiece?

Turns out, quite a lot unfortunately.

Before I get into why this book didn’t live up to the insurmountable hype it built up, I’ll attempt to give a basic summary. The key word being attempt as a good portion of this novel’s plot was a mind boggling and convoluted mess.

The book takes place in modern day New York which Bracken likes to remind you every other paragraph with small snippets about how the city that never sleeps smells like sewage and is yet still the best place on earth apparently.

Don’t get me wrong, I love New York as much as the next person, but the pandering to the Big Apple got annoying after awhile.

Within the cantankerous city lives a girl named Lore which we are introduced to by means of her kicking ass in an underground Chinese restaurant’s fighting ring.

Pretty strong start.

Lore’s world (and the reader’s frankly) is tipped upside down when Lore’s long lost childhood friend, Castor, reappears to warn her that he is looking for her. Terrified, Lore is then at first unwillingly thrust back into the world in which she was born-a world dominated by violence, bloodlines, and the Greek gods who are very much alive and out for vengeful retribution.

In a very exposition-dump heavy conversation, we learn that Lore is the last of Perseous’ line with the rest of her family having been horrifically murdered, that a week long event called the Agon occurs every seven years in which the original nine Greek gods or their reincarnated selves become mortal for seven days, and that a series of killing often happen because if you kill a Greek god you then become that Greek god as well as inhabit their powers, abilities, and immortality.

Well, until the next Agon that is.

The currently reincarnated God by the name of Wrath is attempting to end the Agon by killing all the other Gods, but in order to do it he needs to wield a special weapon called the Aegis.

Unfortunately, only the Perseides can wield this shield (for some reason) and thus, Wrath is out to get his hold on Lore as the last of her line so that he can bring this eons old competition to an end with himself as the sole victor and only remaining God.

Confused?

I’d be surprised if you weren’t.

Now, I love Greek mythology. I’ve read the classics and would say I’m fairly up to date on the stories, the legends, the gods, and the stories they represent. I’m not an expert, but I would say I’m knowledgeable on who the major figures are and what they stood for.

I genuinely think this book would have been miserable for anyone that didn’t know anything about Greek mythology.

Bracken does a terrible job of explaining what the hell is happening at any given point, and she often throws out allusions and references to Greek mythology without bothering to explain a single shred of information about it.

In addition, after this laughably and poorly explained world and plot at the beginning, it is almost never explained again. It’s brought up, as are names and titles and weapons and relationships, but it’s never explained in a way that’s feasibly understandable.

At the beginning of the novel Bracken lists who all the important characters are, their bloodlines, and their titles.

I soon figured out why, as every other sentence a name like Wrath or Reveler or Tidebringer or whoever was brought up, and it was impossible to keep track of so I didn’t even bother.

Even Lore brings up that the names are ridiculous, which I appreciate, but the meta moment of clarity doesn't make it any better.

Also, what Lore and her friends get up to over 90% of the novel is a muddled mass of bewilderment.

Why do Lore and Castor and the others need to find Artemis? I don’t know, but sure, whatever, sounds good. Why was Lore the last of her line again? Oh yeah, right, okay, I guess. Wait, Castor died? Oh, he didn’t? Why not? Oh, we’re not going to explain it. Sure, sure.

Throughout this entire novel, what the characters are doing and what is happening is almost impossible to follow with the way it's presented and the way Bracken developed her world. I think this was a really cool idea that had very poor execution.

Points for the originality and the inclusion of Greek mythology, but all of the positives were taken away when that originality was flushed down the drain with a lack of explanation and logic.

Lore very much reminded me of a shoot-em up, bang-em up action movie. Almost every other chapter was some sort of super intense, super climactic fight scene, chase, theft, break-in, etc.

Now. I do think action scenes are hard to write and I think Bracken actually did an incredible job of writing action in a way that was entertaining and thrilling.

However, when the action takes place every ten pages it gets really old, really quick. Towards the end, I downright started skimming the fight scenes, because they lacked so little depth and stakes and we had read so much action at the end point that it had lost all vigor and vitality.

Continuing with the action movie metaphor, most action movies focus solely on the bright explosions and the crazy fight scenes as their selling point of the whole movie, often to the detriment of the characters, plot, and development.

Now, some people like this. I am not these people.

I find action movies boring as most of my enjoyment from consuming media comes from the characters and the developments they undergo.

My biggest criticism with Lore, other than the astonishing storytelling, is by far the characters. I just...didn’t care. About any of them.

Bracken tried to make Lore come across as a strong, opinionated, fierce, angry female character and while sometimes she succeeded, more often than not I found Lore temperamental, aggravating, impulsive, selfish, and shallow.

Bracken very much invoked the tell-not-show strategy that makes any book hard to get through. While there were some decent moments of showing instead of just stating, more often than not, Bracken would tell us that Lore was strong by having other people say it or others calling her weak.

I appreciated Bracken’s feminist agenda and how strongly Lore felt about gender inequality, even if it was a bit heavy-handed at times. Still, I did appreciate this inclusion of civil rights on this front, even if some of the circumstances to incite it were ridiculous or over the top.

In addition, I hated that there was all this backstory that we were just told but not shown. Like in my last review of Wilder Girls, Lore suffers from an intrinsic failure of getting me onboard with these characters and their relationships by telling me how I should feel about them instead of exposing them through action.

I was told:

Lore and Castor haven't seen each other for seven years, but my gosh, Castor is just the best and is so beautiful. Ensue obligatory YA romance.

Lore has a best friend! Yeah. Her name is Iro. Here she is! Um. Okay. Why was this necessary?

Miles is just the coolest best friend ever. Like, look how cool and chill he is. How funny is it that he has no idea what’s happening? Really not funny at all. He was a useless character used to build empty stakes.

The list goes on and on, but Bracken will throw out some sort of fact or relationship and just expect the reader to go “Okay!” Which. I didn’t. On any of those occurrences.

Often Bracken would do this in the use of flashbacks at the most inopportune times (during a fight scene, after someone was injured, right before a huge revelation, etc). These flashbacks were the worst. I do not care for adolescent Lore and child Lore was somehow even worse.

The romance in this book, much like an action movie, is off to the side and really only there to fulfill the trope of having a romance.

Lore and Castor are boring. I don’t know what else to say. Castor is too perfect to be likable and Lore is the opposite. Nothing about their romance was unique or well-crafted.

The kiss between Van and Miles I also saw coming a hundred miles away. I also thought it was pointless as Van and Miles had known each for six days and had had maybe two conversations. So. No. I didn’t care at all about the romances.

It actually made me laugh and scoff simultaneously at the end when Lore is looking at Van, Castor, Iro and Miles and smiles because she realizes that these people are her family.

Ummm. Sorry?

Castor disappeared for seven years and you’ve been reunited for seven days. You’ve hated Van your whole life until this week. You also haven’t seen Iro in seven years and she tried to kill you at least twice in this book. Miles is...fine, but again useless. I don’t even know why Bracken included him except to make Lore worry about him which she only did about half of the time.

Phew.

I know this review has come across largely negative, so this might be surprising, but I didn’t hate it. It lacks substance and depth, but it was entertaining.

Just like an action movie.

If you want some hyped fights and a plot that really doesn't matter and characters that won’t stick with you, but a fast-paced narrative that keeps you on your toes nonetheless, then you would probably enjoy this.

It’s like the equivalent of watching a James Bond movie or one of the millions of the Fast and Furious. Bracken tries to develop the characters, but at the end of the day, most of the story is made up of cool fights, magic, and weapons. If that’s your speed then you would probably really love Lore.

Recommendation: Action, action, action. If you want some high intensity, get-your-blood-pumping enterprise then this is your novel. The writing is fluid, the adrenaline-inducing scenes are non-stop, and everything else falls to the backdrop of external fights and villainous monologues. If action is not your preferred genre, then your best left to get your Greek mythology needs from Percy Jackson or the Song of Achilles instead.

Score: 6/10

#lore #alexandra bracken #6/10 #ya fiction #YA Books #YA literature #book blog #book review #top books #teen books #Teen Romance #teen fiction #Book Recommendations #YA Book Review #ya book rec #popular fiction #popular books #greek mythology

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deputy-sarah-sux · 5 years

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can i be a psycho and your worst nightmare by asking ALL the writers asks?

You are a demon omg. I love it though this was so much fun to do.Since you didn’t specify fic specifically for some of these questions I’m just gonna write about The Devil Has Come for all of the “in xxx fic” asks.

Answers are below since this is such a long ask :):):)

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction? 12/13 it was between 7th and 8th grade and it was all anime fanfiction

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?Far Cry 5, RDR2, Assassin’s Creed, DC, Marvel, Fallout, Skyrim, Preacher. Far Cry 5 is definitely my favorite to write for though

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.Personally, I prefer OC’s, with OC’s I can build their character, give them a personality and growth. I like shaping the character as the world changes based on their actions

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?Action or romance unless I totally misread that question

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi-chaptered stories, which would it be and why?The Devil Has Come!!! It was my first in the Far Cry fandom and it’s my baby. I love all the characters and the world that I’m building. It’s got action, romance, some twists, it’s exciting

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?If we’re talking things that I’m currently writing and enjoy writing then I guess Bridges only because it’s the same characters as TDHC just in an AU form so I’d survive without it.

7) When is your preferred time to write?Night, 10pm on basically.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?Everywhere really? TV shows, movies, video games, other fics

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?So far my favorite scene that I wrote in TDHC that has been published was either the confrontation with Rook in Chapter 11 or Jacob finding Sarah in the hotel in Chapter 8. They were both really fun to write.

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternate ending in mind?Well it hasn’t been ended yet, but there were two possible endings that I was originally considering. I’m not saying much more other than the ending that I went with is gonna hurt me when I eventually get to it.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?Not after posting but I have amended stories due to criticisms. If I’m a bit worried about a particular scene I’ll share the doc with my best lady @farcryfuckmeup and get her opinion. She usually points out things that aren’t great and I go from there. She’s the closet thing to a beta reader that I have.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?Sarah!!! She’s my best girl and I love her personality and attitude. In terms of canon characters though I’ve been writing some stuff from Arthur Morgan’s pov and that’s been really fun too. I really love playing around with his sense of self and morality.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?I don’t have one yet? We’ll see how the future plays out there. It might be Ethan Seed but I’ve never written stuff for him so I’m not 100% sure.

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories.Almost every fic name is from a song. The Devil Has Come is from Blues Saraceno’s “The River”, Icarus is from Bastille’s “Icarus”, and I’m not sure where Bridges is from but I’m 90% sure it was a song. The series that TDHC and it’s connected stories are a part of is called Bottom of the River from Delta Rae’s “Bottom of the River”.

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?I use name generators for modern characters or look up names with a specific meaning. If the character is from the past (ie cowboy times or pirate times) I look up names popular in that century. Sarah’s name I got by looking up popular names with religious meanings and Sarah was on the list.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx?I came up with the idea for TDHC by playing co-op with @farcryfuckmeup. It was originally supposed to be a crackfic based on the dumbshit we did in-game. Then in my desperation to pretend that the game didn’t end the way it ends I started coming up with ways it could have gone differently and thus my fic was born.

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.I have so many wips! I’ll do a few because I’m in a sharing mood.Fallout 4 WIP: “‘You don’t even use power armor, why did you steal so many?’”RDR2 WIP: “Valentine was a crap town with crap people and even crappier whiskey. It was tiny and smelled like mud and horse shit and something else that she was pretty sure was vomit.”Another RDR2 WIP: “Trouble was the bastard was clingy apparently as he was hot on Arthur’s heel.”

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?Yes, a few. I got bored or I decided to focus on other things. I do intend to one day finish them but who knows

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?The Devil Has Come!!! I can’t wait to write a sequel and I haven’t even finished the current fic.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?Sometimes I wish I’d written a follow up to my judge fic Joseph and his Judge. I’m not totally sure if I like how it ended.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?@farcryfuckmeup first and foremost, she’s amazing. I also love gwennolmarie and OutlandishWhalesharks on Archive of Our Own.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?My anime fics from middle school. It’s still posted and I won’t tell you what it’s called but every time I remember it a little part of me dies.

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?Music mostly but it sometimes depends on the scene. For certain scenes I need silence but for the most part it’s music music music. I have playlists for all sorts of scene types.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?I love it, idk if I’m any good at it but I do like writing them.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?Yes, I’ve been writing some future parts of TDHC and I have cried a bit writing some of it.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write?The smut scene in Chapter 10 of TDHC, it was the first smut scene I’d ever published so I was really worried about that and kept rewriting it.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?Bit of both I guess. There is a vague outline in my head but only for like the big events, everything in between is go with the flow shit.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?It’s not going to be an instant hit. When I first started posting works back in the day I was always so upset when I’d check the next day and see only like 12 people had read it.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?Icarus :( It’s only a baby fic and it’s in a mostly dead fandom but I love it.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?No, I love all the attention my fics get.

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)I’m gonna recommend one myself. Since this is a Far Cry blog I’ll recommend a Far Cry fic: come a little closer by lowtides on AO3Also here’s a Fallout 4 fic that isn’t finished but I absolutely love: RAIDERHEAD by TaraTargaryen

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?No real people no. Thomas is a combination of a few fictional characters though.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?I’ve gotten a few comments of analysis on chapters I’ve posted and honestly I love that so much. Nothing warms my heart more than seeing that someone not only read my fic but sat there and actually thought a lot about it.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?Like I said before I haven’t gotten a lot of criticism, but I guess the harshest for me was when I was discussing a character that I had really started to like and my friend (who I was ranting at about him) asked me to honestly think about what he brings to the table. Like is he actually necessary or just a throwaway character that won’t bring much to the story? I ended up scrapping him and putting a nameless character in his place to fill a few of his scenes.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?I share them with one (1) person and that person is my irl best friend @farcryfuckmeup. Everyone else has to wait until I post stuff I don’t want to spoil any big surprises.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?It’s a chapter very far in the future for a fic I’m sure you can guess but I won’t outright say.“Against his better judgment, he reached out and grabbed the hysteric woman, tightening his grip against her struggling and pulling her into his lap. He wrapped her in a tight hug until she finally began to calm down, humming softly and running his fingers through blood-soaked hair.“

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?I haven’t written a lot of funny stuff. I mostly do angsty. But when I was in middle school a wrote a novel where I spent two paragraphs talking about my MC’s hair color and current outfit and I cackle every time I read it. 70 pages or pure cringe, it’s hilarious.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.@farcryfuckmeup hmu bitch!also you @onl-you

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?Third, every now and then I write in first but idk I just don’t like it much.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?My close friends do

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?Thomas Moore, he’s a lot of fun to write for.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx.I don’t actually have any song fics in the traditional sense. I do however have some fics inspired by songs. I listen to music almost constantly, sometimes a song comes on that gives my fic vibes and I add it to my prompt playlist.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?@/farcryfuckmeup has but I don’t try too hard to keep secrets when she’s around

44) What is the last line you wrote?“John rolled his eyes and finished unbuttoning his shirt.”

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?This is cliche probably but the readers. I don’t want to leave someone waiting around for the next update forever. I also want to see how things play out myself so my own desire to see the finished product also helps.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?Again, going with TDHC for this. I am writing a sequel currently (I know it’s not done). It’s going to focus on a different character but Sarah will make appearances. I’m also working on a standalone sequel for her but that won’t be posted until the first sequel fic is complete.

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made-up title. What would this story be about?I used a title generator: Hidden Midnight. It’s about a pair of idiots in love, one is a vampire so they can only meet at night and it’s very secretive. The human dies at the end.

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?Forced partnerships. I love it when two characters are forced into a partnership. One of them can’t fucking stand the other but slowly grows to like/love them in secret. If the chill one is in danger the annoyed one freaks the fuck out and does everything they can to get to their partner and afterwards claims they couldn’t care less what happened.

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?I don’t remember the name of it but I’m pretty sure it was a Supernatural fic. I think it was Destiel (don’t just middle school me) and a high school AU. I’m not 100% sure. It was either that or a Fairy Tail fic and I like to forget my anime days.

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?Angst. I love fluff and smut but in the end, I always go back to angst. It’s so much fun and there are so many ways to do it.

#ask

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bizarrequazar · 7 years

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I doubt anyone actually cares, but considering I’m watching a horrifying total of nine non-sequel anime this season, I thought I would do a quick run through of my thoughts so far for people who aren’t sure what to watch

This is honestly looking to be the best anime season we’ve seen in possibly years, so if you’re not watching anything I seriously recommend picking up at least one or two shows.

1. Black Clover - Honestly my least favourite so far. I admittedly haven’t watched this past week’s episode yet but, from what I’ve watched so far, it feels very barely-scraping-average shounen. The characters and setup feels very trope-y and, as I’ve seen other people point out, the voicing is really not great and, in the case of the lead character, often ear grating.

My understanding from what little I know about the manga is that it’s the kind of series that picks up later on, but that’s apparently quite a ways off.

2. Garo: Vanishing Line - My guilty pleasure of the season. That’s not to say it’s bad by any means; the animation is fantastic and it’s a hell of a lot of fun. By “guilty pleasure,” what I mean is that it’s a very “turn your brain off” action and fanservice heavy romp with a healthy dose of gore for good measure. The episodes thus far have been largely focused on introducing characters, so it’ll be interesting to see where it goes once the plot properly kicks in.

3. Houseki no Kuni - My current favourite new series of the season, as a lot of people following me have probably already noticed. The characters are all super enjoyable and the anime so far has done a fantastic job adapting the manga. My only worry so far has to do with the series length, as the set 12 episode run will likely end the anime right around where I found the manga started to get really good.

As well, CG animation in general has been really growing on me recently and, like with Seikaisuru Kado from this past spring, Houseki so far is a case where the series definitely benefits from the use of CG. The way it’s been utilized so far has worked fantastically for making the gems actually feel like gems and the series includes a lot of really gorgeous scenery shots that make the world feel much richer.

4. Inuyashiki - I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this one so far. I found the start very slow, but the second episode picked it up a lot more and the set up seem like it’ll be a lot of violent fun. I haven’t read or watched the author’s other series, Gantz, but so far Inuyashiki feels a bit like a more action-based Death Note to me. I’m also curious to see if the aliens are every explained, I hope they are.

5. Kino no Tabi - The Animated Series - I’m a long time fan of Kino no Tabi, so just know that when this new series was announced I was quite literally yelling. For the most part, I’ve been very pleased with it. Aoi Yuki is doing a fantastic job as the titular Kino and her connection to the original anime only makes hearing her in the role even better and the animation has been gorgeous.

My faults so far can be summed up in two points. First is quite minor, simply in that I’m not wild about the updated design for Kino herself in regard to how much younger she looks than she did in the 2003 series (be aware that she is supposed to be around twenty according to the novels).

Second has to do with the stories being chosen. I’ve already seen a lot of people talk about the reanimated Colosseum story so I won’t harp on that in particular. Actually, my main issue comes in the fact that I’m worried that the new series is trying too hard to appeal to an audience that looks for more action based stories when that’s really not what Kino (both the series and that character) is about. The three episodes have so far all involved violence to some degree and the way they handled the ending of Colosseum made Kino herself come off as much more heartless than she’s meant to be.

I know that the stories being covered in the new series were chosen by popular vote, so I’m still holding out hope that it’ll do a good job with the ones to come.

6. Children of the Whales - I LOVE the animation for this series. The style itself is pretty standard, but the handling of the colour palette and backgrounds are absolutely wonderful. The world-building as well has me fascinated and the slow tonal shift over the currently aired three episodes was very nicely handled. I almost went and read the manga after yesterday’s episode only to discover how little has been translated and, to me, any series that has me looking up the manga because I want more so badly is a good sign.

7. Mahoutsukai no Yome - I feel like I’m in the very small camp of people who aren’t completely taken with Mahoutsukai, but I am still quite enjoying it. I really like the characters and the series’ way of broaching the topic of grief so far and I look forward to seeing how the story progresses.

8. Net-juu no Susume - Probably my currently #2 for the series, I am honestly shocked by how much I’m enjoying this show. I initially gave it a complete pass until an ANN writer I follow on Twitter started going off about it and I promptly was completely charmed by it. I’m not AT ALL usually one for romcoms, but the self-deprecating and very geeky style of humor, the very gender-doesn’t-matter sense to the romance, and the characters themselves have already wormed their way far deeper into my heart that I expected. I love it.

9. Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou - “Plotless show about cute girls” is another anime type that I usually don’t like but, lo and behold, this current season is determined to prove all of my pre-conjecture wrong. It’s simple, it’s charming, it’s relaxing, and that’s pretty much all there is to say about this show so far.

#noisy stardust

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beneaththetangles · 5 years

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What Am I Reading & Should You Try It?

Over the past year, I’ve become something of a light novel addict. #BlameBtT. Inspired by what Frank has written about light novels, I thought it might be worthwhile to survey the light novel series I’m reading. With a couple exceptions, these are overall impressions of each series, not reviews of individual volumes. Since I can never pick a favorite, instead of doing a top ten list, I have graded the titles in rough groups based on how highly I view them. Hopefully you’ll find some possibilities for your future reading. Also, feel free to compare my views to Frank’s top 10 for some interesting similarities and differences!

S-Rank

I consider the following series the best of the best, the ones I can recommend with no qualifications:

My first light novel series ever was Infinite Dendrogram, and it remains one of my favorites. It’s kind of isekai-ish, insofar as most of the story takes place in a virtual world, but the protagonist still very much lives in our world. The characters are likeable and interesting, the world-building is rich, and the battles are the best of any light novel I’ve read. The story follows protagonist Ray as he begins playing an oddly named VRMMO (seriously, Dendrogram? Tree-writing?!). The narrative is enriched by a lively collection of supporting cast members and some intriguing world-building. For a story nominally taking place within a game, Dendro does an impressive job of making me feel like there are high stakes for the conflicts that occur. Almost from the outset, Dendro starts hinting at mysteries and plot twists, and keeps gradually introducing deeper questions to its narrative. I’ve devoured all nine volumes that are available and can’t wait for the next one.

Invaders of the Rokujouma!? is easily the longest series I’ve read, and probably has the most well-developed characters. A high school boy living on his own has his apartment invaded by a ghost, a magical girl, a space alien princess, and a mole person. The landlady forces them to handle the conflict in a non-destructive manner, and the story just gets more awesome and hilarious from there. Thanks to the extended length of the series, every character in the huge cast gets opportunities to shine; likewise, relationships between the characters grow in a really satisfying way. The story has some great foreshadowing, and has done a surprisingly fine job weaving together many initially separate plot threads in a logical way. Amazingly, all twenty-one translated volumes are available for free, so please do yourself a favor and check it out.

Probably the funniest series I’ve read so far is Didn’t I Say To Make My Abilities Average In The Next Life?!, a reincarnation isekai story with the gimmick that protagonist Adele is ridiculously OP and DIDN’T WANT TO BE. She begins the story by heroically giving her life to save a child, making her immediately sympathetic. Because of how stressful and isolating her life was as a perfect student in Japan, she asks the godlike being who reincarnates her to make her totally “average.” However, you probably remember that in math, “average,” can mean several different things. Well, the god creatively misinterprets her request in ways that technically qualify as “average” yet totally miss the spirit of the request. Adele’s magic power, for example, is the average between a human and the strongest living creatures in the world, an elder dragon; thus, while technically “average” from a certain point of view, her magic is thousands of times stronger than any human’s. The story chronicles Adele’s efforts to make friends, while struggling valiantly to convince anyone she’s just a normal girl. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed all six volumes that have come out so far. Also, volume one of this series is the reading for this month’s edition of the Light Novel Club and we all enjoyed it.

A-Rank

These are LNs I fully recommend—they just don’t quite attain to the greatness of the previous section:

Probably the darkest series I follow is Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles. That’s not to say it’s a brutal grimdark horrorfest or anything, but the setting definitely showcases more evil and suffering than is typical of the light novels I’ve read. This is another reincarnated-into-a-fantasy-world isekai story, with a plot exciting enough to keep me coming back for all five volumes available in English. The protagonist dies in our world and reawakens as a traumatized orphan. He gets a new lease of life when he’s plucked out of the slums and sent to the royal academy, but his troubles persist and transcontinental adventure follows. Rio eventually becomes pretty OP, but it takes a couple volumes for him to get there. In other series, the OP protagonist would kill any sense of danger in the story, but because the world is so fraught with real wickedness, the sympathetic characters feel more imperiled than is usual for a light novel. Similarly, the good people in the story shine all the more brightly for being in a setting dominated by the proud and cruel.

Like Abilities Average, I Shall Survive Using Potions! is also written by FUNA, is also hilarious, and also stars a comically OP female protagonist reincarnated in a fantasy world. In contrast to Adele and her desire to be normal, Potions‘ protagonist, Kaoru, takes the opposite approach. She ASKS to be given OP cheat powers and has few qualms with letting others find out about them. Unlike Adele’s dogged striving to avoid attention, Kaoru quickly lets herself becomes an international sensation. There’s a lot of fun in watching her revel in over-the-top power and alter the course of world history with her knowledge and abilities. Two volumes have been released, and they’re both delightful.

Reincarnated as a Sword is yet another reincarnation isekai story—with the entertaining twist the protagonist has become a sapient sword. As swords go, he’s quite OP, but he’s still a sword, which imposes serious limitations. Eventually he finds a wielder: Fran, an adorable beastgirl escaped slave. The parent-and-child-like interactions of the grown-up minded sword and his child wielder are cute and fun. The humor comes from more than just the two leads—for example, vol. 2 introduces a comical yet charming necromancer! There are also hints of a big-picture plot and mysteries that are slowly unfolding, but so far it’s been a pretty lighthearted adventure. I would note that the series makes heavy use of RPG-style, level-up mechanics, and while that didn’t detract from my enjoyment, I can see it getting annoying for some readers.

And now for something completely (?) different: Obsessions of an Otome Gamer. The two volumes that have been translated so far comprise yet another reincarnation isekai story… except that the isekai world is based on a fictional otome game and thus is almost exactly like the real world (aside from people having anime hair). However, as the story develops, circumstances turn out to be more complicated than the initial setup leads readers to believe. The mysteries of the plot are solid, but the real draw here is the warm relationships the protagonist has with her family — you’ll get warm fuzzy feelings, trust me. The other unusual feature of this series is its focus on classical music; the protagonist is a budding pianist, and the books are loaded with references to famous composers and pieces.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf is isekai, but it turns the standard isekai formula around by having the protagonist accidentally transport an elf from her native fantasy world into our world. It turns out they can go back forth between worlds by falling asleep while touching—or by getting killed! The eponymous Ms. Elf first awakes in Japan when she and the protagonist (who thought he was just dreaming) get incinerated by a dragon. The story alternates between fantasy-adventure sections and medieval-elf-encounters-modern-Japan segments. This is a cute, fun, lighthearted romance story with some adventure elements mixed in. The second volume adds a dragon to the mix (who also ends up visiting Japan!).

Another fairly new series, Ascendance of a Bookworm is, once again, a reincarnation isekai story. The protagonist dies when an earthquake causes her book collection to crush her, and reawakens as a small, sickly child in a prosaic medieval world. It’s a laid back tale free of OP protagonist shenanigans. Instead, her struggles and misadventures are those of a feeble six-year-old trying to figure out how to craft a medium for writing, as well as use her modern knowledge to improve the quality of life for herself and those around her. What really made the book enjoyable for me was the heartwarming interactions between the protagonist and her loving family and friends. In an unusual twist for isekai tales, the first book is devoid of magic (aside from some odd, not-explicitly-magical flora and fauna that we hear about). However, vol. 1 wraps up with a hint that magical things may be happening in the future, and vol. 2 shares the protagonist’s shock at realizing she’s in a fantasy world.

Cooking with Wild Game is once again isekai. A few factors distinguish it from most entries in that genre, however. Aside from the unknown cause of protagonist Asuta getting isekai’d, there’s been no sign of supernatural forces. Asuta is a normal human being and is in no way OP. And the story so far has been every bit as low-stakes as one might expect for an ordinary protagonist — the fate of the world is not on the line. As a chef trainee, his only real skills are cooking related, so his biggest struggles have involved trying to produce a meal that would impress the local chieftain, and catering a wedding. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how interesting a story about frontier cooking could actually be. Asuta is a strong protagonist — a bit immature, but impressively conscientious (I’ve never seen an isekai protagonist thoughtfully worry over whether it was right to introduce Japanese ideas and practices to his new culture). One warning though: the second volume contains…well, it just barely stops short of becoming attempted rape (committed against Asuta!); it’s pretty intense and troubling, and doesn’t feel like it’s really been resolved yet.

B-Rank

I enjoy these series enough to keep reading, but not enough to recommend them unequivocally:

How A Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is another isekai story. The protagonist is summoned to a fantasy world to be a hero, handed the throne, and proceeds to save the country by implementing economic reforms. The first volume was okay, but I found the protagonist an insufferable know-it-all who spent way too much time monologuing. Sorry, I don’t read light novels so I can be lectured. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Because Frank has spoken so highly of the series, I decided to give it one more chance and tried the second volume. I’m glad I did, because I enjoyed it a lot more than the first. There were more interesting character interactions, a more exciting plot, the protagonist was more human and relatable, and there were noticeably fewer intellectual monologues. So, considered yourself warned that the first book might be a bit of a slog, but the series really does get better from there! The administrative and diplomatic focus continues throughout the series, and is pretty unique among light novels I’ve seen. There’s also some harem romance elements that are kind of a mixed bag; Souma eventually amasses five fiancees, and some of the relationships are cute while others leave me wondering why the author even bothered with them.

An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride is a fluffy fantasy romance full of quirky characters and comical developments. The central romantic relationship develops in a charmingly slow, awkward manner. Besides the leading the couple, the cast includes the couple’s adopted dragon-girl daughter, a knight templar turned butler, a clone of the elf girl, and more. Another supporting character is unusually crass as LN characters go, and it grates on me a bit. Along with that issue, the other factor knocking this down to B-ranking is that the quality of the writing is sometimes a little weak. Still, I’ve read all the volumes that have been released so far and plan to keep up with the series. Also, this one of the rare not-isekai series I’m reading, so if isekai is not your cup of tea, you may appreciate Archdemon’s Dilemma even more.

No Ranking

I picked up these series in the middle, trying to follow where their respective anime left off, so although I liked them, I don’t feel qualified to give an opinion on the LN series as a whole:

When I decided I wanted to try a physical light novel (rather than reading another ebook on my Kindle like I usually do), I settled on Sword Art Online Alicization. I started with volumes 15 and 16, which pick up right where the anime left off. The latter portion of the anime proved deeply thought-provoking, and these books are a satisfying continuation that explore some really profound issues while telling a fantasy-adventure story. A sociopathic IRL villain appears, while a major war breaks out in the Underworld, and Kirito is effectively missing in action. I look forward to the future of the anime, but I also plan to stick with the light novels (and may at some point even go back and read the earlier volumes). I understand SAO is somewhat polarizing, so whether you’d like these books probably depends on how you feel about the series more generally.

After greatly enjoying the anime, I decided to check out That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Like with SAO, I attempted to pick up where the anime left off. As best I can tell, the show adapted the first three books plus a section of the fourth, so I read vol. 4 and vol. 5. Rimuru and friends’ continued adventures are very much what you’d expect if you’ve seen the anime — fantasy-adventure with an insanely OP protagonist, loads and loads of characters, and abundant humor. Similar to SAO, it’s worth reading if you enjoyed the anime, but if you didn’t care for the show, the books aren’t likely to change your mind.

Failing Grades

That takes care of all the light novel series I’m currently following. I also figured I’d offer capsule reviews of some books I’ve tried and found wanting. Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement is an inferior version of of Survive Using Potions and Abilities Average, from the same author. The humor is still there, but the characters are flatter and there’s less of a plot; still, you may find it an amusing isekai tale. This time the protagonist’s quirk is the ability to easily teleport back and forth to our world, which she hopes to use to get rich. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! is another otome-game-world isekai saga, but the protagonist is painfully dense and the harem elements ridiculously forced. Volume 1 was mildly amusing, but not enough that I have any desire to continue. In Amagi Brilliant Park, a high school student gets roped into running a magical amusement park. I didn’t actually bother finishing the first novel—parts were hilarious, but there was also way too also too much crude humor for my tastes. I gave up on Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension in a similar way. The isekai protagonist is summoned to a fantasy world as a hero—and his special power is instant access to a fancy bath wherever he is, leaving him floundering to find creative applications for this “useless” power. The concept is interesting, but the implementation was way too fanservicey for me to enjoy. Perhaps I’m a prude, but I just couldn’t enjoy these two books. Lastly, there’s Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody. While the title is amazing, the womanizing isekai protagonist is not — I grew weary of his incessant comments about the attractiveness of every single female character he met. And overall I just found the book to be a boring slog that couldn’t hold my interest.

There you have it: my favorite light novels, and some I rejected. What about you, O reader mine? Have I piqued your interest regarding any of these? I certainly hope so. If you do try anything I recommended, be sure to report what you thought! And of course, this question can go the other way: are there any light novels you’d recommend to me? I’m sure there are tons of series out there that I haven’t even heard of, let alone read. Do you have any favorites to share?

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kchasm · 6 years

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Shameful Original Characters I Have Created Part 6: Marion Thorpe

Okay, full disclosure: Here’s where I start to get into tabletop gaming characters, as opposed to just characters I created for stories and fanfic. That’s okay, right? I mean, these characters are technically also original characters, so it’s still okay, right? Right?

Yeah, I dunno. It seems different somehow.

Anyway, keep in mind that (as of the time of me writing this specific post), I’ve never managed to play a tabletop game to anything that could be considered a conclusion. Thus, these characters are gonna have some open-endedness in the “where are they now” category. Kind of a bummer, but that’s the way it crumbles. And it’s not like I can’t use these characters or character concepts elsewhere someday, right? Right?

Don’t Rest Your Head is a terrific game about the dangers of sloppy sleeping habits, only when I say “terrific” I mean in the sense that it inspires terror. Basically, your character has, for whatever reason you’ve decided on, foregone sleep long enough that they’ve awakened to the existence of the Mad City—a twisted otherworld where Nightmares wander and thirteen o’clock makes for a really bad time. You can get there from here, easily enough, once you’ve reached that point—just find the door or alleyway you’re pretty sure wasn’t there before.

Problem is, those Nightmares? They can sense you, too, now. And they are—nightmares, I mean. And your life isn’t the worst thing you can take.

...Okay, I’m done being melodramatic. Seriously, though, it’s a real interesting game. I totally recommend even just reading up on it, if you’ve got the time. But you’re not here for my tabletop recs—you’re here to listen to me blab about my OCs (though I haven’t a clue why), so let’s get to brass Tacks Men.

(Tacks Men are an enemy in the game.)

(That’s why it’s funny.)

Marion Thorpe was just a small-time struggling paperback romance writer (yes, I know, writers writing writers). And then maybe the stars aligned, or Earth’s magnetic field reversed itself (probably not that second one) because almost immediately out of the gate, what should he produce but a hit? Well, a hit among the paperback, romance, and paperback romance crowds, but a hit nonetheless.

And Marion, rightfully, basked in the glow of his accomplishment up until his editor went, “Grand! When’s the next book coming along?”

Thus was made known to Marion the Big Problem with hitting it big on the first go. If you start off with some unsteady novels and uneven thrillers and then one day finally knock out a bestseller, that’s one thing. It seems normal, that kind of progression. You set out out with a quality that’s alright, maybe, and you keep going till you get better. And maybe your next book after that isn’t as good, but it feels like you might find that holy groove, if you give it another go. It’s not so bad, somehow.

If you start great, on the other hand—somehow, more despite yourself than anything else—

There’s nowhere to go but down! Merry Christmas.

So began Marion’s stress-founded habit of sleeplessness. And one day—after a month, maybe longer, of backspace-backspace-backspace and progressive unkemptness, the muttering, half-cracked mess named Marion decided maybe he ought to take a walk. Just to clear his head. Only he walked the wrong way, at some point, and found himself in the Mad City (though he didn’t know it was called that, not yet), which is life’s way of telling you that just because you’re in a bad way doesn’t mean things can’t get worse.

Now, quick FYI: As a side effect of becoming aware of the Mad City (or becoming “Awake,” as they call it), a character acquires what’s known as a “madness talent”—the ability to do something they plain old shouldn’t be able to do. Marion’s madness talent tied into his ability as a writer—through narration, he was able to warp reality (as much as “reality” applied), saving his bacon once or twice. For example, a deadly storm (which had a punny name I’ve totally forgotten) was avoided when Marion narrated the existence of a fortunately-placed awning. Sounds OP, right? Problem is, the world doesn’t like to be edited so much. Small changes you can get away with—as long as there’s no reason not to be an awning, there might as well be one—but try to change someone’s mind without them noticing or write an enemy’s tumble into a pitfall that might not have been there before or god forbid, retcon a foe away completely, and the world pushes back, especially if the change isn’t well-justified—reality can have all the unlikely coincidences it wants, but fiction has to make sense.

On top of that, “madness talent” isn’t a misnomer. Every use of a madness talent pushes a character further toward the brink of insanity—one push too far, and that character becomes a Nightmare themself.

...Sheesh, that’s a lot of words to describe not a lot of game mechanics. So what happened with Marion, after he got into the Mad City? Well, this and that. Joined up with a coupla other Awake folks. Got into (and out of) a few scraps by the bare skin of his teeth. Was terrified. Was terrified most of the time, honestly. Terrified and stressed out and nervous, and muttering, and not just for the sake of narration. Met a life-sized wind-up ballerina, who didn’t have much of a personality, but seemed alright with helping the company out. Happened to be there when the ballerina’s clockworks ran down. Wound the ballerina back up, which apparently did more than the obvious, because the ballerina suddenly had a personality, and possibly a crush.

(On a side note, have you ever stumbled knee-deep into a sexual metaphor without actually meaning to? I’m not sure who was more uncomfortable, me or Marion. Ken Akamatsu is just lovin’ it, I’m sure.)

And what happened to Marion next? Man, I dunno. Like I said, his game never came to anything resembling a conclusion. Maybe he’s dead. Maybe he’s worse.

I like to imagine, though, that he escaped what was plaguing him, or found what he needed to find, or maybe a little of both. And he figured out how to sleep again, without worry of nightmares or Nightmares. He still writes books, still sometimes romance, but his stories have changed. Nothing solid, nothing anyone can put their fingers on, but—they’re a bit more surreal, a bit more unsettling in ways that can’t be easily described.

That’s alright. There’s an audience for that, too.

And I think he might be married to a graceful woman with very, very measured movements.

#idrawthign #shamefulocs

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