Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
I had to start this twice, years apart, but I didn't bounce off the writing style the second time, and I'm glad I stuck it out. While the prose is clunky throughout, it sometimes clunks in a charming way — you can feel the author's effort on the page, and for whatever reason I got the sense that I could actually see them typing away at a desk somewhere. (And of course, it's still well above the Royal Road average.)
Once you get past the prose, almost everything else is great! Lots of characters who feel distinct and human, and who get to play different roles and reveal different sides of themselves as the loops go on. (One highlight: A peaceable toddler is brought into a telepathy network, and becomes much more demanding because she now has a way to clearly express her wants.)
There are also lots of clever twists to zhuzh up powers that seem generic at first, like a cloning spell that lets the author explore how two identical people might drastically diverge over the course of minutes depending on the surrounding context, or memory-across-the-loop spells that one character deliberately chooses not to use because the knowledge will distract them more than it helps.
Aside from prose, my greatest disappointment was the ending — it felt rushed, and placed demands on our characters that didn't fit my understanding of their abilities or their physical locations in space (someone yells in a regular human voice, and people hear them clearly across multiple city blocks of intense combat — that sort of thing). But the other 95% of the story developed well, and it felt like the characters earned every win. This is where MoL diverges from most other power fantasies, and that may be because it isn't a power fantasy at all; the characters rarely indulge themselves without regretting it later, and we eventually get a ticking clock that forces everyone to push themselves to the limits of their abilities rather than basking in their own supremacy.
Should you read this? I'd put it well below Worm and Pale, and somewhat below Ward and Worth the Candle — but if you're the kind of rationalfic addict who's read all of those already (while somehow skipping MoL), or you like long stories but find Wildbow too dark, you should give MoL a try.
Once you get past the prose, almost everything else is great! Lots of characters who feel distinct and human, and who get to play different roles and reveal different sides of themselves as the loops go on. (One highlight: A peaceable toddler is brought into a telepathy network, and becomes much more demanding because she now has a way to clearly express her wants.)
There are also lots of clever twists to zhuzh up powers that seem generic at first, like a cloning spell that lets the author explore how two identical people might drastically diverge over the course of minutes depending on the surrounding context, or memory-across-the-loop spells that one character deliberately chooses not to use because the knowledge will distract them more than it helps.
Aside from prose, my greatest disappointment was the ending — it felt rushed, and placed demands on our characters that didn't fit my understanding of their abilities or their physical locations in space (someone yells in a regular human voice, and people hear them clearly across multiple city blocks of intense combat — that sort of thing). But the other 95% of the story developed well, and it felt like the characters earned every win. This is where MoL diverges from most other power fantasies, and that may be because it isn't a power fantasy at all; the characters rarely indulge themselves without regretting it later, and we eventually get a ticking clock that forces everyone to push themselves to the limits of their abilities rather than basking in their own supremacy.
Should you read this? I'd put it well below Worm and Pale, and somewhat below Ward and Worth the Candle — but if you're the kind of rationalfic addict who's read all of those already (while somehow skipping MoL), or you like long stories but find Wildbow too dark, you should give MoL a try.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
My Rating - 3.9 / 5
It's an interesting mix of Timeloop mixed with wizard school, it certainly has flaws but has an interesting story and concept to tolerate them. I will read the next part when I feel like it. ENOUGH SAID>>...
It's an interesting mix of Timeloop mixed with wizard school, it certainly has flaws but has an interesting story and concept to tolerate them. I will read the next part when I feel like it. ENOUGH SAID>>...
slow-paced
“What kind of mage uses a gun!?”
- Best moment ever.
- Best moment ever.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes