The The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1: Deus lo Vult

The Saga of Tanya the Evil Light Novel #1

by Carlo Zen, Shinobu Shinotsuki (Visual Art)

High above the blood- and mud-soaked trenches, a young girl pits herself against army mages in high stakes aerial duels with bullets, spells, and bayonets. Her name is Tanya Degurechaff and she is the Devil of the Rhine, one of the greatest soldiers the Empire has ever seen! But inside her mind lives a ruthless, calculating ex-salaryman who enjoyed a peaceful life in Japan until he woke up in a war-torn world. Reborn as a destitute orphaned girl with nothing to her name but memories of a previous life, Tanya will do whatever it takes to survive, even if she can find it only behind the barrel of a gun!

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Fiction, Military Fiction, Alternate History, War

344 pages, Audiobook

First published October 31, 2013

Reviews

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all a brief word on the tile - Youjo Senki was translated as The Saga of Tanya the Evil - but the correct translation would have been - The Military Chronicles of a Little Girl which I bet would not appeal to many people.


This novel was not that "light" to my opinion. With five chapters where each chapter dividied in subchapters of some sorts. Some were in the first person perspective of Tanya while others we followed other characters. The problem was that it was always in first person perspective - which at times got a bit confusing.

Nevertheless, I've watch the anime and it is one of my favourite - Tanya no doubt top 3 favourite characters of all times and I really enjoy the duality in her. Her thoughts being of a salaryman and her words the young 9/10 young girl.

Quite interesting - at times our salaryman told stuff from our world and incorporated in that isekai which gave some "credibility". But in the end it resumes to one sentence - if we would have been born in another time, era, place would we be what we are now? Our thoughts, way of thinking, actions and personality? I think not.

The anime focus a lot on action but the book focus a lot more on the personality of Tanya (from her and other characters perspective) and tactician - almost thesis on how to make war. - in others words what should have Germany done to win the first world war (or second) - and how her views are molding Germany Empire.

There are some other interesting monologues about evil vs evil which to me is gold!

Excellent book - eagerly waiting the second light novel while I wait for the movie thats coming out in 2018 (?).

[Caleb CW · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before I kick the piss out of this book, I want you to read the blurb.

Read it? Good. Here it goes.

So the blurb is bad to the bone. It describes a little girl with a guy in her head from another dimension as she scrambles about a war zone wreaking havoc. Hooah. That's awesome, that's something I wanna read. That is not what this book is, not even a little bit. That blurb is garbage and should be stripped from the back of the book, because it's a lie. A bold in your face buk- keep it pg-13 Caleb. Phew.

Got a little heated there for a moment.

This book should be the epitome of where's my d*** (think Hot Chick with Rob Schneider) and 1917. Instead you get all this fluff. This book has so much filler you could practically choke on it. The battles? You get two. The crazy Devil of the Rhine thing that's flaunted in the blurb? You get a few second hand examples of insinuation and one decent first hand one. The best parts of the book are thirty or so pages at the beginning and maybe twenty or so throughout the rest. So roughly 1/6th of the book is what was advertised and is what I would classify as good. The rest is rank up, go to new location, rank up, go to new location, rank up, train recruits for 15 pages go to new location.

I'm sure you're saying now "damn he's harsh". You're right, I am being harsh on this one but maybe it's because I was advertised an amazing action story and instead got this inflated alternate dimension history of war as it relates to a nine-eleven year old girl. Also, don't expect bayonet fights, long gun battles where she mows down enemies, or intense magical duels. They're not present.

The characters are a child (Tanya), the dude in her head, and a whole heap of general staff. I didn't feel for any of them. The dude in her head is a prick who got killed then tossed into the body of a child. Then he stays a prick the whole time, there's no growth for him. Tanya is just going through the motions following orders, the only emotion you get out of her is frustration. Like me reading this. Then there's the general staff trying to control the outcome of the war for the empire all the while relying on a prodigal child to figure out where the fight is headed. Oh yeah and there's Being X who our dude trapped in head hates because damn it how dare they punish him for being a prick all the time in his previous life.

The magic comes from little orbs which feed off of mana from the user to do stuff like illusions and flight, but mostly all you get to see of it is flight.

This is book one in a series of roughly 12 books, I have no interest after this. If the blurb would have been a reflection of the story I probably would have been a little more forgiving. But anyone going into this needs to be aware the story you get is not the one advertised. It's not a quirky action story, it's a historical semi-fantasy semi-biography of a child as she ranks up in the military all while complaining of the incompetence of the military the whole time. If this is your thing give it a try because now you have a fairly decent idea of what this book is, its not battle its politics.

There it is and there you have it. Ugh.

[LG (A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: Due to the way this book handles religion and religious belief, devoutly religious people should probably approach it with caution.

The main character of this book used to be a Japanese salaryman (his name is never mentioned). Specifically, he worked in HR and did layoffs. One particularly upset person he'd just laid off pushed him in front of a train, landing the salaryman in front of Being X, aka God. Being X, annoyed at having to deal with yet another unbeliever, decides to put the salaryman in a position where he will be forced to believe in God. And so the salaryman is reborn in a new world, as an infant girl named Tanya. He retains his personality and memories of his former life but is forced to deal with the limitations of Tanya's body. At age 8 Tanya joins the military, and the book covers Tanya's time there from age 9 to 11, as she rises up in the ranks during the start of this world's first world war.

Tanya's new world is very similar to Germany just before World War I. In fact, the book begins with a map of Europe, labeled with new country names (except the United States, which is allowed to remain the same for some reason) - Tanya is a soldier for the Empire. Somehow, Tanya's interest in economics (and psychology and history?) and experience in Human Resources translate to "military genius" in this new world.

First, a note about pronouns and gender. The salaryman is male, and Tanya is female. The salaryman still thinks of himself as male, even in Tanya's body, but he is also fairly disconnected from Tanya, to the point that it shows in the writing. Although the bulk of the book is from the salaryman's perspective and he occasionally uses first-person pronouns, he often talks about Tanya in the third person, using feminine pronouns, as though she were a separate being. I couldn't find any rhyme or reason for when he'd use "I" vs. "she" - it seemed, at first, to be linked to whether he was talking about physical actions ("she") rather than purely thoughts ("I"), but that wasn't always the case. In the thick of battle, for example, the salaryman tended to use "I," even when describing actions he performed with Tanya's body.

Anyway, I bought this because reviews frequently described it as better written than most recent light novels. I'm not sure I'd agree. Yes, Zen clearly did a lot of research, and yes, certain scenes and passages were really good. But like many recent light novel authors, Zen didn't know how to do decent story pacing and got too bogged down in the nitty gritty details of favorite topics at the expense of story and characters. I was more tolerant of Zen's reliance on first-person POV, because it was occasionally fun seeing the disconnect between Tanya's perspective and how other characters perceived her and her actions, but in the latter half of the book it wasn't uncommon for me to not know whose perspective I was dealing with until several paragraphs or even a whole page or two into a scene. Characters' "voices" were just too similar.

Then there were the time skips. At two points, the story skipped forward in time about 30 or 40 years, for about 5 pages total. The first time this happened, it seemed to serve the same function as foreshadowing, hinting at something that would be happening soon in the main narrative but doing so via reporters in the future researching the war years after it was over. The second time skip, though...I don't know. Pretty much pointless.

I'm not a big military fiction reader, and I don't know much about the World Wars beyond vague memories of having to learn dates and events in high school. I'm not really the intended audience for this book. That said, I've enjoyed jargon-filled military fiction before. Even if I had trouble following the big picture strategies, this could have kept me hooked with its character interactions and individual battles. Unfortunately, I had trouble following the battles, and Zen seemed to want to avoid having characters talk to each other and interact outside of battle, so there wasn't as much human interaction as I might have liked either. It didn't help that the salaryman was an antisocial person who viewed people as objects, literal human resources for him to use as needed.

There were parts of this book that hooked me - I enjoyed the scene about the testing and eventual perfection of the Type 95 orb, which veered (unintentionally?) into black comedy, as well as Lergen and Zettour's perspectives on Tanya's actions and behavior and the salaryman's occasional flashes of cynical humor. But there wasn't enough of that, and the parts that I did enjoy could have been executed better.

I don't plan to continue this series and don't know that I'm even interested enough in it to watch the anime.

Extras:

- A map of Europe labeled with all the new country names and coded according to their relationships with the Empire
- A glossy folded sheet with large illustrations on both sides, which includes a timeline of Tanya's life up to age 9
- A 6-page appendix that explains the interior and exterior lines strategies, with maps, and gives an outline of the history of the war up to the end of this book
- An afterword by the author
- Several black-and-white illustrations throughout
- This may be the first light novel I've read with footnotes

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

[Patrícia⁷ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright, I've completed roughly 30% of this book and I couldn't take it anymore.

I loved the anime and was really curious about the light novels. And while I like the concept and ideas of Carlo Zen, this book had NO PROGRESSION. And no action. It is pretty descriptive but I am ok with that when it surves a more direct purpose. But some of the information seems so random, the characters seem random (as do their actions), there is so much talk of war strategy and platoon placement. I'm all for it, but show me some action.

I felt I was still at the start line 30% of the book in.

I admire the concept but I was too bored to appreciate it.

[S.Q. Eries · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Summary

For a light novel, The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a pretty hefty book. If you have no familiarity with the Tanya the Evil anime or manga, there’s a high chance you’ll get confused if you read the novel first. However, if you’re already a fan of the series and want to understand more about that world’s geopolitics or mage technology, this book will provide you with an abundance of background information as well as a range of character viewpoints.

The Review

The Saga of Tanya the Evil is categorized as a light novel, but it actually makes pretty heavy reading. Anyone who’s familiar with the anime or manga knows the story has a complicated set-up. On top of that complex plot, the novel delves deep into the sci-fi and military aspects, which means readers won’t be breezing through this one.

Our main character is a highly intellectual human resources manager from our modern Japan. However, we meet him just as he suffers an untimely death at the hands of a freshly terminated employee. Upon his demise, he comes face to face with God, who, frustrated by the faithlessness of our main character and humanity as a whole, decides to inspire faith by reincarnating the man—memories intact—as a female in a parallel version of World War I Germany.

The novel’s opening is somewhat difficult to follow. It introduces our main character as his consciousness is transitioning into his reincarnated form Tanya, and then it delves into an overview of the Stanford Prison Experiment before transitioning into social commentary. If I wasn’t already familiar with the Tanya anime and manga, I’m certain I’d have gotten utterly confused.

Compounding the problem of conveying the main character’s complicated circumstances is the writing itself. Dialogue is annoyingly short on tags, so I was often guessing at who said what. Combat scenes rely heavily on dialogue to paint the action, but unless you’re well versed in military jargon, you may have trouble understanding what’s happening. Verb tense constantly shifts between past and present, sometimes within the same scene. There are a lot of POV shifts, which can be disorienting, and our main character simultaneously uses “I” and “Tanya”/ “she” to refer to self. I’m not sure how much of these issues stem from the original Japanese manuscript and how much from the translation process. Either way, it makes for a difficult English text.

However, things are much less problematic if you’re acquainted with the anime or manga and understand from the start that Tanya is a modern salaryman trapped in a child’s body whose ultimate aim is a safe, cushy job. In that case, the value provided by the novel is detailed explanations of key points of the story. For instance, all the Tanya works portray the Type 95 computation orb as an impractical contraption that only works with divine intervention. However, the novel describes at length the scientific/magical theory behind computation orbs, why the Type 95 is both revolutionary and unstable, and its functional value to a mage. Regarding the military aspect, the novel includes maps and diagrams of the unfolding war. We also get a prolonged look at the war room conferences that decide army movements and the discussions among higher-ups that determine Tanya’s military career path. Unlike the manga and anime, there’s less comedy derived by juxtaposing Tanya’s conniving thoughts against those of the people she’s trying to manipulate; what we get instead is a better picture of the personalities within the cast.

One of those personalities is Major von Lergen, seeming the only person in the Imperial Army to question Tanya’s suitability as a soldier (and a human being). At every step of her career, he raises objections, and the novel spells out the reasons he’s so concerned about her rise in the ranks. I’d hoped for a better rationale from this supposed unbiased Personnel Officer than his gut feeling, and his main criticism of Tanya (the way she objectifies people as resources) is rather hypocritical. After all, the Imperial Army does that all the time as evidenced by the way Tanya gets shoved into her first combat situation at age nine. However, double-standards are certainly common among humans, and the novel seems to be setting von Lergen as an eternal obstacle to Tanya’s goals.

Another aspect detailed in the novel is the impact of the Type 95 computation orb on Tanya’s psyche. As in the anime and manga, it forces her to utter praise to God when in use. However, there’s more to it than just embarrassing instances of worship. In the novel, its side effects include memory lapses and a sense of brainwashing, which makes Tanya doubly resentful of the divine.

Extras include map and fold-out illustration in color; appendixes explaining military strategy and history timeline; author afterword; and six black-and-white illustrations.
For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!

[Jorge Rosas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the story but the narrative was heavy to read with many introspection thoughts between dialogues, although those were important to stablish some points of interest it made difficult to follow the flow of a conversation. I loved the interactions with Being X and the philosophical debates that derived from it, the economic theory applied to life and the modern society Cosmo vision applied in Tanya’s world, her battle for survival, the cultural shock between generations and her genius in escalating ranks. I also enjoyed being referred to books and other sources of information regarding economics and sociology.

[Stan1000101 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of an extremely pragmatic salaryman who was murdered and reincarnated as Tanya Degurechaff, a little girl in an alternative WWI with magic, because God wants to awaken his faith. Equipped with the vast amount of economic and military knowledge, as well as skills of the corporate world from her previous life, Tanya rapidly racks up achievements and climbs the rank in the military. However, with each advance of her career, she only seem to get farther away from safety and further drive her country into a war that can't be won, much like a certain nation in both world wars.

This book's most prominent selling point is its uniqueness. Sure, it has elements like magic, loli, isekai, genderbender, and OP protagonist, but the first few pages will tell you this is far from a typical light novel. The protagnist is not a naive teenager that boasts about protecting his friends, but an adult capable of constant rational thoughts with a fully developed sociopathic personality. The world is not one of RPG fantasy but one that closely resembles World War I Europe. The tone is neither lighthearted nor very dark, but cold and sarcastic, often times devoid of emotion. A lot of the content consists of not dialogues and action, but inner thoughts of characters and explanations of the situation. The page count is not at the typical 100-200 range for a light novel but at an intimidating 400+ pages. The oddness of this book definitely makes it worth checking out; although whether you'll enjoy it will depend entirely, more than any other book, on your own personal taste.

For me, it was definitely an enjoyable read. You can say my tastes are as strange as the book itself. It's amusing to dive into the head of a hardcore rational thinker, and a sociopath at that. I admire the way Tanya applies her knowledge and analyzes each situation through the lens of logic. Though I don't know if her superiority complex and utter lack of empathy are something to admire, they're definitely traits that make her character interesting, if not likable. Though she's 99% rational, her logic isn't without flaw, as there is such a thing as human ego. It's always a perk to spot contradictions and hypocritical thinking in her thoughts, and it's great entertainment that for whatever comedic or tragic purposes, the 1% of the time she makes a mistake always brings catastrophic consequences; she's like the physical manifest of "win all the battles but lose the war." Despite the complexity of her thoughts, her objectives and emotions are actually quite simple and easy to understand. All she wants is safety, freedom, and a good career. If things go her way, she's delighted; if they don't, she curses fate. It's because of such simplicity that we are easily able to sympathize and relate to her despite her heartlessness, and without realizing, we've started to share the same views and harbor the same hope that she will reach her ideal life in this war-torn, rotten world.

I also like how the story involves multiple other characters' perspectives. For one, it's certainly a good amount of world building; it makes the world feel complete and realistic. It's also fun to see the differences between how other characters view Tanya and who she really is, as well as the misunderstandings they have about each other due to Tanya's modern values and knowledge.

The writing is...relatively better than a lot of other light novels, but it's still far from any good writings you would expect in a proper novel. A lot of it is information on each country's political/military situation and characters' own analysis. Not only are they filled with military jargon, they also include references to economics and history that most readers wouldn't know. While I appreciate the amount of world building and the knowledge I learn from it, it's taxing to read even for my level of patience. The worst thing is that these huge paragraphs of information is sandwiched between single lines of dialogues, which distracts you from the conversation; there are times I have to go back and read the dialogues from the start. To top it off, those chunks of information are sometimes just a repeat of the previous ones or have nothing to do with the dialogues; it would be nice if Carlo stops his "pen diarrhea" once he got the point across. Aside from the writing style, the structure of the story is also far from proper. There are no clear rising action, climax, and falling action, but rather, events just come one after another; it's less storytelling and more reporting a stream of events, much like a diary or a chronicle(hence the direct translation of the title "War Chronicles of a Little Girl"). While this does make the book more like a war record, which is probably what the author intended it to be, it does make the story less progressive and can bore the reader out.

There are a few other miscellaneous things to note about this book. First is there are footnotes that explain all sorts of references the reader might not know. Second, to help the reader better understand the war situation, there are maps and diagrams along with summaries on the last few pages. Third, there are exact dates and locations attached to each part, making it look more like a war record. Last but not least, the illustrations are dark and gritty, which fits the overall tone of the book pretty well. I especially like the way they drew Tanya's eyes that make her look like a lifeless doll(accurate representation of how others perceive her).

Finally, some comments on the author: Carlo Zen is the type of nerd that looks into any and everything about military, history, and economics, then obnoxiously act as if he's the most knowledgeable guy on Earth, putting his geekery on full display in front of others. I can tell from the afterword because we're a similar kind of species. I do sincerely respect the amount of knowledge he possesses to be able to construct such believable characters and such a realistic world because not many authors(light novel authors in particular) can do that, but I think it would be better if he could slightly reduce the nerdy pride that has flooded every corner of the book.

[سیما تقوی · Rating 1 out of 5]

حقیقتش تا صفحه ۱۰۰ بیشتر دوام نیاوردم و کتاب را نیمه‌کاره رها کردم...من هیچوقت کتابی رو نیمه‌کاره رها نمی‌کنم اما واقعا دیگه نمی‌کشیدم!

[Sean Newgent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light novels tend to be poorly written scripts for potential anime pumped out by talentless authors forced to follow God-awful deadlines that would make even competent authors shiver. The genre is inundated with stories of bland male protagonists going to bland fantasy worlds where they engage in bland fan-fiction level adventures with a gaggle of sexually promiscuous women. In other words, they tend to be really loose, poorly-written self inserts.

The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a breath of fresh air in that Carlo Zen has writing ability. This reads like an actual novel and the fact that's the unique selling point for me is...kind of sad really. But despite this breath of fresh air...Zen goes too far for me.

Tanya the Evil is about a Japanese businessman who is killed. Meeting God he reveals he is an atheist, thinks God is running things poorly, and enrages the being into sending him to another realm wracked by perpetual war. Awakening from death as a female baby, the narrator offers a unique first person perspective where he somehow comes across as two people, both Tanya and the businessman from Japan.

Tanya has magic ability and winds up becoming a mage for the military at the age of nine. This military is The Empire, essentially a fantasy version of Germany. The novel follows Tanya's early years in the military as she makes a name for herself and is forced to accept religion in order to survive.

I liked the book well enough and commend the style and writing again. But it goes too far. Zen's philosophizing, descriptions, and tangents become an impediment to the story with long portions of the book feeling aimless, as if the author is just kind of stream-of-conscious spewing words. It gives Tanya and others more character than they have in the anime adaptation, but at the expense of a quick moving story. There is also a problem with so many first person perspectives being present that you can lose track of who is speaking. I wish the novel had some indication of whose perspective I am reading before diving in.

Also from a story perspective, not a lot is going on here. It's very episodic and flat in that way. Things happen but you aren't biting your nails in suspense or looking forward to seeing Tanya reach a particular goal. It's fun to read but I wish I had some reason to care about what was happening that wasn't my attachment to the anime.

Another gripe is that Being X as portrayed in the novel is much sillier and that takes away from the Nietzche-esque nature that the anime had gone for with Tanya's interactions with God. I got more KonoSuba vibes than I wanted when the religious matters were brought up and that's too bad because the element of fighting God yet God being wholly in power was one of the more interesting angles of the series for me.

The only other real complaint I have is that the editing could have been tighter.

Otherwise I had some fun with this book. The early portion, for me, was better than the middle and end but I appreciated what Zen was going for. Carlo Zen is a smart guy tossing out all the useless knowledge he's been accumulating in what is perhaps the smartest light novel I've ever read. Not the best, Nisioisin holds that throne for me. But fans of the anime and fans of light novels will find a lot to enjoy here. And something unique in such a dry, uninspired area of novels is always welcome.

[Ricardo Matos · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this isn't a book for everybody because it falls outside the norm by A LOT.
An atheist in conflict with a God like entity gets thrown into a magical World War Germany like country locked inside the body of a child. The book is heavy with debates on military theory, morality during war and world politics.
The author put in a lot of effort to enrich the book as much as possible with footnotes and military diagrams. It doesn't fit the light novel genre at all, as it goes over 350 pages of dense text.
Really recommend if you're keen on reading something different and fresh! If you get offended easily on topics like war and religion, stay clear :D

[Aleksander Dunston]

The first entry into "The saga of Tanya the Evil" Deus Io Vult, begins with the main character being murdered by an employee he recently fired. However, just before he is murdered everything around him seems to stop, and a being calling itself God appears before him, after discussing for a while and the MC declaring that the being talking to him can't be God, instead calling it being X, being X punishes him by sending him to another world of magic and guns on the onset of WW1. After being transported to this different world in the body of "Tanya Degurechaff" he joins the imperial army of the Empire, which is the equivalent of Germany, as a mage and quickly rises through the ranks. He would quickly become a high ranking officer through his repeated exploits using his knowledge from his previous world. The story really revolves around the idea that in order for Tanya to survive he must fight against the entire world, and puts forward the message that one can overcome anything as long as they try.

My favorite character in this story is Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov a.k.a Visha. She is my favorite character because she is the most normal and interesting character to observe. She was actually a conscript in the mage battalion of the Imperial army and as such, she did not intend to be in the military, and only by chance did she gets paired up with Tanya. As the story progresses she becomes one of the most experienced veterans in the story and the one who has served the most time with Tanya. The two would end up leading the same battalion Tanya even showing some concern for her when she says that "Corporal Serebryakov looks to be at her limits" an interesting development as Tanya does not usually show much care for her subordinates even executing two men who disobeyed her orders. I do believe this was the author's intended purpose for such a character as she serves as a window into the story from the lens of a normal everyday person who has remarkable determination. Something I was truly not expecting from this character was her exceptional determination to live up to the expectations set down before her even saying that "I volunteer for the rescue mission... I'm an Imperial soldier, too! While it may be presumptuous of me to say so, I believe I can handle this mission" even after she is given the out to stay back at base. Overall she is my favorite character as she is the most down to Earth one and continues to exceed the expectations of her superior officer showing unwavering determination.

As for my overall thoughts on this novel, I think it is an exceptional read for anyone especially those far more interested in the tactical side of conflicts. I would wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone with the concession that this is for a more mature audience. This is a more advanced read that I would liken to that of a 12th or even beyond grade level with high-level content and a much more mature way of handling them than what is typically expected in a book like this. My one gripe with this novel is its lack of context when it switches POV between characters so you must pay attention to who the narrator is at all times. All in all, I would recommend this book to those looking for a more mature story dealing with the ins and outs of military conflict, and those looking for an underdog story.

[Sky · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a second attempt at a review. Halfway through this book, I put it down and wrote a review complaining about how awful it is. But then for whatever reason I went back and finished it, and even bought the next one. I still think the writing is awful. The structure of the novel is just plain unpleasant to read, with most of the actual text comprising long, meandering, and generally unnecessary explanations of the background and subtext with very little description of what's actually happening. The translation makes this even worse. No effort was made to construct actual English prose, everything is far too literal and thus incredibly stilted and awkward. My guess is that the translators didn't have much time for revision and rewrites, since I also noticed some typoes and other signs of hasty editing.

Still, I read the whole thing and came back for more, so I guess it has something going for it. And judging by the other reviews, most readers didn't have a problem with the terrible writing and awful translation. Presumably most of those who read this were people like me who enjoyed the anime or manga adaptation and came the novels to get more of the story. And it is a fun story. It's an amazingly silly premise. The fact that a 10-year-old girl is a frontline military officer is something that a few characters question, but for the most part nobody in this world makes a big deal over it. As a reader, you just have to accept that everyone's basically fine with it. What carries the story, and acts as the source of most of the drama, is the disconnect between the main character's thoughts and actions. Tanya brings the mindset of an ambitious corporate climber to the military, and ends up getting in over her head again and again because of her tendency to say and do things that she thinks will get herself promoted, without really considering the consequences. She ends up a war hero through her own bad luck (with a little help from a malevolent god), and gets increasingly dangerous assignments as she gains the reputation of an aggressive officer who always succeeds in carrying out orders.

If the premise sounds interesting to you, then I'd really recommend experiencing this story in some other format. The animated series has some great presentation and is a lot of fun. I haven't read the manga, but I have to believe it's better than this, since the comic format naturally avoids the worst problems in this book (it has to actually depict action and character interaction instead of wasting countless pages explaining and re-explaining the obvious). Also, a bad translation is much less of a problem when there's also a visual component. As for these books, the writing is bad, Yen Press did a horrible job with the translation, but I'm somehow enjoying them anyways.

[Ophilia Adler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mm, I dont know yet what i think.

Im not a huge military history nerd or enjoyer. So all the military talk and strategy talk was a bit to much for me.

I loved the anime which is why i gave this a shot.

I also was thrown off with the constant change of first person and third person writing. When we followed the main characters thoughts ot was written in first person and then suddenly it changed to third person to describe events. I dont know if this is a translation issue but it made the reading difficult.

The first person narrator would also change quite a bit. Im used to books that does this so i dont mind it. But sometimes it wasnt clear we switched person and it could take a bit until i realized we were following another one. Which also hindered the reading.

The last 100 pages got more interesting for me tho, when she trained her special unit. So i might give the second book a try.

Also heard the english dubbed voice actor have made the audiobook of this one on audible. Which i might look into as well.

[RhC · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uh. I don't get it. Are we doing "Opposite Day?"
I was expecting a fast-paced, action-packed, translation of a foreign, graphic-novel-like work.
Boy was I wrong!

Where are all these four and five-star ratings generated?
I must be missing SOMETHING! Anything of redeemable value.
Maybe "lost in translation" (BtW, a movie I thought sucked, also)?

Whatever spurs all kudos must come after page 80-something because that's as far I made it. Not that I "Did Not Finish," it's more like I could not finish. I tried every night for better than a week and the farthest I accomplished was maybe a dozen pages … and, then I'd wake up!

One star (positive) only because the book is a definitive cure for insomnia.

[Tonja Candelaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first foray into manga and it was an odd one. The story had so many different things packed into it but it felt like they were just thrown out there but not follow through.

[Starch · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF 61%.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magic Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff is maladjusted and bitter. In fact, so precise is her revulsion for inorganic institutions of control, dogmatic treatises, and the inventions of passive minds that her warming to the violence and superimposed morality of war is less an acquiescence to baser instinct than an honest brokering of human intelligence and capacity taken to its most logical extreme. If war is hell, then what of its denizens? THE SAGA OF TANYA THE EVIL bequeaths this story -- Tanya's story -- in beautiful and arrogant opposition to the averted gaze most would favor on such matters.

"Never underestimate human potential." (p. 161)

Tanya, age 10, is the prodigy of The Empire's military, and not by accident, as her skill and mastery of mechanized-magic paint each battlefield redder than the last. Her young features suggest a cold, disinterested soul whose lived experience is naught but a dream. And yet, the reality is far more intriguing.

"Messing with people's lives is quite honestly a lot of fun, but it's completely unacceptable for me to be on the receiving end like this. Why can't I decide how to live my own life? Isn't my existence as an individual the least I should be able to control?" (p. 111)

Tanya is always fighting. Sometimes, she fights herself: her human inferiority constantly butts heads with the higher-level logic whose despotism mandates she excel, no matter the danger at hand. And so, when the Empire subjects its soldiers to a multi-front war with no end-game strategy, Tanya rationalizes her survival by betting against the odds: in times of conflict, soldiers don't have a right to refuse, but they do have the opportunity to apply the first course of action. Tanya takes initiative. Survives. Applies her guile. Gets promoted. Gains the admiration of her superiors. Positions herself for something more, something better, at every turn. Tanya, it turns out, isn't really evil . . . just exceptional at being human.

"Please remember. Many of your failures are your own fault. And often, by the time you realize it, it's too late." (p. 305)

THE SAGA OF TANYA THE EVIL is a dense, frothy read. Tremendous is the burden of readers curious for the book's concept but unprepared for the author's heavy-handed assault on the moral proclivities of an assumed civil society. Author Carlo Zen's military geekery is off the charts. So much so, very rarely will one catch dialogue that isn't interrupted by paragraphs of analytical tampering or promulgations on military strategy. If one is patient, and finds the rhythm, then it isn't such a bother . . . but it requires a bit of training to hold in one's mind snippets of dialogue, for paragraphs or even pages at a time, before the author deems it necessary to pick up where they left off.

Likewise, the novel's structure is generally quite poor. This is more of a residual effect of the book's point-of-origin (the web) than it is a failing of the author. Pseudo intercalary chapters shift the point-of-view, the setting, and the tone, with greater frequency as the story deepens. By extension, the detached narrative tends to bounce from third-person limited to first-person limited with excruciating unpredictability. Make no mistake, this is a well-written book. The only true fault lies with its organization.

Zen could very well get away with penning the whole book from Tanya's perspective, but there are several secondary characters whose motives and inclinations are just as fascinating as the main character's. Lieutenant colonel von Lergen, a high ranking personnel officer, fears and admires Tanya with every waking breath. Brigadier general von Zettour, a more academic military strategist, adores accuracy but bemoans its consequences. And then there's second lieutenant Viktoriya Ivanova Serebryakov. Visha finds her way into Tanya's unit, but not out of fear, admiration, or even curiosity; the young woman has an eye for taking action; she's productive. Her productivity wins over her bittersweet leader.

[Piotr Nowak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vol.1
This book is basically a war fiction glorifying war and painting Reich as good guys, which comes out pretty goofy.

There is also a fantasy twist, but the mages are basically equivalent of planes so it doesn't really matter that much.

It's a bit slow to read, because there is almost no dialogues and half of text is filled with obscure war anecdotes author came up with while playing Europa Uniwersalis and other Paradox games.

There is also a huge amount of rants about authors antitheistic and meritocratic views.

Volume 1 conclusion - Human Resources are evil.

Vol.2
900 pages in and literally not a single character in MC's battalion has been developed. There are like 2 named people in whole 48 person unit. Book is focused on describing battalion's operations and it's impact on war from multiple perspectives.

The most based Warsaw Uprising take:

"Whose re­spon­si­bi­li­ty is it when a beast bites into a meal thrown in front of it? I be­lie­ve those re­spon­si­ble are none other than the ones who threw the sa­cri­fi­ce to the sta­rving ani­mal."

Damn those civillians, they gave no choice to good guys Reich soldiers..

Author dislikes communists with passion.

Japanese guy writes polish uprising fanfic in his basement.

[Wilson Tun · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent military magical fiction book. Though unlike the anime where mostly actions take place, this takes the military bureaucracy and inside relationships more seriously and realistically.

Though it’s hard to read through if you aren’t war junkie.

Edit 1: After 4 years, I have decided to jump into Saga of Tanya the Evil once again and found myself more charmed with the story. The intricate nature of military, bureaucracy, technology, and strategy all make this an entertaining bundle. Tanya is genuinely one of the most interestingly written characters I’ve ever read in novels. Despite the absurdity of the plot, it is still one of the best military fiction out there.

P.S: If you aren’t that interested in military matters, war strategy, and tactics, move on. You’ll die of boredom. But for those bunch that are different, you’re gonna love this one.

[Alis Aquilae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wahhh, chỉ một vài trang đầu thôi mà tác giả đã thể hiện quan điểm và cái nhìn của bản thân coi bộ gắt gao thật sự ấy, câu từ nào cũng sắc lẹm cả.

Chương 0 trang 18 - 27 rất nhiều thứ được tiết lộ về nhân vật chính như là thế giới quan lối sống cách tư duy cách nhìn nhận của nhân vật, có thể thấy đây là một con người thông minh, rất lý trí và khôn ngoan.

Character: Tanya Degurechaff, thực thể X, Lergen(consious of tanya), Rudersdorf(def), Zettour(def), Ludwig(atk), Viktoriya Ivanovna Serebryakov(Visha), Erya(friendwithvisha)

Lergen quả là một người tài, có mắt nhìn và khả năng quan sát phân tích tổng kết chưa kể đến trực giác tuyệt vời đến vậy mà không làm nhân sự cũng uổng, anh đã nhìn ra được phần nào bản chất của Tanya, nhưng còn về phần động cơ thì có vẻ hơi sâu xa và cực đoan hóa lên so với những gì mình thấy ở tanya đến hiện tại.

Tr 281 282 mình rất thích cách nhìn nhận của Tanya về chiến tranh và sự lãng phí nhân tài của nó

Mình cũng cảm thấy có sự nhấn mạnh ở chỗ cái giá phải trả của những nhà chính trị/lãnh đạo ngu ngốc là vô cùng lớn, nó dẫn đến chiến tranh vô nghĩa là điều đầu tiên, từ đó dẫn đến những trận chiến tàn khốc vô nghĩa, đẩy con người vô tội vào hoàn cảnh khốn cùng, thậm chí đánh mất đi mạng sống cuộc đời phía trước của họ, phí mất những nhân tài với lòng trung thành yêu nước. Chiến tranh là điều không tất yếu, chỉ có sự ngu ngốc và mù quáng mới dẫn đến nó, để rồi có vô vàn thứ quý giá bị đánh mất, phá hủy. Từ đây cho ta thấy vai trò của những bộ óc và sự quyết định của họ khi ngồi vào cái ghế điều hành một đất nước một xã hội một tập thể có sức ảnh hưởng đến thế nào.

Tanya xem Visha là nguồn nhân lực có giá trị và triển vọng tốt, vượt ngoài những gì cô đã nghĩ về Visha (tr301)

Tr314 có một số dữ liệu tránh confusion

Tr322 đoạn từ "nhìn lại thời khi...nhận lươg rồi" mình nghiệm không ra được cái lý lẽ đằng sau nó, nên nghe cứ như đang lập luận một đằng mà kết luận một nẻo í.

Tự dưng mình nghĩ đến Tanya là một nhân vật có sự mâu thuẫn được thể hiện ra với độc giả như thế nào, bởi thế gian quan và lối suy nghĩ của cô hầu như không chứa ai vào mắt ngoài bản thân và lợi ích kèm theo. Mà cô lại xem bản thân là con người, mà con người thì lại thường có thể mang lợi ích nhất định hoặc cao hơn cho cô, nên có những lúc những suh nghĩ và quan niệm của cô lại rất đúng đắn và đáng để suy ngẫm, áp dụng. Nhưng không chỉ có vậy, đôi lúc cô lại cho ta thấy được những suy nghĩ vô cùng ích kỷ hoặc vặn vẹo nhưng ta lại không thể nào hoàn toàn phủ nhận chúng. Kết luận lại, việc xác định rằng cô thực ra là " vai chính diện hay vai phản diện " trong chính quyển sách nói về mình khá là gay go.

Đoạn từ tr331 "Ít nhất...miền đất hứa đang chờ" tr333, có một chỗ mà việc sử dụng NDTE95 tác giả miêu tả làm mình thấy rằng giống với việc sử dụng một chất gây nghiện nào đó chẳng hạn, và ngay sau đó cũng trong đoạn này tg có nhắc đến việc sử dụng ma túy, well, it is kinda nice to be able to meet up with the au thinking somehow.
Mình rất thích một câu "Cảm giác hưng phấn chạy khắp cơ thể Tanya, cùng với đó là sự tự do cô bị tước đoạt."(tr332)

Đoạn từ tr347 "đó chẳng phải... hết trang 349" khi mà thân phận và hình dáng thật sự lúc bấy giờ của Tanya bị phát hiện mình đã không khỏi bàng hoàng trước sự miêu tả những gì đang diễn ra trên màn hình chiếu lại, bởi vì đứng trên góc nhìn của độc giả, viễn cảnh này mình đã "ở trong" nó rồi nên mình có thể biết được từng ý nghĩ, cử chỉ, hành vi, biểu cảm, xúc cảm của Tanya. Và điều khiến mình bất ngờ đó là chúng lại hoàn toàn khác so với lời miêu tả của các tướng lĩnh Cộng Hòa. Quả là "một người không nên đánh giá người khác qua vẻ bề ngoài".
Và ở đây mình cũng thấy sự lung lay trong đức tin của chính mình và sự nghi vấn liệu Tanya và họ có đang tôn thờ chung một vị thần hay không rất thú vị.
Một câu mà mình thích là "Nếu vị Chúa mà cô ta cầu nguyện thật sự tồn tại, liệu đó là ác quỷ hay thần quỷ diệt?"(tr347)

Pp tuyển dụng tr351 353 thú dị dẩy

Mình khá là thích cái diễn cảnh éo le mà mọi thứ dường như đều đang đứng về phe tạo điều kiện thuận lợi cho Tanya nhưng đồng thời lại không vì dọc đường nảy sinh rất nhiều tình huống hoặc 1 vài tình huống nghiêm trọng nào đó để Tanya nghĩ là mọi thứ vậy mà lại đều đang chống lại mình.

Tr390 tiết lộ thêm lý do tanya ghét ttx ngoài việc mất tự do tự chủ bản thân

Nhận ra là tanya chỉ loại bỏ những người làm cản trở bước tiến của mình, còn những người nằm bên ngoài nó cô đơn thuần không quá để tâm đến ngoài việc nếu giết họ thì chỉ là một việc làm vô ích, phí nhân sự, mất đi tính xã hội của loài người

Khái niệm về " tính xã hội " của tanya khá đặc biệt và thú vị, cô tự nhận mình là một con người hoàn toàn sở hữu tính xã hội ấy

Cũng dễ hiểu là nguyên do mà Tanya có thể đưa ra những "dự đoán" chắc nịch như vậy là dựa vào những kiến thức và lịch sử đi trước ở thế giới thực của cô trước đó. Còn đối với những con người ở đây thì mọi chuyện mới diễn ra lần đầu tiên mà thôi nên tất nhiên đối với việc xuất hiện một cá nhân " thần thông quảng bá " việc gì cũng biết có thể bình luận và liệu như thần như vậy thì không gây sốc mới là điều lạ. Nhưng cũng phải prob cho tanya đã có mớ kiến thức đó sẵn từ đầu và nắm chắc nó vận dụng nó đúng cách đúng chỗ để tạo ấn tượng.

Tr 487 - 493 ấn tượng đối với cách nhìn của chuẩn tướng Zettour dành cho Tanya

Tr 495 xuất hiện v600

Lịch thống nhất 1963 báo cáo của tờ báo nước Londonium tr 454 có nhắc đến danh tiếng bí mật của Tanya và "ác quỷ" cô luôn cho là đang giả danh chúa để lộng hành, giống như là âm mưu cuối cùng cũng bị bại lộ rồi để lại tàn tích phía sau chính là sự thật ấy

[Cinnamon · Rating 4 out of 5]

พล็อตคือแบบ อิหยังวะ แนวแอคชั่นแฟนตาซีนะ เรื่องเกี่ยวสงครามในรัฐสมมติ (แต่เหมือนจะเป็นเยอรมันปะ แบบช่วงสงครามโลก) แต่อ่านไปอ่านมา เออ สนุกว่ะ คือผิดเพี้ยน โคตรบ้าและกล้ามาก สไตล์เกม + อนิเมะอะมั้งนะ (เหมือนจะมีสร้างเป็นอนิเมะแล้วด้วย) นังหนูมันเจ๋งดี แต่เบื้องหลังนังหนูคือ... ไปอ่านกันเองแล้วกัน แล้วจะ “โวร้ยยยยย” 😂😂😂😂

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

7.2/10

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember the precise reason why I bought this volume. I know, at least, that I was interested in the series from seeing praise for it elsewhere, but my question is whether or not I made the purchase in some strange sort of preparation for the Isekai Quartet anime crossover (which informed my later purchase of the first volume of Re:ZERO). But I guess none of this is really important here.

When I received this book in the mail, I was initially taken aback by what I would call the "seriousness" of its presentation. Not a hardcover like Yen Press's Overlord volumes, but the 300+ page count and the more violent-looking artstyle suggested an older audience (as with Overlord as well), which may or may not be a good sign. Within the past several years, I have read far too many teen-oriented light novels, thus coming a long way from when I had trouble reading The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya or the first No Game No Life volume, both of which I felt had very weak prose, to now considering my mind to be "dulled down" to a degree such that I can more than tolerate the inherent shittiness of light novels. What this means is that LNs for older audiences, such as Overlord or Youjo Senki here, feel too "dry" in comparison. Maybe they are better-written than the high-school stuff, but they are still far away from "real" literature, and thus have the same bland flavor as Western fantasy or something (being the appropriate analogue for this side of the Pacific). Youjo Senki is much the same way, having taken me over a month to read, when I've previously read volumes of KonoSuba in a single sitting, as I would read about 100 pages of this, and just feel very little motivation to continue the next day, instead taking breaks of a couple weeks at a time.

The biggest issue, then, is that this novel is very much structured as "Book One of many." The same shit as Overlord, basically, wherein the first novel exists primarily to introduce the reader to the basic elements of the new world, as well as a quick run-down on the protagonist, with the assumption that subsequent volumes would be more interesting for being more in-depth with story-telling, world-building, and introducing new characters. So in these 300+ pages, we are loosely introduced to the salaryman who dies and is reincarnated as Tanya (von) Degurechaff, then we just barrel through Tanya's constant rising through military ranks, with the novel ultimately ending with a promotion to Major and giving Tanya an augmented battalion while Dacia (not!Romania) invades the Empire to the southeast, setting up Volume 2 for a bigger battle or something. Not much time is spent on other characters, with the minor except of Visha (who would become Tanya's adjutant) and kinda von Schugel (who creates the "computation orb" that would force Tanya to praise "Being X" for power).

Within the limits of this curious structure, there is no real antagonistic force. The salaryman protagonist, upon his death, is challenged by a self-proclaimed god who cherry-picks certain of the salaryman's statements, ultimately spitefully punishing him with reincarnation as a girl in a war-torn world with magic and divine influence. Pissed off by this nonsense, the salaryman, as "Tanya," surges forward with sociopathy and libertarian drive for his/her Individuality to rapidly rise in the ranks in the Imperial Army. For whatever reason, the "god" (whom "Tanya" refers to as "Being X" to diminish His divinity) gave Tanya high magical potential, and the salaryman's older mental age allows him, through "Tanya," to become a "prodigy" (as an eleven-year-old child with the mind of a man in his late 20s or early 30s or whatever would naturally simulate the mindset of a "prodigy"). Furthermore, as is true to "isekai" genre fashion, Tanya is able to use knowledge of the "real world" World Wars to excel in the new world's simulation of WWI + WWII (with magic).

As I am most used to Dragon Quest ripoffs and Final Fantasy XIV ripoffs, this magical World War setting is a bit of a fresh take for the isekai genre. Much of my enjoyment is less that this volume is "good" or "well-written" and more that I sense better things for the future. This volume is "good" insofar as it establishes good potential for later volumes. Otherwise, Tanya is an interesting character to follow, but mostly for the oddity of narration: the novel is mostly narrated as through the "I" of the salaryman, who views "Tanya" in third-person. But it gets kinda weird when smaller sections within the text may follow first-person perspective of external characters, so I don't know. It's like how "Ainz" in Overlord is often told from the mind of his own salaryman identity, but there is an interlude in Volume 1 that has the other characters talk about Ainz. Here it's strange because the other perspectives are mixed in with the salaryman/Tanya perspective.

[N · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written in typical LN style, so almost nothing is described (you would have no idea what anything looks like if it wasn't a generic WWI setting, I still have no idea what the difference is between the defensive film and the defensive shell and even they have no idea what a computational orb looks like), just bare-bones dialogue and internal monologue. However, instead of making for a fast-paced story, the author is far more interested in monologuing than in anything else, so while what dialogue and events do occur are 5/5, they are so few and far between that essentially every line of dialogue is interspersed by narrated inserts that often: have scarcely anything to do with their surroundings, are already implied/stated and so redundant, are literally just restating something that was just previously said, can be entire paragraphs long, etc. adding very little of value in most cases while making the excellent dialogue a chore to get through. And you can't just skip the internal thoughts because all of the story aside from dialogue is told through brief asides interspersed within paragraphs of internal monologues. Honestly, the narrative treats the reader like a moron with the amount of times it thinks it has to beat you over the head with a brick to convey what anyone with a brain already just read, spoonfeeding with zero subtlety, but apparently the dregs like that because they didn't pick up on it... Though the combination of dry academic nerd and otaku idiot may have appreciable overlap, the LN's definitely not doing itself any favors in broad appeal, shame given how great the story is as shown in the anime/manga.

Some people complain about the narrative jumping to different character's povs and the dialogue being almost entirely untagged, making it difficult for them to follow, though unless maybe if you're listening to an audiobook, it's pretty much always very clear to read who's speaking.

The author is an excellent writer (his scenes are impressively well done and overall the story is great), but he has an issue where he repeats himself practically every few sentences, usually no more than 3 times within a paragraph. I wouldn't be surprised if some fan had made an edited down version of the books to remove all the extraneous commentary, because you'd probably be left with no more than 25%, a really great 25%, but that conservative 75% of filler is the author shooting himself in the foot multiple times for good measure. Unsurprisingly, this means the story doesn't get very far in the first book (with barely any action).
He notes that his publisher/editors decided to give him no edits and just throw it into publication. It really shows when you read him repeating himself multiple times every single page. Did I mention that he repeats himself over and over and over again? Because he does.

Coming from the anime, I was hoping that there would be some added details of cut scenes to enjoy, but pretty much every scene was the same and any differences were significant improvements the anime made (book gods are a joke) (avalanche scene wasn't there Visha broke her leg in training and then was somehow still kept in the unit to fight? That's a writing error.) (the subordinate soldiers aside from Visha aren't even characters in this book, all unmentioned nameless). I was pleasantly surprised by how top-tier the explanations/terminology of the magic technology was, and was disappointed that he didn't go into it even more past the early part of the book. And his sense of humor really gets a smile a few times. I'll be honest though the "mages" are by all intents essentially glorified fighter pilots in invisible planes, they fly by generating lift off of air to be less able to generate lift at higher altitudes... the mechanics, tactics, and terminology is all just airforce pilots played straight.

If you want to actually enjoy the story, read the manga or watch the anime, if you geek out over military terminology like ranks and interior lines and unit sizes mentioned hundreds of times and you want to listen to the main character monologue about human resources, complain about literally anything but mainly having to soldier, and merely restate/summarize/elaborate and all around word vomit what was literally just said in dialogue, almost every single time adding nothing new, then the novels are the best way for you to waste your time doing that.

[WeirdKid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I am writing this review based on the two types of viewers reading this.

The first type of viewer is the Anime-watcher. If you are reading this book right before watching the anime, I suggest that you watch first then read. I feel that reading will give you more perspective and insight plus you can imagine the events that are happening based off of what you watched. Not like a comparison but as a refrence. Because there are so many military terminology and battle directions plus in depths explanation of the world it is easy to get lost so using the Anime as refrence is a good way to keep pace. If you have already watched the Anime, Hey you are already half way there.

The second type of viewer is the Book-reader, who essentially only came for the book. This book relies heavy on military references and battle tactics it can be really dense if you aren’t careful and is not one you can just zone out and read… i know I tried. I suggest getting the audiobook version which helped me out a lot. I pre bought the first 4 volumes about 3 years ago and couldn’t get through the first chapter let alone the first sub chapter. The audio book helped me keep pace and read along. Although I do have the physical copy. I read this off my kindle app alongside the audio book with the new highlighted text added feature. I wouldn’t get lost and if I needed clarification I could pause and read it for myself or have them reread it back. It also helps to take notes if you so choose. I did at first but later on I was used to it so I was able to enjoy it for what it was down the line. Another suggestion is not to binge this you can easily bore yourself if you are not used to this rhetoric while someone who is may enjoy it. I took my reading in chunks switching my methods and times when I read and I was able to enjoy it even if I got confused. Also the narrator did an amazing job (kinda sad they change the person from 2nd book on but we’ll see how it goes)

All in all my thoughts. Pretty good considering this is translated and a light novel this book is nothing to sneeze at. If I were someone used to this kind of deep explinations and internal thinking in this book i might have rnjoyed it more but that still doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time. I love the iconic loli hitler I know and love and I especially love the way the author likes to use certain language to show that the confusing nature of her character. I think the change in POV’s can confuse the readers who have no prompt of a voice change by the audio book but it is cool to see all the different sides of our character. How she is perceived versus how she is, versus what this being X is meant to do. I briefly read a review where they warned people of religious beliefs that they may be offended by some things and while that may be true I want us to really think about what our main character is saying. Words like “this couldn’t be God” or “this might as well be the Devil” or “I know this isn’t God so I will settle with Being X” these statements lead me to believe this isn’t our God here on earth but a fictional god withing a story or maybe not even a god at all but a higher mystical being in that world. Being a Christian myself this is my belief but take it as you will and use your own discernment.

I rate it 3 stars in the hopes that once ai get used to the type of writing and story I can rate it better. I also enjoy the story as a whole and wish to continue the series. (Even tho there is no season 2 in the anime😭)

[Jesus Hector Fernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painstalkingly explained world and thoughts.

Bought this book because I saw the anime and thought it was perfect to read the source material and once again this is actually true, but not without a caveat... which really depends on your taste.

The book, is really well written (unlike my review) The story centers on Tanya or Mr. Salary man, a man who followed the rules for everything by the book and was full of himself gets into trouble with a superior being known as "being X" after having a teological discussion with him about why man tends to forget about the existence of god. Tanya, formarly known as Mr. Salary man now must find her place in this alternate Earth like world and use her knowledge of history to her advantage, still it will prove to be challenging as being X, is constantly watching and throwing wrenches in her plans and try to make her a faithful believer.

Ok with that out of the way, now I want to talk about the rest, when compared to the anime, the book constantly explains each point made or each idea very carefully, explaining all posibilities that can be taken to perform any plan any decision and at times not only from 1 character but from different characters point of view, this is actually great at points as you see how Tanya or other characters reach their conclucions to problems or situations and feel fully satisfied with their decisions, that said it often makes the book feel a bit filled with extra and you might feel like you want the story to progress a bit faster, really this my only gripe with this book, I did like all the explaining and all but more often than not I felt like I wanted it to go a bit faster, that said, if you like detailed explanations for everything then this is going to be perfect for you, the author tries not to leave any stone unturned when their characters are tackling a situation and in the case of Tanya even explaining why she takes her decisions, as you will see that, even though Tanya is considered a battle hardened patriot that every one should look up to, on the inside she often does things to get expected reactions from people in order to later take away something from it, be it a better (safer) position in the war or to get promotions, still she gets things done, and done they are as like I mentioned before she goes by the book and the military book often states that you must do as you are told by command so she does it whether she likes it or not and she expects the same from her subordinates, to the point that she can freak out or rather administer hard punishment for people who don´t follow the rules.

Having seen the anime also helped me identify the characters, as they have some long German names, I think people who go directly into the book, might have some trouble following or identifying the characters as they sometimes appear in a chapter and then you don´t hear from them for a few chapters.

In the end the story is quite interesting and more fulfilling than the anime as it gives you more insight to character actions, yes even for divine beings, there is actually a chapter dedicated to the divine beings and their problematics which I found very interesting, all in all, quite an enjoyable read except for the slow story progression which is the readon I docked it 1 star, I´d give it a 4.5 if I could, but alas I can´t.

Anyway I recommend this book and I hope you like my review.

[LiteratureIsLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this review (and others) at: https://literatureislife.com/2019/06/...

For a light novel, The Saga of Tanya the Evil focuses less on “light” and more on “novel”. Unlike most other light novels, these books are not quick reads. This series reads at the same pace as a regular novel with an equivalent page count. Readers who have watched the anime will notice the books start a little differently. The anime begins with a flashforward before going back and explaining previous events. The book, on the other hand, presents the information chronologically (for the most part). While reading this first volume, keep in mind the book’s title Deus Io Vult is the Catholic motto “God wills it” that was popular during the Crusades.

The structure of Deus Io Vult is a bit difficult to follow. New readers may have trouble picking up on Tanya’s circumstances in this strange new world. Tanya’s story starts in our world as a middle-aged Japanese salaryman. The circumstances of his death lead to reincarnation on an alternate Earth. As a baby girl. In a country that is essentially pre-WWI Germany. And (s)he grows up just in time to join the military just as the war starts kicking off. Gender pronouns are actually tricky with Tanya, as (s)he is physically female but still thinks of him/herself as a man.

Anyway, every good isekai (trapped in another world) series has something different that makes it stand out. In this case, it is the story being in the military genre. Most other isekai series take place in standard fantasy worlds with knights, wizards, and so forth. While magic does exist in this world, they are still on the level of WWI technology. Magic is just used to amplify that technology. For example, a magic-charged rifle bullet could have increased explosive force, allowing it to function as a mortar shell. The series presents a very unique mix of magic and not-quite-modern technology.

The writing style here is a bit clunky. There is a lot of detail in the world-building and story, making the book long-winded for a light novel. Tanya also frequently makes real-world references, with cliff notes at the bottoms of pages for readers unfamiliar with those topics. Overall, this is one of the better light novel series out there, especially for readers interested in military history. It is different from most other light novel series, so people looking for a quick read might be turned off. If you are on the fence for this one, I highly recommend checking out the anime first.

[Michelle Guo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to preface my review of this book in that I experienced it as an audiobook narrated by Monica Rial. I have heard of the anime that adapts this series, but also have not watched it myself.

This is a really odd book to pin down. It's a lot more dense than one would consider given the expectation of a lot of light novels and perhaps the title translation here using "Saga" is close but doesn't quite pin down what "Senki" would immediately imply in the japanese title: that this is a military history novel. While it may set in a slightly fantastical alternate universe, the backdrop that doesn't feel all too off from World War I.

I enjoyed this book for what it was -- the author's roundabout way of being able to use knowledge of our current modern world to make discussions on theology, military history, military organization and training and economics. Within the context of this one book, there doesn't seem to be too much other reason for the framing device of the modern man cursed to live out life as Tanya by Being X otherwise. While there may be payoff further down the line in the series, contained to this one entry it does stick out. We're privy to comparisons that the author otherwise wouldn't be able to use in a fantastical setting.

If you're coming in for a tight character-driven narrative or something that's more boots-to-the-ground then this book may not work for you. Time skips and setting changes are numerous to express the early military career of Tanya. When the narration is on Tanya herself, it's at times keen to describe every detail and reasoning for a maneuver and at times more an explanatory segment in which the narrator muses on how the situation compares to something we may be familiar in our own history.

As for the audiobook quality itself, Monica Rial's narration was crisp and clear and I genuinely enjoyed the expression she was able to lend to Tanya (from what I understand she dubs Tanya in the anime). My one note is that with the many more male characters present in the book, her vocal inflection differentiation can be very slight between some of them.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with this but also wavered pretty wildly about how I felt about the commentary and the structure of the story at times. Still, I'm curious enough that I'll likely try to pick up the 2nd book at some point.

Audiobook recieved from NetGalley & Yen Audio/HachetteAudio.

[Unknown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re-read this book for the first time since its release and I enjoyed it more than I remembered (to be fair I was 14 at the time and read it because of how much I liked the Anime). Speaking of the anime, I won't talk about it for very long but It is really interesting reading this book after re-watching the anime and noticing all the scenes that were left out of it. Back to the Novel, I really appreciate how even the slowest moments have something to contribute to the over-arching story. I also appreciate the lack of 'filler' in this book as almost everything has some kind of narrative purpose and contributes to the plot in one way or another. I enjoyed all the characters, and the perspective changes help keep things interesting. The Being X segment in Chapter 2 being my favorite. The final 2 chapters also set up the Dacia conflict that takes place during the second novel perfectly, and I really admire just how much time was set aside to make the news of Dacia declaring war on the Empire natural and not just thrown in last minute to keep readers hooked with a plot twist.

The definitions at the bottom of the pages that use less universally known words/terms is useful and very much welcome. Short to the point and don't take up too much room. Also the map featured on my copy was surprisingly useful since I kept mixing up the locations of the Empire's surrounding countries/territories (lol).

My one gripe with this book however is the 2, 50 year time skips towards the end of the novel don't add anything interesting and just regurgitate information the we just learned about for an additional 3-5 pages, which is a shame because the Journalistic perspective had potential to be really fascinating but they threw that away just to run into the ground facts we just learned about only a couple pages ago. The one in chapter 4 I don't mind too much, but you could have completely removed that second segment from the final chapter and literally nothing would've changed. The only saving grace they have is that they are short and right to the point, even if the second one was entirely unnecessary. Other than that, this book is an easy 10/10 from me. I will definitely be reading this again, and it has easily made its way into one of my all time favorite novels.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A senior corporate bureaucrat is killed - and resurrected as a new-born girl in a world similar to our world in 1914. Most of the book takes place about a decade later, when this world's version of WWI starts, and the child (despite her age) is serving in the army as an aerial mage. She becomes a brilliant and effective war hero - but never stops also being the bureaucrat.

Some context. This is a light novel: You can think of light novels as being novelizations of manga. (This isn't always true, but the characterization gives a feel for flavor and target demographic.) "The Saga of Tanya the Evil" is available both as a light novel and as a manga. (The manga is shorter, covers a bit less of the plot, and is lighter on content.) This is a review of the light novel. It is apparently the first in a series, as several more volumes are scheduled to come out (in English) this year.

The world of TSoTtE is similar to ours. Some of the differences are almost cosmetic - e.g. the Empire is somewhat larger than our Germany, and the Entente Alliance is approximately Sweden and Denmark. A less-cosmetic difference is the technology that allows people capable of magic use to serve as the equivalent of an air force. (There are never enough people with the requisite talent, which is why a ten-year-old finds herself on, or flying over, a battlefield.) Their war is also similar to ours, with political posturing leading to a major war that has been waiting to happen.

The protagonist is complex. The relentlessly-talented girl is a gifted aerial mage and a leader. The reincarnated salaryman understands organizations, and uses his understanding to manipulate the army and land safe postings. (That the manipulations inevitably backfire is the author's running joke.) The salaryman also understands what a waste the war is - and how hard it is to extinguish.

I enjoyed this book. It's a concoction made with disparate and unexpected ingredients - a scholarly corporate drone inside a ten-year-old officer, a mad scientist, a petulant god, military magic - and it works.