Surviving as a Writer in the British Empire

Sanitary Engineer says:

This one is okay. MC travels to 1890s Britain and makes a book that’s basically a mashup of Harry Potter and Peter pan. The success of this series make him famous and allow him to meet many historical figures during this period.

First, the positives. The best part of the novel is the display of the MC’s skills. He is obviously not as good a writer as his peers but he is able to compete using his modern knowledge. He employs cliches (that aren’t cliches yet), filler stories between plot points and cliffhangers to drive sales. This is a genuine display of modern knowledge used as a tool to compete with the greats.

Now the bad parts. There are subtle hints of Korean propaganda in this story. He is Asian and he is sometimes discriminated against while Korea is basically an unknown country during this period. This is an obvious setup for the future where it goes “Wow! That amazing author was from Korea?”. I don’t mind this too much but it’s still not a positive for the novel.

The worst part of this novel though, is the commercialism. The MC genuinely feels like someone who only cares about money. He buys future famous paintings so he can sell them. He requests for the first editions of future famous books so he can sell them. His genuine lack of love for the art is nauseating especially since he lives in a time period where the culture is absolutely beautiful. This is a clear display of what the novel really is about: business building.

If you want to read about someone build an empire of books while meeting historical figures along the way, this is the book for you. If you, like me, wanted to read about someone who loves the culture of old Britain and connects to it as he lives in that time period, then this novel will not be for you.

If you see the Mona Lisa and you immediately think of how much she’s worth instead of what kind of expression she’s making, I genuinely hope you can find value in even the smallest of art forms. Money is great and all but art is for the soul and these webnovels are proof that there is value in every art piece.