- #1
The novel seems like it would be an engaging thing on the premise that the writing is something that people interested in tropes and writing would like, and that it might subvert them.That simply isn't the case.The author's relationship with their work and the world continues in a pleasing manner for a while, but the consequences of the work on his life and the hints at high stakes are completely undercut seemingly every time it happens.At first you think its just fortunate plot to make it more consequential, but eventually it feel routine and unfulfilling without stakes.I thought that the love between the two main interests was fairly well established, but I feel that with this genre there is a level of unfulfilling openness in the relationship that betrays our rooted attachments to those heroines and there's a level of degeneracy to trying to appeal to that without really giving the ML anything of consequence to his relationships.I think its sort of at a point where it needs a re-write because the bones and structure of the work feel very appealing, but there is an element of boring routine success with the protagonist. His problems are always his emotional investment in his work, and his ability to work, and it feels like the affects it could have on his family and life are dangled like a carrot, but never actually established in the work, and eventually it feels like the illusion of consequence goes away.
