The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects: Volume 1

The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects (Light Novel) #1

by Fuurou, Hengtee Lim (translator), Kinta (illustrator)

Dias finally returns home after decades of war. He’s hailed a hero and promptly rewarded with his own domain...which turns out to be little more than empty plains. zero. Dias, who has only ever known battle, finds himself at a loss. How is he supposed to survive, let alone cultivate his territory into a thriving, prosperous dominion when there’s nothing but grass as far as he can see?

Fortunately for Dias, a horned girl by the name of Alna is about to show him there’s more to the plains than meets the eye!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Slice Of Life, Manga

202 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2023

Reviews

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Fantasy light novel series/web novel series that is 100% positive, creative and different from the traditional tropes/canons/clichés found in other Japanese/Asian LN/WN series. Series is organized, well-written, and entertaining probably up to volume 6, which is also not that common of typical LN/WN series that start with new content and then run out of ideas by the second-third-fourth volume...
Onis are usually considered monsters/demons according to Japanese Mythology. Here they are described as nomadic tribes (illustrated very similarly to Mongolian nomadic tribes). The contrast is that in other LN/WN series Onis are considered violent, antagonistic, etc. while here, they are peaceful, fearful of strangers, generous, kind, etc.
This would be a story I would read to my children (don't have any yet), nephews/nieces. It portrays honest work, ethical values and a nomadic/tribal life. It's day in the life of a retired war hero, Dias, 35 years old (has spent his last 20 years defending the Empire), that is sent to the frontier without any support from the Empire that he single-handedly saved. It's all fantasy but with real life contrasts (monarchical/feudal corruption, territory management, trade, life in the wild).
It's 100% fantasy (because the rams (baans), birds, ratkin, dogkins talk and are humanoid/half-breeds throughout this series. I read a lot, read every day, and this was a breath of fresh air. I recommend this first volume and the LN/WN series. It has character descriptions, inside illustrations, it describes this fantasy world's geopolitical, economical, social, systems/hierarchies in place, has medium descriptions of the main characters but the illustrations help a lot to describe who the main characters are in this series.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF.
The MC is a bit dumb/naive for a 35 year old soldier and he knows it, repeatedly thinking himself an idiot and lacking in education. Too self-effacing / loathing. The onikin is an interesting concept for a race, but not enough to continue at present. I might try again if I run out of other things to read.

[Haytham Bin · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun and wholesome

I like this, this is the 3rd book I ever read. So I don’t think my review would hold any weight, but I enjoyed it. It isn’t intense or conflict filled. It’s just a nice wholesome fantastical story where things kinda just happen without much noise or a ton of background.

The main character isn’t really a character, more like a blank space you could insert yourself into and imagine yourself in the center of the story. He’s kind in a situation where you need to be kind, he’s strong in a situation where you need to be strong, he’s cautious in a situation where you need to be cautious etc… he’s a mold you shape

[Yudi Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good start