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Mother of Learning #1
Mother of Learning: ARC 1
Zorian Kazinski has all the time in the world to get stronger, and he plans on taking full advantage of it.
A teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill, Zorian is attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy. A driven and quiet young man, he is consumed by a desire to ensure his own future and free himself of the influence of his family, resenting the Kazinskis for favoring his brothers over him. Consequently, Zorian has no time for pointless distractions, much less other people's problems.
As it happens, though, time is something he is about to get plenty of.
On the eve of Cyoria's annual summer festival, Zorian is murdered, then abruptly brought back to the beginning of the month, just before he was about to take the train to school. Finding himself trapped in a time loop with no clear end or exit, he will have to look both within and without to unravel the mystery set before him. He does have to unravel it, too, because the loop clearly wasn’t made for his sake, and in a world of magic even a time traveler isn't safe from those who wish him ill.
Fortunately for Zorian, repetition is the mother of learning…
A teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill, Zorian is attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy. A driven and quiet young man, he is consumed by a desire to ensure his own future and free himself of the influence of his family, resenting the Kazinskis for favoring his brothers over him. Consequently, Zorian has no time for pointless distractions, much less other people's problems.
As it happens, though, time is something he is about to get plenty of.
On the eve of Cyoria's annual summer festival, Zorian is murdered, then abruptly brought back to the beginning of the month, just before he was about to take the train to school. Finding himself trapped in a time loop with no clear end or exit, he will have to look both within and without to unravel the mystery set before him. He does have to unravel it, too, because the loop clearly wasn’t made for his sake, and in a world of magic even a time traveler isn't safe from those who wish him ill.
Fortunately for Zorian, repetition is the mother of learning…
610 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2021
1044 people are currently reading
13431 people want to read
About the author
Domagoj Kurmaić
9 books542 followersDomagoj Kurmaić (aka nobody103) is just your average accountant from Croatia who thinks way too much about fantasy and sci-fi, and occasionally puts his thoughts into writing.
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March 31, 2023
4.5/5 stars
Mother of Learning: ARC 1 was a marvelous start to a time-loop fantasy series. It was so damn enjoyable to read.
A time loop or a time travel story in fantasy is incredibly rare, especially the one done right. Do not take this as a criticism of the genre. Time travel or a time loop story is hard to do right, and you are more likely to find its existence in sci-fi than in the fantasy genre. Until today, The Licanius trilogy is the only series of epic fantasy novels where I felt the time travel elements inclusion are put into cleverly. Remembering how much I loved time travel stories executed wonderfully like The Licanius Trilogy, Stein’s Gate anime, and more, I’ve made it clear that I perpetually search for a time travel story done right in fantasy. And that’s how I stumbled upon Mother of Learning by nobody103 or Domagoj Kurmaic. Originally published as a web novel series, and if we are still counting it as one, this would mean this is the first web novel series I am reading. But the three story arcs in Mother of Learning have now been re-edited and published widely into four volumes (volume four coming in April 2023) by Wraithmarked Creative. The hardcover of the first story arc is the edition I am reading and reviewing. You can still read the entire series on Royal Road, but I will assume this edition is superior as it has received a new round of editing. Additionally, this hardcover edition comes with beautiful cover art by Mansik Yang, full-colored endpaper illustrations by Daniel Kamarudin and Asur Misoa, and a map of Altazia by Soraya Corcoran. The paper and printing quality are also top-notch. And I highly enjoyed reading the first story arc of Mother of Learning.
Zorian Kazinski is a teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill attending his third year of education at Cyoria’s magical academy. On the eve of Cyoria’s annual summer festival, a life-changing event transpired, and now Zorian is caught in a time loop. He is brought back to the day, at the beginning of the month, when he’s about to take the train to the academy. And he is doomed or blessed to repeat it every time he reaches the day of the annual summer festival. It is a never-ending month for Zorian, and as he tries his best to find a way to escape the time loop, he’s taking advantage of his situation to advance his skill and knowledge as a mage.
This is essentially the premise of Mother of Learning. It is a simple concept integrated brilliantly into the narrative. Think of it as Harry Potter mixed with All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka or Recursion by Blake Crouch. I strongly urge readers who want to try reading this series for the first time to give it about 100-200 pages before judging whether this will be suitable for you or not due to multiple reasons. As far as I know, Mother of Learning is one big series divided into four volumes. The review you are reading right now is only a review of the first story arc, so more or less the first quarter of the entire series. I think it is fair to at least read 100-200 pages of this 2,500+ pages (784k words) long series before deciding to drop it. But more importantly, this is also because the first 200 pages of Mother of Learning: ARC 1 was, from my perspective, the prelude to the entire series. The story did not fully begin until we reached that point.
Picture: Mother of Learning: ARC 1 by Daniel Kamarudin
Whether you are a fan of time loop or time travel in the fantasy genre, I think Mother of Learning is worth the read if you are a fan of magic school in fantasy. And I am a huge fan of coming-of-age fantasy and magic or battle school. They are some of my favorite tropes to read in the fantasy genre. Due to the time loop setting and premise of the series, Mother of Learning: ARC 1 understandably means the majority of the narrative in this book takes place in Cyoria magical academy. You will spend a lot of time reading Zorian advances his various skills and magic in multiple variations at the academy while he seeks a way out of the time loop. Fortunately, I have no preference for hard or soft magic systems. Both can be superbly written depending on the context of the series, and this book is an example of making magic-learning fun to read. Even when the story is one month repeated in a time loop, it was utterly impressive how Kurmaic keeps the stakes, pacing, revelations, and development refreshing and engaging.
It is not exclusive to plotting but to characters as well. There aren't many notably great characters yet in Mother of Learning: ARC 1. And I know I've read only the first volume of the series, which (relatively) is a small fraction of the entire series, so this is not a big issue. But Zorian Kazinski, just comparing how he behaved and acted in the beginning to the conclusion of Mother of Learning: ARC 1, already felt like a different person, in a good way. Zorian started off incredibly unlikable. He was a constantly angry teenager with minimal empathy for other people. This is why, once again, I feel it is necessary to read 200 pages of the book first. Not only do readers get to see the incredible potential of the plotting and concept laid out by the author, but they can also confirm the existence of the gradual development in Zorian's character and behavior. Zorian, in my opinion, did not become likable or a character I felt invested in until I reached the second half of the book.
Picture: Mother of Learning: ARC 1 by Asur Misoa
I had so much fun reading Mother of Learning: ARC 1. And I do believe the prose is partly responsible for it. If you know my reading taste, I am not fussy about prose. Whether it is simple prose or purple prose, I appreciate this variety of storytelling styles in the fantasy genre. What matters to me more is the reading experience proceeds smoothly. Some readers call Sanderson’s simple and accessible prose mediocre, and maybe it IS according to their criteria or preference. There is nothing wrong with that. But I respectfully disagree. Sanderson’s prose allows me to enjoy an epic fantasy series without feeling overwhelmed by the prose; I feel like I can read Sanderson’s books anytime I want despite my reading mood. Unlike, let’s say, Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. Malazan Book of the Fallen is one of my favorite series of all time, but I need to be in the correct reading mood or headspace before I read it, even more so on reread. Why am I going on a tangent here? To emphasize Kurmaic’s prose which leans more toward Sanderson’s style than Erikson’s, just as a comparison. And I loved it. I honestly cannot imagine this book, with info-dumps and many pages count spent on lore and learning the magic, being this addictive to read if it was written in heavier-style prose like Steven Erikson or Mark Lawrence.
However, these praises do not mean I surmised Mother of Learning: ARC 1 as a completely magnificent book. There were a few noticeable issues. For example, the way the world-building and lore were delivered. It was hard for my brain to register some passages because they were told in an info-dump manner. In a way, many parts of the progression fantasy of the series and magic learning can be categorized as info-dump as well, but they were still fun, entertaining, and engaging regardless of it. I can't say the same for the lore and history of the world, which usually is one of my favorite parts of reading a fantasy series. But overall, this is not a big issue for me. I had overwhelmingly more fun reading Mother of Learning: ARC 1 to consider this relatively slight boredom a big detraction to my reading experience. As I mentioned earlier, the majority of the story takes place in the Cyoria magical academy, and this factor can be a big issue if it is repeated throughout the rest of the series. But I have a good feeling we will get to explore more of the world in the remaining two story arcs.
Picture: Map of Altazia by Soraya Corcoran
If you are a reader who loves reading magic school, time travel, time loop, progression fantasy, or hard-magic systems in the fantasy genre, I imagine you will have a blast reading the first story arc in Mother of Learning. I have mentioned several times that Mother of Learning is one of my priority series to start and finish this year, and after that cliffhanger ending of ARC 1, I think I will dive into the next volume soon. At the latest, next month. I will not lie; a part of me was initially worried about reading this series. Do not get me wrong here; my anticipation was still there. But plenty of comments have mentioned the writing is mediocre, or, I quote, "The writing is not great as you can expect from a web novel." These made me quite apprehensive about the writing or storytelling quality I would read in Mother of Learning. But I am glad I did not listen to these comments. My fear is unfounded. The reality is better than my fear. Sure, Mother of Learning is one of the most highly praised web novels out there, and this edition I read has been re-edited and republished by Wraithmarked. However, I wouldn't be able to tell this was a web novel if I did not know about the publication status before reading it.
Picture: Interior design of Mother of Learning: ARC 1 Hardcover.
The interior and exterior quality of the book felt the same as all other fantasy novels I read. I will say it is more fun than many books I've read. And the printing quality is better than most traditionally published books. A job well done to Domagoj Kurmaic and Wraithmarked on this book and production. Mother of Learning: ARC 1 is a great clean fantasy novel with accessible writing and scope that gets refined and detailed with more pages read. Plus, some fans of the series said the first story arc is the weakest of the entire series! This makes me more excited to read the rest of the series. If this is still categorized as a web novel and included as my first experience, I believe I have opened the gate to trying more web novels. On my list right now, I have Worm by John McCrae, A Practical Guide to Evil by ErraticErrata, and of course, The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba to read. This will take a while, but one series at a time. For now, repetition is the mother of learning, and I look forward to repeating this wonderful reading experience by reading Mother of Learning: ARC 2 soon. I predict within the next month.
Side note:
Read with caution if you have arachnophobia.
You can order this book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Anastasia, Andrew, Andrew W, Annabeth, Arliss, Barbara, Brad, Cade, Casey, Chris, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Michael, Miracle, Nicholas, Radiah, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Teri, Tracy, Wendy, Wick, Xero, Yuri, Zoe.
Mother of Learning: ARC 1 was a marvelous start to a time-loop fantasy series. It was so damn enjoyable to read.
A time loop or a time travel story in fantasy is incredibly rare, especially the one done right. Do not take this as a criticism of the genre. Time travel or a time loop story is hard to do right, and you are more likely to find its existence in sci-fi than in the fantasy genre. Until today, The Licanius trilogy is the only series of epic fantasy novels where I felt the time travel elements inclusion are put into cleverly. Remembering how much I loved time travel stories executed wonderfully like The Licanius Trilogy, Stein’s Gate anime, and more, I’ve made it clear that I perpetually search for a time travel story done right in fantasy. And that’s how I stumbled upon Mother of Learning by nobody103 or Domagoj Kurmaic. Originally published as a web novel series, and if we are still counting it as one, this would mean this is the first web novel series I am reading. But the three story arcs in Mother of Learning have now been re-edited and published widely into four volumes (volume four coming in April 2023) by Wraithmarked Creative. The hardcover of the first story arc is the edition I am reading and reviewing. You can still read the entire series on Royal Road, but I will assume this edition is superior as it has received a new round of editing. Additionally, this hardcover edition comes with beautiful cover art by Mansik Yang, full-colored endpaper illustrations by Daniel Kamarudin and Asur Misoa, and a map of Altazia by Soraya Corcoran. The paper and printing quality are also top-notch. And I highly enjoyed reading the first story arc of Mother of Learning.
“Let me tell you a story of lost time and a month that refuses to end.”
Zorian Kazinski is a teenage mage of humble birth and slightly above-average skill attending his third year of education at Cyoria’s magical academy. On the eve of Cyoria’s annual summer festival, a life-changing event transpired, and now Zorian is caught in a time loop. He is brought back to the day, at the beginning of the month, when he’s about to take the train to the academy. And he is doomed or blessed to repeat it every time he reaches the day of the annual summer festival. It is a never-ending month for Zorian, and as he tries his best to find a way to escape the time loop, he’s taking advantage of his situation to advance his skill and knowledge as a mage.
This is essentially the premise of Mother of Learning. It is a simple concept integrated brilliantly into the narrative. Think of it as Harry Potter mixed with All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka or Recursion by Blake Crouch. I strongly urge readers who want to try reading this series for the first time to give it about 100-200 pages before judging whether this will be suitable for you or not due to multiple reasons. As far as I know, Mother of Learning is one big series divided into four volumes. The review you are reading right now is only a review of the first story arc, so more or less the first quarter of the entire series. I think it is fair to at least read 100-200 pages of this 2,500+ pages (784k words) long series before deciding to drop it. But more importantly, this is also because the first 200 pages of Mother of Learning: ARC 1 was, from my perspective, the prelude to the entire series. The story did not fully begin until we reached that point.
Picture: Mother of Learning: ARC 1 by Daniel Kamarudin
Whether you are a fan of time loop or time travel in the fantasy genre, I think Mother of Learning is worth the read if you are a fan of magic school in fantasy. And I am a huge fan of coming-of-age fantasy and magic or battle school. They are some of my favorite tropes to read in the fantasy genre. Due to the time loop setting and premise of the series, Mother of Learning: ARC 1 understandably means the majority of the narrative in this book takes place in Cyoria magical academy. You will spend a lot of time reading Zorian advances his various skills and magic in multiple variations at the academy while he seeks a way out of the time loop. Fortunately, I have no preference for hard or soft magic systems. Both can be superbly written depending on the context of the series, and this book is an example of making magic-learning fun to read. Even when the story is one month repeated in a time loop, it was utterly impressive how Kurmaic keeps the stakes, pacing, revelations, and development refreshing and engaging.
It is not exclusive to plotting but to characters as well. There aren't many notably great characters yet in Mother of Learning: ARC 1. And I know I've read only the first volume of the series, which (relatively) is a small fraction of the entire series, so this is not a big issue. But Zorian Kazinski, just comparing how he behaved and acted in the beginning to the conclusion of Mother of Learning: ARC 1, already felt like a different person, in a good way. Zorian started off incredibly unlikable. He was a constantly angry teenager with minimal empathy for other people. This is why, once again, I feel it is necessary to read 200 pages of the book first. Not only do readers get to see the incredible potential of the plotting and concept laid out by the author, but they can also confirm the existence of the gradual development in Zorian's character and behavior. Zorian, in my opinion, did not become likable or a character I felt invested in until I reached the second half of the book.
Picture: Mother of Learning: ARC 1 by Asur Misoa
I had so much fun reading Mother of Learning: ARC 1. And I do believe the prose is partly responsible for it. If you know my reading taste, I am not fussy about prose. Whether it is simple prose or purple prose, I appreciate this variety of storytelling styles in the fantasy genre. What matters to me more is the reading experience proceeds smoothly. Some readers call Sanderson’s simple and accessible prose mediocre, and maybe it IS according to their criteria or preference. There is nothing wrong with that. But I respectfully disagree. Sanderson’s prose allows me to enjoy an epic fantasy series without feeling overwhelmed by the prose; I feel like I can read Sanderson’s books anytime I want despite my reading mood. Unlike, let’s say, Steven Erikson’s Malazan Book of the Fallen. Malazan Book of the Fallen is one of my favorite series of all time, but I need to be in the correct reading mood or headspace before I read it, even more so on reread. Why am I going on a tangent here? To emphasize Kurmaic’s prose which leans more toward Sanderson’s style than Erikson’s, just as a comparison. And I loved it. I honestly cannot imagine this book, with info-dumps and many pages count spent on lore and learning the magic, being this addictive to read if it was written in heavier-style prose like Steven Erikson or Mark Lawrence.
However, these praises do not mean I surmised Mother of Learning: ARC 1 as a completely magnificent book. There were a few noticeable issues. For example, the way the world-building and lore were delivered. It was hard for my brain to register some passages because they were told in an info-dump manner. In a way, many parts of the progression fantasy of the series and magic learning can be categorized as info-dump as well, but they were still fun, entertaining, and engaging regardless of it. I can't say the same for the lore and history of the world, which usually is one of my favorite parts of reading a fantasy series. But overall, this is not a big issue for me. I had overwhelmingly more fun reading Mother of Learning: ARC 1 to consider this relatively slight boredom a big detraction to my reading experience. As I mentioned earlier, the majority of the story takes place in the Cyoria magical academy, and this factor can be a big issue if it is repeated throughout the rest of the series. But I have a good feeling we will get to explore more of the world in the remaining two story arcs.
Picture: Map of Altazia by Soraya Corcoran
If you are a reader who loves reading magic school, time travel, time loop, progression fantasy, or hard-magic systems in the fantasy genre, I imagine you will have a blast reading the first story arc in Mother of Learning. I have mentioned several times that Mother of Learning is one of my priority series to start and finish this year, and after that cliffhanger ending of ARC 1, I think I will dive into the next volume soon. At the latest, next month. I will not lie; a part of me was initially worried about reading this series. Do not get me wrong here; my anticipation was still there. But plenty of comments have mentioned the writing is mediocre, or, I quote, "The writing is not great as you can expect from a web novel." These made me quite apprehensive about the writing or storytelling quality I would read in Mother of Learning. But I am glad I did not listen to these comments. My fear is unfounded. The reality is better than my fear. Sure, Mother of Learning is one of the most highly praised web novels out there, and this edition I read has been re-edited and republished by Wraithmarked. However, I wouldn't be able to tell this was a web novel if I did not know about the publication status before reading it.
Picture: Interior design of Mother of Learning: ARC 1 Hardcover.
The interior and exterior quality of the book felt the same as all other fantasy novels I read. I will say it is more fun than many books I've read. And the printing quality is better than most traditionally published books. A job well done to Domagoj Kurmaic and Wraithmarked on this book and production. Mother of Learning: ARC 1 is a great clean fantasy novel with accessible writing and scope that gets refined and detailed with more pages read. Plus, some fans of the series said the first story arc is the weakest of the entire series! This makes me more excited to read the rest of the series. If this is still categorized as a web novel and included as my first experience, I believe I have opened the gate to trying more web novels. On my list right now, I have Worm by John McCrae, A Practical Guide to Evil by ErraticErrata, and of course, The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba to read. This will take a while, but one series at a time. For now, repetition is the mother of learning, and I look forward to repeating this wonderful reading experience by reading Mother of Learning: ARC 2 soon. I predict within the next month.
Side note:
Read with caution if you have arachnophobia.
You can order this book from: Amazon UK | Amazon US
You can find this and the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Anastasia, Andrew, Andrew W, Annabeth, Arliss, Barbara, Brad, Cade, Casey, Chris, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Elias, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jesse, Jimmy Nutts, Joie, Kristina, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Michael, Michael, Miracle, Nicholas, Radiah, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shawn, Teri, Tracy, Wendy, Wick, Xero, Yuri, Zoe.
August 4, 2022
Check out my YouTube channel where I show my instant reactions upon finishing reading fantasy books.
A wonderful fantasy time-loop story that is greater than the sum of it's parts
Mother of Learning is a series that has come up quite frequently as a recommendation from fans of "progression fantasy" fans after I have thoroughly enjoyed Cradle and some lesser known works in the same genre. If you aren't familiar, progression fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that features characters increasing in power and skill over time. For a very well known series that fits in this category, think Stormlight Archive.
This series started as a web-serial and was later converted into books, but unlike many web-serials it doesn't really read like one and if you didn't previously know this fact, you likely wouldn't pick up on it while reading.
I'm going to be somewhat critical of the book in my review as many of my review criteria get lower scores. However, this is a wonderful book that at the end of the day is just pure fun to read. And at the end of the day, isn't that really the most important thing when reading a book?
Story: 4/5
The story, without spoiling anything that isn't already on the back cover, is about a boy who is attending the first month of his third year in a mage academy. On the last day of the month, the academy is attacked by a foreign power and everyone dies. He suddenly finds himself right back where the first page of the book started and he is stuck in a time loop, where he has to live the same month over, and over, and over again. And each time he loops back, he keeps all his knowledge and powers from the previous books so he rather quickly becomes more powerful than everyone else his age.
The time loop is a story device that has been featured in several major movies, but not something I have personally read in literary form before. And as the time loops began I found myself thinking I was going to get rather bored of the constant repetition. But the author does a very good job of keeping things fresh and exciting. This is not just a book about the main character trying to figure out how to win this war, but it's about the mystery of why he is looping, how he can stop looping, and why this war is happening in the first place.
World Building: 3/5
The world building is fun and sucks you into the world, but it's extremely limited in scope with 95% of the book featuring the same location. And while I think it works for this specific story, it's definitely not a defining feature of this book like many other fantasy books.
Fantasy Elements: 5/5
The looping element in this book is very fun to read about and not something I have ever experienced in a fantasy novel. In addition, the cultivation of power throughout the loops is fun to watch, and the magic system utilized here - while not terribly unique - is a joy to read about. I think I'm a sucker for these progression fantasy type devices as a major fan of video games, but this book does a great job at exposing the reader to fun magical elements that are a joy to read about.
Characters: 4/5
For the first third of this book I would generously give the characters a 2/5 rating, as the main character is just an angsty teenager and his classmates don't get the necessary character development due to the plot device not allowing them to grow as people. But the main character takes a turn for the better as he learns more compassion throughout the story and he becomes quite likable. He also starts to develop deeper relationships with a large cast of characters and it's fun to read about these compelling back stories.
Writing Style: 3/5
The writing style here is not great, but is still passable from an enjoyable perspective. The author tends to write the adult characters rather poorly, and they all feel extremely similar to each other in terms of their demeanor and mannerisms.
However, the way he describes the magic - and the way he keeps things interesting with tight pacing is rather enjoyable.
Enjoyment: 4/5
I had a blast reading this book, and eagerly look forward to reading the next two books in this series. I would encourage any fantasy fan to give this book a try - but you need to read at least half the book in my opinion to really start to get a feel for what this story is trying to achieve.
A wonderful fantasy time-loop story that is greater than the sum of it's parts
Mother of Learning is a series that has come up quite frequently as a recommendation from fans of "progression fantasy" fans after I have thoroughly enjoyed Cradle and some lesser known works in the same genre. If you aren't familiar, progression fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that features characters increasing in power and skill over time. For a very well known series that fits in this category, think Stormlight Archive.
This series started as a web-serial and was later converted into books, but unlike many web-serials it doesn't really read like one and if you didn't previously know this fact, you likely wouldn't pick up on it while reading.
I'm going to be somewhat critical of the book in my review as many of my review criteria get lower scores. However, this is a wonderful book that at the end of the day is just pure fun to read. And at the end of the day, isn't that really the most important thing when reading a book?
Story: 4/5
The story, without spoiling anything that isn't already on the back cover, is about a boy who is attending the first month of his third year in a mage academy. On the last day of the month, the academy is attacked by a foreign power and everyone dies. He suddenly finds himself right back where the first page of the book started and he is stuck in a time loop, where he has to live the same month over, and over, and over again. And each time he loops back, he keeps all his knowledge and powers from the previous books so he rather quickly becomes more powerful than everyone else his age.
The time loop is a story device that has been featured in several major movies, but not something I have personally read in literary form before. And as the time loops began I found myself thinking I was going to get rather bored of the constant repetition. But the author does a very good job of keeping things fresh and exciting. This is not just a book about the main character trying to figure out how to win this war, but it's about the mystery of why he is looping, how he can stop looping, and why this war is happening in the first place.
World Building: 3/5
The world building is fun and sucks you into the world, but it's extremely limited in scope with 95% of the book featuring the same location. And while I think it works for this specific story, it's definitely not a defining feature of this book like many other fantasy books.
Fantasy Elements: 5/5
The looping element in this book is very fun to read about and not something I have ever experienced in a fantasy novel. In addition, the cultivation of power throughout the loops is fun to watch, and the magic system utilized here - while not terribly unique - is a joy to read about. I think I'm a sucker for these progression fantasy type devices as a major fan of video games, but this book does a great job at exposing the reader to fun magical elements that are a joy to read about.
Characters: 4/5
For the first third of this book I would generously give the characters a 2/5 rating, as the main character is just an angsty teenager and his classmates don't get the necessary character development due to the plot device not allowing them to grow as people. But the main character takes a turn for the better as he learns more compassion throughout the story and he becomes quite likable. He also starts to develop deeper relationships with a large cast of characters and it's fun to read about these compelling back stories.
Writing Style: 3/5
The writing style here is not great, but is still passable from an enjoyable perspective. The author tends to write the adult characters rather poorly, and they all feel extremely similar to each other in terms of their demeanor and mannerisms.
However, the way he describes the magic - and the way he keeps things interesting with tight pacing is rather enjoyable.
Enjoyment: 4/5
I had a blast reading this book, and eagerly look forward to reading the next two books in this series. I would encourage any fantasy fan to give this book a try - but you need to read at least half the book in my opinion to really start to get a feel for what this story is trying to achieve.
April 21, 2023
"Good morning, Brother!"
"I wouldn't recommend my methods of acquiring combat magic to anyone who isn't a time traveler. You tend to die a lot."
Mother of Learning, Arc #1 holds up extremely well to a second reading. It was fun, inventive and very satisfying! After having read the first three books in this series, the ending here worked for me in terms of how the time loop operates, and how our protagonist learns and adjusts to the changing circumstances. I am rounding up my rating from my original review (below).
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Starting as a web serial, Domagoj Kurmaić's Mother of Learning, Arc #1 (written under the pen name nobody103) is a fantastic time loop fantasy. Kurmaić does a great job of world-building in loops that are up to one month long and restart with our protagonist's, Zorian's, little sister jumping on his bed to wake him up in the morning. Zorian must figure out how to best use his limited time and see if he can somehow prevent an undead attack on his city. The premise is simple, but the exploration of this world, its magic system and the characters Zorian comes into contact with is interesting and quite entertaining. And despite the length of the work (something around 650 pages), I flew through this. The ending was a bit jarring because, I think, it really wasn't meant to be an ending. However, I picked up Mother of Learning, Arc #2 and happily continued from where I left off. 4.5 stars
"I wouldn't recommend my methods of acquiring combat magic to anyone who isn't a time traveler. You tend to die a lot."
Mother of Learning, Arc #1 holds up extremely well to a second reading. It was fun, inventive and very satisfying! After having read the first three books in this series, the ending here worked for me in terms of how the time loop operates, and how our protagonist learns and adjusts to the changing circumstances. I am rounding up my rating from my original review (below).
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Starting as a web serial, Domagoj Kurmaić's Mother of Learning, Arc #1 (written under the pen name nobody103) is a fantastic time loop fantasy. Kurmaić does a great job of world-building in loops that are up to one month long and restart with our protagonist's, Zorian's, little sister jumping on his bed to wake him up in the morning. Zorian must figure out how to best use his limited time and see if he can somehow prevent an undead attack on his city. The premise is simple, but the exploration of this world, its magic system and the characters Zorian comes into contact with is interesting and quite entertaining. And despite the length of the work (something around 650 pages), I flew through this. The ending was a bit jarring because, I think, it really wasn't meant to be an ending. However, I picked up Mother of Learning, Arc #2 and happily continued from where I left off. 4.5 stars
September 23, 2025
A fantastic book! Originally published online for free, Mother of Learning developed a cult following and soon Jack Voraces started reading the chapters online as a free podcast. I was 80+ chapters into it when Voraces had to discontinue the podcast, as the book was going to be published.
That was about two years ago, and I've been waiting anxiously for the published version to come out. I preordered both the Kindle copy and the Audible audiobook (something that I haven't done before).
Note that this edition is just "arc 1." It is not the complete story, and it does end on a cliffhanger. I can't quickly locate when the next arcs will be officially published, but several other reviewers indicate that the full text version is still available online for free. But if you can, support the author by buying a copy.
The audiobook version is also read by Jack Voraces, who does a wonderful job with the voices. But as I'd listened to 80+ hours of his podcasts, I knew I was going to be happy with that.
Strong recommend, tempered only by not having actually completed the entire book. Five stars.
That was about two years ago, and I've been waiting anxiously for the published version to come out. I preordered both the Kindle copy and the Audible audiobook (something that I haven't done before).
Note that this edition is just "arc 1." It is not the complete story, and it does end on a cliffhanger. I can't quickly locate when the next arcs will be officially published, but several other reviewers indicate that the full text version is still available online for free. But if you can, support the author by buying a copy.
The audiobook version is also read by Jack Voraces, who does a wonderful job with the voices. But as I'd listened to 80+ hours of his podcasts, I knew I was going to be happy with that.
Strong recommend, tempered only by not having actually completed the entire book. Five stars.
December 30, 2022
A simple, fun read. Perfect for turning your brain off and enjoying the show. Just don't expect anything more.
If you are at all familiar with role-playing games / video-games and with Harry Potter, you will find little new in the worldbuilding of Mother of Learning. Add to that the fact that both the time travel mechanic and the circumstances that lead to it are suspiciously similar to All You Need Is Kill (adapted to cinema as Edge of Tomorrow), and the result is a story which feels very familiar in every respect.
Still, there is value here. The story is fun and at times interesting, and the character of Zorian, while too much of an archetype, is mostly well written.
But there are issues with Zorian's relation to the plot: while he is presented as fairly above average when it comes to intelligence, he misses several extremely obvious plot-points, and fails to consider obvious courses of action when facing his problems. He's also surprised to learn things he should have known already (e.g. a character describes the type of magic he is using, and later on Zorian is surprised when told the type of the magic that was used). This happens several times, and feels like the author wishes to give hints to what happened and then have Zorian figure it out, only his "hints" are the equivalent of revealing the solution to the reader, making Zorian appear very unintelligent. It gets worse to the point of having a character say: "Watch out for X doing Y, because it means Z", and then a few chapters later Zorian sees X doing Y, and wonders in length as to why they did it and if there is a reason for it.
The overall feel of the world and character practically screams "generic". There are a lot of subplots about the intricacies of the magic system, and while there is a lot of information to learn about the system, it is quite unoriginal and completely shallow. It feels like reading the manual of an overly-complex (while not deep) RPG's mechanics. The magic seems very varied and flexible, but people keep resorting to bombs/fire/energy-beams instead of coming up with unique spells -- which we know is possible, because these do come up when the author decides it. Most battles are just people trowing colored light at each other.
The characters are all have their own quirks, but are otherwise rather shallow. They might be smart/stupid/strong/friendly/annoying, but are rarely explored holistically as people. Many of the adults talk like teenagers, and vice versa. The spiders seem to have been superficially inspired by Children of Time (though that may be because it's the only other book I read to specify these things about them). They also seem much too human in their behavior and constantly providing exposition.
There are many such cases of badly delivered exposition throughout the book, including enemies telling each other things both of them already know in a crude attempt to inform the reader, or characters speaking their thoughts out loud at times where it makes no sense for them to do so.
The plot, the characters, and the world are all simple and too unoriginal, taking no risks and attempting nothing of real value. Then again, when viewed as a book meant to be simple fun and nothing more, there's enough to enjoy here for the read to be worth the time spent.
As is usually with such stories, much of the magical mechanics revolve around "the soul", without ever defining what the word means (even just in the context of this story). The book is as far from a philosophy book as one can be, yet the discussions of souls is hilariously similar to actual discussions I've heard: people talk about it as if everyone know what it means, so no one has to say what it means; it hosts the mind but is not the mind (?); it is immortal but anything about it can be changed (??); it can be harmed to the point of not functioning (???).
The audiobook might just be the strangest one I've ever listened to. My first reaction was "this is terrible", as the narrator is overly theatrical and expressive in every aspect of his narration (to the point of making decisions regarding emphasis and pronunciation that were almost definitely not intended by the author), but as time went on I found myself fascinated by it. A clear advantage here is how the narrator kept me engaged for the entire length of the book (while other, "better" narrators had failed this in the past). And with time, I got used to the quirks of the narration until they didn't bother me at all anymore. One lesson from this audiobook, though: when a character makes a loud screeching noise, I don't want to actually hear a loud screeching noise.
If you are at all familiar with role-playing games / video-games and with Harry Potter, you will find little new in the worldbuilding of Mother of Learning. Add to that the fact that both the time travel mechanic and the circumstances that lead to it are suspiciously similar to All You Need Is Kill (adapted to cinema as Edge of Tomorrow), and the result is a story which feels very familiar in every respect.
Still, there is value here. The story is fun and at times interesting, and the character of Zorian, while too much of an archetype, is mostly well written.
But there are issues with Zorian's relation to the plot: while he is presented as fairly above average when it comes to intelligence, he misses several extremely obvious plot-points, and fails to consider obvious courses of action when facing his problems. He's also surprised to learn things he should have known already (e.g. a character describes the type of magic he is using, and later on Zorian is surprised when told the type of the magic that was used). This happens several times, and feels like the author wishes to give hints to what happened and then have Zorian figure it out, only his "hints" are the equivalent of revealing the solution to the reader, making Zorian appear very unintelligent. It gets worse to the point of having a character say: "Watch out for X doing Y, because it means Z", and then a few chapters later Zorian sees X doing Y, and wonders in length as to why they did it and if there is a reason for it.
The overall feel of the world and character practically screams "generic". There are a lot of subplots about the intricacies of the magic system, and while there is a lot of information to learn about the system, it is quite unoriginal and completely shallow. It feels like reading the manual of an overly-complex (while not deep) RPG's mechanics. The magic seems very varied and flexible, but people keep resorting to bombs/fire/energy-beams instead of coming up with unique spells -- which we know is possible, because these do come up when the author decides it. Most battles are just people trowing colored light at each other.
The characters are all have their own quirks, but are otherwise rather shallow. They might be smart/stupid/strong/friendly/annoying, but are rarely explored holistically as people. Many of the adults talk like teenagers, and vice versa. The spiders seem to have been superficially inspired by Children of Time (though that may be because it's the only other book I read to specify these things about them). They also seem much too human in their behavior and constantly providing exposition.
There are many such cases of badly delivered exposition throughout the book, including enemies telling each other things both of them already know in a crude attempt to inform the reader, or characters speaking their thoughts out loud at times where it makes no sense for them to do so.
The plot, the characters, and the world are all simple and too unoriginal, taking no risks and attempting nothing of real value. Then again, when viewed as a book meant to be simple fun and nothing more, there's enough to enjoy here for the read to be worth the time spent.
As is usually with such stories, much of the magical mechanics revolve around "the soul", without ever defining what the word means (even just in the context of this story). The book is as far from a philosophy book as one can be, yet the discussions of souls is hilariously similar to actual discussions I've heard: people talk about it as if everyone know what it means, so no one has to say what it means; it hosts the mind but is not the mind (?); it is immortal but anything about it can be changed (??); it can be harmed to the point of not functioning (???).
The audiobook might just be the strangest one I've ever listened to. My first reaction was "this is terrible", as the narrator is overly theatrical and expressive in every aspect of his narration (to the point of making decisions regarding emphasis and pronunciation that were almost definitely not intended by the author), but as time went on I found myself fascinated by it. A clear advantage here is how the narrator kept me engaged for the entire length of the book (while other, "better" narrators had failed this in the past). And with time, I got used to the quirks of the narration until they didn't bother me at all anymore. One lesson from this audiobook, though: when a character makes a loud screeching noise, I don't want to actually hear a loud screeching noise.
April 19, 2023
4.5/5 This was a lot of fun however there is a barrier to entry to first 20% is by design incredibly dull. HOWEVER! Once the time loop mechanic and progression aspects of the book take hold this book takes off and doesn’t let go. Lots of fun.
June 5, 2022
Mother of Learning is a very popular self-published web-serial. These have a reputation for quantity over quality, with authors publishing new chapters several times per week on RoyalRoad.com with no real editing or proofreading. While there is some diversity in the genre to overgeneralize somewhat they tend to feature: male power fantasies, generic fantasy worlds, lit-rpg and progression trappings, and so on.
Mother of Learning is not only actually complete, somewhat of a rarity in this space that prefers stories to stretch on endlessly, but features a time-loop, something I've always had a fondness for. So I decided to give it a chance and see if it is something I'd like.
Short version: Nope.
Nothing here was egregiously terrible. It reads quickly, despite its bloated page count. Some of the handling of the timeloop is pretty well done. The main character, despite still being a teenager, is a cautious and thoughtful planner, which is a nice change of pace from what you normally see in these kind of protagonists.
But the writing is, unsurprisingly, extremely amateurish. I don't say that to mean that it is bad per se. But there is approximately zero description of anything in the world. Nearly nonexistent worldbuilding. Characters that are flat as cardboard, all sound like one another, and serve no purpose except to help the main character level up. Dialogue that is, at best, functional and serves mostly exposition or training purposes.
There is very little here except 600 pages of Zorian starting a time-loop, deciding what magic skills he's going to level up this time around, and then practicing until the loop resets.
Which is a shame because there are dribs and drabs of stuff that could have been great. No just the big mystery of why there's a time loop and why these certain people are stuck in it. There's an invasion on the last day before the loop resets and Zorian spends much of the book strangely incurious about it. He has a mentor who is bizarrely over-the-top hard to please and maybe there could be an interesting character there but who knows? And a dozen more things small and large like that, usually relegated to a single throwaway line before the author gets back to, eventually quite tedious, training and leveling up montage stuff.
Fans of the series tell me that if I just read another 1,000 pages it gets better. I have no reason to disbelieve them but I also already gave the author 600 pages to entice me and...it isn't for me.
Mother of Learning is not only actually complete, somewhat of a rarity in this space that prefers stories to stretch on endlessly, but features a time-loop, something I've always had a fondness for. So I decided to give it a chance and see if it is something I'd like.
Short version: Nope.
Nothing here was egregiously terrible. It reads quickly, despite its bloated page count. Some of the handling of the timeloop is pretty well done. The main character, despite still being a teenager, is a cautious and thoughtful planner, which is a nice change of pace from what you normally see in these kind of protagonists.
But the writing is, unsurprisingly, extremely amateurish. I don't say that to mean that it is bad per se. But there is approximately zero description of anything in the world. Nearly nonexistent worldbuilding. Characters that are flat as cardboard, all sound like one another, and serve no purpose except to help the main character level up. Dialogue that is, at best, functional and serves mostly exposition or training purposes.
There is very little here except 600 pages of Zorian starting a time-loop, deciding what magic skills he's going to level up this time around, and then practicing until the loop resets.
Which is a shame because there are dribs and drabs of stuff that could have been great. No just the big mystery of why there's a time loop and why these certain people are stuck in it. There's an invasion on the last day before the loop resets and Zorian spends much of the book strangely incurious about it. He has a mentor who is bizarrely over-the-top hard to please and maybe there could be an interesting character there but who knows? And a dozen more things small and large like that, usually relegated to a single throwaway line before the author gets back to, eventually quite tedious, training and leveling up montage stuff.
Fans of the series tell me that if I just read another 1,000 pages it gets better. I have no reason to disbelieve them but I also already gave the author 600 pages to entice me and...it isn't for me.
dnf
September 15, 2024soft dnf, i really hope to come back later but the writing is so bad and juvenile omg, i was trying to give it a chance but im already struggling with fantasy rn and im on the verge of a reading slump so ill try again eventually
March 7, 2022
Possibly the best fantasy book I’ve read to date. Domagoj’s writing is not perfect or completely even, the roots of this book strongly showing from it’s inception as a web serial later turned into a book. Some of the parts can indeed feel a bit rushed and you might find yourself at times wondering if the characters arent cut from the same cloth.
However, what few shortcomings this book series might have, are by far overwhelmed by the marvelous number of things the book does well. Oh and how well it does them; I have never seen a magic system more well thought out and crafted, both simple and amazingly complex at the same time, leaving the reader with the feeling that they, too, after the journey, learned magic.
It’s world was one I was strongly drawn to, keeping it’s sense of awe, wonder, mystery and danger. In a word, it was adventure.
And finally, I came to love both the story and it’s character(s). And it’s one I find it easy to return to. Unlike books like Worth the Candle, Worm and HPMoR, the world is not so grimly dark and opressive and I dont have to feel like I’m almost punishing myself reading the book, for all the love that I have for them.
Mother of Learning is special and the book has earned it’s place among my shelf as one of my all time favorites. If I could give a gold star to a book it would be this one. And while it’s not perfect, it’s a book I can love despite it’s flaws, whatever they might be.
However, what few shortcomings this book series might have, are by far overwhelmed by the marvelous number of things the book does well. Oh and how well it does them; I have never seen a magic system more well thought out and crafted, both simple and amazingly complex at the same time, leaving the reader with the feeling that they, too, after the journey, learned magic.
It’s world was one I was strongly drawn to, keeping it’s sense of awe, wonder, mystery and danger. In a word, it was adventure.
And finally, I came to love both the story and it’s character(s). And it’s one I find it easy to return to. Unlike books like Worth the Candle, Worm and HPMoR, the world is not so grimly dark and opressive and I dont have to feel like I’m almost punishing myself reading the book, for all the love that I have for them.
Mother of Learning is special and the book has earned it’s place among my shelf as one of my all time favorites. If I could give a gold star to a book it would be this one. And while it’s not perfect, it’s a book I can love despite it’s flaws, whatever they might be.
September 10, 2025
4.5 stars. A time loop, a student who has to improve rapidly in order to save his world, and a fascinating magic system make Mother of Learning's first book an absolute treat to read.
Yes, it started out as a web serial, but if that's the reason you haven't tried this series and you like progression fantasy and time loops, please don't let this deter you. This book is pure fun! And so incredibly gripping. I basically devoured it, reading on my phone whenever I possibly could.
No, the prose isn't the best I've ever seen, but it's easily accessible and flows nicely. There isn't a lot of worldbuilding either, most of the plot unfolds in one place, and there is limited scope. And since this story is set in a time loop, the characters don't grow all that much either.
The pacing, however, is incredible. The plot is tight, clever, and the addiction factor high. The stakes are high, and the main character is intelligent and fairly mature.
Recommended to fans of progression fantasy.
Yes, it started out as a web serial, but if that's the reason you haven't tried this series and you like progression fantasy and time loops, please don't let this deter you. This book is pure fun! And so incredibly gripping. I basically devoured it, reading on my phone whenever I possibly could.
No, the prose isn't the best I've ever seen, but it's easily accessible and flows nicely. There isn't a lot of worldbuilding either, most of the plot unfolds in one place, and there is limited scope. And since this story is set in a time loop, the characters don't grow all that much either.
The pacing, however, is incredible. The plot is tight, clever, and the addiction factor high. The stakes are high, and the main character is intelligent and fairly mature.
Recommended to fans of progression fantasy.
July 13, 2025
świetne, totalnie dla geeków XD poziom kombinowania bardzo mi pasuje, lubię głównego bohatera. przeraża tylko fakt, że to chyba nie jest zakończone 😅
EDIT: jest zakończone, tylko audiobooka nie widzę XD
EDIT: jest zakończone, tylko audiobooka nie widzę XD
March 9, 2022
Web series aren't as well-known as they should be. Like most people, I wasn't aware of their presence before I was delving deeply into Fantasy.
Web Serials or Web Series are written stories which are periodically published (usually) for free on the internet and they may sometimes attract quite a much fandom around them.
In this case, Mother of Learning was popular enough to be published via a major publication, albeit its free accessibility on the web. Keep in mind that this is only Arc one and there are still more books to come in the near future.
I personally, love time travel and doesn't seem to find the right book for that particular itch. That was, in fact, how I learned about web series in the first place, so reading Mother of Learning after its publication was no brainer for me.
Now, is this really a time travel book? Well, that's debatable. I don't find the time loop trope as such, maybe a close relative but not the same exactly.
Both are fun though, each focuses on different aspects of storytelling.
So, How was the book?
First of all, I'm here for the story and not the literature value so prose was not on my list from the beginning. Meanwhile, a good prose can transform the most boring passages into intriguing bits; and the lack of it was sensible throughout the book.
Right next to that, characterization, worldbuilding, magic system and all that were acceptable. Nothing eye catching, but good enough to read.
I liked the idea, a whole month loop instead of a single day, or a lifetime, wasn't how I was imagining it on my mind. I found the overall story really amusing and fun to read. It gave much to be focused on for different parts of the story.
Spiders and the Empathy was what saved the second half for me, after time loop was getting rather repetitive. I didn't know I like Spiders and Telepathy combination this much, but I seem to do.
All and all, cool ideas and good execution.
On the other hand, consistency was deeply missing. Some chapters were a long stretch of nothingness and some other were action packed, while others were academic and study-focused.
The main reason to it being 3 stars instead of 4(as I was originally intending to give, up until the very end) was the ending itself. I can't even call it that, more like an abrupt cutting of the story flow. It was very unsatisfactory and anticlimactic. While I understand this is only one part of a whole story, I still demand some sort of ending. Some twist maybe? A sudden revelation of an unexpected aspect of the story? Anything was better than that!
I know, I'm ranting about a book's ending that wasn't even supposed to be a book to start with, but again, imagine reading a story only to find out a chunk of the book's last pages is missing (a rather considerable amount of the book pages that is, maybe some thousands pages or so?). That's similar to how I'm feeling now.
To sum it up, It was fun reading the Mother of Learning. My perfect book of time travel is still to be found, but until then, I settle with what I already have.
Web Serials or Web Series are written stories which are periodically published (usually) for free on the internet and they may sometimes attract quite a much fandom around them.
In this case, Mother of Learning was popular enough to be published via a major publication, albeit its free accessibility on the web. Keep in mind that this is only Arc one and there are still more books to come in the near future.
I personally, love time travel and doesn't seem to find the right book for that particular itch. That was, in fact, how I learned about web series in the first place, so reading Mother of Learning after its publication was no brainer for me.
Now, is this really a time travel book? Well, that's debatable. I don't find the time loop trope as such, maybe a close relative but not the same exactly.
Both are fun though, each focuses on different aspects of storytelling.
So, How was the book?
First of all, I'm here for the story and not the literature value so prose was not on my list from the beginning. Meanwhile, a good prose can transform the most boring passages into intriguing bits; and the lack of it was sensible throughout the book.
Right next to that, characterization, worldbuilding, magic system and all that were acceptable. Nothing eye catching, but good enough to read.
I liked the idea, a whole month loop instead of a single day, or a lifetime, wasn't how I was imagining it on my mind. I found the overall story really amusing and fun to read. It gave much to be focused on for different parts of the story.
Spiders and the Empathy was what saved the second half for me, after time loop was getting rather repetitive. I didn't know I like Spiders and Telepathy combination this much, but I seem to do.
All and all, cool ideas and good execution.
On the other hand, consistency was deeply missing. Some chapters were a long stretch of nothingness and some other were action packed, while others were academic and study-focused.
The main reason to it being 3 stars instead of 4(as I was originally intending to give, up until the very end) was the ending itself. I can't even call it that, more like an abrupt cutting of the story flow. It was very unsatisfactory and anticlimactic. While I understand this is only one part of a whole story, I still demand some sort of ending. Some twist maybe? A sudden revelation of an unexpected aspect of the story? Anything was better than that!
I know, I'm ranting about a book's ending that wasn't even supposed to be a book to start with, but again, imagine reading a story only to find out a chunk of the book's last pages is missing (a rather considerable amount of the book pages that is, maybe some thousands pages or so?). That's similar to how I'm feeling now.
To sum it up, It was fun reading the Mother of Learning. My perfect book of time travel is still to be found, but until then, I settle with what I already have.
February 19, 2025
Sięgnęłam po tę książkę z pewną dozą nieufności. Niby słyszałam głosy zachwytu, ale nie sądziłam, że czytanie o tym jak uczeń szkoły magii tkwi w pętli czasu i podnosi swoje umiejętności będzie dla mnie wystarczająco interesujące. Myślałam, że to się przecież musi znudzić po jakimś czasie, prawda?
Otóż nie. Książka przykuła moją uwagę nie tylko tym dzikim konceptem, ale też ciekawym światem i interakcjami między głównym bohaterem a jego otoczeniem. Kolejne restarty odkrywają przed nami nowe możliwości, poznajemy bliżej osoby w otoczeniu Zoriana, staramy się rozwiązać zagadkę pętli czasu a przy okazji powstrzymać inwazję. Nie czułam większego znudzenia powtarzalnością pewnych sekwencji tak jak się bałam, co więcej, pewna okresowa powtarzalność wydarzeń była dość uspokajająca i upewnieła mnie, że historia jest na dobrych torach.
Wciągnęłam się w historię i już nie mogę się doczekać lektury kolejnej części i dalszego podnoszenia umiejętności Zoriana, jego prób powstrzymania inwazji i zakończenia pętli.
Otóż nie. Książka przykuła moją uwagę nie tylko tym dzikim konceptem, ale też ciekawym światem i interakcjami między głównym bohaterem a jego otoczeniem. Kolejne restarty odkrywają przed nami nowe możliwości, poznajemy bliżej osoby w otoczeniu Zoriana, staramy się rozwiązać zagadkę pętli czasu a przy okazji powstrzymać inwazję. Nie czułam większego znudzenia powtarzalnością pewnych sekwencji tak jak się bałam, co więcej, pewna okresowa powtarzalność wydarzeń była dość uspokajająca i upewnieła mnie, że historia jest na dobrych torach.
Wciągnęłam się w historię i już nie mogę się doczekać lektury kolejnej części i dalszego podnoszenia umiejętności Zoriana, jego prób powstrzymania inwazji i zakończenia pętli.
November 30, 2025
Well damn, that was fun! To summarise it briefly, this is Edge of Tomorrow (Re Zero, Stein’s Gate, etc.) meets Harry Potter with a fun twist. Honestly, I was just planning to listen to this incredible audiobook on the side while I was typing my Expanse reviews and as a light read, as I’m currently finishing the Dark Tower series. I didn’t expect to finish this book in 3 days. This is my 3rd web series, and each time it has been a success (Worm and Wandering Inn were the previous 2), though if you told me this was officially published, I would believe you. In my previous 2 web series, you could always tell it was a web series based on how it uses its medium to tell its story (especially The Wandering Inn). There are qualities to those two series which wouldn’t make sense in a conventionally published novel. But here that’s not the case, it’s structured as you would expect from a normal novel, which in turn makes this an addictive and fast read.
This is firstly a coming of age following our unlikely protagonist, Zorian Kazinski, in his 3rd year of high school. He’s not the most likeable protagonist from the offset, though you soon realise that’s the point. Seeing how he grows and develops within each restart is a joy. I have to give props to Jack Voraces, the narrator captures the voice of Zorian so perfectly with his astute observation, witty remarks and fun internal narration. I heard this was originally a podcast before turning into an official audiobook. It’s incredibly rewarding seeing how he slowly gets to understand people from his peers to his family. The message it projects is quite hopeful despite, well, the grim circumstances of repeatedly being murdered, and, well, your loved ones also die in the process.
It's interesting that the title is called Mother of Learning (i.e., repetition) because the series is rarely repetitive. The novel is able to communicate how years have transpired yet never feel redundant. It’s really well written in that sense, the momentum of the narrative is never hindered by the catalyst of the plot, but the opposite is true: it enhances it through each restart.
The magic system and world are one of the highlights. It’s incredibly consistent and thought out. The magic has its rules and constraints, yet there’s that flexibility to it. Like, for example, there are Spiders who can use telepathy and even Spiders who are mages, and it makes perfect sense. I think most importantly, it's in service for the characters and not the opposite, where the magic system is more important than even the plot.
The writing is perfectly fine. It will win no award in terms of its prose, but it’s functional and communicates what the author intends. In conclusion, Arc 1 was really fun, imaginative and addictive; it had that one-chapter quality to it, and I ended up bingeing most of the book in a single day.
8/10
This is firstly a coming of age following our unlikely protagonist, Zorian Kazinski, in his 3rd year of high school. He’s not the most likeable protagonist from the offset, though you soon realise that’s the point. Seeing how he grows and develops within each restart is a joy. I have to give props to Jack Voraces, the narrator captures the voice of Zorian so perfectly with his astute observation, witty remarks and fun internal narration. I heard this was originally a podcast before turning into an official audiobook. It’s incredibly rewarding seeing how he slowly gets to understand people from his peers to his family. The message it projects is quite hopeful despite, well, the grim circumstances of repeatedly being murdered, and, well, your loved ones also die in the process.
It's interesting that the title is called Mother of Learning (i.e., repetition) because the series is rarely repetitive. The novel is able to communicate how years have transpired yet never feel redundant. It’s really well written in that sense, the momentum of the narrative is never hindered by the catalyst of the plot, but the opposite is true: it enhances it through each restart.
The magic system and world are one of the highlights. It’s incredibly consistent and thought out. The magic has its rules and constraints, yet there’s that flexibility to it. Like, for example, there are Spiders who can use telepathy and even Spiders who are mages, and it makes perfect sense. I think most importantly, it's in service for the characters and not the opposite, where the magic system is more important than even the plot.
The writing is perfectly fine. It will win no award in terms of its prose, but it’s functional and communicates what the author intends. In conclusion, Arc 1 was really fun, imaginative and addictive; it had that one-chapter quality to it, and I ended up bingeing most of the book in a single day.
8/10
April 23, 2023
You could describe this series as Harry Potter meets Groundhog Day. It's evidently what I've been waiting for in my life. After finishing the 4th and final volume of this series, I felt like I needed to come back and write something a bit more cohesive for this review.
Our main character is Zorian Kazinski, a teenage wizard who attends a Hogwarts-esque school for mages, who is pulled into a time-loop wherein the period of a single month repeats seemingly without end.
Aside from the premise, which I already loved, the characters were potentially the strongest part of the story for me. Time-loop plots are uniquely capable of demonstrating (or exposing) depth of characterization. I think the author did a fantastic job and I found myself invested and interested in many of the characters beyond our MC.
I also really enjoyed the magic system of this setting. It's obviously inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, but quite different since it departs from the Vancian magic standard of spell slots and uses the mana expenditure/regeneration model instead. Which I am all for. I really like a lot of the D&D content, but the way the system works is too game mechanics oriented for my enjoyment. Likewise, I appreciated how the author filled the pages with lots of unexpected outcomes without resorting to the comic buffoonery that D&D stories often rely on to show critically low dice rolls.
I would recommend this series highly to anyone who enjoys time-loops, magic, and even just fantasy in general. This is one of the most consistently interesting and enjoyable series that I've read.
Our main character is Zorian Kazinski, a teenage wizard who attends a Hogwarts-esque school for mages, who is pulled into a time-loop wherein the period of a single month repeats seemingly without end.
Aside from the premise, which I already loved, the characters were potentially the strongest part of the story for me. Time-loop plots are uniquely capable of demonstrating (or exposing) depth of characterization. I think the author did a fantastic job and I found myself invested and interested in many of the characters beyond our MC.
I also really enjoyed the magic system of this setting. It's obviously inspired by Dungeons & Dragons, but quite different since it departs from the Vancian magic standard of spell slots and uses the mana expenditure/regeneration model instead. Which I am all for. I really like a lot of the D&D content, but the way the system works is too game mechanics oriented for my enjoyment. Likewise, I appreciated how the author filled the pages with lots of unexpected outcomes without resorting to the comic buffoonery that D&D stories often rely on to show critically low dice rolls.
I would recommend this series highly to anyone who enjoys time-loops, magic, and even just fantasy in general. This is one of the most consistently interesting and enjoyable series that I've read.
July 14, 2023
DNF
I'm trying to be more lenient with myself. Usually, if I start something I HAVE to finish it. But in this case, I was 70% of the way through and just didn't care. It's a shame, I was really excited for this story since everyone online raves about it being one of the best pieces of web fiction on offer.
What I liked:
- Clever, consistent worldbuilding/ magic system. I actually thought the author's magic system was really well thought-out, it felt very real to me despite being complicated. I also liked the idea of wellsprings of magic emanating from deeper and deeper tunnels that get progressively more dangerous
- I love time loop stories! they're so satisfying, and it makes a great setting for a progression fantasy
- The main character isn't overpowered. Yes, he's clever and so on, but he's less talented and has a smaller mana pool than most other characters, which is a great start for a story.
What I didn't like:
- Zorian is unlikable and boring, and other character's are cartoonish. The women are all written even worse somehow. In short, the character writing is bad
- The prose is really average, which isn't always a bad thing but in this case it rubbed me the wrong way for whatever reason. I know the author isn't a native English speaker and I respect what he's done here, but I didn't like the style
- The story feels very directionless, at least up to the point I reached 70% of the way through the first arc. Zorian just kind of goes around doing stuff and I just didn't care about the stakes, the action, or any of the characters
- There is zero emotional component to the book. The plot that DOES exist feels like problem-solving, not like a story. Zorian has no emotional depth, no connection to anyone, no heart. You have no reason to care, and it didn't feel like the story was building to anything more satisfying than 'this guy learned to do magic a bit better'. Where's the hook?
I'm aware that the story probably gets better, and a lot of these setups get paid off later (in what I've heard are very satisfying ways). But I'm just not compelled to spend the time to get there.
4/10
I'm trying to be more lenient with myself. Usually, if I start something I HAVE to finish it. But in this case, I was 70% of the way through and just didn't care. It's a shame, I was really excited for this story since everyone online raves about it being one of the best pieces of web fiction on offer.
What I liked:
- Clever, consistent worldbuilding/ magic system. I actually thought the author's magic system was really well thought-out, it felt very real to me despite being complicated. I also liked the idea of wellsprings of magic emanating from deeper and deeper tunnels that get progressively more dangerous
- I love time loop stories! they're so satisfying, and it makes a great setting for a progression fantasy
- The main character isn't overpowered. Yes, he's clever and so on, but he's less talented and has a smaller mana pool than most other characters, which is a great start for a story.
What I didn't like:
- Zorian is unlikable and boring, and other character's are cartoonish. The women are all written even worse somehow. In short, the character writing is bad
- The prose is really average, which isn't always a bad thing but in this case it rubbed me the wrong way for whatever reason. I know the author isn't a native English speaker and I respect what he's done here, but I didn't like the style
- The story feels very directionless, at least up to the point I reached 70% of the way through the first arc. Zorian just kind of goes around doing stuff and I just didn't care about the stakes, the action, or any of the characters
- There is zero emotional component to the book. The plot that DOES exist feels like problem-solving, not like a story. Zorian has no emotional depth, no connection to anyone, no heart. You have no reason to care, and it didn't feel like the story was building to anything more satisfying than 'this guy learned to do magic a bit better'. Where's the hook?
I'm aware that the story probably gets better, and a lot of these setups get paid off later (in what I've heard are very satisfying ways). But I'm just not compelled to spend the time to get there.
4/10
December 24, 2024
A time loop, a student who has to use this extra time to improve rapidly in order to save his world, and an expansive magic system.
Zorian is attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy when he is murdered. Zorian then wakes up again at the beginning of the month, just before leaving academy. Trapped in a time loop he clearly wasn’t supposed to be part of with no clear end or exit, Zorian needs to work out what is going on.
This was my brother’s pick and it felt very RPG to me. Due to the constant restarting, relationship development is less at the forefront and instead Zorian’s skilling up is his aim alongside trying to hide his time traveller ability and work out the true big bad.
Due to this, it felt repetitive and jarring.
I did like how certain characters we initially disliked or found annoying grew on us as different time loops introduced Zorian to them in different circumstances or with different goals in mind.
First of all, everything matters. You are what you do, and if I were to start doing stupid things just because there is seemingly no consequence for them, those actions would eventually come to define me. There might be no right answer, but Zorian knew from experience that there was always a wrong answer.
I don’t think I will be continuing this series.
I should have dnf’ed at 80% but I kept going and found myself zoning out regularly. Also, I was curious to how it ended as I know this is set-up for a long series. Each book is 26 hours +!
Bookstagram
Zorian is attending his third year of education at Cyoria's magical academy when he is murdered. Zorian then wakes up again at the beginning of the month, just before leaving academy. Trapped in a time loop he clearly wasn’t supposed to be part of with no clear end or exit, Zorian needs to work out what is going on.
This was my brother’s pick and it felt very RPG to me. Due to the constant restarting, relationship development is less at the forefront and instead Zorian’s skilling up is his aim alongside trying to hide his time traveller ability and work out the true big bad.
Due to this, it felt repetitive and jarring.
I did like how certain characters we initially disliked or found annoying grew on us as different time loops introduced Zorian to them in different circumstances or with different goals in mind.
First of all, everything matters. You are what you do, and if I were to start doing stupid things just because there is seemingly no consequence for them, those actions would eventually come to define me. There might be no right answer, but Zorian knew from experience that there was always a wrong answer.
I don’t think I will be continuing this series.
I should have dnf’ed at 80% but I kept going and found myself zoning out regularly. Also, I was curious to how it ended as I know this is set-up for a long series. Each book is 26 hours +!
Bookstagram
June 12, 2022
I love fiction where the main character is forced into a time loop and has to figure out a way to break it.
In the Morning of Learning, the MC figures out that this is a golden opportunity to learn as much as they can, while also trying to figure out what is going on. I like how the whole plot works, the action, the character development, the world building as well as the dénouement.
Yeah, this is a perfect story, in my opinion. I can't think of anything that needs to be changed. Perfect for litRPG fans as well as general fantasy readers as well.
In the Morning of Learning, the MC figures out that this is a golden opportunity to learn as much as they can, while also trying to figure out what is going on. I like how the whole plot works, the action, the character development, the world building as well as the dénouement.
Yeah, this is a perfect story, in my opinion. I can't think of anything that needs to be changed. Perfect for litRPG fans as well as general fantasy readers as well.
December 8, 2021
Best Book I’ve read this year.
Just read it. It’s the best book I’ve read in a very long time. It takes a while to get going but once it does it won’t stop.
Just read it. It’s the best book I’ve read in a very long time. It takes a while to get going but once it does it won’t stop.
May 31, 2023
Фентъзи с шестнайсетгодишен главен герой, ново училище и първи учебен ден, съучениците така, пък учителите онака, тоя е популярен, оня не е, тоя учител е добър, оня го мрази ... Има ли нещо по-банално, по-"Young Adult" малоумно, по-клиширано и от което гледам да стоя колкото се може по-далече?
С всичко гореизброено, Mother of Learning в началото крета едва-едва, но скоро и съвсем неочаквано избухва като бомба - и тогава истинското действие започва. И то също е бая (и дори съвсем) неочаквано, защото книгата изобщо, ама изобщо не е "YA".
Toва е може би най-популярната книга от т.н. "рационално фентъзи", оригинално е публикувана изцяло в интернет и е две хиляди страници на английски. И си заслужава всяка една от тях.
С всичко гореизброено, Mother of Learning в началото крета едва-едва, но скоро и съвсем неочаквано избухва като бомба - и тогава истинското действие започва. И то също е бая (и дори съвсем) неочаквано, защото книгата изобщо, ама изобщо не е "YA".
Toва е може би най-популярната книга от т.н. "рационално фентъзи", оригинално е публикувана изцяло в интернет и е две хиляди страници на английски. И си заслужава всяка една от тях.
October 7, 2022
I am vexed. On the one hand, I truly understand why people are so captivated by this novel and the world created by the author. On the other, I am frustrated that so many are choosing to ignore the glaring issues that pervade every single page.
Domagoj Kurmaić is not a good writer. Oh, he is certainly superb when it comes to spinning a complex tale, and he also does it with some skill. In fact, I am very much impressed that he was able to keep track of so many branching plotlines. Many a fantasy author have struggled with that (looking at you G.R.R. Martin). But I'm afraid it's all for naught as Kurmaić writes like a university freshman who just took a creative writing class.
Firstly, his prose is atrocious, and just, juvenile. He is not very descriptive in any sense; kids in high school can paint a better picture with words than Kurmaić. There's never even a serious attempt to describe and develop characters in any meaningful way. I read 2300+ pages and I struggle to remember any character descriptions beyond the protagonists and a couple of other characters. It's this barebones approach that started to grind my gears 100 pages in and that feeling never went away.
Kurmaić really needs to learn to differentiate his character voices. They all sound the same. Every single one! From the main characters to 1000-year-old Liches to giant spiders to literal dragons. The same droning, somewhat monotonous, and slightly patronizing tone of voice that drove me nuts! At first I thought there is a clever twist involved with the whole time loop mechanism, but nope. He is just a bad writer. There were times when I failed, or just stopped caring, to realize who's speaking, because it really doesn't matter, because they all speak the same way.
Finally, Kurmaić is way too liberal with his page count. A good 200-300 pages could be disposed of, with no significant change to the main plot. It's just a whole lot of Zorian, the main character, training. Which could be and is fun, but it also could be streamlined. I don't know if this book has an editor, but I suspect a good one might trim a little bit and make the entire story more tighter and flow better. I think most of the narrative problems that this books suffers from are due to the weekly release. When you're not delivering a book with certain page count, you tend to become looser with your narrative.
Despite all of these problems, I still enjoyed the read. Simply due to the fact that it has such a entertaining storyline. Time loop is a fun plot device to play around with, and Kurmaić seems to understand how to make it work and seem more interesting. I was never really bored. Even when the characters started rambling. The magic system was structured and clearly designed with a lot of thought. It's fantastical and logical. I especially loved the mind magic. It's also not a predictable story. There were a couple of good rugpulls that got me. And for all that I say, writing a book is a fucking tough thing to do. It seems Kurmaić is aware of his shortcomings and working towards being a better writer. All the more power to him. I hope he succeeds because I think there's a talented writer hiding under all of this.
Phew, that's probably my longest review yet. If anyone made it this far, I think you should still check this one out. Just have the right expectations when you do.
Domagoj Kurmaić is not a good writer. Oh, he is certainly superb when it comes to spinning a complex tale, and he also does it with some skill. In fact, I am very much impressed that he was able to keep track of so many branching plotlines. Many a fantasy author have struggled with that (looking at you G.R.R. Martin). But I'm afraid it's all for naught as Kurmaić writes like a university freshman who just took a creative writing class.
Firstly, his prose is atrocious, and just, juvenile. He is not very descriptive in any sense; kids in high school can paint a better picture with words than Kurmaić. There's never even a serious attempt to describe and develop characters in any meaningful way. I read 2300+ pages and I struggle to remember any character descriptions beyond the protagonists and a couple of other characters. It's this barebones approach that started to grind my gears 100 pages in and that feeling never went away.
Kurmaić really needs to learn to differentiate his character voices. They all sound the same. Every single one! From the main characters to 1000-year-old Liches to giant spiders to literal dragons. The same droning, somewhat monotonous, and slightly patronizing tone of voice that drove me nuts! At first I thought there is a clever twist involved with the whole time loop mechanism, but nope. He is just a bad writer. There were times when I failed, or just stopped caring, to realize who's speaking, because it really doesn't matter, because they all speak the same way.
Finally, Kurmaić is way too liberal with his page count. A good 200-300 pages could be disposed of, with no significant change to the main plot. It's just a whole lot of Zorian, the main character, training. Which could be and is fun, but it also could be streamlined. I don't know if this book has an editor, but I suspect a good one might trim a little bit and make the entire story more tighter and flow better. I think most of the narrative problems that this books suffers from are due to the weekly release. When you're not delivering a book with certain page count, you tend to become looser with your narrative.
Despite all of these problems, I still enjoyed the read. Simply due to the fact that it has such a entertaining storyline. Time loop is a fun plot device to play around with, and Kurmaić seems to understand how to make it work and seem more interesting. I was never really bored. Even when the characters started rambling. The magic system was structured and clearly designed with a lot of thought. It's fantastical and logical. I especially loved the mind magic. It's also not a predictable story. There were a couple of good rugpulls that got me. And for all that I say, writing a book is a fucking tough thing to do. It seems Kurmaić is aware of his shortcomings and working towards being a better writer. All the more power to him. I hope he succeeds because I think there's a talented writer hiding under all of this.
Phew, that's probably my longest review yet. If anyone made it this far, I think you should still check this one out. Just have the right expectations when you do.
March 16, 2025
4.5 stars
Okay so I'm going to tell you who won't like this book, if you are the type of person who hates having to do the boss fight 15 fucking times in a video game because you keep doing one silly thing wrong each time, this book won't be for you. If you don't like DnD, RPGs, or Magic School settings you won't like this.
But if you're like me, and you love that shit, this will absolutely work for you. With a clever writing style that doesn't waste time explaining the type of world you are in right away, you know where we are, we are at a knockoff Hogwarts thrown in a blender with a DnD Campaign. Instead the author uses the plot device (time loop) itself to build the world over and over and over again.
I loved it. I loved the characters, who are teenagers yes (15 as they are in their 3rd year of this school), but this is not a YA series. The world is dark the magic is interesting and this is not what you expect it to be.
I devoured book 1, I'm so excited for book 2 and to see how the hell any of us survive this chaos hahaha
Okay so I'm going to tell you who won't like this book, if you are the type of person who hates having to do the boss fight 15 fucking times in a video game because you keep doing one silly thing wrong each time, this book won't be for you. If you don't like DnD, RPGs, or Magic School settings you won't like this.
But if you're like me, and you love that shit, this will absolutely work for you. With a clever writing style that doesn't waste time explaining the type of world you are in right away, you know where we are, we are at a knockoff Hogwarts thrown in a blender with a DnD Campaign. Instead the author uses the plot device (time loop) itself to build the world over and over and over again.
I loved it. I loved the characters, who are teenagers yes (15 as they are in their 3rd year of this school), but this is not a YA series. The world is dark the magic is interesting and this is not what you expect it to be.
I devoured book 1, I'm so excited for book 2 and to see how the hell any of us survive this chaos hahaha
February 23, 2022
Somehow, no idea how, I missed the big selling point right there on the blurb: the time loop. I just picked this up on a recommendation, I think.
So for a few chapters I was thinking this was maybe gonna be a less interesting take on the kind of stuff Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality covers, or perhaps something like John Bierce's Mage Errant series.
Nope.
Time loop.
It's very well executed given the challenge of keeping things interesting as the loop repeats, and it doesn't overcomplicate its lore or magic systems so you can focus on keeping the timey-wimey stuff straight rather than getting bogged down in extraneous worldbuilding.
I'm gonna go straight to where the whole serialised thing is available for free and just keep going, I think - it's that engaging.
So for a few chapters I was thinking this was maybe gonna be a less interesting take on the kind of stuff Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality covers, or perhaps something like John Bierce's Mage Errant series.
Nope.
Time loop.
It's very well executed given the challenge of keeping things interesting as the loop repeats, and it doesn't overcomplicate its lore or magic systems so you can focus on keeping the timey-wimey stuff straight rather than getting bogged down in extraneous worldbuilding.
I'm gonna go straight to where the whole serialised thing is available for free and just keep going, I think - it's that engaging.
October 29, 2025
Never before have I changed my opinion on a book so drastically while reading it as with this one. It started off as a 5 star book and ended up a "I don't want to rate it so I don't mess up the overall GR rating for a book written by a Croatian author"book.
I basically hate-read the last 10% of the book. And the ending! WOW man, the ending. I thought it couldn't get worse, but somehow it did.
EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER starting with 15% is an infodump. EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Man this book, I wish someone who knew how to write wrote it.
I basically hate-read the last 10% of the book. And the ending! WOW man, the ending. I thought it couldn't get worse, but somehow it did.
EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER starting with 15% is an infodump. EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Man this book, I wish someone who knew how to write wrote it.
May 14, 2024
I had fun reading Mother of Learning, part of which may be attributed to the fact that I was totally shocked that it was a time loop story. One of the perks of deciding to read a book without really knowing what it’s about.
I liked Zorian and his progression, I liked the characters, and I liked the magic.
Zorian’s progression was much like that in a “classic” shounen anime where with each episode the character gets better and better through determination and hard work (and I’m a sucker for that).
Unfortunately, the plot failed to follow this progression.
The writing is very uneven. At the beginning, the author uses the time loop to elegantly introduce new concepts, to develop characters and their relationships. But later on, we are confronted with massive info-dumps and overexplaining. The time loop becomes an excuse to completely disregard plotlines and characters.
So 2.5* rounded up to 3* because the ratio of joy:irritation was in favour of joy.
I liked Zorian and his progression, I liked the characters, and I liked the magic.
Zorian’s progression was much like that in a “classic” shounen anime where with each episode the character gets better and better through determination and hard work (and I’m a sucker for that).
Unfortunately, the plot failed to follow this progression.
The writing is very uneven. At the beginning, the author uses the time loop to elegantly introduce new concepts, to develop characters and their relationships. But later on, we are confronted with massive info-dumps and overexplaining. The time loop becomes an excuse to completely disregard plotlines and characters.
So 2.5* rounded up to 3* because the ratio of joy:irritation was in favour of joy.
June 21, 2024
Zorian is a third year student in a magic academy. Mediocre in skill, somewhat unsympathetic and deriving enjoyment mostly from study and research, he prefers to be left alone with his work, but can't completely avoid social obligations. One such obligations draws him - more by accident than anything - into a massive conspiracy that makes all his previous worries insubstancial, and forces him to step up his game considerably to unravel the mystery and driving forces behind the plot.
Magic school stories in which the protagonist becomes the most special person among a school full of people capable of actual magic are usually a bit tricky, as it can easily come over as a simple power fantasy. This book counters this with a beguiling mystery, a good pace, and a protagonist that applies his knowledge in a methological way and really puts in the work to improve himself. Add to that that he remains within the bounds of his character (character growth nonewithstanding) and previously limitations, and you have a pageturner of a book that feels less like a power fantasy and more like a desperate struggle against a superior enemy.
Magic school stories in which the protagonist becomes the most special person among a school full of people capable of actual magic are usually a bit tricky, as it can easily come over as a simple power fantasy. This book counters this with a beguiling mystery, a good pace, and a protagonist that applies his knowledge in a methological way and really puts in the work to improve himself. Add to that that he remains within the bounds of his character (character growth nonewithstanding) and previously limitations, and you have a pageturner of a book that feels less like a power fantasy and more like a desperate struggle against a superior enemy.
January 8, 2022
4.5 stars for sure. I listened to the old recording of this book and all the chapters that came after. I have to say that at first I was skeptical but after just starting to listen too the book I could tell right away that this was gold. The plot is pretty complex and it takes time to unravel. Twists and turns everywhere you look. It's very funny at several points while also full of intrigue and mystery. Not really what I would call an YA book at all but at the same time that genre does fit it in a way. But many people me included sees YA on a book and instantly goes no I won't bother. Don't discount this series because of that. I you do it be a crying shame. Because I guarantee you this is like no other book you've read or listened too before. Yes there is a time loop involved but it's not the cringe kind where the characters does the same thing over and over or just does w/e cause hey time loop excuse. There is so much more depth too this story than the blurb can convey.
March 7, 2022
Я прочла всю книгу и в переводе на русский.
Аудио версия на Audible мне не очень зашла, чтец для меня оказался чрезмерно эмоциональный.
Немало общего с Гарри Поттер и методы рациональности.
Очень большой и непростой сюжет о том, как парень попадает во временную петлю и очень много учится, чтобы из нее выбраться. Так как ситуация у него в петле непростая, а враги сильны, учиться приходится много, усердно, отыскивая самых разных учителей, от разумных пауков до бессмертных сущностей. Свои недостатки у книги, конечно, есть, в частности стиль перевода (за стиль оригинала не поручусь, но высот поэтического слога искать бы не стала - жанр не тот), можно вполне успешно попридираться в некоторым сюжетным поворотам и особенностям мира, но если честно, манхва про попаданцев, что я читаю не первый год сильно понизила мою планку к верибельности мира, лишь бы сюжет был бодр, а тут автор и мир продумывал и сюжет заранее планировал.
В общем, мне очень понравилось.
Аудио версия на Audible мне не очень зашла, чтец для меня оказался чрезмерно эмоциональный.
Немало общего с Гарри Поттер и методы рациональности.
Очень большой и непростой сюжет о том, как парень попадает во временную петлю и очень много учится, чтобы из нее выбраться. Так как ситуация у него в петле непростая, а враги сильны, учиться приходится много, усердно, отыскивая самых разных учителей, от разумных пауков до бессмертных сущностей. Свои недостатки у книги, конечно, есть, в частности стиль перевода (за стиль оригинала не поручусь, но высот поэтического слога искать бы не стала - жанр не тот), можно вполне успешно попридираться в некоторым сюжетным поворотам и особенностям мира, но если честно, манхва про попаданцев, что я читаю не первый год сильно понизила мою планку к верибельности мира, лишь бы сюжет был бодр, а тут автор и мир продумывал и сюжет заранее планировал.
В общем, мне очень понравилось.
February 1, 2022
Best time loop story there is.
August 19, 2024
"Good morning, brother! Morning, morning, MORNING!"
Fantastic time travel journey - 4.5 Stars.
I had never thought in the initial parts of the book that I would start my review with a silly exclamation from the little sister. But this dialogue will form a crucial one for this epic time travel fantasy. It is apt that I finished the Arc 1 on the auspicious eve of Raksha Bandhan.
Cover Art: A huge shoutout to Mansik Yang for the beautiful cover art and Shawn T. King for the cover design.
Interesting characters: Even if it started and became famous as a web serial novel, I loved the way Mr. Domagoj Kurmaić had written the characters. Considering the fact that it is a time-loop novel, every restart has new surprises with respect to the characters. Even if the main character - Zorian feels like a unlikable one at the beginningas compared to Zach but eventually I started to like him. Moreover, Kirielle and Novelty were awesome! I had seldom seen a few authors pull off the child characters. Perhaps the Johns - John Irving in Until I Find You and John Grisham in A Painted House come to my mind as two of the best.
The world building and the magic system: What I loved the most is how the world unfold slowly because the main character - Zorian is like that only. He seldom has any interests apart from his studies. Hence, we get a slow unfolding of the politics, history, geography and the sense of the world in the novel. The slow burn is fucking addictive.
The magic system is complex. Yes, there is a high entry barrier to understand the magic system. If your attention wavers off even for a moment, you will loose track of how the magic works. Although, the author had used the magic school trope just like Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, it never feels like a YA due to the complexity of both the magic systems and the characters growth and the sheer hopelessness of the complete situation. It feels more like All You Need Is Kill 1 or The Edge of Tomorrow mixed with Harry Potter.
Moreover, the mythology or the theology looks like a healthy mix of Hindu, Abrahamic and a few older religions. I am pleased, in fact, with a couple of concepts too.
Climax: I loved the way the climax was being built slowly with a lot of parallel developments but unfortunately - I felt that it was not satisfying. Otherwise, I have no complaints from the book and -
Arc 2 here I come!
Fantastic time travel journey - 4.5 Stars.
I had never thought in the initial parts of the book that I would start my review with a silly exclamation from the little sister. But this dialogue will form a crucial one for this epic time travel fantasy. It is apt that I finished the Arc 1 on the auspicious eve of Raksha Bandhan.
Cover Art: A huge shoutout to Mansik Yang for the beautiful cover art and Shawn T. King for the cover design.
Interesting characters: Even if it started and became famous as a web serial novel, I loved the way Mr. Domagoj Kurmaić had written the characters. Considering the fact that it is a time-loop novel, every restart has new surprises with respect to the characters. Even if the main character - Zorian feels like a unlikable one at the beginning
"Zorian would be the first to admit he wasn't the easiest person to get along with. He was unsociable, irritable, and tended to assume the worst of people."
The world building and the magic system: What I loved the most is how the world unfold slowly because the main character - Zorian is like that only. He seldom has any interests apart from his studies. Hence, we get a slow unfolding of the politics, history, geography and the sense of the world in the novel. The slow burn is fucking addictive.
The magic system is complex. Yes, there is a high entry barrier to understand the magic system. If your attention wavers off even for a moment, you will loose track of how the magic works. Although, the author had used the magic school trope just like Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, it never feels like a YA due to the complexity of both the magic systems and the characters growth and the sheer hopelessness of the complete situation. It feels more like All You Need Is Kill 1 or The Edge of Tomorrow mixed with Harry Potter.
Moreover, the mythology or the theology looks like a healthy mix of Hindu, Abrahamic and a few older religions. I am pleased, in fact, with a couple of concepts too.
Climax: I loved the way the climax was being built slowly with a lot of parallel developments but unfortunately - I felt that it was not satisfying. Otherwise, I have no complaints from the book and -
Arc 2 here I come!
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