(A tale from the past. I wrote this in Nov 2021, but never posted it.)
Tales of Demons and Gods is a 'manga' (actually web-toon) I started reading last year during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
The basic premise is that the protagonist, Nie Li, lost the final battle against the Big Bad, but instead of dying, he time-travelled back to his 13 years old self. This time, he would use his past-life knowledge and experience to change the outcome.
Is it good? Well, at the time when I read it, I thought it was a masterpiece. :-P
Okay, it is not that great, but I like it — it is like reading a game walkthrough.
Later, I discovered it was based on a web-novel, so I started to read that. Unfortunately, the author had lost interest since around 2018 and released only one chapter a month. It has stalled completely at chapter 496 (Jan 2021).
The webtoon is still released at a chapter a week. It is now at chapter 352, which corresponds to web-novel chapter 330, so it has a long way to go before it catches up.
There are 3 arcs, using novel chapters:
The three arcs are mostly self-contained. Very few people and items cross over, so it is possible to read arc 2 before arc 1.
Arc 1 is good. While it has its problems, it is generally a good read.
Arc 2 is good for most part, but from ch 432 onwards, the stakes are raised way too high too quickly.
Arc 3 has just started. It is now Big Leagues time.
The problem with Tales of Demons and Gods is that Nie Li is too over-powered. In arc 1 and 2, he struggled a little at the start due to lack of money, but that did not last long. Once he got his "economic engine" running using his past knowledge or out-of-the-world tool, there was nothing he could not afford. In both arcs, his wealth was unimaginable.
And this became a problem, because after a while, you start to realize he was using money to solve problems! What he could not solve with money, he had his vast past knowledge and various excellent skills to use.
Is there any challenge for him?
I have been looking for good web novels of Release That Witch calibre since "forever". I have failed, until now. (*)
Incredibly, I came across three in a short span of time:
All three are Korean.
StGB and TRMM are ongoing. HaHitA is completed. It looks short, but that is due to its .1, .2 numbering. There are 741 chapters altogether.
In StGB, the protagonist is 'transported' to a game world and he has to keep his true identity hidden. This provides tension and suspense. Although it is not regression, it is similar because the protagonist has completed the game, so he has fore-knowledge. He is always in danger of being exposed. Will the story remain good?
TRMM has time regression. This is a common trope in web novels and is generally hard to write well. If you have future knowledge, you have a great headstart even if you start from zero. You know the hidden talents, who to trust and where the treasures are. It's sure-win. Time paradox and butterfly effect? The whole idea is to change the future! The protagonist has gone beyond the future he knew, so now he is in uncharted territory. Will the story remain good? Let's see.
HaHitA has poorer translation, but it is still acceptable. It is not as well written as the other two, but it is still pretty good (B+ compared to A). It is written in first person, so you only see things from the protagonist's perspective. What I like about the story is that it subverts your expectations, and key characters are 'semi-complex' — they are not one-dimensional good or bad, though they are not really fleshed out much. Weak point: the world feels a little small — the protagonist travels to different places quite easily.
(*) Not strictly true. I came across the recommendation Reverend Insanity and read it. It is very well written — better than RTW — but it is not the type of story I like to read, so I stopped quite early.
Newsflash: CCP banned it in 2021. The story was too against social values and the protagonist too amoral and ruthless.
I read Chinese web novels with a pinch of salt. You never know how they were changed subtly to reflect 'social norms'. The stories can never have government corruption or authorities portrayed negatively.
It is said RTW was changed due to CCP censorship as well. In the story, the Central government creates country-wide policies, maintains strong control and has absolute say. This can be seen in frontline sending latest information to the Capital and waiting for their reply before acting.
This came up especially strong when the protagonist discussed the style of Government with someone from the 'old system'. But in the story, major cities or regions have a capable mayor and they are highly autonomous (they have to implement policies from the Central government, though).
A new form of Government is not the only reform the protagonist introduces. I always felt the reforms took effect too quickly and easily — it's not realistic.
Jews voting for a Muslim mayor?
There are some things you must not do, some lines you must not cross.
The reason is obvious. You treat people fairly, you assume they will treat you fairly, but they do not.
If you don't understand, you have to learn it the hard way.
It has a total of 2,700 songs in a 32 GB USB drive:
It uses 320 kbps MP3, which still stands up to the test of time.
The songs sound extra crisp. The vocals are boosted at the expense of the instruments which sound softer. It sounds off when listening in a home environment.
I forgot why I buy this, I don't have a habit of listening to music, much less Chinese music. Sometimes I like to listen to DJ version for their 'high-energy' take. They can transform a slow song into a fast song!
Web novels are mostly low quality. Their translations are also mostly low quality.
There are paid translations, but I have never considered paying for them.
You can always get free ones (sometimes scrapped from paid sites). The paid sites usually have some sort of scheme to let people read for free. For example, they may unlock a free chapter every day.
Just read all the free chapters and move on to another web novel. But what if the story is actually decent?
I looked into how much it'll cost. There are several models. One is Patreon. You pay a monthly subscription fee. Everyone loves this model, even big companies. But I hate it.
Another is pay-per-chapter. Each chapter is very cheap, but it can add up very quickly. Plus, a web novel "chapter" is normally pretty short — really only a couple of pages. The authors get paid by chapters — they just need to meet a minimum word count.
Let's say a chapter costs 15 cents. It is cheap, but a web novel can be 1,000 chapters. This works out to be $150!
It is said that current AI-based translation tools are now much better — previous ones translate too literally and without taking context into account. It may be viable to buy the novel in the original language and translate myself. There are also some novels that are not being translated for one reason or another.
