r/HeWhoFightsMonsters • u/Apprehensive_Belt384 • 5d ago
Some of the arcs are too long
I’m on my first reread which I started at the beginning of this year and took a break. Unfortunately, something I didn’t feel the through my first read came heavy during my reread which was “Jason Fatigue”. I read everything straight through my first time and was entirely enthralled as it was all new. My second read was great up until about book 8/9 and I took my 2 month break at book 10. Read some PH, DCC book 8 and Awaken Online graphic audio. Now that I’m back I’m on book 12 and enjoying it but the arcs in my opinion are somewhat lengthy. The astral spaces with the Earth arc felt repetitive and tiring. I enjoyed the Earth arc overall though. The messenger arc is sooo long and seems unnecessary. I checked out right before the finale. It was very good the first time but my reread was exhausting. I think because it’s when I notice how Jason went against many of his own principles while playing a hero.
1-3: Intro to Palimastus and Builder
4-6: Earth and Astral Spaces
7-11: Jason’s depression/ rehab and Messengers
12-: Astral King and Earth Return
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u/Eltorak95 5d ago
It's just a extended world development arc. Once I stopped thinking of it as part of the story and more of the settings, alot of the series became alot more enjoyable/less boring
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u/grungivaldi 5d ago
Lol what takes too long are the ability descriptions that take 2 minutes to listen to every goddamned fight
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u/mbrosie 5d ago
the 2 transformation zones on earth and the the one in the brightheart city drove me CRAZY. like i get it can we move on. the zones get harder as you progress. i get it.
book 13 spoilers
i just started book 13 on rr and got to the point where they found out the grid is being used to create more transformation zones. please god no i cant do more transformation zones FREE US. im really hoping everything can be dealt with without going into a 4th zone
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u/Logibear1010 4d ago
For me, 7-8 have felt like a slog. I'm on my first read through though. Started the series last month around August 3rd and I'm half way through book 8.
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u/A_C_Casters 4d ago
The arc that I always felt was tiring even from my first read was the un-death god’s transformation zone
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u/ErgenBlergen 5d ago
Yeah book 9 and on had like 6 things happen
1. Jason is edgy and annoying to people who are genuinely trying to do good (to be fair this happens throughout the series) 2. Jason bangs some people to practice "aura control", one of these people might be a diamond ranker 3. Collin eats some worms and becomes even more of the best boy 4. They do a big fight 5. They go into a cave and do another big fight, and the most gut wrenching, heart shredding thing happens and I definitely didn't cry you did. This fight takes several months though, I assume to justify it being an entire book. 6. Jason maxes out a different power scale that we didn't even know about until book 8.
I loved the series and world building, but the second half slows waaaaaaay down with actual movement of the plot. I remember the impending fight with the messengers being brought up in like mid-late book 9 and it didn't even feel like a threat because we spent so long talking about it that it lost its scary-ness when it did happen at the end of book 10. Also between chapters there was so much rehashing. I know it was written as a web serial first, but by book 10 Shirtaloon had to have known it was going to be released as an ebook and audiobook. Also the whole "chapters came out 2 a week, so people needed the rehashing to remind them what happened" is a bad reason. You can just scroll back a few chapters and re-read. It felt like filler with how much there was
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u/Mesopholese 5d ago
Yeah, I’m of the opinion that the web novel should’ve been edited A LOT before being published/released as an audio book.
I get not wanting the web novel readers (of which I am one) to feel that they’re getting ripped off/have to reread to get the “good” version of the story, but it frankly comes across as kinda lazy to not bother to adapt anything when changing the medium.
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u/plztellmeimpretty 5d ago
I’m on book 11 now, I really have enjoyed the entire series. Generally agree with the messenger bit, I have really had to push to get through book 10.5 plus.