Infinite Dendrogram
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Hey J-Novel Club,
Thanks for putting Infinite Dendrogram on the catch-up list this month. I never would have read this LN otherwise. I could kick myself for not having read this one sooner! I've binge read all that you have published and am all caught up.
Can't wait for the next update!
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@silvermane Thanks!
It's really good. Quality stuff even if it's not anything like, SUPER unique, it's just all so well constructed.
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I started reading this after seeing it recommended here and on Reddit as a great series. Just started volume 3, but I'm really not seeing anything special about it. Just seems like Log Horizon where they don't logoff, and MC seems to somehow stumble into being OP for no reason. Am I missing something?
For reference, I'm currently reading Realist Hero, arifureta, Grimgar, Overlord, DanMachi (and gaiden), shield hero, Faraway Paladin, Goblin Slayer, Second Life, Mahouka, Spice and Wolf, devil is a part timer, magic in this world is too far behind, master of Ragnarok.
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@seltzermx I can’t agree that Ray is op everyone has very unique Embryos that form based on their personality and the situation, Ray was in danger and needed high defense and a way to protect his charge and gained counter absorption and vengeance is mine.
Even after that he is just training hard but he isn’t op or anything he slowly grows stronger but faces many hardships, if you were at all upset that he magically gained a way to fight the UBM Gardranda and win then let me say you should really read V5 cause so many things are revealed.
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@seltzermx said in Infinite Dendrogram:
Just started volume 3, but I'm really not seeing anything special about it.
It becomes more like Dragon Ball in volume 3 with its focus on AGI speedy battles. So I dunno if that's a pro or a con for you. xC
For me, I liked the construction of the intrigue in the early parts. You had some political world building in the background, and you have the system of characters that can perish and others that can't (and the question of life after death). The writer has the tools in place to create something interesting with those, but we'll see what he ends up doing with it.
They drop hints about identities + secrets, sometimes blatantly, other times more secretly. I don't like that Ray's smarts or lack thereof in regards to certain things are up to the writer's whims (you can say it makes him human, but idk, some things battle wise he figures out too quickly whereas he doesn't even hold a suspicion about who the Superior Killer is when it seems obvious).
Ray is not OP, but he could become broken later. It does seem like this series is establishing that the rookie crop's skills are really broken. Dunno what they're doing with that either, but we'll find out.
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@Rahul-Balaggan Yeah, i did see that through Volume 5, its considered an "arc" where many things are answered. Guess I'll give it that much.
@Terrence The world-building is actually interesting. On that I have no complaints. I guess I'm just not a fan of how Ray is a walking Deus Ex Machina (at least in the first 2 volumes). I'll catch up (especially since I'm caught up on every other series I read), so hopefully that'll convince me in the end.
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@seltzermx The Halberd form might seem like a DEM at first glance, but given the cost he paid for it, it's rather balanced imo.
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@paulnamida hmm, maybe I missed something, but there what was the cost?? And yeah, for both of those fights, he happened to get the exact skills to beat enemies no one at those respective should beat. DEM if there ever was one.
Also, in volume 2 when he gets that item from the gacha machine with an unknown quality/rarity, and decides to go for a leasurely stroll and lunch before opening. Are you kidding? What kind of gamer wouldn't immediately go open a potentially rare item. That really made me doubt his believability as a character.
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@seltzermx the “cost” he paid isn’t revealed in detail until V6 however if you read that scene again just that specific section where he obtains the flag you may see what we are referring to.
As for the leisurely stroll and lunch it was mostly cause it was that time of day to eat, Nemesis is a bottomless pit and needs lots of food. I mean if he was gonna go train after he saw what the special item was he would need to eat to get some buffs before heading out anyway.
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@seltzermx IIRC, there was also a warning on it to open in a clear area. Need to go for a walk anyways, might as well grab lunch (for four or five) before heading out.
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@rahul-balaggan when that forced evolution came up, it did announce that further growth would take longer than usual.
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@paulnamida correct, in my last post I did say if he reads it again he may see what we are referring to.
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I finished Volume 4.
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@rahul-balaggan oh sorry, my brain sort of shut down while reading I guess. I'm usually not that scatter-brained to not notice ^^U
@Terrence IMO he's just geared for giant killing, Ray is pretty much min-maxing his character to get the most out of Vengeance is Mine, stacking HP. When he's against normal mobs he'd be just as any newbie (except for undead, Purifying Silverlight OPAF).
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@sam-pinansky said in Infinite Dendrogram:
@silvermane Thanks!
It's really good. Quality stuff even if it's not anything like, SUPER unique, it's just all so well constructed.
Not SUPER unique, but I'd say it's decently unique. I mean, it's a series about a VRMMO where the characters are NOT trapped in it, or transported to an alternate dimension exactly like the game. It's just... a GAME. With guides, and logging out, and the ability to respawn if you die.
Honestly being able to respawn actually makes the story more engaging. There's a real tension, because I believe that the main character can fail. With most other stories of this vein where being defeated means death forever, there's always a lack of tension since you know they're not going to kill off the main character, and as a consequence the main character almost never fails.
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@chi-c said in Infinite Dendrogram:
Not SUPER unique, but I'd say it's decently unique. I mean, it's a series about a VRMMO where the characters are NOT trapped in it, or transported to an alternate dimension exactly like the game. It's just... a GAME. With guides, and logging out, and the ability to respawn if you die.
The "it's just a game, no major consequences" while not super common, does happen from time to time (see "And You Thought There Was Never a Girl Online" and "Paying to Win in a VRMMO"). I think there may actually be more series like this out there that we don't have stateside.
@chi-c said in Infinite Dendrogram:
There's a real tension, because I believe that the main character can fail. With most other stories of this vein where being defeated means death forever, there's always a lack of tension since you know they're not going to kill off the main character, and as a consequence the main character almost never fails.
That's a good point. I hope we do see him fail and an NPC meet their demise as a result at some point. It'd be interesting to see Ray deal with that (does he shut off emotions like a robot, or does he have a hard time logging back in).
Though, similarly to that point, it's hard to care about NPCs you only just met. Gotta develop them before throwing them to the wolves.
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@terrence said in Infinite Dendrogram:
That's a good point. I hope we do see him fail and an NPC meet their demise as a result at some point. It'd be interesting to see Ray deal with that (does he shut off emotions like a robot, or does he have a hard time logging back in).
Though, similarly to that point, it's hard to care about NPCs you only just met. Gotta develop them before throwing them to the wolves.
Well, maybe. I think it can be effective once. I also think it can be effective if we have a credible THREAT of failure without actual failure. And setbacks are good too.
For example, currently Ray is struggling to unlock Nemsis's next form, and he's also missing an arm. These are real consequences that he has to deal with despite having "won" the past few volumes.
If there's too much focus on death and it hits too often then the story can get too dark and depressing. And that's not a bad thing, Grimgar does it really well, but it's not where I want to see Dendrogram go.
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@terrence I do find the restrictions on killing NPC to be rather unique, especially from a gaming perspective.
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I started by reading the other catch up novel. Was greatly disappointed.
Thank goodness this was the other choice. I liked almost all of it.
