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REVIEW: King of the Labyrinth LN 1




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BlueAlf



Joined: 02 Jan 2017
Posts: 1498
PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:05 pm Reply with quote
I'm guessing it's the prevalent issue with Naro web novels striking again: the early chapters being 'self-indulgent' before the author develops their story later on.

I think I once read somewhere that the major issue LNs-published-from-WNs have is the difficulty in developing a proper structure for the first book. Since there are no page limitations in the case of WNs, the 'first act' of the story can go really long.

I guess this is a case where the rewrite and editing for the published version didn't really work out.


Last edited by BlueAlf on Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Merxamers



Joined: 09 Dec 2013
Posts: 720
PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 8:25 pm Reply with quote
That's an interesting point raised at how the heavy LitRPG elements can be very distracting if not addressed. I was reminded of both DanMachi, where the leveling/ability system is restrained and explained very early on, and Spider, where the it's clear there's a REASON for those mechanics, even if they don't explain it right away. If in an otherwise serious novel a character can by a "Sword of +30 Agility" I'd be ripped right out of the story.

It's a shame that the novel as a whole bogs down such a neat premise; one can take for granted that these kinds of LNs are pulpy entertainment, but once in a while you encounter some that are written so poorly that it's very difficult to enjoy them. If a novel can give me something to enjoy, like a couple likable characters, exciting action sequences, etc., I can forgive a lot; but it sounds like there wasn't much here.
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AnimeFlyz



Joined: 31 Aug 2015
Posts: 365
PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:59 pm Reply with quote
BlueAlf wrote:
I'm guessing it's the prevalent issue with Naro web novels striking again: the early chapters being 'self-indulgent' before the author develops their story later on.

I think I once read somewhere that the major issue LNs-published-from-WNs have is the difficulty in developing a proper structure for the first book. Since there are no page limitations in the case of WNs, the 'first act' of the story can go really long.

I guess this is a case where the rewrite and editing for the published version didn't really work out.


I mean sure, there are plenty of instances where an author of their web novel wont know where they are going with their story until a few volumes in, but I have never really encountered when a Volume 1 is this bland and directionless.
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harminia



Joined: 24 Aug 2015
Posts: 1997
Location: australia
PostPosted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 11:08 pm Reply with quote
The plot makes it sound pretty cool.
Lucky I read the review, else I would've considered buying it...
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2245
PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2021 3:34 pm Reply with quote
It's hard to say for sure without reading this, but the way the reviewer describes the prose (and even some of the world-building!) reminds me a lot of how The King's Avatar's official (and seemingly corporate-sponsored?) translation reads. It's a serviceable enough style of writing, but it never really gets fun to read, more like a bored narrator is listing events off to me as they happen. I don't know if this is a translation issue or a stylistic choice that works better in its native language, but it certainly rings familiar.
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