The Shadow of Great Britain Chapter 1 Discussion

I have read over 300 chapters and I can say that it's worth reading. But if you want to read books that give you instant gratification, don't read this book. You must have certain knowledge of European history, or be at least interested in it to fully enjoy the book. I can't tell how accurate some of the information given in this book are, but apparently the author had referenced to 27 books just to write the first volume. Anyways, lemme warn you guys, if you don't have enough patience, don't even start this book. Only people with the patience of a mountain should read it, seriously. If you guys read even the first few dozen chapters, you'd still not be able to get a glimpse of a story.

The story is slow in the first volume, but picks up pace in the second volume, but compared to other books' standards, it's still slow. I can easily see that the author has put their heart and soul into creating this novel. It is not some wish-fulfillment novel, and you'll certainly require some level of maturity to enjoy this book as well. For this generation of people who like junk books, this book that aims to slowly tell a gripping story might be too much, though. As for characters, I'll talk about MC for now. MC is written really well. He's responsible, accountable, strong, forgiving, fair, eloquent, smart and empathetic and at the same time ruthless and vindictive. He is a good person in general and definitely not a pushover. For example, when one of his friends betray him, he forgives the guy because he was coerced by his superior and the guy simply couldn't refuse. On the other hand, when some people intentionally harm him, he definitely strikes back no matter what, sometimes immediately, sometimes after gaining enough resources and power. After reading and dropping so many books with cold, domineering MCs with no personality, Arthur Hastings' character seems to shine brightly like our sun.

There's also character development. MC starts as a just character, but as he interacts more and more with many influential figures, he starts to change. For example, he had once cried bitterly for not being able to save someone. He didn't use to take bribes. But after seeing so many heartless people and corrupt officials and politicians, he also becomes somewhat cold-hearted and corrupt, because he realizes he cannot escape from it no matter what. But he still retains his funny and calm self.

You also need to know some concepts and famous people to enjoy this novel. For example, basic European history and wars, politics, ethics, economics, religion, some science, philosophy, famous laws and incidents, etc. To fully enjoy the novel.

For example, even jokes are related to British making fun of Frenchmen, or one political party making fun of the other. These jokes work well with the setting of the novel. But without prior knowledge of various things, these jokes will go over many people's heads.

One thing I wish the author had done better is the lengthy dialogues that sometimes cover half of the chapter. The characters go on and on talking about concepts like utilitarianism, electromagnetism, past wars etc. Not everyone understands these concepts, after all. But they are informative as well.

The worst thing about this book as well as its strength is how the author takes time explaining everything. You learn a lot about the 19th century, but at the same time, the plot advances extremely slowly. At some times, you feel that the arc is never going to be finished.

Also, apparently the author had originally intended to include magic as well, but as he thought of the story he wanted to write, he realized that the setting of the 19th century Britain is quite captivating in itself and didn't need magic to make it exciting. And I can honestly see that. The constant fight between the Whigs and Tories, nobility and royalty, power struggle, scientific development, pirates, smugglers, rampant corruption, lack of security, lack of employment and high poverty and inequality, mu*ders, etc. The novel gives a glimpse to all of these things as if we are really living that life and can see how Britain was in the 19th century. It's so vivid, it's amazing. Then there's the presence of the Devil Agares in the story. We have yet to know the significance of his presence in the story, so I can only wait for the author to reveal.