Critically So

Erasmus Z. Wainwright of Westford, Massachusetts

★★★
Three stars out of five because of the subtle use of anime references!

Author: Lisez-le-lui

Genre: Paranormal/Parody

Review:

At first, I thought that the story was set during an historic era, because of the formal language and style that the author uses. However, words like manga and anime turned up and I was reassured that the story is set during the 21st century.

I felt that the author trails off the plot too much, for example frequently flitting around between different times and adding in Claude's story (which I can't see as important to the main plot). It's confusing when Erasmus trails off and then comes back to what he was saying before he trailed off, because then I have to take a few minutes to try to remember what the point was and what he is talking about now.

I found the descriptions are too long which can cause readers to become bored.

Erasmus's reaction to Sakura's death is not realistic. He just calmly accepts that he has to drag her body out of the mud. Any sane person would have freaked out.

“He staggered back and fell on the bolt he had been trying to load. It dug into his thigh with a sickening squelch, causing blood to pool on the ground beside him.

Two of the club's members had now been accidentally killed;...”

The part I've quoted confused me. Logically, if a sharp item is pierced through your thigh (your thigh is part of your upper leg), you don't die.

Erasmus sounds like a grownup monk out of the seventeenth century. Even though he is supposed to be eccentric, he is also supposed to sound like a teenager (he's in highschool). I would suggest keeping in mind that characters need to be realistic.

I liked how the author subtly used anime references. References are meant to be subtle (unlike in a lot of other books I've read).

The story idea in general is unique and very creative!