Crystal Genocide

Magical Girl #1

by RavensDagger

After Earth's magical girls accidentally destroy the entire planet, they decide to fix their mistake with the power of love, friendship, and overwhelming firepower. This doesn't go as planned.

Genres: Fantasy, Audiobook, Litrpg

453 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2024

About the author

A bird that likes comfy and happy things, and also knives. Once ate a god’s eye and awakened the ability to see all that is good in the world. Known to steal shiny ideas and baubles. Currently forbidden from writing his own bios.

Reviews

[Shannon (That's So Poe) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool world building, great humor, little graphic for me at times.

[Ernest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crystal is really fun character to read. Also magical girls...

[Sarah Heilman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! This is the second series I’ve started that originated from Royal Road (my first was He Who Fights With Monsters), and I enjoyed the main character Crystal (and Alice, I suppose) much more in this! I like that the isekai’d protagonist is actually super OP in the world they find themselves in. I grew up on Sailor Moon and love magical girl anime, so I just got a real kick out of the intense names of the magical girls and the weapon and attack names.

Since I had one past LitRPG/progression fantasy book under my belt, I knew more of what I was getting into, and overall enjoyed the journey, meeting interesting characters, and learning how the magic works in this world. And though there was an overarching plot/goal, a lot of this felt tangential to it, but in a casual and fun way that I just let myself be immersed in. Plus Crystal was cute and charming! The audiobook was very good.

By the end I’m left wondering if we’re pretty much done with the world that Crystal found herself in at the start, which would be okay I suppose, very episodic. Will probably continue the series!

[Dave Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 & 1/2 stars. Fun, Quirky, Bombastic
If You've read RavensDagger than you have a good idea what your in for. Raven likes to play with tropes. Both Dead Tired, and Stray Cat Strut took tropes and either exaggerated them or stood them on their head. Things are fast paced, wacky, and loud. There is a body count.
This is very much a RavensDagger book and the Trope being played with is the Magical Girl like it says on the cover. There is less aggravating emotional manipulation in this book but no talking animal mascot so far. -I'm holding out hope.

[Reiji · Rating 3 out of 5]

Consumed via audio book.
The cast was wonderful. Even smaller parts like dream charter.
I enjoyed it overall but I think it could have used a 3rd draft.
I would not say its a LitRPG but that is for the better I'm very,very happy there were no 3 minute reads of stat windows. No stat windows in the whole thing.

I liked how title of every chapter was just a phrase or a word from the first line of that chapter. It was imaginative and a lot more fun than them being a pop culture reference or a play on a popular saying. I also liked when it took less predictable turns like when they are traveling and Victoria's brings up her fathers barony is nearby and they just ignore it and track on instead of making time. I liked how despite their cheesiness there were couple of good people at the tournament. it was the small things.


There are moments in the story where it seems the idea from the first draft got left behind while the supporting pillars are missing or have been replaced by contradictory element. There were not that many or major but they still took me out of the moment.
Few that come to mind are 1)During the first hunt characters sometimes act like they know what they are hunting and sometimes they are just discovering it from tobias.
2)In the arena they first establish among themselves that if the guy had been a permanent power thief he would have been hunted down. Then tobias goes to speculate that the guy was a permanent power thief but they dismiss it again.
3)veronica is letting all their gold ride on crystal but in the last round she asks if Crystal plans on winning and veronica seems relieved when she says she does not. This led me to to think she would bet it all against Crystal in the last round and lose it but it went nowhere so either I did not get something or something was missing.

The story has some problems with structure, tone and thin characters/their motivation.
Tone determines my approach to a story and I think this book was aiming for absurdist comedy but it would occasionally have moments of serious business which would switch my judgment into serious mode. Rending Nightmare bits seem all business outside flirty bits and even with crystal you first open in a harsh medieval world were life is cheap and women constantly have to be on guard against assault.

Maybe it was presentation or maybe it was missing the mark with the tone but it lead me to expect layers of motivations and more detail in crafting of the narrative. A lot of my comments are going to be appeals to conventional storytelling and my own expectations.

The author had a prefect opportunity to temperately dull her powers by saying attempt to restore earth took a lot out of her. This way Crystal would need her companions for more then exposition and logistics. I'm not sure why it was not done because after establishing the large power level the author could just bring back powers as needed. This is not critical and its fine if they did not wish to do it but I feel benefits to the story got lost.

Flashback chapters bring on the question "but why?" . Majority of non Crystal chapters are dedicate to the origin of Rending Nightmare. but why? In conventional storytelling the flashbacks would have relevance to the ongoing story, they would explore Crystals relationship with Rending and the other girls just so we know what is at stake and maybe even provide clues that would help Crystal find her or her understanding of Rending as a person or of her powers would help Crystal win a key fight. Here is like 1/4th of a separate book. I could see the point having this story run parallel to explain what happened to earth but it starts too early for that.

One flashback chapter is dedicated to Crystal but we only learn what she had already shared herself
its about her dad getting her a martial arts DVD made by other magical girls. It mainly shows that her parents would get her GTA 6 but where is the meat

Couple of chapters are dedicated to Riker. Who is Riker? I have finished the book and I can tell you that I have no idea. first I assumed he was the girls therapist or some EMT that was out grocery shopping when interdimensional chestburster started showing up. The opening stats that it takes place in another dimension in the future. While he is running home Crystals big contract shows up and he concludes that the city is doomed. He seems to know the construct by name and has expectations of what will happen. Anyway he ends up getting access to the contracts organic bits and kills it by destroying its eye with a soup can. During this he presumably spots a cocooned Crystal, so despite the opening statement of it being in the future my guess was that this either takes place before Crystal became magical or after the attempt to restore earth each girl got flung into a parallel dimension and was trapped by a manifestation of their own power so Riker accidentally freed crystal and kick started the book.
Even if had that been true his chapters would still be narratively less necessary then knowing ant-man was accidentally freed from the Quantum Realm by a rat. As is Im not sure why they are in the book.

Supporting cast and why they are with Crystal.
Veronica tries to dump crystal, fails but then sees profit and goes along with things. Eventually see walks into unreasonable amount of danger and I still do not know what she wants all that money for. Yes money is nice but is there more to it?

Its same for Tobias He does it to uncover secrets of magic and He has a one sided crush on Veronica . He is mostly a timid tag-along who rarely does anything to advance either of his goals. Beyond triangulating a map and occasionally making a subtle pass at Veronica that goes unnoticed.

We have mage with no tower intrigue, no hidden side from his premage days, no different perspective for wisdom or to bounce ideas against. He is not even on the run due to his experiments being wrongfully blamed for the attack on the town. so many paths that could have been.

Mina. My mind ran wild with Mina. When they get their sins manifested and we saw seeming sings of religious zealotry my mind went wondering on about what her story would be.
I thought she might have have burned down a town and I thought it would parallel to Crystal because Riker's chapter made me feel like there was a chance the girls were bit eldritch and they had purged cities as only recourse to contain the chest busters.

Another angle I saw was Rending having seeped into the minds of the people and having somehow become a central figure of their church or something.

That was just my imagination. We ultimately never got Mina's backstory. She is religious but we never learn much about her faith. I think we are to assume its one of the boring dominant ones. Whenever she talks to people she seems to light up thinking she has found another faithful only to get brushed off.

She occasionally says Crystal is saying blasphemy or how "some people" might be against this or that but she herself does not feel strongly about it any of it.

Im not sure why she is with Crystal. Since Crystal's contracts sometimes look like angels I was expecting her to be seeking root of her faith by following Crystal or something like that.

While logistical support of the characters was nice I had hoped for them to be more than tools. Them having shaky motivation is a good reason not to follow to their doom and there could have been an interesting or even uncomfortable conversation had but they march on and the obvious happens, they end up in over their heads then tobias makes a unilateral decision teleports everyone except from crystal away from the final battle back to the starting town with his seemingly never foreshadowed ability and no more is said of that.


epilogue 1 and 2?
epilogue starts like a sequel hook with crystal and nightmare teleported to another world starting their search for more lost magical girls.

Then we jump to a second epilogue which takes place unknown time later. Since nightmare got freed there are no more daemons to hunt and new generation won't get any powers while the older one keeps them. Somehow tobias hooked up with Veronica (whom she refers to as her "idiot husband." affectionately? some boomer energy right there. Maybe Mina was right when she speculated they would make a bad match ) and she is pregnant. Guild master retire and for some reason was replaced by Veronica instead of 100 other people who would logically be in line. Did she ever even want to lead the guild, what about her barony? Mina is also there and now works for her.

Tobias has submitted a request to go on an expeditions to the desert, Veronica says he is looking for unrotten brains so his kid might have superpowrs but the delivery made it seem like she was off the mark so I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is trying to figure out what happened to crystal.

I wish I knew these characters enough to be certain, it did not feel like a fitting end for them.

Anyways the point is that she gets a package dropped on her had from an interdimensional portal and it has a letter from crystal with artifacts as gifts and clarification that she finished all that business at the start of the epilogue off screen and has found 2 more lost girls. Why step up an adventure and then kill it by the end of the setup?



Ultimately once all was swept away I was reminded of "My Instant Death Ability Is So Overpowered" if that was the goal then it is a great success.

so yeah maybe the book has some core flaws or maybe I'm overthinking it. I feel like I got taken for a ride and do not mind it.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a rollicking good time. Crystal was super entertaining to follow with her mixture of outgoing enthusiasm, social awkwardness/not being good at social cues, and tendency for seeing every problem as a nail for her magic to handle.

I zoomed right through this book and was very entertained throughout, as Crystal is a huge fish out of water but doesn't let that phase her. I appreciate that instead of trying to change or blend in in this whole new place, she forces it to bend to her and maintains her outfit, personality, powers (though she does hold back there at least), etc. without trying to hide anything.

Her and Veronica also had a nice odd couple relationship, even if she tried to abandon her a couple times before coming around. It was nice to see the ridiculousness of Crystal and the superpowerful magical girls from an outside perspective.

I also enjoyed the dripfeed of background details of the larger plot and the other magical girls, though 12 is a lot and I definitely only remember a few of them. I did love they had a relationship/crush chart (and Crystal's crush on Rending Nightmare was super cute) and apparently only one of the twelve is actually super competent socially, so I can only image their group dynamic. I'm curious as to what they'll do with the destroyed earth/quarter of the galaxy once they rescue more of the group.

The Rending Nightmare's origin chapters were super interesting, though her backstory felt a little incomplete, and I wonder what ended up happening to the succubus - maybe we'll find out in the next book? Also was Crystal in that kaiju crystal thing in those Ryker interludes? I was kind of surprised we didn't get more of her backstory (though we did get some); maybe it will be in the next book too.

Overall I had a ton of fun with this, and definitely plan to keep up with the series going forward!

[Issy Waldrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you've read any of Ravensdagger's other books, you'll know what to expect - fun, quirky, cute, plenty of action and laughs, and some sapphic undertones. And this first book in a new magical girl series (his other being Agartha Loop) is no exception.

It starts off with a rather significant event (they somehow managed to destroy Earth), and in their attempts to fix that mistake, they get separated. We're left with Crystal as she finds herself in a strange, but with odd familiarities, world, as she explores it and tries to find her friends. She may not be the brightest, or aware, but she is optimistic, energetic, and rather powerful... (and yes, all of the magical girls have weird but appropriate names).

It is a very amusing and enjoyable story, as she makes new friends and works towards finding the other magical girls, along with some scenes from Rending Nightmare, detailing the origins of the first magicial girl, and some scenes that give hints as to how the current mess occurred. You can't help but like and cheer for Crystal, and want the best for her. This 'arc' ties up very nicely, and the end sets up for the second book of the series (Rending Nightmare), which Crystal is in as well.

All up cute, adorable, lots of fun, and a very easy recommendation.

[Maria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got to about 30% of this book and am calling it.

The first chapter sets up the book to be about a group of Magical girls before but the next chapter is about a solo magical girl, away from the group in a different world, I guess, as me and the magical girl are both lost.

As I kept reading though, and even getting into the rhythm of Crystal Genocide, the lost magical girl, there are "origin" chapters of someone else and then to add to this there are alternate chapters of someone else's POV, which throws me for a loop unnecessarily as some chapters are from new characters just being introduced so why is a chapter in their POV when I'm trying to get interested in this, IDK, but I would have preferred a better rhythm of a single character before the next chapter changes to another POV of an existing character that has been part of the earlier chapters.

Having not read this author before, I'm unclear if this is their way of storytelling but in this case, it didn't work for me.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know hairless dogs that are ugly and cute at the same time? I feel like this book is a bit like that. It blends the adorable aesthetics of magical girls with the brutally overwhelming power they possess. The main character Crystal Genocide is fun, a bit dizzy, and super earnest. She has all the social grace of a bull in a china shop which left me laughing the whole book. It's quirky, silly, and knows not to take itself super seriously. This is the perfect book to frustrate any anime power scaling bro.

[Umar Soaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a lot of fun with this story. I don't even know how to describe it. Sailor Moon meets Game of Thrones meets Heroes (the television show.) Crystal is one of the most fun characters I read in a long while. At first I thought she would be annoying, but annoying it actually one of her character traits for a character with the power of a god. Her character is balanced out by other characters and the fight scenes throughout this book were very entertaining, and carried tension it should not have had, but there we are. I liked the setting, the voice fit the story and progressions and if you don't come out of this absolutely loving Crystal Genocide, you have no soul. Okay, loving her is like loving a puppy the size of a skyscraper with unlimited power it throws around how it wants but when it want, but you'd end up loving it anyway. Even if the story begins with the fact that Crystal and her friends accidentally destroyed the Earth. I have the feeling that they'll fix that by the time the story is over. Oh, and really loved the Character of Allison (Rending Nightmare.) Her Origin story is just as much fun as the main story. This is my first experience with RavensDagger - a very Larping sort of name.

[Dan Mackison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love me a clever title, but then get disappointed when the contents aren't clever. But to be fair Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams set that particular bar pretty high.

"Magical Girl Crystal Genocide: Making Friends After Causing the Apoocalypse!" introduces a team of magical girls in chapter 1, then starts chapter 2 with a crowd scene sans everybody from chapter 1 and tries to explain who each person in the crowd is.

Then chapter 3 has only one person from chapter 1 and one person from chapter 2. Everyone else leaves, and none of that boring chapter 2 exposition is needed. I made it to chapter 4, realized zero effort had been made so far to get me to care about either character remaining, and stopped reading.

I'm giving this book 2 stars instead of of 1 in the hope it improved past my stopping point. I didn't stick around to find out.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lethal Cuteness! Hahaha! All of the best and most ridiculous parts of the "Magical Girl" genre turned up to 10 and turned into a series of running jokes and adorable OP glory.

The SBT team makes it really jump out at you with so many characters in a single book. Killer work as always.

I don’t know why I couldn’t give it 5 stars. A bunch of the jokes fell like they were forced or taken a bit too far breaking the continuity. I’ll give the next few a shot to see if, like a lot of books, this was more setting a ground work for the future series.

But if you like ridiculously OP characters with a huge pile of ridiculous, this books for you.

[Phyllis Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

felt a bit like i was reading an anime but not in a bad way. loved the way Cystal was written.
It was certainly a departure from my usual book taste but i had a ton of fun

The stark contrast between the overpowered main character living a more or less consequnce free life while everyone else is trying their best at damage control was a fun dynamic.

It feels like the first third of a bigger book instead of a standalone if thats important for anyone:)

its a fun book!

[Joshua Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyable but unpolished

As the talent twice, this is a story about a magical girl with a dark twist. She’s not quite the brightest and is definitely OP, which makes for a fun story. Lots of good humor. However, the story feels unpolished. Nothing like Ravendagger’s other books such as stray cat strut. I was tempted to drop it, but the book seemed to pick up the end. I’ll probably read the next.

[sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

oh.my.god. this book is absolutely beautiful, the concept and characters, the pacing of it. It’s all written amazing, i finished it in one sitting, the ending is awesome too! i can’t wait to see if you publish another book because i can’t get enough. I hope the 4 of them at the end find the rest of the girls! i’d love to see their incredibly OP adventures

[Kasper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A ride

I had a wonderful time with this one, the characters were amusing if simple and the world was interesting and had unique spice, the plot was intriguing and the themes fun. My only real annoyance is that I found the Rending Nightmare origin chapters a bit more interesting than the mainline plot.

[Clinton Stanturf · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, first and foremost, if you start reading this one and you think it's not your cup of tea, stick with it. After the first few chapters, the book actually got going and turned out not to be too bad. I enjoyed the overall scope of the book. It definitely wasn't my normal, but between the narrators and the fun cast of characters, this one is solid. I will definitely be checking out the next book.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of silly, kind of fun.
It was well written, as are all of Ravensdagger's books, but this was more "fluff" than usual. I did enjoy it, don't get me wrong; I'm reading the second installment right now. But you know the good guy (girl in this case) would end up just fine, so there was less tension than I prefer.
If you just want a light-hearted fantasy, this is it.

[Danny Moody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly entertaining. I’ve never watched and know nothing about Powerpuff girls but I got distinct Powerpuff girl vibes. I liked the isekai world. It was medieval with a cool magic system. Crystal Genocide was kind of annoying but also kind of cool. Much more complex of a character than meets the eye.

[Mr. Tumbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shonen Sailor moon isekai-ed into a medieval world!

Magical Girl Crystal Genocide just goes to show that magical girls are not to be messed with. She might be nice, and cute and still be able to punt your head from your shoulders, fire lasers and impale you with spikes if you make her mad or hurt her friends. This was a great palate cleanser book!

[Roberto Flores · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not sure about this one.

It is weird and crazy, but it makes sense in the end. This was started at the start, so well done all around. I need to try a sequel to see if this is worth continuing.

[Joshua M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

This was an entertaining story. Everything felt unique, even the familiar bits. The magic system is interesting, and I love how the OP protagonist is sort of seen through the lens of all the characters that have to deal with her. I look forward to more of this series.

[Chance · Rating 4 out of 5]

more like shattered psyche

A magical girl novel is just strange with out the special effects or drawnings of other media the protagonist just seems a really odd person to be around.

[Nevaeh Ruegger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read my review for this book at Nevy's Bookshelf

[Nyxes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just wanted more thinking involved, but it could be great for the right people.

Characters 4
Writing 4
Plot 4
Entertainment 4
4★

[Mike Rempel · Rating 3 out of 5]

didn't enjoy
will not be getting book 2

[David W. Burhans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly Fun

A fun overpowered MC Isekai story with an interesting twist.
A fun read and an interesting world.
Overall a good time.

[Kinsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. I don’t recommend the audiobook though, the narration is a bit jarring

[Mr. J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A bit slow and uncertain start, but I am glad I stuck it out. Simple and fun.