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Sorcerer’s Handbook Chapter 441 Discussion

  • Thread starter MoullMahraz
  • Start date
MoullMahraz

MoullMahraz

  • #1
Pros: The worldbuilding is top-tier, lots of mysteries and foreshadowing that keep things engaging. Character growth although is not top tier it is still decent. If you like LOTM and want something similar but with slow burn romance, this series is worth checking out. The plot moves very slow though, like after 450 chapters only about 2-3 months have passed in the story, but it's still packed with plenty of adventure to keep you entertained.

Cons: power leveling mostly comes from external factors (collecting spirits during adventures), basically if you hate RI this isn't for you. The fight scenes are short and take a backseat since the author focuses more on lore which means loads and loads of info dumps.

Although it's not perfect, by webnovel standards this is an easy 5/5.

  • Characters
Let's start with the MC. Ignore that one top review calling him a spineless loser after reading just 40 chapters (out of 1400, barely 3%). Let's put aside whether they're right about MC's trait, remember this is not a JP novel where MC can be beta throughout the whole story, so even if a protag starts off weak-willed that's great material for character development if the author knows what they're doing. Writing 101: the more flawed a character is at the beginning the more satisfying it is to see them grow, weak-to-strong arcs are fun to follow and having undesirable traits in a protagonist isn't a bad thing, it's a sign the author's trying to add some depth in their character writing.

As for the MC here, he's decently written. His backstory and future are wrapped in mystery and the author reveals things bit by bit, MC's smart but not a genius and sometimes has a good sense of humor when it fits. No major complaints there.

Side characters are hit or miss. The male side characters are generally fun, though they're death-row prisoner villains who've hurt the MC early on, they are still written to be likable and stick with the MC afterwards, so readers probably won't have real issues with them. They have their own love interests and even harem fyi, also yaoibait + TS-bait with the MC.

The female side characters, though... this is where opinions get divided. The romance is very slow, and a lot of the criticisms in reviews are about the love interests. Here's a light spoiler rundown:

Spoiler

First love interest: Vain, arrogant, loves attention. It takes 200 chapters before she even starts developing feelings for the MC.

Second love interest: Friendly on the surface, but secretly poisons the MC, in the beginning plans to use him as food or livestock once he's stronger.

Third love interest: A sl*t (non-derogatory, explained by her race and plot reasons) who frequents brothels before meeting the MC, hence this character is definitely not for everyone. Also I have problem about her that her romance arc develops too fast in a span of a few days, even thought it can make sense in context since her worldview gets flipped by the MC.

Fourth love interest: Tricks the MC into signing a temporary s*ave contract with her. The only way out is if the MC advances to a higher cultivation stage which is very hard.

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And so on you get the idea. So basically, none of the love interests are "normal" and that's clearly intentional by the author, he makes them unlikable because that's the point, so he can have ways to develop them. If you can't stand messy love interests or don't want to wait for their character development, this novel isn't for you.

  • World-Building
The worldbuilding is incredible. Every place the MC visits has its own unique culture, politics, and mindset, which keeps the story feeling fresh. You can tell the author put a ton of effort into this. I'm honestly surprised this hasn't been banned like RI since it dips into some discussions on socialist dystopia vs capitalist dystopia (albeit surface-level this is not an economy class) and how politics shape countries' development.

That said, there's a lot of info dumping and Tell don't show. If you love deep and detailed lore, you'll eat this up. But if you're more into action and hate exposition, this might drag for you.

  • Overall
It's not perfect, but it's a damn good read despite its flaws. The worldbuilding is strong enough to outweigh the weaker parts. If any of this sounds interesting, definitely give it a shot.
 
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