Finally an author that can THINK and PLAN. Consistency and discipline in character personality and inner dialogue. A straight up excellent novel that has bite and grit. This novel doesnt pull punches and thats how it should be and how I like it.Consistency and details make up the foundation of this novel and that foundation is solid. The MC is well flashed out. His motivations and actions are meticulously pieced together that the surprises and revelations at the start serve as predictive plot points for the future. This makes the novel coherent and rewards readers for knowing details in the novel.There are no overnight personality changes or sudden deus ex machina wins here. This novel builds things up gradually but that doesnt mean the pay offs arent satisfying.The few weaknesses this novel has are its power creep, side characters, and timeline. Like others in the academy ranking genre, the MC starts out dead last and all of the sudden finds himself ranked 1. Though the author explains this well enough, it diminishes all the other characters if the bottom suddenly rises to the top seemingly overnight. As of writing this, it happens in 2 months novel time. This is compounded by the MC's tragic past maiming him with less resources and practicing skills that are not related to combat. Sure life lessons and street smarts should help him mentally but that should never overcome all the resources given to those with higher social standing. The side characters are good, okay, borderline great. Borderline. What keeps them from their potential is the lack of writing without relation to the MC. Side characters feel more alive and distinctive if they do somethings on their own without relating to the MC. This rarely happens in this novel, maybe because the POV is from the MC but that limits the potential of the novel. A great many things happend in the novel all in the span of 2 months that it feels too convoluted. Death here and there, and suddenly monsters, then sneaking out, getting equipment crafted, making original spells etc. This diminishes the impact of each achievement, although not much. Despite the fantasy genre the hardest thing to believe is that theres too much events too fast. Plot pacing needs work but the events themselves are dynamic and intriguing enough.Overall a well thoughtout novel of high quality. There might be some disagreements with taste and style with the readers but not in substance. This is no rookie novel and it definitely has personality. I hope this novel doesnt go soft and lose its fangs and bite.
