thesummerstorms's reviews
724 reviews

First and foremost this novel is a parody of Chinese cultivation novels AND of millennial internet culture, so you should prepare yourself for both of those things going in.

As someone whose knowledge of cultivation novels is fairly limited to this author's three novels, though, I still found the novel very easy to follow. The millennial internet humor was relatable and funny, and even when things are brought up that are specific to Chinese internet culture, the footnotes do a good job of clarifying.

If you're into the fanfiction trope of isekai, this one is probably for you. If not, the premise of the novel is more or less "What happens when the characters of that really fan-service-driven, cliched story you love to hate stop being characters and start being people who actually have to deal with the hand they've been dealt? And oh yeah, you're dealing with it, too, because you're one of them. Except the Invisible Hand of God is railroading you onto the same plot, whether you want to go there or not."

Tone-wise his book is incredibly hilarious. So much so that it isn't until later that some of the sad or horrific aspects of the setting really sink in. There's definitely some fridge horror and some not-so-hidden horror alongside the overall light-hearted tone.

 This series (? It was originally one novel in Chinese, but "series" seems the best term for how it's being published in English) does get fairly dark, although this volume ends at probably the lightest part of the story.  still, would-be-readers should be prepared for some dark topics to arise in the future. Definitely check the CW, and maybe google the CW for Scum Villian as a whole if you're worried. Without giving too much away, "cycles of abuse" ends up being a MAJOR theme in this series, so please make sure you're up for that before you start.

Additionally, I didn't see a CW that seemed to fit "constriction of choices", but be aware that's also a thing. Sometimes

the MC is completely unable to make certain choices under pain of punishment or death, even when the other options cause harm to him or people he cares for

.

The characters are great. Flawed, but you can't help but love them. I've read the whole novel/series once, and this specific volume once, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it both times. Again, I laughed so much while reading. But it also does a great job of stirring your other emotions, too! You really can't help but feel for the characters even while the meta text pokes fun at them and the genre conventions.