I Almost Ditched It

Ditched what?

Ditched this!

Imperial Reincarnation: I Came, I Saw, I Survived

What I love most in a light novel is a mix of war, conflict, political intrigue, and socioeconomic development. Whether it's the pure military focus of Heavy Object or Youjo Senki, the funny satire of Tearmoon Empire and The Genius Prince’s Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt, or the more serious tones of Alderamin on the Sky and Conqueror from the Dying Kingdom, I enjoy them all.

So when I came across this story...

I immediately picked it up and ended up spending the whole night reading it. And my first impression? "This is hard."
Not “hard” as in difficult to read — the writing is fine, the theme isn’t difficult. But it didn’t quite hook me. It felt more like a hard sell. After a while, reading it started to feel like a chore.

The setting? Think of a declining fantasy version of France, hemmed in by a crumbling fantasy British Empire analogue and a rising power of the fantasy VOC. As the emperor, your job is to pull a dying nation back from the edge of collapse. But, you don’t actually have power and everyone around you are leeches sucking the blood of our dying kingdom.

The protagonist is a reincarnated soul reborn as Carmine, the last surviving member of the imperial family. But don’t expect royal luxury — being emperor doesn’t “easy mode”. On the contrary, Carmine is little more than a figurehead, living under constant threat, while the real power rests in the hands of two men: the Chancellor and the Minister of Ceremonies.

I thought the premise was really compelling — trying to survive in a hostile environment where everyone either wants to use you or keep you ignorant so you can stay a proper puppet. In this world, you have no true allies. The bad people want to mold you into a horrible idiot, and the good ones view you as nothing more than a burden.

Ironically, it was that exact part that nearly killed my interest.

The main problem is.

The story starts when the protagonist is very young, and most of the first volume focuses on him secretly training his magic, hiding his abilities, pretending to be a fool, and quietly searching for potential allies. Honestly, the whole volume felt like a prologue.

For a story that promises palace politics and internal power struggles, it’s a real letdown when the main character can’t even take part in any of it. For the majority of the time, he’s just a passive observer, nudging the plot a bit here and there. And instead of a dramatic rise or breakthrough, we’re fed tons of situational reports — about every faction’s moves, foreign interests that want the country weak but intact, rampant noble corruption, religious institutions jockeying for power, and a massive conglomerate trying to destabilize nations through wealth, military pressure, and scheming.

And then there’s the history — a lot of worldbuilding packed into long stretches of dialogue. So many names, places, and figures are thrown around that it starts to feel like reading a textbook. It all sounds interesting on paper, but the problem is: it’s all told, not shown. Most of the time, it’s just him and his aide talking. And talking. And talking. And talking.

Honestly, I almost dropped it. But I pushed through and finished the first volume — and, almost as if the author sensed my frustration, the second volume finally let the story breathe. The MC ages up faster, and with that, starts to act. He still has to play the fool, but now he’s able to move more, gather allies, and begin consolidating power to challenge the corrupt regime.

And finally, he’s able to...

Do that.

Now my interest is picked up again. After consolidating power and purging the rot from the court, the story shifts gears. It’s no longer just about his survival — it’s preparation for the inevitable: a civil war that pits him against entrenched factions and lurking foreign threats. He’s going to be forced to navigate a delicate balance between enemies at home and the vultures circling from abroad.

If you feel yourself getting bored early on — I get it. I was right there, ready to drop it. But if you can persevere, the payoff is probably going to be worth it. I’m still not 100% sure because we only have 2 volumes so far. But I have high hopes for it.

The slow start really puts you down. More so if you are used to a story just frontload a whole arc in the first volume. But I hope you will stick with it. At least for 2 more volumes.