[Review at Ch. 15]
Just so we're clear, this is a minor variation on the classic "great figure reincarnates as downtrodden chump" trope, and so far I wouldn't call it an especially original one.
That said, even early on I'm intrigued by the characterization. The writer is hardly breaking new ground: the protagonist is prideful and supremely self-confident, but at least so far seems to be more capable of backing it up than similar characters in similar novels. For example, after defeating a bully, the hero sends him back to his family, informing him that he gives everyone a single chance to take revenge, but to be wary of the consequences. It feels fun, and like a good representation of his confidence and capability that doesn't verge into tremendous stupidity or needless murder.
The translation is probably the best part of the novel, though. Without quality translation, even stellar writing gets mangled, and I think Seth is doing incredible work taking fairly solid prose and enhancing it here and there to ensure it flows well in English. End of chapter translator notes aren't hugely uncommon, but I appreciate that Seth leaves a lot of them, generally regarding interesting quirks of translation, explanations of Chinese culture or idiom, or just why he's chosen a particular synonym over another for a particular word or phrase.
Overall, so long as you're not coming in with unreasonable expectations, I think this has the potential to be a fun read. The writing is reasonable solid so far, there's some hints of humor in various characters that I hope to see more of as time goes on, and the translator is killing it. Regardless of how the novel turns out, I hope Seth sticks around WW for the long haul.
[Review at Ch. 15]
Just so we're clear, this is a minor variation on the classic "great figure reincarnates as downtrodden chump" trope, and so far I wouldn't call it an especially original one.
That said, even early on I'm intrigued by the characterization. The writer is hardly breaking new ground: the protagonist is prideful and supremely self-confident, but at least so far seems to be more capable of backing it up than similar characters in similar novels. For example, after defeating a bully, the hero sends him back to his family, informing him that he gives everyone a single chance to take revenge, but to be wary of the consequences. It feels fun, and like a good representation of his confidence and capability that doesn't verge into tremendous stupidity or needless murder.
The translation is probably the best part of the novel, though. Without quality translation, even stellar writing gets mangled, and I think Seth is doing incredible work taking fairly solid prose and enhancing it here and there to ensure it flows well in English. End of chapter translator notes aren't hugely uncommon, but I appreciate that Seth leaves a lot of them, generally regarding interesting quirks of translation, explanations of Chinese culture or idiom, or just why he's chosen a particular synonym over another for a particular word or phrase.
Overall, so long as you're not coming in with unreasonable expectations, I think this has the potential to be a fun read. The writing is reasonable solid so far, there's some hints of humor in various characters that I hope to see more of as time goes on, and the translator is killing it. Regardless of how the novel turns out, I hope Seth sticks around WW for the long haul.
