JasperKazai’s Reviews > Crimes Against Magic > Status Update

Well, that was fine. I guess it's somewhat notable that the author lets Nate struggle against foes or situations, rather than just being OP and instantly defeating or solving anything. Nothing like the Demon Accords protag who can kill a room of 30 people in 17 seconds or whatever nonsense that was. The stakes feel more believable here.
Mordred being killed from a distance in the epilogue was kind of lame though

Why would the entrance to a stairwell be disguised as an office if they're on a floor that requires top level clearance to access? That doesn't maky any sense. There would be no need for subterfuge if only people with proper clearance can access the floor to begin with.
Now that Nate has his memory back, he's acting very edgy. I guess that's not surprising for this type of novel.

Lee being involved somehow is completely unsurprising, seeing as he was set up as a ridiculously over-the-top asshole from the beginning. But Lee's mom giving Nate permission to torture Lee for information and then also agreeing with Nate's death threat and telling Lee (her own son!) to get out of the country in 24 hours is fucking ridiculous. Really pathetic macho writing in that part.

(nice)
Ok, so the building where he hid the research was not the same building that the doctor conducted experiments in, but the building where the doctor was hiding and eventually killed by Nate. I didn't know those weren't one in the same; it was confusing. Still, I contend the research would've been found within these 10 years. That building would be high up on the list of places to check. Still dumb!

So let me get this straight... Right now, the plot hinges on Nate finding the research that he took from an evil doctor he killed over 10 years ago, that the bad guys want. It turns out he hid that research in the exact same building that the doctor had been conducting experiments in. That's... utterly idiotic. The sole defense of the hidden info was a claymore mine. They would've found it by now!

Apparently, everyone in the UK has ready access to combat boots. Even the 16 year-old girl who had to flee her home and is currently staying in an abandoned Underground station owned by a vampire has combat boots ready to wear. Lol
Clearly, this author really likes those kinds of boots. He has a bit of a fixation on them. Bit weird, innit.

This story is on the cusp of being genuinely pretty good. But it's not quite there. Some aspects feel underbaked, silly, or just not great. Like the whole memory loss thing. He's now up against people who know who he is, but they all refuse to tell him anything because 'it would be a waste of time' or whatever. That's such a lame excuse, only serving to prolong the mystery. But not for a good reason.

Ok, the chance meeting with the woman was actually a purposeful trap. Fine. Still silly.
Media often sets strict time limits and then wildly overshoots them. But this is doing the opposite. He gets woken up, told he has 10 minutes, and then the lady keeps ticking down the time way too fast. After 3 sentences she says 7 and a half minutes left. It doesn't take 2 and a half minutes to exchange 3 sentences!

Nate is casing an office building, and as security starts to take notice of him, he approaches a random nearby woman as cover and she agrees to go on an immediate impromptu date with him. Because that's totally realistic, lmao. Ridiculous. As a lie he said he's a Hollywood consultant, and had fun 'making a film.' You're not making anything as a consultant. You consult.

Yeah, this is basically what I assumed it would be. Power fantasy wish fulfillment with a strong (possibly OP) protagonist, and seems like women are going to be falling for him left and right. (Only has happened once thus far, but seems like it'll be a thing.) It's fine. It's what I was looking for, more or less. The writing is also competent on a mechanical level, much better than God Touched. Which is a major plus.