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self_made_human  amaratvaṃ prāpnuhi, athavā yatamāno mṛtyum āpnuhi  5mo ago (ussri.substack.com)   3321 thread views

Pokémon for Unrepentant Sociopaths: A Review of Reverend Insanity

ussri.substack.com

Well, this is just about exactly what it says on the tin. I've finally mustered up the energy to write a full-length review of what's a plausible contender for my Favourite Novel Ever, Reverend Insanity. I'd reproduce it here too, but it's a better reading experience on Substack (let's ignore the shameless self-promotion, and the fact that I can't be arsed to re-do the markdown tags)

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I enjoyed your review, but it doesn't change my opinion. I think our tastes are pretty fundamentally different. I don't want a story that goes on and on forever. I want an arc, a climax, and a resolution. I also actually care about prose, and maybe it's because the translation is subpar, but I found reading Reverend Insanity to be painful. Like fanfic-level bad.

Your review, I admit, does certainly make it sound intriguing and if I hadn't already given it a shot I would definitely go try it out now. But the other problem is that while I don't need "sympathetic" or "relatable" protagonists, I probably wouldn't enjoy hundreds of pages of reading how an amoral asshole will fuck over the next person in his way.

I keep trying progression fantasies and Wuxia novels, and the bar just seems to be very low in general.

Have you enjoyed any progression fantasy or wuxia novels?

I really like the genre but I bounce off of some stories real hard. Reverend Insanity is one that I could see recommended a thousand times and on the thousand and first time I'd still say "Our tastes are just different and I won't like that novel." I'm not even willing to give it a shot and try reading it.

If I see we have any overlapping preferences I might be able to recommend stuff.

So far, nothing has really clicked with me I've tried Reverend Insanity, Cradle, Worth the Candle, and a few others.

No, I have heard it often recommended but haven't tried it yet.

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