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Throne of Magical Arcana
Type
Web Novel (CN)
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Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 683 votes)
5    59% (405 votes)
4    16% (109 votes)
3    9% (64 votes)
2    4% (27 votes)
1    11% (78 votes)
Language
Support Book (#ad)
Author(s)
One entry per line
Artist(s)
One entry per line
N/A
Year
Example: 2012
2013
Status in COO
Status in Country of Origin. One entry per line
10 Volumes / 910 Chapters (Completed)
8 Volumes / 823 Chapters (Main Story) +
2 Volumes / 84 Chapters (Side Story)
Licensed
Yes
Completely Translated
Original Publisher
One entry per line
English Publisher
One entry per line
Release Frequency
Every 188.1 Day(s)
Activity Stats
[Graph]
Weekly Rank: #6133
Monthly Rank: #7472
All Time Rank: #486
Reading List
[Graph]
On 7588 Reading Lists
Monthly Rank: #7709
All Time Rank: #684

Description

Links are NOT allowed. Format your description nicely so people can easily read them. Please use proper spacing and paragraphs.

Xia Feng, an ordinary young man from Earth, is transported to a world of swords and magic, where he inhabits the body of Lucien Evans, another ordinary young man.

Whilst this new realm appears to be a traditional Western fantasy world, he discovers striking similarities between Earth and this mysterious place—particularly in how science parallels arcane magic.

As the saying goes, “Knowledge is power,” but what deeper truths lie within? Through his exploration of souls, magic, quantum mechanics, the Theory of Relativity, consciousness, music, and reality itself, Lucien seeks to uncover the true nature of this enigmatic world.

Associated Names
One entry per line
Arcane Divine Throne
The Throne of Arcane
TMA
Áo Thuật Thần Tọa
ราชันบัลลังก์เวท
ศึกบัลลังก์เวทอาร์คานา
奥术神座
아르카나 마법도서관
Related Series
N/A
Recommendations
Release that Witch (9)
Warlock of the Magus World (9)
Lord of the Mysteries (8)
The Wizard World (5)
Age of Adepts (4)
Library of Heaven’s Path (2)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Under 1k chapters - Cultivation version
  2. My Absolute Favourites
  3. Remarkable Novels That I've Read
  4. Things I've Read That Don't Suck (1)
  5. Novels that has their taste

Latest Release

Date Group Release
05/26/17 Webnovel c39
05/24/17 Webnovel c38
05/22/17 Webnovel c37
05/21/17 Webnovel c36
05/20/17 Webnovel c35
05/19/17 Webnovel c34
05/17/17 Webnovel c33
05/14/17 Webnovel c32
05/13/17 Webnovel c31
05/10/17 Webnovel c30
05/08/17 Webnovel c29
05/07/17 Webnovel c28
05/06/17 Webnovel c27
05/05/17 Webnovel c26
05/03/17 Webnovel c25
1234
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124 Reviews sorted by


Demintika
Demintika rated it
June 25, 2017
Status: c823
This world's "Magic" system: The author tried to explain everything with ACTUAL Science. Not just some BS "this X is awesome" like other author, but I felt like he copied Wikipedia article to explain "magical" phenomenon such as Resonance, Chemical Reaction, Electricity, etc... Don't let the word Arcane fool you, 奥术 has nothing magical in them. In this novel's world, it actually refers to Science; and the "Arcanist" refers to "people who research science" (aka Scientist). Those Scientist can apply scientific knowledge to their Magic and make themselves more powerful.

MC... more>> was thrown head-first into a cruel medieval world, being someone with no money, no power, no talent, etc... A first few dozens chapter describe him struggling from both emotional and physical hardship as he slowly learn about the world, gained money and power until he became a musician. From that point on, his life went smoothly (due to careful planning and wit and luck) while his personality mostly stayed the same. It's hard to describe in words, he isn't a homicidal maniac like most CN MC, nor a saint.

With modern knowledge from the cheat library, MC didn't keep it to himself but rather slowly shared them. From Organic Chemistry to Nuclear Physics. From Calculus to Topology. From Astrology to General Relativity. From Field theory to Quantum Physic... Instead of suddenly throwing them all out and gaining all the fame and power, he "discovered" those theories through math and proved them in experiment.

Given 5/5 Stars because of how underrated this novel is. It's like "Interstellar" of novel, you gave it low rating because you understood nothing. Screw all of the reviews saying how "illogical" the MC was or how the author "explained nothing" about his cheat. Those people are too used to OP MC showing his OPness through info-dump and expositions. While this author slowly introduced the world, they just dropped reading. <<less
113 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
Ignus
Ignus rated it
May 10, 2017
Status: v1c29
The mood set by this story is it's best selling point.

It has a real gritty black ages western magic type feel.

The magic system is unique, diving more into science than most systems.

... more>> The pacing of the story is good, while setting up mystery for future chapters. Not everything needs to be explained up front in the first 10 chapters, or why do you keep reading the story?

Characters are also well done. Well, 30 chapters is not enough for the supporting characters to really shine, but its already better than most of the cookie cutter content out there. One the other hand, the MC is done superbly. It actually shows his growth and mentality. He is actually trying to lay low, and doesn't come out and show off right after saying so. He is not a smart MC, but he is well written as an average person adapting.

There is one moments that is not the best.
Spoiler

A priest doesn't want to go into a smelly sewer, so he threatens the MC into going into the sewer after having him memorize the chant for multiple spells.... A much better scenario could have been crafted.

[collapse]
<<less
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mrttao
mrttao rated it
April 17, 2017
Status: c14
MC dies on earth and body snatches a fresh corpse in a world of magic. As usual he has a cheat, but what bothers me most is that there is zero explanation or justification for his cheat, which comes off as lazy writing. The cheat is a library in his brain full of books from Earth. But some of the books are locked until later for unexplained reasons. And then some magic books get destroyed in his presence and that somehow adds them to the library in his mind (even... more>> though he never read them, never touched them, nor was he involved in their destruction).

Where did the library come from? Why is there a library in his brain??? Who knows, the author is certainly not bothering to explain.

So far its barely tolerable. MC is very s*upid and prone to both panic and emotion driven suicidal actions. And always gets saved by plot armor. That being said, the author seems to intend for him to grow and learn (ie, author probably wants to try to justify the MC being ruthless and wise later on instead of a random earth reincarnator suddenly acting OOC. I am not saying that ruthless is wise and the ideal state, rather that I feel like this story is hinting towards what the MC will grow into) and it is only c14.

While it is pretty insufferable now MC has been making vows to learn from his mistakes (despite repeating them, but maybe it's just to hammer it in, it has only been 14 chapters). Time will tell if he actually learns from it and changes. <<less
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Darkzeta
Darkzeta rated it
November 15, 2017
Status: c171
Don't let the heavy 48 people who rated it a 1 fool you.

Actually do what I did, read a few chapters and then decide if this is for you.

There is a reason why 75% of us actually rated it 3 or better.

I will list the main ones for my reason why I liked it well enough to binge read it to chapter 171 and also rate it a 5.

  1. The character starts off NOT supremely all knowing or OP that he defeats all his enemies within just the first 2 chapters. The MC actually has to eat crappy food first. Seriously bad food. He eventually does evolve over the next dozen chapters into a determined MC, and yeah, not alot of whiny beta type personality. He comes across as determined, willing to bust ass to make it, or atleast survive. Yes there will be plot armor, SERIOUSLY, what story does NOT have plot armor? Name me 1 story that doesn't have plot revolves around the MC. You can't, if you did, you're not reading a novel. Over time, our MC does grow and develop and will be a MC you're not embarassed to know or read about.
  2. I like the world building. It's detailed enough to give you a good dose of reality, but fantastical enough to leave you wishing that you could visit the world. Maybe as a tourist, maybe not so much as to live there.
  3. The mix of science and magic always entrances me and I like how the author does a fair balance between the two. In some ways you may think it's a different part of the world and not too far from Release That Witch....
  4. Music. Ah yes, like the others below and before me, the music stands out in the first story arc of the MC. Basically it comes down to this. If you hated Macross and all the Macross stuff with Music + action + drama, you WILL hate this. IF on the other hand, like me, you LOVED Macross and how it blended magic of Music + action + drama, and created something that made you want to go out and listen to music, then you WILL like this story. I did like the fact that it was NOT guns that our modern character brought about to get ahead in this old world. He actually brought out songs. "Listen to my song!" - Basara and All of Macross
In the end, I'm gonna be a fan of this series. Hopefully the translator and editors stay around long enough for me to get closure, but if not....I'll just quietly listen to Moonlight Sonata in the quiet night...
38 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
keklel
keklel
July 15, 2017
Status: v1c10
Not gonna rate this because obviously this novel wasn't written for people like me, but everything I've read so far is just so incredibly boring that I can't stand it.

It's not that the world is boring. There's magic, magical races (elves, dwarves etc), mercenaries etc. It's just that the novel is written so boringly that it's unbearable. Every chapter is filled with smalltalk between irrelevant characters and useless descriptions of the most random pointless sh*t imaginable. To give an example:

... more>>
Spoiler

"Good Afternoon, Mr. Victor."

"Good Afternoon, Elena." The man replied politely. He had blue eyes as deep as an ocean, "May I have the latest Music Criticism?" His voice was deep and rich.

Lucien was surprised. He did not expect to find a newspaper in this world, and even specialized ones. What impressed him more was the polarization here, thinking about the fact that many people in Aderon were still illiterate. Lucien guessed not many people would buy newspapers.

He also wondered how much the newspaper cost.

Victor roughly went through the pages and gave Elena ten Fells. He then went towards the stairs after nodding politely to both of them, with the newspaper under his arm.

After he left, Lucien asked Elena curiously.

"The newspaper costs 10 Fells?"

Having worked in the association for a whole year, Elena was proud that she could share her knowledge with someone, who was also from the same poor background like she was before.

"In the year 426 of Saint Calendar, the Cardinal Adelaide enhanced the method for papermaking. Since then, the paper price continued declining. Now you can buy a dozen newspapers with just a couple of Fells. But only members of our association can buy Music Criticism with 10 Fells. Others, including nobles, have to pay a silver Nar."

"Both Music Criticism and Symphony News are the most authoritative music publications across the continent." she then continued, "Every piece of music and article is produced by brilliant musicians and scholars. This month's Music Criticism published the comments from His Majesty and Princess Natasha on the concert held last week in the Psalm Hall."

Aside from showing off, Lucien's good looking face was another reason why she kept offering so much information.

"A Nar?!" For a moment, an exciting plan of robbing newspapers appeared in his mind. Five Nars could easily solve Lucien's problem! A second later he realized the thought was too ridiculous: No one would buy from him.

"Sure!" Happy with Lucien's interaction, Elena kept talking. "You think it's too expensive? In places like Tria, Antiffler, Ifai, Tilis and Anhadur, these newspapers are very popular. People there honor Aalto's music very much and would even pay one gold Thale for an old one."

Lucien took a glance at the newspapers under the counter while trying hard to resist his impulse. But, he also got some information from her words: Under the mighty church, currency across the continent should be unified; Secondly, there was no such spell for teleportation. If there was, it must have very strict rules, or the nobles in other cities would not read old newspapers.

More than ten minutes later, it finally occurred to Elena that Lucien still had work to do. She reluctantly stopped herself and asked a servant to lead him to the backyard garden.

"Be quiet. Don't talk loud. Don't move loud. In three months, Mr. Victor's gonna hold his first concert in the Psalm Hall. Recently, he's being pretty... um... sensitive, " Elena kindly reminded him.

Lucien nodded to her gratefully and followed the servant towards the garden.

[collapse]

An entire chapter about buying newspapers about musical criticism. Seriously? And the rest of the novel is equally boring and slow paced.

Only read this novel if you enjoy slice of life and boring, slow paced non-action. Not for me. <<less
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Ereptor
Ereptor rated it
January 13, 2018
Status: c206
The fact that the novel is flooded with 1 star ratings only because of its publisher (or so I assume) is honestly a disgrace. The story is better structured, more interesting, and overall is easily of higher quality than 90 to 95% of the top novels (or novels overall) on the site.

Characters are not cardboard cut-outs for the sole purpose of representing popular and overused tropes, but are actual people with motivations and personalities and enemies aren't mustache twirling madmen just for the sake of being evil. Character growth and... more>> power accumulation is steady and realistic, no sudden power-ups because an enemy or situation requires it. As it's a reincarnation novel a cheat-like ability is more or less inevitable, but its power-level is actually fair, and doesn't give an insane advantage to the main character. As a matter of fact, Lucien is below-average at the moment as far as pure power goes and the overwhelming majority of main characters could wipe the floor with him in a direct confrontation with ease.

Women don't spread their legs on the first (or second) encounter with the main character just because he's the MC, there's no harem or blatant wish fulfillment in the story at all; and neither is Lucien a spineless pe*vert or a useless introvert with no hope of attracting ladies without the divine intervention of the author. As a matter of fact, even the future love interest is at a mutual trustee/best friend status at the moment (c206), I really like their dynamic so far. Their relationship is both satisfying and realistic, they have chemistry as friends, I'm interested in how it will evolve into an actual romance.

Translation quality is also solid, I've found very few errors so far, and none were grave enough to disturb the flow, mostly minor typos here and there. The speed is also bearable, and is more or less what you could expect with the quality, around 5 chapters a week (this means about 5-8 thousand words a week).

In conclusion, if you're interested in the story based on the tags or basic description definitely give it a try and don't pay any attention to the rating. You most definitely won't be disappointed if you're looking for more than the equivalent of fast-food in reading for a sudden but short-lived burst of dopamine. <<less
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ScotlandForsythe
ScotlandForsythe rated it
November 25, 2016
Status: v1c59
EDIT

(I never expected it to have such a wonderful blend of things I like. Music, magic and mystery. Oh my)

at the bottom

... more>> The premise isn't the best, but it gets the point across. I love the idea. The guy get reincarnated into another boy's body in this magical world and the first thing he experiences is the burning of a witch.

Honestly it doesn't seem xuanhuan, but I promise you it is a Chinese novel. The idea isn't exactly unique, but it holds my attention.

The translation isn't the best, but it is readable.

It really needs more chapters. Glad it began updating recently. I don't have much to go on. *Sighs* I tried.

Edit:

Spoiler

the MC is crafty. Extremely crafty. He disguises himself as a sorcerer and succeeds because the ridiculous amount of knowledge he knows. (They call him professor *squeals*

He also is learning to play the piano (which he conveniently introduced into the world while helping his music teacher). He's moving up one step at a time. ?

[collapse]

I was not expecting such a nice story. It is extremely promising. The MC is thankfully not as boring as I first thought he would be, and the magic and knight system idea makes sense

it fits more into this story than a lot of others.

What really attracted me was the fated lovers tag. No harem (I'm guessing). This is the first time I've seen such a tag for a story (I'm pretty sure there may be others that deserve this tag that don't have it), and I'm excited to see the direction it goes <<less
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Seraphic
Seraphic rated it
November 14, 2017
Status: c171
Summary of the review: I recommend this to people looking for a more thoughtful action novel.

This.... this is actually really good. I wasn't expecting a whole lot going in, but it's really quite underrated (probably due to issues with the publisher). Rather than a Chinese/Eastern fantasy, TMA is (up to this point) set in more of a Western fantasy world.

Stylistically and tonally, I'd compare it to Release that Witch; the protagonist is a transmigrator/reincarnator from modern civilization who uses knowledge (aided by his cheat) to great personal benefit, but up... more>> to the current chapter has relatively little impact on society compared to RtW or the similar Japanese genre protagonists. Other comparisons: Warlock of the Magus World if the protagonist was more like a college student and less like a sociopath; the cheat from Library of Heaven's Path if it wasn't so OP. In fact, it takes quite a few chapters until the cheat even really becomes relevant.

It's not jam-packed with action; in fact, the first arc is rather slow; but it spends time fleshing out technical details and side characters. The protagonist, as a normal college student, isn't a combat genius, but he quickly learns to adapt to his situation. That's not to say he becomes one of those ruthless, kill-em-all type protagonists; he prefers to avoid combat if possible and knows what compassion is without being overly moralistic. The setting is fairly well-described, but it's not the most amazing world-building ever. Of more note are the side characters, who are, for a Chinese novel, very prominent and have roles beyond sitting in the background saying, "I can't believe how great the MC is, " with struggles and lives of their own separate from the main plot. <<less
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ResidentialPsycho
ResidentialPsycho rated it
October 11, 2017
Status: c149
This is an excellent fantasy series that is well-balanced in many aspects. It has great adventure, fantasy, wit, drama, action, mystery, and character development. Lucien yearns for knowledge and begins studying magic, even though that can get him persecuted. His is clever enough to save his life and to attract plenty of trouble as well. It is great to see him grow through his struggles. Although he starts getting involved with music as a coincidence, it gradually becomes something important to him, which was very nice to see develop.

The side-characters... more>> are well-done, too. They each have their own goals, ambitions, and betrayals to deal with. Everyone struggles with their own dilemmas and the consequences of their decisions, including Lucien. Although he is considered to be a genius, he is not a Gary Stu and plenty of his own mistakes, which really makes the plot develop. He does not yearn for fame, a harem, or revenge, so he's a very refreshing lead to read about. He is polite and clever without arrogance.

The biggest weakness I noticed is that the story starts off pretty slow in the beginning. The story picks up more once Lucien starts learning how to read.

I strongly recommend this series. Once I got past the beginning, I stayed up late several nights until I caught up. I just couldn't pull my eyes away from the story. I enjoyed reading it while listening to classical music, even though I don't normally have any interest in the classics. Making me take interest in something I never cared about before is definitely a noteworthy feat.

Anyone who likes fantasy or music should give this story a shot. This beautiful series really stands out. <<less
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Night Ghost
Night Ghost rated it
August 23, 2017
Status: c126
I can confidently say that this is a better CN here, There are no usual xianxia/xuanhuan tropes where MC have heavenly luck, op parents, etc. And there is no repetitive plot either.

and this novel has a very unique theme, I feel like I read 2 different novels at the same time. And magics in this novel are actually related with science, not some kind of bullshit. This novel is the fusion of music and magic novel. And it's quite sad to see it rated badly

I suggest you to read at... more>> least 90 chapters before dropping it. <<less
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raifan
raifan rated it
April 23, 2017
Status: c18
Good story so far. The MC got a new life by taking over another person's body in a different world. What's different is that he doesn't get the past person's memories. All he knows is the language (which is weird, so maybe some form of amnesia), so he has to be careful when talking to people since he doesn't know who they are. Doesn't seem like a super smart MC, just an average guy so far. It is a world of magic with an MC who doesn't have memories of... more>> things of the past or common knowledge of the world. So as readers, we won't have that knowledge as well. As the MC learns where magic and other things come from or were started, readers will as well. Good story telling, not everything will be explained while the MC has no clue himself. I like how the author left some things inexplainable. We are seeing through the eyes of the MC, so if he is in the dark, so are the readers.

I don't see any plot armor. He hasn't put himself in situations that he can't control. Only one near death experience, but he was forced into it and he had 3 Knights with him. In his previous life he wasn't a fighter, so the first fight was a learning experience. Outside the first fight, he has kept his emotions in check. Making the right decisions in terms of when to get involved and when to hold back.

Early rating of 4 stars for me. Good start. <<less
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ziki
ziki rated it
September 18, 2017
Status: c118
A very different story from what one might expect from stories about magicians on this website. Leaving MC aside as personality wise he is a normal MC, neither bad nor excellent there are few aspects that stand out in this novel.

  1. The world building. Despite the fact that all 118 chapters that I read took place in one city, the story already established and introduced the world as well as it's history. The dynamic between church and nobles, the oppression of magicians, the great insight into the life of the poor people from the slams. How they struggle for few coins every day and how no one really cares whatever they get beaten up by local gangsters or used as blood sacrefice in some rituals. Last but not least because the story resolves about music quite a lot, the history of this worlds music is greatly developed as well.
  2. Music... I won't say that I am big fan of music, I listen to it all the time without knowing which genre is which but I definitely like music as a whole and I always liked to watch animes about music and the struggle of MC in the musical world. Rather than magical part, it was the music progress that MC made that I liked a lot... most of all, it's clear that author did his study on music to be able to write everything in great detail. Adding to that I always liked the classic as well. Good recommendation from me is that the moment chapter is about MC introducing this or that song, it's good to open youtube and start playing the given music in background. Speaking of music though, it sure is enyoable to see MC cheat everyone to think he is a music genius just by stealing the music pieces of the world he came from.
  3. The characters. Well once again let's leave MC out of this as he isn't really fantastic by MC's standard but what is fantastic are the well developed side characters. Mind you there isn't a single really important side character so far... by that I mean someone like a heroine or MC's party member to travel with, put it simply secondary-mc's. No the story did not established the second most important character out of yet. But the huge cast of side characters were established really well. The city in which first 118 chapters take place in is full of characters and life. The come from different parts of MC's storylines as well, his life in slums, his musician carrier and his magician shannanagans as well. Even though there is quite many of them those characters appear quite often which made me rememberer them quite well.
In any case I really like the depths that the story had so far and I look forward to it's future. I did not complement it at all but MC as he is as well as everything-magic related is on good... more>> level as well. Not outstanding but really good. But truly I came here expecting a story about magic but it was actually everything else that I like about the story a lot. <<less
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pomoli
pomoli rated it
November 12, 2017
Status: c302
A transmigration story properly done. I highly recommend that one.

Pro

    • MC is a good and clever guy, and you really feel character growth.
    • All characters are complex and interesting.
    • The whole idea of using modern science to enhance magic instead of outdated notions (4 elements) is refreshing.
    • World building is excellent.
    • The focus on music is well done.
    • A few twists I didn't expect.
Con

    • The library concept is not properly explained.
15 Likes · Like Permalink | Report
CloudDaoist
CloudDaoist rated it
September 17, 2017
Status: c132
I rarely write a review... but seeing those 1 star make me really mad. just because Qidian translate it you people rate it bad.. I know qidian is suck but the novel is innocent !

This novel is definitely "Masterpiece".. it's not a shitty cliche xianxia where you find a shitty young master as c*ckroach villain.. this one is on par with "Release the witch" maybe better !

Lets begin with the story.. it's about Isekai, History, Witch, Politic, Church, Advanture, Musician, and a little bit tragedy.. (MC is both sorcerer... more>> and musician)

OP MC ? no.. his power is weak, so he often sceme on his enemy. But MC music skill is on par with young Beethoven lol..

Music ? you love classic music themed story ? this is for you..

Romance ? we still don't know who will be the choosen one.. but all the girls are awesome !

Influence ? for you who don't have any patience and rated it 1 star because MC still very poor, weak, struggling with a small street gang and don't have any influence.. I tell you MC is the most famous young musician that was treated like a noble right now

Villain ? we still confused about who's the real villain right now.. people in this novel is reasonable guys.. not like a young master who finally lost his face then hunt MC till the world end.. many people displeased with MC at first.. but they become his admirer at the end, not his enemy.

Witch ? yes church hunt them.. MC hide his power, and use his musician identity to cover his sorcerer identity

A western isekai world with witch, church, and music.. what are you waiting for ?

rated 12/10

(I play piano.. that's why this one hooked me so hard) (and sorry about my horrible grammar) <<less
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ZhaWarudo
ZhaWarudo rated it
January 17, 2018
Status: c100
It's pretty good for a CN western style novel, while it has it's flaws they are all minor so far. MC has a mind library without explanation, ok who cares, not like the authors explain why or how or by whom transmigrations happen either, it's called a fast start, maybe it will get explained. It is sorta like Zhang Ye from IRAS and other Mary Sue's who bring modern knowledge to some poor plebs, but done much better and more tolerable. MC isn't abusing his plagiarism powers but just using... more>> them to a minimum to get money and a cover story as a musician, he even tries to make his own compositions. So far he's been aplying physics to magic decently, not pulling doctorates out of his all knowing ass or making up faulty physics out of author's ignorance. Example - he was explaining gravity and when asked why does it work like that or something, he was like sh*t I dunno, just that it does, same as normal people, not a Mary Sue. Altought the author captured the medieval magic society quite right by me, the translation is bit poor and characters conversations too informal. Also rarely there are game terms which are ofcourse out of place, you just don't use level and knight in the same sentence unless it's about a game, which this is not. <<less
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Nocturne
Nocturne rated it
August 13, 2020
Status: Completed
Hello, you beautiful people! O/

I don't get the hype for either of novels and/or the positive ratings. I tried to like this story, I did, but I couldn't get on board with all its ridiculousness and plain s*upidity. This piece of literature was an especially jarring experience.

Sidenote: The novel ends after volume 8. Volume 9 + 10 are side-stories and a somewhat weird continuation of the main story. Hence the abrupt end.

We have the usual 'transported to another world' troop used in such a plain and boring way that it makes us wonder, why? Why even bother?? MC's past is never explored beyond the first two chapters. The way he acts and interacts with his environment makes no sense. Before his transmigration, MC was your Everyman-student with no personality whatsoever. After his transmigration, he morphs into this well-spoken know-it-all, and no one cares or wonders about his change.There is no overarching goal; why he wants to learn magic. Most if not all his conflicts are self-imposed.

The Piano subplot was utter garbage. For reasons unknown, everyone accepts his 'new' portrayal of classical music. Despite the Church brainwashing its people in believing everything none normative being devious. Why are these devout believers fine with Lucien's different, 'newer' approach to music?Furthermore, why give up the glory & wealth this profession would bring him in favour of Magic. Magic that not only puts himself in danger but also his family. For a student from Earth who had little problems in his earlier life, why? Why put yourself in danger time and time again, Lucien (how the author profiled him) being a calm and collected individual. He wasn't in a precarious situation that required him turning to magic in the first place!

The magic-system is one of the worst I've had the displeasure of reading. There are two types when writing magical fiction, soft- and hard-magic. Soft-magic, for instance, A Song of Ice and Fire, follows no ruleset (Ressurection Magic, Melisandre's Shadow Magic) . Hard-magic, for instance, Full Metal Alchemist, follows certain rules (Equivalent Exchange). Usually, the author sticks to either system throughout their novel! Here, these two different magic systems blur into this behemoth of nonsense. put rules in place for his magic-system (or so I thought) but doesn't stick to them. These logical inconsistencies become more and more clear in the later chapters. The science part, oh boy - that was utter garbage. The author has an, let's say, interesting grasp on science in general. Lucien's progress in magic is founded on the author's inept understanding of physics. goes on and on, tens of chapters at times, flexing his amateurish understanding of science.

Logical errors and plotholes overarch the later chapters. To give some examples:

Spoiler
  • Why have magicians progressed before his revelations? Whenever he graces us with his revelations, people tend to either accept it at face value or their head explodes. 'People' who become irrelevant the minute Lucien ejaculates his next finding.
  • For some odd reason, people believe whatever he has to say. Sure. I get that experiments can prove certain aspects, but why? Why would they believe these experiments to be true and thus his claims being true as well? 'People' who've been stuck in a primitive grasp of mathematical operators.
  • There were many occasions in which The Church could have killed Lucien or at least put pressure on him. Be it in Holm or back in Alto.
  • The fact that no one realised Lucien Evans is both the pianist and magician. Not connecting him to the Professor makes no sense, the moment he left, everything stopped. With how much damage he had done in Alto, there should have been at least some questions.
  • Violet's disinterest in Lucien's killings. Him killing 40 Nightwatchers is unimportant to her? Her, a devout believer of God?
  • How can people progress in their cultivation if their belief plays such an important role? It's not that important after all, Violet can progress fine without it, so can other 'believers'. Now, in 200+ years no one realised that you could progress with an intrinsic believe in yourself?
  • If you can shake people's belief with some conveniences and inventions, you can't talk about devout followers. Which throws the question out, why haven't they done anything in the past 200+ years.
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Most of his revelations do nothing for the plot, written to fill the 2000 character word limit, it feels like.

The cultivation system makes no sense, for knights and magicians alike. It makes no sense why he progressed further in his arcana studies while others did not. Likewise for the whole knight, bishop, cardinal thing. Both cultivation systems break the story, for me at least.

The romance is half-baked. The reasons for Violet falling in love with Lucien are never explored. I dare say, they are utter garbage. There is no explanation for putting herself in danger for someone she has known fewer than two years. Her religious background makes no sense in that particular setting.

Spoiler

Why would The Church agree to her father marrying a Magician (hated by everyone and their brother), knowing the implications?

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The Church's characterization is simplistic and shallow. The Church is evil and The Congress of Magic is good. The novel doesn't go beyond that. His cheat disappears into obscurity. Lucien doesn't use it even in situations in which it could have been helpful. Besides, why was the cheat even introduced?

I wouldn't be this hard on the novel if it weren't so reliant on comparing everything to our world. Most of The Church's demeanour is a direct copy of the Roman Church. Which makes me wonder, why even bother 'creating' a new world when most if not all are blatantly copied and misquoted (science) . Despite the very static and boring world, everyone accepts his changes and he doesn't meet any adversaries ever.

I am not asking to reinvent the wheel, but so much is unexplored and unexplained. For a novel that borrows a lot from science, it being a major plot point even, makes me wonder - what was he doing while researching it? He didn't have time to also dabble in chemistry and psychology? Oh, wait - he did.

Verdict:

The translation quality is only so-so. The novel went through several editors and translators, and it shows. It's completely translated. Give it a try if you're into subpar magic systems and walls of text. This is novel is a paramount example of "don't show and shove everything down your reader's throat".

That's it from me. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

Stay healthy and safe! &Lt;3
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kjoke
kjoke rated it
September 17, 2017
Status: c133
Reincarnation into a different world isn't a great way to justify the MCs powers and it makes the first few chapters appear somewhat sloppy. However the "reincarnation-perks" loose in significance and are barely mentioned at all in the later chapters. Instead the MCs hard work and wits are what drives the story.

The world and characters are inspired by western fantasy and you'll find a few things a lot of chinese novels lack, for example strong female characters in terms of character and strength, no general degradation of women to mere... more>> objects of desire and, what surprised me the most,
Spoiler

open lesbianism.

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What I especially like about this novel is how the author blends the two identities of the MC
Spoiler

sorcerer and genius musician

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into one person.

If the story continues the way it goes now I can only recommend reading it (5/5). <<less
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Ginko
Ginko rated it
February 6, 2018
Status: c200
Not as bad as some review trolls say.

Positives:

Another interesting take on magic

An MC who knows how to stay low but not deathly low

Negatives include:

... more>>
Spoiler

Rants about "music" being this and that, in a world filled with MAGIC!

MC is given so many spells but doesn't use half of them... so why even write about them??

Another transmigration without explanation... while I'm used to it by now, still would be nice to know why...

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Warning: If you pick up this novel, don't hesitate to just skip large sections of filler or half a chapter at a time.

If you do that, you'll fly through on a enjoyable ride. <<less
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Nihilist_smoker
Nihilist_smoker rated it
August 27, 2017
Status: c118
The novel is amazing and the plot is slowly being revealed. Rather than a godly MC, our MC is relatable and the story is slow-paced. The world building is good and you can smell different cultures here.

Although the story does have plotholes, the novel is still enjoyable if you ignore them. Afterall everything has its own faults and this novel does too. It is exciting to read as the MC is not that intelligence but he's diligent and works his way through the problems. There are no arrogant young masters,... more>> idiot enemies, one dimensional harem and finally useless tournaments which makes the novel more exciting.

The main reason I rated this novel 5 stars is because it gives me the feeling of 'adventure' and 'mystery'. You grow with the MC. You'll feel anticipation for the upcoming situations. The unpredictability and MC's way of dealing with the situations always amazes me. Currently the pros of the novel outweigh the cons for me and I would love to recommend it. <<less
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Pixeldrum
Pixeldrum rated it
November 26, 2020
Status: c312
Throne of Magical Arcana has little to no value to a reader other than a convenient way to pass time. After reading Lord of Mysteries and being greatly satisfied, I looked towards Throne of Magical Arcana. Made by the same author, I expected similar quality. After reading hundreds of chapters, I can safely say that not every novel made by Cuttlefish is a huge hit.

I do admit. One of the reasons why I kept up with this novel was purely for the future prospects that it could get better. Unfortunately,... more>> that never happened. However, another thing that struck me as interesting with some upside was the power system. Similar to Lord of Mysteries, it's power system isn't completely out of left field, but takes some basis off of popular concepts found in all sorts of media to form a comprehensive system. The problem is that Throne of Magical Arcana's system, albeit interesting, is far less unique and innovative as Lord of Mysteries. It's like night and day. Sure, I think that combining scientific methods and magical spells are interesting, but overall, it's much more tame. Plus, I think that Cuttlefish put a lot more thought into Lord of Mysteries's power system than Throne of Magical Arcana's just by virtue of text emphasis. Throne of Magical Arcana's magical model system is extremely rushed and glanced over, while every tier in Lord of Mysteries is extremely complicated and explained over the entire novel. Lucien will progress multiple tiers in magic over the course of less than a hundred chapters, and all spells he learns is summed up in "he learned this spell after working on it for a few months." Despite power progression being the most essential part of this novel, it's not explained how Lucien makes any progression, and instead, it's more rushed, and you don't really see him building his repertoire of magic as a result, but rather him rising from rags to riches in a few short moments.

Plus, he just blatantly uses his cheats to gain power, and manages to get away every single time. Klein in Lord of Mysteries hid his true identity for the longest time, but you're telling me that Lucien is able to exploit his spiritual library at apprentice level and get away with his antics? Plus, all the research papers are just of course, copy pasted from a wikipedia article essentially. Same goes for his music. I'm sure cuttlefish needed a lot of word count, so he decided to go in depth into explaining Lucien's music that he got by looking up a wikipedia article about the symphony he references in the novel. Low effort, high word count.

Finally, the characters. God, even with such a small cast of relevant characters, Throne of Magical Arcana manages to have absolutely zero characters with depth, including Lucien. Extremely one dimensional, predictable, and the most boring dialogue known to man. There's no soul, and if they're getting a lot of time in the novel, you bet it's because it's a plot device to progress Lucien faster through his magic ranks. Otherwise, they get discarded or barely mentioned despite it being an "important person" to Lucien. On the topic of plot device characters, you manage to see a pattern of the hypocritical nature of people valuing his talent, yet failing to be overprotective of him, and extremely powerful people favoring Lucien for no real good reason other than the fact that it provides more plot armor to him when encountering dangerous situations that shouldn't be happening to a genius anyway. Contrast that to Lord of Mysteries, where despite there being a large pool of characters, with some of them cast away and discarded because they're dead or got too weak, there still remains a large pool of characters with actual personality and characterization. Best of all, their dialogue is varied, personality dynamic, and their actions cause a butterfly effect that later gets beautifully spun over the span of a few arcs, or even the entire story that you get to enjoy first hand. They're not just some sort of NPC meant to guide the main character to greater heights, as it is with Lucien.

Sure, is the plot sort of interesting? Yes, the underlying is definitely interesting to a degree, but it's honestly not worth reading through with such bad characters and storytelling devices. <<less
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