- #1
How to Survive as the Academy’s Villain, or HTSATV for short, is a fantasy novel centred around the protagonist, transmigrated into a novel in the body of Kamon Vade, a character portrayed as villainous in nature, and how he survives his time enrolled in the academy.The author employs a straightforward premise, which appears to follow the cliche set piece of getting stronger continuously and getting allies everywhere they go but carefully subverting from the quick pace most of these kinds of stories seem to follow in order to present a more nuanced narrative. What I particularly praise about this novel’s approach is that it showcases the MC’s trials and tribulations in detail.Early on, our protagonist gets pitted against unfair circumstances brought about the notorious behaviour of the original character he’s controlling, which he doesn’t even possess the full context to grasp onto, leading to those around him, especially academy students to be generally wary and distrustful of him.However, just like the description of the novel, this is where the MC’s main strength shines, the willpower to endure. This novel, masked with despair and frustration in its early stages, is truly a tale of working with the cards you’ve been dealt with and overcoming adversity against all odds as Kamon desperately works against the original fate the world seems to have out for him.The prose reads like what you’d imagine from a web novel, but I appreciate how it delves into character interactions and their thoughts, rather than solely focusing on Kamon himself, allowing insight into why characters act the way they do.Character development by the others can be witnessed as the story progresses, with a blend of action and slice of life after the early chapters, with the story becoming complex but at the end of the day, still staying true to being what it is titled as, a fantasy academy novel. Anyways, I’d recommend this. It’s not outstanding in terms of writing, but it’s pretty entertaining, and I think that satisfies what makes a web novel worth a try. (PS: I’m mainly rating this 5 stars to balance out the 1 star reviews in contrast because I feel this novel has potential)
