- #1
City of Witches offers an intriguing premise of a genius mathematician getting stranded in a secret city of witches. Forced into labor there, he discovers magics' similarities to math, allowing him to learn witchcraft. This fresh take on the transported to another world trope hooked me right away.The extensive worldbuilding brings the witch city of Gehenna to life. It slowly unveils details about how the city operates and the witches who inhabit it. The magic system with its grounding in mathematics is creative and adds depth.Our protagonist Shin Si-woo makes for an intelligent, willful MC. His determination to escape and survive despite the challenges he faces makes for a compelling underdog narrative. I appreciated seeing his character grow as he gains new skills and experiences over his five years trapped in the city.I feel like the premise is too good for the smut in this story, which is why I really didn't appreciate when the smut was a large portion of the story. Some of the serious topics feel hard to take seriously because of this. But I've heard the smut takes a backseat later on, so I'm reading with that hope in mind.Overall the fascinating setting draws you into the story. Author seems to have a creative vision of a modern witch society, and it can also be seen as a twist to the trapped in another world genre. I'm excited to see where this imaginative tale goes next if what the readers who've read ahead said is true about the smut decreasing.