Lord of Mysteries, Vol. 1: The Clown, Part I (Volume 1)

I shall preface this by saying: this was a lot. And that's not necessarily a bad thing - I picked this up knowing it would be a long series, but by the time the first volume I arrived I realised that it about twice as long as I had anticipated and I dare say this first volume with it's near 600-pages just scratches the surface of where this series is headed. Lord of Mysteries has immense worldbuilding, and while it is a lot to take in - especially this early in the story - it is incredibly well done and one that pays off. So yes, this first volume is very dense and some people might struggle to get through it. The very short chapters do definitely help getting through this more easily. Nevertheless, whilst enormous, this is world building done right and it is fascinating to see this world unfold. What truly carried this book for me was the main character Klein Moretti aka Mingrui. This is an isekai/portal fantasy and that alone already adds some interesting cultural mixture: Mingrui isn't quite sure what happened, but he finds himself waking up n the body of a Klein Moretti who lives in a Victorian-like world with plenty of steam punk vibes. This leads to some fun commentary of Klein observing this world both from the point of view of a contemporary and Chinese in this new world. So as not to attract too much attention, he embraces Klein's identity and essentially takes over his life which includes siblings and a job interview right around the corner. Klein's main goal remains the same throughout though; find a way to get home. And for that, he needs to dig into the mysteries of this world. Whilst by and large a pretty standard historic setting, there are gods and so called Beyonders involved; regular people who have developed special powers by means of drinking special potions. In an attempt to uncover the truth, Klein gets himself involved in super natural crime investigations, secret organisations and underground movements - add to that his domestic life with his siblings and more of a quadruple than a double life he's leading! This book also doesn't shy away from horror and gore elements, be it rotting corpses or grotesque monsters. While we haven't all all too much of either yet, they do already set the tone for the series. And despite being thrown into all this, Klein remains a very level headed character throughout; I absolutely loved him as a narrator. He is kind and humorous, admits fear but generally stays calm in the face of the extreme. I find him a very compelling and intelligent character which makes him perfect for all the roles he is trying to pull off. I also enjoyed all the different elements; the more crime and detective side of things. The magic system which feels akin to an RPG, the horror and mysteries. While we haven't gotten to know the rest of the cast well - it is an immense cast but non of whom feel one too many - but they are all interesting and I look forward to learning more about them. While this first volume was fairly slow due to all the set up and worldbuilding, this first volume ended with a bang and I am very curious to see what Klein finds out next. And just in case I didn't highlight it enough: fantastic world building and an even better main character.

Before I talk about the story I want to talk about the product itself. The books were in perfect condition, and arrived without issues, no scratches or damages. Please note that in some of the photos I already added plastic covers I bought, they do not come with the books. book covers This is the link to the covers in case anyone is interested (size A5). Loving the story! After I started diving into Lord of Mysteries material (donghua, manhua) I was fascinated by the story and the world building and I decided to get the novels so that I could have a better understanding and immerse myself in this rich universe. It might feel like it starts a little slow but it will pick up the pace and you are set for and intriguing and mysterious story filled also with interesting characters. I can't wait to get more of it!

Love this series. Bought this because I like physical books of my favorite series. This cleans up a lot of the web-novel English translation making most of it better. The only disappointing changes involve The Fools Honorific Name which changed the meaning of his powers and didn't flow as well, along with some other terms/names changing. The Fool is not the Lord of Good Luck he only wields it and that is an important distinction that matters for the story. Really enjoyed how the book portrays the dairy entries as well as newspaper articles. Well worth the read even if it starts off slow.

I really hope this blows up in the usa. If you like esoteric mysticism grounded in real beliefs and practices that is often overlooked in domestic fantasy, then this will be your new fav. Amazing read after the anime. Just stick with it, the story just keeps building and getting deeper and the world is as compelling as wheel of time. Pacing will be slow at first but just plod along.

Very nice introduction to an entertaining series of books!

I read this series online and it is without a doubt one of my favorite pieces of fiction. If you are jumping right into this book just know that the first 3 books are slower to establish the fundametals of the world and the main character. They are also only the first volume of the story. 8 volumes in all. I do have several issues with the translation of this book however. The main character has an "Honorific name" that is vital to the plot and it has been changed dramatically. Kinda disappointing. Some words used to describe abilities has changed as well for a worse mannor. As well as other small bits here and there. Dont let that dissuade you! This is a fantastic series, with good story and solid worldbuilding. If you are curious about how many books in total will be realeased I would say around 12-16 based on how many chapters this book and the other 2 cover. The first 3 books only cover the first volume. There are 8 volumes containing 1,394 chapters. The first 3 books only covers 213 chapters.

A good book, I Love the way its develops slow, but in a interesting way.

It’s a nice novel

Nice book

Finally I got my hands on Lord of the mysteries physical copy. More than happy with my purchase even though the book came with some scratches but I can forgive some scratches because the books quality is good.

Best fiction i've ever read. Just dive into it

Damn. That was a good read. 🃏🔮✨ It's really wordy, and the translation, at parts, leaves me wanting better interpretation. The translation is not bad, but I feel, at places, that it's too stiff. A bit of the humor is lost, in my opinion. But other than that it was really enjoyable to read. I got recommended this book by a friend that follows the series. And after watching a bit of the anime I realized I really like the premise but I needed more information to enjoy this. OOOOO-boy did I get MORE information lol. From my understanding this is 1/3 of the first volume/arc, ends kind of abruptly, but as long as the books flow more than once a year I'm good. (I was supposed to get the second book yesterday, but the seller delayed it to next month, threw my momentum in the trash) I'm very interested to see where this goes, this part mainly focused on introductions to characters, the world, basic information you need to know, a bit messy. I hope that I will see more of the other Tarot Club members and the Nighthawks but what I did see was fun and I liked it, wasn't jarring or out of place, made me think of the world around.

Came out great, I was anxious how the package would arrive since amazon deliveries tend to be damaged. I'm glad it was shipped with royal mail instead. The texture of the book feels smooth and easy to flip the pages which you won't end up breaking the book's spine.