Vigor Mortis by Thundamoo

A little late to the party, but here's my two cents.

This book is the epitome of morality. It describes a lot of moral and amoral conundrums, the likes of which turn the trolley problem into tic-tac-toe by comparison.

It is extremely deep, but also extremely dark. The amount of mind-control trauma is so staggering, it makes certain other NSFW works look like light reading.

This is not to say it's not a good read. Somehow, despite all the PTSD f#ckery the absolute sadist of an author must be, it's surprisingly good. They take pains to make sure you build a rapport with the main characters - just the two of them - and while it does seem that other equally important characters do get sidelined, the complexity of not just the two MCs but the world itself is enough make you turn the page.

So - if you have the stomach for something darker and you're looking for some heavy reading, Vigor Mortis is a good choice.

I genuinely think this is a good read, but if you are someone who dislikes doomed romances, you won't enjoy following this author's work. If you don't mind it, then I highly recommend this and her other book, "Hive Minds Give Good Hugs". Personally, I'm starting to dislike this trope myself but I'm already in too deep. Gonna check out her other works. Romance is not a significant part of this one given that it doesn't even have a romance tag, but it's there.

There are 2 things I'm willing to bet on after reading this:
First - the author is female. And not because mc is a girl but because it often reads like a girls diary and its constant "I dont know" and "I mean" in speech to the point I imagine the characters have finger twirling in their hair while saying something.
Second - that she is american because she is so hung up on gender pronouns (and goodness forbid some character wont address another properly) and gender identification or whatever, she devotes whole paragraphs on their importance across multiple chapters and this is distracting because MIDDLE AGES. There are more homosexual pairs than straight ones for some reason and there are even gender swapping transexuals. One chapter you have templars in full plate armor, the church telling them to smack some sinners and people take baths in f#cking barrels. Another chapter you have a discussion about how a woman/man wants to be a man/woman and others encourage them while clapping. And there is not even a single person in the world who will show some negative reaction to it. Wow.
Great novel otherwise.

rig·or mor·tis
/ˌriɡər ˈmôrdəs/
noun
MEDICINE
stiffening of the joints and muscles of a body a few hours after death, usually lasting from one to four days.
(Vigor Mortis is the title)

This novel is what I enjoy. This story is a journey, Of personal discovery, Understanding, and growing. But not the normal heroic type but a more realistic but also darker mc. She is not outright evil the stupid type that only know how to kill kill kill like a rino on Viagra, but sees the world in her own unique way. This is a diamond of a novel.

Yes, it has magic, mana, hunter guilds, nobles, and a medieval setting. But the same all cultivation novel starts with a broken mc, has sects, stupid faces slapping and wanting to be stupid demons and hoarding bitches and killing everyone else. It comes with the genre, that being said believe anyone who reads it will find something interesting in this novel.

And I have never seen necromancy done like this. It starts with being able to interact with souls and goes deep into its own theory. Most simple just rise undead kill more people and build a legion. But this novel takes a different more in-depth approach to necromancy I have never read before.

The book name always reminded me of the word rigor mortis which is a postmortem change resulting in the stiffening of the body muscles and it bothers me a lot. Good story though, much recommended.
I'll rate it as 4/5.

Well some guy said that this was the only book that stood up to the masterpiece that is The Perfect Run, so here I am about to start reading

This book is a masterpiece. Everything is 1000/5 except the update schedule but even that is OK everytime it comes on my subscription feed i get a warm happy feeling and then crippling sadness when it leaves on a cliffhanger im looking at you chapter 99

[Overall]
4.5/5
This book is an absolute banger, but it is very dark and depressing at times, although the humor is quite good. The update schedule is also ass, but that's the price you pay for good writing quality.

[Characters]
5/5
Every character is complex and realistic, there aren't any who are not unique or mutable. Most of the characters do fall into certain archetypes, but their personalities are developed enough that it isn't really a problem.

[Setting]
4.5/5
Unique floating island-based world, and the are cool as shit. However, the main city is a stereotypical medieval city with all of the inequalities that come with being a stereotypical medieval city. Likewise, outside the city there is a stereotypical monster forest filled with surprisingly creative monsters, and of course there is an adventurer's guild, because why wouldn't there be an adventurer's guild. Were the rest of the worldbuilding not extremely engaging, this alone would drop the setting to a 4.

[Premise and Plot]
4/5
Doesn't spoil major plot events, but still kind of spoilery. Read at your own risk.


Read this novel, it's good, I promise.

Shit, this is really good. I love it, but it sometimes gets REALLY dark.
Edit: I've caught up to the translation and GOD DAMN is this good. Like, the characters actually feel like PEOPLE, not characters. This is honestly one of the best books I've ever read.
Plot 10/10
Characters 10/10
translation quality 10/10
writing 10/10
world building 10/10
etc...