I’ve previously reviewed light novels on this blog. Mostly, I stick to fantasy or scifi that exists in its own universe, but light novels have a genre called isekai, which means “different world”. These stories involve a protagonist from Japan (usually) who is either killed and reincarnated, summoned, or somehow ends up in the other world. Many of these scenarios involve video games or game logic, like HUDs or magic levels.
The book series I’m going to talk about today is ongoing, like the others, but it is one of my favorites. Overlord is a story about a Japanese salaryman (a businessman) who plays a virtual online game called Yggdrasil. Inside this game he plays an undead character named Momonga who leads a non-human guild called Ainz Ooal Gown.
The story begins as he logs on for the last time. The servers of Yggdrasil are shutting down and he wanted to see off the fun times he had. Only one other previous member arrives and leaves, but he alone stays. However, he’s with his NPCs in his throne room.
As the server shutdown clocks down, Momonga closes his eyes and drifts to sleep. When he opens his eyes again, he’s inside of a world closely resembling Yggdrasil, and his NPCs are alive.
Overlord seems like it would get old quickly, but the main character walks the line between “overpowered main character” and “demon lord”. He doesn’t want to take over the world, but he may not have a choice. He loves his NPCs, since he loves his formed guildmates, and wants to take care of them. The NPCs, in turn, see the guildmembers as gods, and Momonga as the greatest of them.
And there’s also the matter of the world that they now exist in. It has its own political situation and power struggles. Because of that, a new and unknown sorcerer appearing on the scene could tip the balance and lead to war.
There’s many elements to the story that are interesting, but the worldbuilding is some of the deepest in any light novel. I would argue this book is on the level of a normal western fantasy novel, given much of the political intrigue and lore.
If you like dark fantasy, you would like Overlord. If you like isekai stories with overpowered protagonists, you might like it. As for me? I loved it.
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You may like some of my other reviews:
Light Novel Review: Altina the Sword Princess by Yukiya Murasaki
Light Novel Review: Eighty-Six by Asato Asato
Book Review: Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock
Book Review: The Ship of Ishtar by A. Merritt
Book Review: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
You may also like some of my other work:
Frank Ormond 