The Dungeon Seeker

Description

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Junpei Takeda, a high school student, is childhood friends with Noriko Tatsumiya and is bullied by Kido Shouta. One day, while bullying Junpei, they (Junpei, Tatsumiya, & Shouta) were suddenly summoned to a different world by the whim of “God”. Summoned Heroes with cheats, or so he thought. But it turns out Junpei’s stats were even worse than an average farmer. Tricked into a deathly labyrinth by the only one he trust, he walks the journey for revenge.

Associated Names
One entry per line
ダンジョンシーカー
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (WN) (7)
Suterareta Yuusha no Eiyuutan (3)
Sevens (3)
Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (LN) (2)
The Trembling World (1)
Allusionist of Illusionary Recursion (1)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Isekai Fantasy | #1
  2. Good stuff
  3. second list
  4. list 2
  5. Evil/Antihero MC's

Latest Release

Date Group Release
09/30/17 Paichun Translations v4 epilogue
08/21/17 Paichun Translations v4c6 part6
08/21/17 Paichun Translations v4c6 part5
08/19/17 Paichun Translations v4c6 part4
08/09/17 Paichun Translations v4c6 part3
08/08/17 Paichun Translations v4c6 part2
07/26/17 Paichun Translations v4c6 part1
07/06/17 Paichun Translations v4c5 part6
07/05/17 Paichun Translations v4c5 part5
07/04/17 Paichun Translations v4c5 part4
07/03/17 Paichun Translations v4c5 part3
06/22/17 Paichun Translations v4c5 part2
06/11/17 Paichun Translations v4c5 part1
06/07/17 Paichun Translations v4c4 part2
06/06/17 Paichun Translations v4c4 part1
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46 Reviews sorted by


Doventanzer
Doventanzer rated it
December 10, 2016
Status: v1c8
This is pretty bad. Not even in a funny way, just all around pretty mediocre.

- The MC does not have much of a personality, he is your standard 'isekai protagonist with a female childhood friend who is transported with his classmates into a different world to be a cheat-skill hero only to not have any cheat-skills or stats'

- The MC doesn't act, he only ever reacts. Instead of working towards any kind of goal, he just meanders along until something happens to him.

- Inconsistent world building, it's a medieval fantasy... more>> setting where science hasn't progressed because there was no need for it thanks to magic existing. But then again they do know enough about basic genetics to be aware of dominant and recessive genes.

- The author fails at writing characters, especially villains, for example 4 S-rank adventurers who during their introduction are discussing how great it is to kill people, r*pe women and consider themselves villains. No personality traits, secret motives or hidden intentions, the only way you can tell these guys apart is by their clothes and hair colors.

- More self-masturbatory 'japan is best' forced inserts regarding food, culture, anime, manga, game industry, morals, etc... that break up the flow.

- Forced exposition dialogue, instead of having the MC and the readers naturally discover and figure out how certain story elements work and their roles in the overall plot, the author relies on constant infodumps.

+ NTR is my fetish, so the opening (which isn't ntr, just unrequited love) is at least somewhat positive I guess.

+ Some of the encountered obstacles, while poorly written at best, are kind of memorable.

+ It seems like a good case study of common isekai tropes and how not to use them.

All in all, I've read worse. 2/5 <<less
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xzpwnz
xzpwnz rated it
October 24, 2016
Status: --
Read this a long time ago, and I remember it being bad. Not sure if this novel is trying to be dark and edgy or a comedy.

... more>>
Spoiler

The protagonist gets captured by the first girl he meets in a village that worships him after he comes out of a dungeon that no one is supposed to come out alive from.

What's worse is that he gets captured so easily because he only has high stats in his dodge stat, so once the girl grabbed his hand, he couldn't escape because of his peasant-tier strength even though he was so ridiculously high-leveled

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niel365
niel365 rated it
November 11, 2016
Status: --
Dont let the tags ruin it for you. If your are looking for characters who actually have a reason to do what they do read this. Everyone has a motive and there are consequences. Sure it has the protagonist getting a lucky skill that solves all his answers but at least instead of squandering it, he uses his power to try and achieve his goal which is to survive and to get revenge. Just hope it doesnt take the Arifureta route and have the MC cool down and become apathetic.
33 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Horoscope
Horoscope rated it
March 12, 2017
Status: v3c5 part1
Darkest novel I have ever read.

Utterly and completely DESTROYS fantasy novel tropes. The MC responds to situations in ways you would not generally expect.

The world building is completely unique, but also very messed up in a refreshing way. For example, its not the nobles that are totally messed up, it is about 80% of the human race in general. Elves and beastmen get hunted as FOOD. Totally unexpected.

... more>> MC is smart, but still has his *woops* moments. Experiencing near death situations makes him mature and calculating.

Somehow, this author managed to strike a balance between OP MC and totally weak MC. Right in the middle. He has some tremendous strengths as well as serious physical weaknesses. He's like a glass canon coated in enough Kevlar and reinforcement to hold out in a fight... for now. <<less
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Oukis Lips
Oukis Lips rated it
May 22, 2017
Status: v2c1
If I were the author of Arifureta, I'd sue for copyright infringement (I exaggerate, but really there are too many similarities). I mean the events of the first volumes are almost identical, only Dungeon Seeker has a darker style (that doesn't mean its more intelligent, it just means its more gloomy, for those of you who think dark plot = intelligent plot). For those of you thinking, 'well this will be better than Arifureta because the MC will definitely take his revenge, '

... more>>
Spoiler

at least for the girl who betrayed him that seems to be false. Its just my conjecture from the author's foreshadowing, but it seems that the MC forgives the girl who betrayed him; moreover, it seems she somehow time travels into the past and saves his pathetic life (Vol 1, Ch 6 & side story Noriko's revenge). So not only does he not get to take his revenge, but he ends up indebted to her after she tries to kill him in the first place. In order to make this plot development feasible, the author tries to garner sympathy for the girl by showing that her life was crap after she betrayed the MC... that doesn't really help the story when the only thing the readers have to look forward to is the MC's revenge (that's the result of making the story so depressing, author-san).

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Overall, the story isn't horrible, but in my opinion the author put too many eggs in the 'revenge' basket. But if you're a masochist who likes
Spoiler

to see the MC publicly humiliated, NTR'd, cut up limb from limb, spiral into depression, then get his revenge and sole reason for living taken away...

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then go for it, this novel is just for you. <<less
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swordnoob
swordnoob rated it
April 3, 2017
Status: v3c3 part3
The MC is bland, the villains are cliche and nonsensical. My biggest gripe is how inconsistent the plot is. Its seems like the author forgets what he wrote in the previous chapter.

... more>>
Spoiler

The MC kills some B ranked bandits. He doesn't claim the reward at the adventures guild. The reason for this is that he was to keep a low profile. He even puts hush money and threatens someone he rescues into keep quiet about it. Remember that low profile he wants to keep? Forget about it because the author sure has. In the very next chapter the MC wants to gain status and needs to become an A ranked adventurer to do so. He can't do so because he can't verify his identity and prove he's not a criminal, fugitive etc. The heads of those B-ranked bandits might have been useful here. I wish I could say that the author is writing the MC as a moron (his stat distribution seems to indicate this might be the case). However, it really seems the author just forgot what he wrote in the previous chapter.

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rdawv
rdawv rated it
January 12, 2017
Status: v2c2
The comparisons with Arifureta and Suterareta Yuusha no Eiyuutan are very obvious. Perhaps the "bullied MC transported into a dark dungeon" trope is quite common, and that is why the author of this particular title decided to go all the way to the negative, dark side. The novels have a MC that was bullied, abandoned and given ridiculous cheats, and eventually they begin to assemble a harem despite their oh-so-jaded, distrustful personalities.

However, that has yet to happen in this particular novel. It seemed to me the author is taking... more>> the pains to tell us that this world is different in the sense that ALL the characters introduced in the novel thus far are despicable and two-faced. The main point of the novel is "Don't Trust Anyone", that this world is dark and gritty and awful and everyone has a selfish agenda. Everyone is twisted in one way or another, delving into the deepest and darkest of depravity just to survive and avoid facing reality.

It's not like Overlord which has black humor in it, or the manga Berserk which has a sense of a wondrous, grim tragedy.

To me, it feels like that the author is trying too hard to paint a bleak picture in this novel. Although we're told that the MC had suffered immensely, the people and situations he encountered later made it seem as if his own story is just peanuts in comparison (since he has cheats after all). It's like reading the despair of a guy who had a terrible accident and we're supposed to sympathize with him... only to later read about him interacting with people who are missing limbs or deformed or broken emotionally. It's like an escalating contest of "these guys have more tragic backstories than the MC".

It's definitely not for everyone.

Pet peeve: the inclusion of a special Smith & Wesson Magnum. Why? Why a gun? Geez. <<less
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mrcogllrdo
mrcogllrdo rated it
July 30, 2017
Status: v1c03
I just can't keep reading anymore. This is so bad and cringy. The light novel epitomizes one of the main reasons why it's social su*cide to even mention you read light novels (up there with mentioning manga and anime). Trying (and failing, horribly) to make the MC seem badass, how black and white the world is, why bullies are inherently bad and have no heart (but MCs can totally make mistakes and learn from them. Too much of a double standard), the rampant effeminate men that are in powerful positions... more>> (like God is literally a borderline twink who likes to wear tight leather pants and some silver BS accessory around his neck. Not gonna touch on the MC), and the superfluous descriptions and explanations of stuff (first chapter consisted of God derailing several times and the characters having to remind him to get back on track. It was pointless filler, the chapter's quality could have been dramatically improved if it was cut out). No one actually acts like this in public, except maybe people that tend to be avoided anyways. It feels like the author doesn't know how most people act IRL, it was very difficult for me to relate with the light novel. Like what's up with the MC realizing his childhood friend only acted to be his friend, then seemingly forgetting about it the next chapter? He literally had his only apparent friend betray him while his bully, Kido, brags to his face that he knocked her up. And then MC, spending less than a paragraph in total reacting to the news, stops thinking about it the next chapter? I can assure you that most people would be absolutely devastated, this is fertile ground for trauma. I get it, the plotline needs to continue and this requires the MC to do stuff other than mope around, but spending virtually no time on this core piece of the MC's history makes him appear flat and shallow.

I don't know whether it's due to the translation, but the grammar and the transition from sentence to sentence was also extremely poor. It was a chore to slog through the reading, like it was a piece of bad fan fiction. I can honestly say reading this was a waste of my time. I also know I listed down as having read only up to chapter 3 of volume 1. I quickly checked out v3c4 and v4c6 to see whether I was full of it (perhaps I jumped the gun on my judgement). Nope, still seems just as bad (maybe worse, it has exaggerated reactions like "Ami dropped her jaws open to those words, " "Junpei made awkwardly smiled wryly, " (I still don't know what this means) "Ami almost collapsed after hearing Junpei say it inattentively, " and the list goes on).

I'm genuinely appalled this light novel has such a high rating. For all incoming readers please skim a few chapters. Don't be like me and foolishly hope that the writing gets better as time goes on. It doesn't, if anything it gets worse. Go read something like "I Reincarnated Into a Vending Machine, " it parodies this type of light novel while still doing a better job than "The Dungeon Seeker." <<less
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Flores520
Flores520 rated it
October 25, 2016
Status: c10
Honestly it's pretty good compared to other novels out there. I always liked good revenge after betrayal novel so I am a little biased. It's worth a read since it considerably different to other jp novelz. Without to much basis I would give it 4.2/5 rating. The chapters are pretty long so don't be to discourage by the short amount of chapters.
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udangmayones
udangmayones rated it
February 3, 2017
Status: v3c2
A better version of arifureta. The weak and bullied MC is thrown into another world with his bully and heroine and given only appraisal ability. Then the bully and heroine tricked and trapped the lv1 MC in a SSS ranked dungeon that no one can clear with no way out.

Thus began the story of revenge to kill everyone that tricked him
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Damagetaken9999
Damagetaken9999 rated it
January 17, 2018
Status: v4c3
Are you looking for a good dungeon novel that doesn't suck? Looking for something that isn't full of wish fulfillment garbage? Are you done with all the Arifureta dreary protagonists with their dark attitude and horrendous writing?

Well then keep looking. After the first two volumes, this just becomes another typical isekai with OP MC and lots of women who are almost as messed up as him.

I mean, if you love reading about mu*der, r*pe, torture and other related things, then this might just be your cup of tea.

Now that I'm... more>> done with the negatives, it's only fair to discuss the positives. The writer does a good job of making the MC slightly not OP when faced with challenges that seem impossible, only for the MC to come up with a solution in the end. Honestly, the writer did this really well for the first two volumes.

Going back to the negative, the writer has no idea how video games and character stats work.

Spoiler

MC puts all points earned from leveling up into agility/speed. This would make the character useless in s normal video game, or the game would be ruined from to many game-breaking builds. The writer acts like a character who spends all his points on one thing would make him equal or better at that category with a character far stronger then him. And by far stronger, I mean thousands of levels stronger. Games don't work that way. If they did, then they're be s*upid, just like this novel.

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All in all, if your only looking to read the first volume or two, this isn't a bad choice. If you plan on finishing it, good luck. <<less
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Tykos
Tykos rated it
February 17, 2018
Status: --
KILL, KILL, KILLLLLLL!!!!! MUAHHAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Yeah, I just described this novel. Imagine in Arifureta when Hajime said that he would have degraded into a ruthless monster if he didnt meet that vampire girl. Yep, this novel is that "what if" scenario. And let me say: IT IS BRUTAL! No harem, no girls clinging to MC and admiring his strength (there is one later on, but not a harem and only briefly) and no escaping the dungeon. This is a full on dystopian dark fantasy where everyone is a psychopath, sad*st or usually... more>> both. R*pe, torture, mu*der, mind break or any other f*cked up shit. You name it, this novel has it. Anyway, the only reason I put four stars and not five is because I am not hardcore enough for this. If somebody says that LNs and anime are for kids show them this. Corpse Party's got nothing. This is 100 times more graphic and there arent even no pictures. <<less
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Love4NovelGuy
Love4NovelGuy rated it
April 4, 2017
Status: v3c8
At first you think the writer is going overboard with the darkness in this Dark Fantasy, but after reading further, the story starts to take shape as it becomes a story that is actually quite interesting. The MC is quite powerful in his own right, but in the end, he is still the weakest due to the fact that everything inside the dungeon he's trapped in is too OP. His only way of fighting in such a dangerous dungeon is to cheat using his own intelligence and instincts.

This is one... more>> of the rare stories where a bunch of psychopaths actually make the story more interesting rather than causing the plot to nosedive into blandness. The characters and dialogue are actually engaging despite the fact that no one within the story is relatable. <<less
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Morkin rated it
November 24, 2016
Status: --
Reading the description I expected another arifureta's copy, and man was I wrong. The story oddly reminds me of mushishi, or at least a psychopathic version of it. The premise is pretty standard, bullied kid turned psycho become op and explore a labyrinth, the difference is in the execution, as the story take a clear episodic pace, where every level of the labyrinth contains a story on its own, observed through the eyes of our MC, who prefers being an observer rather than an active part of the narrative.
Overall... more>> this is a one of a kind type of novel, different from everything else you may find on this website, the only problem that I found is in the first couple that kinda glosses over the transit between what seems to be a normal story to a very dark one. <<less
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Dreamer Cookie
Dreamer Cookie rated it
September 18, 2017
Status: v3
5 stars. I didn't expect to enjoy this story so much. That's right, I enjoyed it so much and despite being a bad critic, I still decided to make a review. WARNING: SPOILERS.

Let's talk about the story. It seems that people think this is similar to arifureta. Well no it's not, in fact this is way better. The MC was bullied and gets his ass saved by his own childhood friend (all the time it seems). Suddenly they get transported into another world. As expected, the MC gets shitty stats... more>> and no skills. This story is dark too. Has a lot of r*pe, mu*der, torture, and Gore.

Now here's where things gets interesting. He gets betrayed by someone he deeply trusts (and the way he gets betrayed actually made me angry) and kicked to the dungeon which no one is supposed to make it out alive. Well, he did make it out alive though. His actions and vengeance is what mostly makes this story interesting and satisfying. Of course he went from an useless sh*t to OP bastard.

Now I talk about the MC. He was a weak bullied loser who eventually becomes... Uh... well a guy who isn't a loser anymore and seeks revenge I guess? Sure he's edgy and cringy but not as bad as Hajime from Arifureta Shokugyou. Oh and he's not a jerk and a douche which makes this story even more readable.

Another good thing is that it doesn't have a harem or romance (for now I think?) Otherwise the story would've been ruined if it did.

Overall, it's a good revenge story with a good MC. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU TO GIVE IT A TRY especially those who likes OP MC, vengeance, and sadism.

It also feels like a crossbreed of Nidome no Yuusha and Arifureta Shokugyou but better than both of them. The MC is not too cringy like Hajime but still cool, and not insane and defective like Kaito. The revenge is even more satisfying than Nidome no Yuusha. And he's alone too (basically he's doing adventures without companion which can also make stuff more interesting)

Do not read this LN if you hate dark stories. There's no point in giving a dark story a 1 star if dark stories aren't even your thing. It's simply a waste of time, truly. <<less
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makenai89
makenai89 rated it
December 8, 2016
Status: v2c4 part2
There are many tags attempted to explain The Dungeon Seeker, but I'd say that what you imagine about it will be wrong if you haven't read it. Dungeon Seeker has similar initial premise with Arifureta and Suterareta Yuusha, but its subsequent story takes drastically different path. A bullied MC got sacrificed by his so-called friends and fell into a dangerous dungeon. Afterward, he had to struggle to live while gaining many skills to rise above those who had sacrificed him. Until that point, things may be cliche. However, so far... more>> Dungeon Seeker's MC has zero harem candidates (unless you count several psychopaths who had tried to eat him (literally) and that b*tch who betrayed him). It's gory, it's mind-bending, and full of despair. Additionally, the Author uses pretty distinctive story-telling style that takes him apart from other Japanese LN/WN authors. At some spots in Dungeon Seeker, I was reminded of Kino no Tabi's style; although DS's narrative is clearly not as smooth as KnT.

Dungeon Seeker is unusual and a pretty nice read if you don't mind the genres: Horror Mature Psychological Seinen Supernatural Tragedy. This novel, up to v2c4 part2, is the perfect mix of those genres. But if you are only looking for one of the Tags (like: summoned hero or netorare), chances are you'll be disappointed. <<less
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Just Another Cynic
Just Another Cynic rated it
August 21, 2017
Status: v3c4
I've never actually written a review before but I feel that this novel deserves one. From my perspective this story is a waste of time. The embodiment of Murphy's Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong). It seems like the whole world is designed with the specific goal of ruining any specific act of good that the MC tries to do. Lets go through some examples shall we (I honestly believe that putting these inside a spoiler box saves you from absolutely nothing seeing how easy it is... more>> to see some of these coming).

Don't read inside the box if you honestly plan on reading and being "surprised" by this dumpster fire. I put in actual spoilers for a number of chapters.

Spoiler

MC rescues elf.

Elf proceeds to try and kill him.

MC saves a bunch of homunculi and their creator from a witch who sold all the homunculi as s*x s*aves and meat shields.

Moment MC leaves homunculi kill their benevolent creator due to a misunderstanding and presumably all die.

Girl sells off MC

Proceeds to become s*x s*ave of a giant (fun...)

AND MORE!!!

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In all of this book that I have read, there has only been one point were everything I expected didn't happen. Were (heaven forbid) we actually got a vaguely happy story

Spoiler

On touring the dungeon, the MC reaches a forest and a lake. MC proceeds into the forest and meets some old sword saint who lost his wife. They team up and defeat a kraken.

Right here I expect sword saint to go "muahahaha. I have fooled you! I AM ACTUALLY A NAZI CANNIBAL WHO LIKES TO r*pe CHILDREN AND BELIEVES THAT ELF LIVER IS THE ONLY CURE TO A COLD!!!DIE!!!"

(and so on and so forth)

Instead it is more of a bittersweet moment as it turns out his wife and children were on the other side of the lake the entire time.

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I believe that had the story had more moments like this, were it shows that not every human on that planet is out to make life hell for everyone else, perhaps it could be a genuinely enjoyable read. As it is though, this story tries to hard to be dark, gritty and tragic and ends up becoming a predictable lump of edge that is more laughable than saddening. <<less
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ameryuu24
ameryuu24 rated it
May 14, 2017
Status: v4c1 part2
Don't let the tags like the Netorare one make you don't want to read this novel and those comments that lack any reasonableness and rationality to rate this novel. It's quite a good read. I, for one, VERY MUCH HATE NETORARE, r*pe and BETRAYAL but I found this novel enjoyable even though there are parts that made me want to skip since it was long but I still read it. Strong points of this novel are even though the setting is a dark fantasy, it makes you want to join... more>> the MC throughout his hardships and the details to certain things are... let's say, detailed. Wherein you will easily imagine stuff.

So try it, don't be swayed by the people who just wanted to badmouth the novel without giving their proper reasoning because they hated some things that happened. It's never really an adventure if you don't thread unknown waters. Have fun and welcome to the darkside! :)

There's free cookies after the novel finishes... <<less
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sufod01
sufod01 rated it
April 28, 2018
Status: v5 prologue
Pretty interesting and MC's « true » past play a big role, the title of the novel seems have a deeper meaning.

Things begin to make sense starting from V3 and romance starting at V4.

In this world MC and his classmates aren't the only one transported, there have quite a lot, some with cheats and other none. Twisted and dark world where this is not weird for humans to ... more>>
Spoiler

hunt and eat elves' livers.

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This is serious how twisted the minds of people in this world are, so not a novel for light-hearted readers. In my case, it was a pleasant reading because of how it diverts from my usual novels.

Revenge-type of novel. Or at least this is how it looks like. After readings volume 4 it seems that this is a bit different. Got a bit excited. :D

There have indeed a lack of character developments for bad guys but in my opinion this is perfect because they aren't needed. After all they are just a quick side kick, why taking time and uselessly wasting lot of lines for them? If they are important maybe but they are obviously not that important. Do you need character developments for some ant-like characters? No.

Anyway if I rate volumes, i'll rate the first and second volume around 3-4 but the third and fourth volume are at my liking so i'll rate them 4-5.

Gonna stockpile chapters of V5 for later.. <<less
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ZoorYuvonHeim
ZoorYuvonHeim rated it
September 4, 2017
Status: v4 epilogue
This thing was all over the place.

The story's inconsistent and in v4 it feels like the MC took a 180 character development and the author forgot to mention it.

While there was some interesting differences in how this was handled, to me it felt sloppy as it dragged itself over a cliff. Just too many of the same old what you'd expect stuff as the story went on sprinkled in between some jarring direction choices leaving this to be quite an erratic read.

Not sure I'd recommend it like watching a train... more>> wreck, or suggest to avoid it for the same reason. <<less
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