This week J-Novel Club put out a week's free trial of their service and enabled all subscribers to go back and read pre-published versions of their puThis week J-Novel Club put out a week's free trial of their service and enabled all subscribers to go back and read pre-published versions of their published works. Therefore, the version I am reviewing is the finished pre-published version of this novel.
I have to say, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom pleasantly surprised me. I had previously seen it compared to 公爵令嬢の嗜み 1 Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami 1 (fan translated as Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter), another book series I have recently been enjoying, so I decided this would be one of the novels I would check out for JNC's catch-up week. I can certainly see why people made the comparison as both novels focus on (fantasy) national economics and politics with a focus on improvement through reform. Thankfully though, the difference in perspective and style makes them feel separate enough to not feel like I read the same story twice.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is an isekai light novel but, perhaps in part due to the unusual setting, it feels a lot fresher than many other stories of this kind. The main character Kazuya is an everyman gifted in one particular area but, instead of the isekai-usual combat skill, that area is governance. This one subversion shapes the story and helps Kazuya become a different kind of hero, one for whom the focus is not on saving an individual or a village but a whole nation. Kazuya himself is fairly likeable, hard-working and practical, often taking a realistic view in the face of others' wishful thinking. If I had to nit-pick him, my issue would be that perhaps his breadth of knowledge is a little too vast - I would like to see some kind of vulnerability in his plans or an opponent who can pressure him. The novel hinted that this was on the way in the sequel so I will look forward to reading volume 2 to see if this has been addressed.
Much like Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami, there are a fair amount of side characters in this story and most of them are not particularly developed in the first volume. Kazuya's fiance Liscia gets a decent amount of time spent on her and is the most fleshed out of the side characters but I feel like outside of her growing relationship with Kazuya, she never had a moment where she truly shined. With the exception of Aisha (who spent most of her time getting excited about food but found time to occasionally be serious), the other side characters got much less development and time, so it's hard to say much about them. Again, I hope some of the side characters get some time and polish in the sequel volumes as this was, for me, the weakest element of the novel.
Overall I enjoyed the story quite a lot. It has its flaws, as I've mentioned, but it's still fun and creative and different enough from other isekai works that it's worth checking out.
Merged review:
This week J-Novel Club put out a week's free trial of their service and enabled all subscribers to go back and read pre-published versions of their published works. Therefore, the version I am reviewing is the finished pre-published version of this novel.
I have to say, How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom pleasantly surprised me. I had previously seen it compared to 公爵令嬢の嗜み 1 Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami 1 (fan translated as Common Sense of a Duke's Daughter), another book series I have recently been enjoying, so I decided this would be one of the novels I would check out for JNC's catch-up week. I can certainly see why people made the comparison as both novels focus on (fantasy) national economics and politics with a focus on improvement through reform. Thankfully though, the difference in perspective and style makes them feel separate enough to not feel like I read the same story twice.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom is an isekai light novel but, perhaps in part due to the unusual setting, it feels a lot fresher than many other stories of this kind. The main character Kazuya is an everyman gifted in one particular area but, instead of the isekai-usual combat skill, that area is governance. This one subversion shapes the story and helps Kazuya become a different kind of hero, one for whom the focus is not on saving an individual or a village but a whole nation. Kazuya himself is fairly likeable, hard-working and practical, often taking a realistic view in the face of others' wishful thinking. If I had to nit-pick him, my issue would be that perhaps his breadth of knowledge is a little too vast - I would like to see some kind of vulnerability in his plans or an opponent who can pressure him. The novel hinted that this was on the way in the sequel so I will look forward to reading volume 2 to see if this has been addressed.
Much like Koushaku Reijou no Tashinami, there are a fair amount of side characters in this story and most of them are not particularly developed in the first volume. Kazuya's fiance Liscia gets a decent amount of time spent on her and is the most fleshed out of the side characters but I feel like outside of her growing relationship with Kazuya, she never had a moment where she truly shined. With the exception of Aisha (who spent most of her time getting excited about food but found time to occasionally be serious), the other side characters got much less development and time, so it's hard to say much about them. Again, I hope some of the side characters get some time and polish in the sequel volumes as this was, for me, the weakest element of the novel.
Overall I enjoyed the story quite a lot. It has its flaws, as I've mentioned, but it's still fun and creative and different enough from other isekai works that it's worth checking out....more
I picked up The Metamorphosis as part of my attempt to read the source novels referenced in Limbus Company. Having only previously read one referencedI picked up The Metamorphosis as part of my attempt to read the source novels referenced in Limbus Company. Having only previously read one referenced novel (and a long time ago at that), I thought starting with one of the stories that I was most interested in with a shorter length was a good idea. I started reading The Metamorphosis and quickly flew through a third of the story. Then the following day my mother collapsed and died, and reading a sad tale became the last thing on my mind. It was nearly a month before my grief had lessened that I regained the willpower to finish The Metamorphosis and when I did, I finished it quickly.
Because of the long break in time and my emotional state during that period, it is very hard to put my feelings about this story into words. It is a good story, one that reflects on a very human response to tragedy and change. I have seen people suggest the story as a metaphor for various things but for me, it felt like a metaphor for disability and sickness and the change in attitude of carers from love to indifference to hatred. It is a difficult thing to see the juxtaposition of Gregor's internal thoughts full of care for his family with his family's outward expressions of resentment towards him. This is a story that will dwell in my mind for a long time, I think....more
Argh, so I'm officially hooked. I finished volume 3 the same day I started and finished volume 2... ;;
Volume 3 does something rare for a light novel, Argh, so I'm officially hooked. I finished volume 3 the same day I started and finished volume 2... ;;
Volume 3 does something rare for a light novel, which is to further it's mystery whilst simultaneously providing solid answers to mysteries from the previous volume. So many light novels hint about a larger mystery or conspiracy but it's rare to be given solid information about it, especially in a timely manner. While I do wish some things were expanded on further ((view spoiler)[the Taboo revelation, namely (hide spoiler)]), it was still refreshing.
That's not to say there are no problems with the volume - for instance the last two pages just felt a bit tacked on and could easily have been the opener for the next volume instead - but it was a solid light novel read and I'll be looking forward to continuing on with the series....more
Intrigued by the hook left at the end of the previous volume, I continued on and ended up reading all of volume 2 in half a day! I'm glad to say that Intrigued by the hook left at the end of the previous volume, I continued on and ended up reading all of volume 2 in half a day! I'm glad to say that all the build up from the first volume did pay off in this one and a lot of interesting developments have occurred - at this point, I'm definitely going to be carrying on to the next volume. I really can't wait for our spider heroine to interact with her reincarnated peers!...more
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