- #1
I've enjoyed reading the novel so far, but it really only deserves 3*.Pros: the translation is good and the pacing is nice, not too fast or slow.Cons: characters are shallow and the interactions are highly repetitive. World-building is also practically an afterthought, really only used to facilitate a change in scenery.Past the first introductory arc, you can break down the novel into a simple loop: new location introduced -> party gets a quest -> MC "stuns" everyone for the nth time with his regressor knowledge (including his party members basically reacting the same way each and every time he says he's going to do something crazy) -> loot broken item -> fleece the quest-giver for money -> repeat. There is very little variation on this formula, so it kind of just makes every new dungeon/location feel the same, basically just a "grind" to get through to advance the main plot.This is compounded by the fact, as mentioned, the party members seem locked to a few canned responses -- forget character development, these characters are basically made of cardboard. A little bit of backstory to introduce a new character, you quickly learn what "trope" they're supposed to fulfill, and they only serve to interject with almost identical responses to each situation to further the "exceptional" nature of El Pam (the MC).Spoiler
Divo is a "comic relief" skeptic that over-exaggeratedly reacts with surprise to everything. Ralph is the embodiment of Mr. Krabs and responds to quite literally everything with "how much money will I make?" Kiri is practically a fly on the wall -- it's so bad that I forgot her name and had to search for it, that's how little presence she has. Past her "introductory arc", she's maybe mentioned once every 10 chapters at best. Minerv is just a competent skeptic, not much more to say about her. Somehow she has the most personality despite just being "Divo but less dumb".
[collapse]Overall, a fun "brain-off" kind of read. But don't expect anything special.