The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think I really wanted to like this more than I actually did. It's a slow moving corporate/samurai kind of novel, quite cyberpunk in some aspects, but kinda lacking in the hacking.

By all rights, I should have fallen in love with it. I didn't even mind the older swordswoman trope doing the lethal weapon gambit while trying to solve the mystery of her boss's corporate suicide and the fate of her old protege.

For the most part, I even liked the future-corporate vibes. It's ugly and backstabby, but that's the old cyberpunk trope, too.

So what happened? The setup was okay, the characters, such as Isako herself, were fairly decent. But honestly? The story was kinda bland. The reveals were low-key. The surprises weren't very surprising. I kept waiting and wanting for more.

I probably wouldn't have had a problem with this had I felt more in tune with the characters, or felt more kinship with Isako. Hell, if she had had more noir cliches attached to her, I probably would have just treated this like a fun cyberpunk romp that uncovered and recovered from some nastiness. Or not. As long as the vibe was there, it would have been fine.

As it was, it just felt a bit off to me. Not bad, just not ... there. Alas.

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Korean Webtoon [전지적 독자 시점] Vol. 18 by Sleepy-C
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to paradise. And Paradise Lost.

The subversion of story tropes are still going strong. And beautifully.

There's something about being a constellation... or a transcendent character.

This series is getting almost mythical. Or rather, beyond mythical. And it's become one of my favorites already. :)

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전지적 독자 시점 17 [Jeonjijeog Dogja Sijeom 17] by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have seriously not had quite THIS much fun with any manga, manhwa, Isekai, fantasy, or SF in quite a long time. Not and it being NEW to me at the same time.

And again, I found myself laughing out loud. Chortling hard, sometimes startling neighbors and definitely my family. Disturbing dogs in the street.

That's the kind of story this is. Fun, clever as hell, fun, smart, fun, crazy as shit, and did I mention fun?

And now I finally get other people's comments about blurry faces and the ugly. Good thing he and I are both readers. We don't care about such things. We just want good stories.

And we're getting a GREAT story.

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전지적 독자 시점 16 [Jeonjijeog Dogja Sijeom 16] by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Daaaaaaaaammmnnnnn.

I mean, sure, the writing is fantastically strong. Strong enough to point to all the ways it will work out in the end, but that doesn't change the fact that it was one HELL of an end. Of this scenario. And other things.

Damn. What a blow-out! The strongest has to die or half the population. And the strong are very, very strong.

This is the kind of story that really sticks with you, even when there are very OP people. But even better than that, the characters are all so... GOOD. Fantastic even. Well developed, changing, growing, doubting, getting stronger. Everything. And it's not just a handful, either, but everyone has stories they can be proud of.

Especially when it's time to break that fourth wall. Muahahahahahahaha

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전지적 독자 시점 15 [Jeonjijeog Dogja Sijeom 15] by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Things just have to get THAT much worse for every scenario, right? They're really pulling out all the stops.

But at least we finally get to see the third way to survive and apocalypse.

Old clichéd story, but still a great one. And damn, here we go with all three in one place, fighting it out like truly crazy people or three-way love stories.

Ahem.

What a delicious turn this is taking. And not only is the artwork still gorgeous, the story still blows it out of the water. Amazing.

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전지적 독자 시점 14 [Jeonjijeog Dogja Sijeom 14] by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Always be surprising the reader, right??? Damn.

And here I thought it was only going to be Isekai twisting, not a bit of AOT, too! Or rather, a lot. And all the while, incorporating DCC, time-loops shenanigans, fable-resonance, AND fourth-wall breaking.

I'm a bit flabbergasted. And yet, it all still works beautifully, smoothly, and best of all, gloriously. :)


This has officially become one of my all-time-favorite series. I like others for different reasons, of course, but this one is supplanting most just for one little fact:

It is awesomely self-aware and critiques all literature while being great literature, itself.

Bravo!

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전지적 독자 시점 13 [Jeonjijeog Dogja Sijeom 13] by Umi .
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Big character reveal for Dokja, but honestly, it's so in line with so many Isekai that it's almost EXPECTED at this point. And to make things all the more obvious, the new story scenario BECOMES an Isekai. Which is just too precious, considering how well this series takes on all the clichés and subverts them so excellently.

And this one is no different. Set the pins up, knock them down unexpectedly. :)



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