- #1
Ignore the other reviews about the boringness of this novel. It's really not that much about court politics. You need to read this with the mindset of playing a Civ game. Its main focus is technological development. The politics, the business plots, and the kingdom building are secondary to its main plot, which is technology tree speedrun. Sure, the plot is slow, but its detailedness is what gives it groundedness. Yes, our MC is speedrunning Joseon into a 21st century country, but the story slows it down just enough that each technological progression feels impactful and not cheap. Sure, it sometimes loses itself into various historical plot points, but you can literally just skim through those parts and it won't matter that much since those are actually just partial retellings of actual history albeit modified to fit the plot. All in all, if you want to feel satisfaction from seeing a 15th century kingdom turn into a 21st century nation insanely fast but still grounded to reality, this is it.