LORD OF MYSTERIES | Band 1 Clown – Teil 1

Lord of Mysteries #1

by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

Ein Mann aus unserer Welt erwacht im Körper des Geschichts­studenten Klein Moretti – wenige Augenblicke, nachdem dieser sich das Leben genommen hat. Vor ihm liegt ein Notiz­buch mit unheilvollen Worten: „Alle werden sterben. Auch ich.“ Gefangen in einer Welt, die dem viktorianischen Zeitalter gleicht, sucht er verzweifelt nach Antworten und einem Weg zurück. Doch jede Wahrheit, die er lüftet, zieht ihn tiefer in den Abgrund, denn sein größter Feind ist nicht die Welt, sondern das, was in ihm erwacht. Vor oder was ist das Geflüster, das im Nebel auf ihn wartet?

Zwischen sieben Kirchen, Geheimsorganisationen, mythischen Kreaturen, versiegelten Artefakten und finsteren Göttern entdeckt er die zweiundzwanzig Beyonder-Pfade. Sie verleihen unvorstellbare Macht, doch bergen zugleich verborgenes Grauen. Jeder Schritt könnte ihn dem Wahnsinn näherbringen, jedes falsche Wort ihn verraten, jedes Wissen ihn verdammen – bis er nicht mehr weiß, wer er tief im Inneren wirklich ist.

Durch einen mysteriösen Zufall gibt er sich als Gott aus und gründet den Tarot-Club mit zweiundzwanzig leeren Stühlen. Wie die Tarotkarte Der Narr steht er am Anfang einer Reise mit grenzenlosen Möglichkeiten.
Dies ist die Legende des Narren.

Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Light Novel, Horror, Steampunk, Fiction, China

588 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2025

About the author

Associated Names:
* 爱潜水的乌贼 (Simplified Chinese) / 愛潛水的烏賊 (Traditional Chinese)
* Ai Qianshui de Wuzei / Cuttlefish That Loves Diving (English)
* อ้ายเชียนสุ่ยเตออูเจ๋ย (Thai)

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition covers the first 76 chapters (about a third of Vol. 1 – The Clown arc), and I’m loving the setup so far—Klein Moretti has completely won me over!

[Huda Al-Mossalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Struggled rating this, 4 stars felt too high and 3 felt too low.

Why it deserves 4 ⭐️
🕯️ The writing style was descriptive enough to give good visualization, and the pacing was the greatest I ever read. I’ve read 50% in 9 hours and not one moment i felt tired from the story. Plus it is rare that I enjoy reading fight scenes, the author did well in writing cozy and intense moments.
….
🕯️ The premise is actually very cool and intriguing, and since this is the beginning of a long series , you can feel how epic it could be by how little we know now, but also I can’t imagine where it’s going which is exciting.
…
🕯️The character dynamics in every regard is fun to read, I love everyone. I especially love the siblings relationship.
…
🕯️ Secret societies and organizations, this book has them all, and they are so FUN to read about.
…
🕯️ The main character is funny and knowledgeable, it’s fun following a character that is written to be useful and not as a device for the reader to learn the world. (Sometimes characters are purposely dumb so this was refreshing) love how competent he is

Why it deserves 3
🌘 Some moments this seemed to be handed to the character and very convenient things happened, HOWEVER, there is an inkling that there’s a reason why this actually happens a force in the back I could say, so we’ll see how it’s written in the future if that’s true OR the character actually has plot armor , for now idk.

🌘Some descriptions and the amount of unnecessary details the author likes to mention is annoying sometimes, but since the writing is very smooth it isn’t too bad.

🌘 The magic system is not bad but so far I’m not hooked into it or very excited. The setting/world building and characters are the things that made me excited about this series.

🃏🃏
So yes as you can see the reason of 4 stars are more so that’s why it’s 4⭐️. (And I genuine can’t give it 3 because that means average for me)

[James 🦤 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this setting and its characters. It’s so diverse, interesting, and well thought out.

My biggest gripe with this particular edition is the translation. It’s workable, don’t get me wrong, definitely finishing the series with this version, but it comes off as stilted at times and I noted several errors. Chinese to English is a difficult translation to get right, and this is definitely better than the fan translations I’d tried in the past, but it’s still not quite there.

[Rayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book 1 can barely be considered an introduction to the story, considering it’s one third of the clown arc nothing besides basic set up happens.
It has a clunky, juvenile writing style. Far too many exclamation points, heavy exposition dumps, and a tendency to tell rather than show. Characters say things to sound dramatic… only for the reader to realize it makes no sense. The translation also feels very stiff at times.

But underneath the actual writing is a dark, compelling world full of mystery, cosmic horror, and a unique power system that stands out. Klein is an intriguing lead, and I expect the story to become more gripping as it unfolds.

It’s a rough beginning, but I trust the fans of the series to be right in it getting better with time.

… plus I was told there were pirates later on :)

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praise the Fool!

[Bibliothecat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many thanks to Bunny for joining me for this buddy read!

I shall preface this by saying: this was a lot. And that's not necessarily a bad thing - I picked this up knowing it would be a long series, but by the time the first volume I arrived I realised that it about twice as long as I had anticipated and I dare say this first volume with it's near 600-pages just scratches the surface of where this series is headed.

Lord of Mysteries has immense worldbuilding, and while it is a lot to take in - especially this early in the story - it is incredibly well done and one that pays off. So yes, this first volume is very dense and some people might struggle to get through it. The very short chapters do definitely help getting through this more easily. Nevertheless, whilst enormous, this is world building done right and it is fascinating to see this world unfold.

What truly carried this book for me was the main character Klein Moretti aka Mingrui. This is an isekai/portal fantasy and that alone already adds some interesting cultural mixture: Mingrui isn't quite sure what happened, but he finds himself waking up n the body of a Klein Moretti who lives in a Victorian-like world with plenty of steam punk vibes. This leads to some fun commentary of Klein observing this world both from the point of view of a contemporary and Chinese in this new world. So as not to attract too much attention, he embraces Klein's identity and essentially takes over his life which includes siblings and a job interview right around the corner. Klein's main goal remains the same throughout though; find a way to get home. And for that, he needs to dig into the mysteries of this world.

Whilst by and large a pretty standard historic setting, there are gods and so called Beyonders involved; regular people who have developed special powers by means of drinking special potions. In an attempt to uncover the truth, Klein gets himself involved in super natural crime investigations, secret organisations and underground movements - add to that his domestic life with his siblings and more of a quadruple than a double life he's leading!

This book also doesn't shy away from horror and gore elements, be it rotting corpses or grotesque monsters. While we haven't all all too much of either yet, they do already set the tone for the series. And despite being thrown into all this, Klein remains a very level headed character throughout; I absolutely loved him as a narrator. He is kind and humorous, admits fear but generally stays calm in the face of the extreme. I find him a very compelling and intelligent character which makes him perfect for all the roles he is trying to pull off. I also enjoyed all the different elements; the more crime and detective side of things. The magic system which feels akin to an RPG, the horror and mysteries.

While we haven't gotten to know the rest of the cast well - it is an immense cast but non of whom feel one too many - but they are all interesting and I look forward to learning more about them. While this first volume was fairly slow due to all the set up and worldbuilding, this first volume ended with a bang and I am very curious to see what Klein finds out next. And just in case I didn't highlight it enough: fantastic world building and an even better main character.

[Caspar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lord of Mysteries introduces you to a world in the midst of an industrial revolution, packed with mystery as the title may already suggest and a lot of horror elements. The pacing is rather slow - in fact, not a single day gets ever skipped - but I found myself really appreciating the attention to detail that promises an extremely well thought out and rich world building where thousand years of history seems realistically complex and everything from government bodies, different cultures, inflation down to everyday items is careful planned out - and not to forget the interesting magic system. This may of course seem like a lot of information that's thrown at the reader but it's done organically throughout the plot without making your head hurt. I kind of expected the slow pacing to bore me at one point but it never did as the author knows how to hold suspension and build up characters I took an interest in. Just sometimes I really didn't seem to understand some jokes, especially between Neal and Klein, which probably were lost in the translation, which is a little bit unfortunate. All in all I really enjoyed this book and I'm kind of scared that I'll probably be interested in picking up the sequels as well, after all this series is pretty long.

[Erika Masr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horror and mystery - truly one of the best web novel series I've read!

There are times when I start reading out of boredom without expecting much and suddenly I realize that I am hooked - and this time was it. The beginning was interesting enough but soon I found myself slightly lost, my thoughts wandering as I read through the chapters. But around chapter 90 I realized that I found a treasure and I couldn't go back!

When I started reading this, there were less that 100 chapters translated and I came back to this novel every day for more (this book has 1000+ chapters). There are really not that many novels where I have ever been so dedicated.

The main character is interesting, smart and grows quickly in a Victorian steampunk based world where supernatural abilities and gods are hidden from the usual masses (but those who know - know). I think that the part which hooked me (and most other people who are crazy about this series) is the hidden society - without it the book wouldn't be as intriguing. The characters are well-developed and even the villains are interesting, multidimensional and smart.

What's most surprising about this book - there's no romance, and I actually think it makes this series better.

Definitely recommend!

[Brittaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Came for this after watching the anime and learning the webnovel is being published in English paperbacks. I think I would have liked the book less if I hadn't watched the anime, as I feel both the anime and the book give me different, but needed perspectives of what is going on.

That being said, props to the writer for creating such an interesting and intricate world and magic system, giving just enough information to make me crave more information and continue reading. Definitely one of the most interesting settings I've read about in a while.

I am a bit annoyed at the fact the first part just ended smack dab in the middle. I could point out three other chapters that were better points to end the first part.

[devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY FAVORITE SERIES FINALLY IN PRINT.

Now, I’ll be clear here. I’ve already read the entirety of Lord of (the) Mysteries. Originally, it’s a Web Novel. Arguably the best one, and it’s no contest since Reverend Insanity never finished. Nevertheless, I acquired the first physical release, due to an ordering error I actually ended up with four copies of it. Which became nice gifts.

I wanted to read it before writing a review on it, as the translation and format are different than the web novel. Which is for the best. It’s formatted like a normal fantasy book, with annotations from the translator for additional information when needed. Sometimes explaining Chinese cultural references and mostly citing Poems from literature, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

It’s an Otherworld Fantasy, otherwise knows as an Isekai, or Transmigration. The Clown, Part I is the first in the series, with Part II having just been released. It follows a man named Zhou Mingrui, a modern man from earth who awakens in the body of Klein Moretti in a fog-shrouded, Victorian-era Steampunk world. And the Author, Cuttlefish, has done extensive research for it, it’s a very intricate world building that lets you experience the world alongside Klein.

It’s a world where mysticism, secret societies, and ancient gods quietly shape reality. And we learn about the world the same time as the main character. It’s beautifully crafted. What begins as a struggle to survive in an unfamiliar life soon draws Klein into the hidden side of this world—one governed by occult rituals and supernatural “Pathways.” The Power System is complex, but it makes sense as you go. There’s plenty of explanations online if needed.

The Clown, Part I sets the foundation for the series with a slow-burn atmosphere, meticulous worldbuilding, and an unsettling blend of detective fiction, cosmic horror, and transmigration fantasy—where knowledge is power, and curiosity can be deadly.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the weirdest yet oddly compelling books I've read. I was immediately enthralled with the anime, but confused by the complex and super fast moving plot, so decided to read the translated web series. The protagonist is an unlikable, arrogant Gary Stu, and the writing is often cringingly poor and clunky (though some of that is likely due to translation), but dang it, the world building, lore, and magic system is so interesting I find myself giving it four stars. I'm a sucker for weird, cool magic systems, and must keep reading to discover the full set of pathways/sequences in this world.

[SlowBone · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[pareidolia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's truly a rather slow start, due to Cuttlefish not only describing every single thing in this world in excruciating detail, but also telling you exactly what all these things cost - which is at least in character, as Klein's biggest love in life is money (sorry, Leonard!).

Well, as they say, even transmigrators can't escape capitalism.

Webnovelisms and exposition aside, it was nice to fill the gaps left by the much faster paced donghua and spent more time with the characters. They've grown on me, just like Benson and Melissa have already grown on Klein. Yen Press's edition is also very pretty and crafted with attention to detail, and the translation is very readable.

[Thuy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!!

Fav quotes

“Everyone will die, including me.”

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era;

The Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog;

The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.”

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peak. Onto the next

[Luis Peña · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tuvo un comienzo algo lento pero como vamos conociendo esta sociedad oculta junto con el protagonista no me pareció mal. Los misterios me mantenían enganchado y uno más intrigante que el anterior.

[Declan Coleridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

PEAK

[Ayszed · Rating 5 out of 5]

For people familiar with the game "Bloodborne", you might feel at home here

Lord of the Mysteries is a steampunk eldritch fantasy in a world that is entrenched with magic, divination, top-hat wearing gentleman wielding guns and tarot cards, gothic madams who can appear out of nowhere erase you without a trace, and secret organizations of every flavour. And did I mention eldritch horror? Interlaced between all that is an abundance of wholesome moments as well. It has great characters, a thought provoking power-system, and a setting full of mysteries just like the title suggests. And the reveals end up making for a true delight. I was personally hooked from the start. Others might get hooked within 30 chapters. And if not so, then definitely by the end of the first volume.

So here is the absolute barebones summary of the beginning to get you started: our main character does a "luck enhancement ritual" at the beginning of the series after a series of really bad luck. However, instead of improving his luck, his soul gets sent to another world and he assimilates with the person whose body he enters. Basically an isekai/transmigration story where he doesn't outright replace the person, but somewhat truly merges with him and gains his memories and knowledge. Now he's trying to survive and go back to earth, avoiding detection and learning about the world he is inhabiting.

Overall, I love the entire series. I have some gripes I will share in reviews of other volumes, but for volume 1 I have very little to say in terms of negatives. I absolutely love it. Some people say that the pacing is way too slow. I disagree and think that it's well done and adequately sets up the rest of the story. We shall see how that opinion changes in further re-reads, but for now it's excellent.

Now, a little bit on how this series is structured. There's going to be 18 physical books. Each volume/arc is 3 books. The first physical book released (Volume I: Part 1) covers until chapter 76. It ends in a relatively satisfying place too. It 571 pages, spaced appropriately in attempt to maximize readability and fit in as much as possible. It doesn't feel too small, nor does it feel too big. Just right. Now, another good thing about this book is that this it cleans up the initial chapters where the translation and prose were a bit iffy in the online version. As such it is well-edited and makes for a great read. So once you're done with this, you can go find the entire series somewhere online like on webnovel.com or wherever it's supposed to be located and read the rest of it. Or if you're like me, you can both read and listen to it.

Beware of the wiki and social media for the series for there are major spoilers always floating about. For example, if you look someone up, the wiki page or your search engine's AI summary might just spoil incredibly major plot points before you can even look away. Just go to the reddit.com/r/lordofthemysteries and ask questions if you really want answers, but don't browse carelessly. If you want to ask me specific questions about the series, look up "Ayszed" wherever. That's about it, enjoy the ride!

[GdP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Update: alla fine gli ho dato 2⭐, più ci pensavo più mi rendevo conto fosse scritto peggio dei miei temi alle elementari (nel mezzo ho anche letto Robin Hobb che ovviamente non ha giocato a suo favore)

***

Realisticamente sarebbero 2.5 ⭐.
3 ⭐ perché la trama e il sistema magico comunque mi interessano abbastanza.

E direi che con i lati positivi possiamo chiuderla qua.

Ok, no, dai… mi sono piaciuti anche gli infodump sull’economia vittoriana (fatemi tornare a scuola, ora posso prendere voti più alti a storia) e la scalata rags to riches (quando si preoccupa per Melissa e la convince a prendere i mezzi, senza preoccuparsi per i soldi, così si stanca meno e studia meglio >>>)

Detto questo, l’inizio è alquanto terribile, esposizione a cazzo di cane, ti tartassa di informazioni, zero emotività considerata la situazione. I mean, questo si ritrova in un altro mondo con il cervello spappolato e sta tranquillissimo, vabbuò (e stendiamo un velo pietoso su come impari subito a sparare, ridicolo).

Sarà la barriera culturale, o la traduzione, o il fatto che non sono abituata alle webnovel, tuttavia lasciatemi dire una cosa, non capisco perché uno per abituarsi alle webnovel debba abituarsi a una scrittura mediocre con onomatopee orribili da leggere in prosa, esclamazioni uscite dal nulla - il primo capitolo è scandaloso - e puntini di sospensione a caso per indicare il silenzio. Scusatemi, magari sono dura io, ma basta leggere l'estratto per rendersi conto che non è roba che ti leggi per imparare a scrivere bene.
Inoltre, sia la novel che il donghua avrebbero guadagnato dal mostrare i ricordi di Klein. L'autore avrebbe dovuto creare quantomeno un senso di confusione da parte di Zhou Mingrui quando viene in contatto con i ricordi. A livello di scrittura è incredibilmente pigro dire: "sì, ecco, questo mondo funziona così perchè i ricordi dicono di sì, ecco la storia del creatore". Ma mostrami, che so, le lezioni della Chiesa in cui Klein e Benson venivano istruiti sulla teologia, mostrami i ricordi come si deve, potresti creare anche più familiarità con Klein e il suo passato...

O forse sono io che mi aspetto troppo dagli isekai e dalle webnovel e dovrei urlare anche io al capolavoro.

La cosa che più mi infastidisce è che, per essere un'agenzia che deve risolvere casi dell'occulto, non vedi un cazzo delle indagini. Hai solo le pippe mentali di Klein che però è seer quindi vede tutto subito. Esempio: trovano una tizia senza vita, il figlio scomparso potrebbe avere il codice Antigonus. Secondo voi ci mostrano delle indagini? Domanda retorica, ovviamente no. I mean, se mi chiami un libro Lord of Mysteries mi aspetto che tu risolva misteri, ma adaver, non che mi fai infodump su ricordi a cazzo del tizio precedente e sui poteri. Cioè, dipanare il mistero non è far sedere il protagonista alla scrivania a scrivere la sua giornata o al tavolo con gente che così a caso ti regala informazioni - sì, lo so che c'è un scambio di informazioni e che Klein si pone come figura mistica/dio but still, gestito malissimo a mio avviso.
A un certo punto praticamente ti dice che il motivo per cui Klein azzecca cose che fa a caso è che nella sua vita precendente leggeva un sacco di webnovel. Non scherzo.
E questo viene definito peak writing, ma davvero state a fare.

E non fatemi parlare degli spiegoni...

Ad ogni modo, l'esperienza migliore per me consiste nel guardare l'episodio (con doppiaggio o sottotitoli inglesi dato che quelli italiani sono scandalosi, grazie IA), recuperare i relativi capitoli della webnovel, magari riguardarsi l'episodio e a quel punto andare avanti con l'episodio successivo - o giocarsi direttamente Bloodborne.

Onestamente, l'avrei abbandonato praticamente subito se non fosse stato per il donghua.

[Joshua Enns-Wind · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Lord of Mysteries” is a Chinese story originally published as a web novel. As a result, this has quite a few flaws that might be seen with looser editing. The pacing is quite slow with lots of unnecessary details and events. The story is not told concisely. However, I do appreciate some of these moments as they bring incite into the characters’ thought processes and motivations.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love the steampunk setting and environment. The fantasy/mysticism introduced is well thought out, though it’s quite a loose/soft magic system, allowing the author to play around with it as he sees fit and not worrying too much about continuity breaking. I do prefer slightly harder magic systems, but that is a personal taste and not something I hold against the author. The different mysteries introduced are engaging and, overall, keeps me wanting to read more. Although the characters aren’t super deep/complex, nor do they have much personality, they each have their quirks and uniqueness that keeps me interested in how they’ll individually evolve.
I absolutely will pick up The Clown: Part II when it’s published in December, and I can’t wait to watch the anime adaption either!

[Lois Bujold · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in the hopes that it would illuminate the Chinese animation currently running on Crunchyroll made from it. The latter is very richly animated, though with more horror than I care for, but rather incoherent. Trying to figure out what's supposed to be going on is a bit of a slog.

This translated webnovel does indeed do the job I wanted of it, explaining the world and story. Typo-free, but with an odd, awkward prose style in English of a sort that I've encountered before in translated light novels and webnovels. (The translator does not seem to know the difference between the pupil of the eye and the iris, which leads to some peculiar descriptions, and whatever headgear is intended by a "half top hat"? And so on.) Nonetheless, if one can muscle past the prose (I have practice) the story it's trying to convey seems interesting, with engaging world-building and a protagonist with a pretty congenial head-space to be in.

Yet another transmigrator tale, with our young modern Chinese hero transported into a sort of Victorian steampunk world with magic. It has an interesting start, as the local young man into whose body our hero transfers has just shot himself in the head, oops...

Kick the rating down a star if you are style-sensitive.

Ta, L.

[linschq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never expected that this series will completely change my view on webnovel. I was quite proud before, never thought that there wouldnt be books with very good quality coming from web platform. Lord of Mysteries really show that good books, at first, dont need to come from major publisher. There should be very talented artists and authors underground. Just because a book published independently doesnt mean they are far from good.

I wouldnt talk much about the synopsis for this review will be free from spoilers. The main characters, I should say, very stuidious. He transmigrated from earth (the world currently we live in) to a completely new world with supernatural powers called beyonder. Basically the story is trying to tell the main character journey, Klein Moretti, survive in this world. What amaze me is the world building. Although first 50s chapters to me was a bit boring, that was because the author was trying to describe the world he built. Another thing that amaze me is the power level of the Beyonder Power. I should say this is the best of the best that I have read in fictional literature.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I've read in my entire life. I love the way it is written and how the details are described. For some it may be boring if they don't like very detailing books, but if you do highly recommend. It contains a lot of magical themes and there's a whole system dedicated to the book. It uses a lot of brainpower. I personally love that. Also, the magical themes it uses are actually pretty much accurate. I've been in this field for 6 years, so I can say most of it's accurate. Although, it doesn't mean that it is accurate the readers should take the risk of trying it out for themselves. I recommend investigating on your own carefully. After reading I keep wanting more and more! I can't wait to read the other books! There's an animated adaptation for the book, so if you're interested you should take a look at it. That being said I give this book 5/5 stars!

[Jkant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mmm yes more slop for the webnovel trough

Pretty surreal to see that one of the more well renowned Chinese web novels has finally gotten an English print version. All things considered it's easy enough to pick up and put down, but it's only going to get more convoluted from here so if the boneheads at Webnovel keep doing what they did with this book and cut things off at arbitrary points I don't see this gaining all that much traction.

3.5 purely because of the cutoff point chosen by Webnovel. I still found it an enjoyable read - I binged the fan translation in like 2 weeks back in the day. The official translation is a bit clunky at times, but it could definitely be worse. I'll (regrettably) probably buy the rest of them...

[Periplus Bookshop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keywords: Fantasy, Mystery, Steampunk Fantasy, Secret Societies, Occult Mysteries, Zhou Mingrui, Divination, Potions, Airships, Industrial Fantasy, Asian Myth & Legend

Zhou Mingrui terbangun dalam dunia yang memadukan steampunk dengan okultisme, sebuah kisah yang cocok bagi pembaca yang menyukai intrik dan misteri. Setelah terbangun berlumuran darah, ia mendapati dirinya berada di tengah gemuruh industri yang dipenuhi senjata dan mesin uap. Di balik hiruk pikuk itu, ada masyarakat rahasia yang menguasai ramuan dan artefak tersegel. Saat Zhou berusaha memahami mengapa ia berada di sana, ia menyadari bahwa bahaya selalu mengintai dan legenda The Fool pun perlahan terungkap.

https://blog.periplus.com/2025/08/25/...

[nekoneko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this first volume is probably closer to 3.5 stars...

idk if that's because I watched the anime and so there were things that I was expecting to happen and so the grandeur of the world wasn't quite as grand? ( ؕؔʘ̥̥̥̥ ه ؔؕʘ̥̥̥̥ )?

HOWEVER the anime did such a poor job of world-building whereas the novel is, perhaps obviously, much better at giving *loads* of details when it comes to the magic and gods and general place of the story ლ(⌒▽⌒ლ)

because of this, there were times when the pacing was slower...really nothing much happens in this volume ¯\_(ತ_ʖತ)_/¯

having said this, it was a relatively quick read, even at over 500 pages ｡^‿^｡

[Rachel Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world building and explanations of the magic system were comprehensive and well paced. The constant air of foreboding throughout each tiny mystery kept me interested the whole time. Loved all the characters! The author eloquently uses detail to describe both the paranormal, creepy monsters as well as the subtle comforts of the Victorian middle class. This book did leave me craving more fight scenes and eager to uncover more answers to Klein’s predicament. Now I can’t wait to jump into Part II!

[Jonas Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting, although 3 episodes of the anime cover the entire book, I do think it still was very interesting and gave a much better understanding of the world, the characters and the atmosphere.

I wish the second book was out cause I would’ve loved to read it right after this one. But all in all it was very interesting and was able to convey the mysterious and dark elements the author wanted to convey.

[Akedeia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get that it’s this epic thing of a novel that everyone praises, but the first tome can be such a sluggish read at times! Like heavy exposition and more mundane workings of a world was a focus rather than mystery. I mean, I can see that it’s setting up for something curious and mysterious, but it’s just not where we are in this part.
Buuuut I see a potential. And the internet is telling me to wait for chapter 100, so that’s what I’m gonna do.