Rashkae

I was starting to to forget that these light novel fantasies can actually be good. Neither Isekai nor LitRPG, somewhat dark and twisted, this series really stands out in the crowd of modern translated light novels.

The premise for this novel really amused me, even if it's a little on the nose. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy actually reading it, and did not enjoy the style of chaotically inserting inner monologue every other sentence. But what really tipped it into 1 star for me was the halfway point when the author switches from 3rd to 2nd person. To be clear, the POV is unambigously a character in the story and not trying to be any kind of reader insert, but the narrative is now entirely 2nd person present tense.

I continue to enjoy this series with the caveat that it is pure fluff with very little substance. The already cliche premise is getting tired after 10 volumes with very little to invigorate it.

For those who remember ‘The Aristocrats' jokes, this is it. A really long one. And there's nothing wrong with that. If Ottessa had acctually put the punchline sentence at the end, it would have been perfect. There isn't really much more to say about this book though.

This book follows the relatively new craze of making Isekai protagonists start from a position of being completely outcast and spurned by their peers. (Examples, Shield Hero or Arifureta.) However, this book makes no attempt to make any of the character motivations in any way belieavable/relatable. As a satire or self-parody, that might work, but this book tries to take itself seriously.

I was hesitant to give a 1 star review, since I almost never do that unless a book is truly bad in many objective ways. But considering the many light novels I have at 2 star, I really had to go lower for this one.