Mark of Time: A LitRPG Timeloop

I have not read the original so I'll just review the rewrite.

Personally, despite loving MOL. I haven't been able to get sucked into any other loop stories. I keep trying them and then getting put off.

This series however is off to a roaring start.

I'm sucked in and can't wait for more - and that's after only 5 chapters. I just hope it maintains this momentum through to further loops.

This story isn't exactly treading new ground as far as the premise goes, but it's amazingly well executed. This is easily one of the best time loop stories I've read on RR, if you're a fan of Mother of Learning you'll probably love this, it's great time-loop fantasy of a similar quality.

I've seen a few other reviews say there is a lack of detail, which while true does the style this is written in a disservice. This is a story about characters, and the world is there to support their journeys; if you're looking for super crunchy expository world building and very detailed descriptions then I'd stay away. As someone who finds those kinds of stories far less interesting than stories about interesting people in a unique world, with lots of blank spaces and question marks around the world itself I love the focus of the writing.

The characters so far are great, everyone seems unique and fleshed out, not just the MC, the side characters are interesting enough that I actually hope that we get chapters from their perspective at some point. 

The plot is fairly straightforward (for a LitRPG time loop at least (at ch 31)), but it is solidly written and generally interesting, although I would say that the characters are what I'm most engaged in.

I will say if you're not a fan of LitRPG progression stories this might not be for you, but I'd still give it a shot as the 'system' elements certainly aren't the main focus or exactly standard.

Minor spoiler if you're someone who doesn't usually like RPG System type stories but are on the fence:

The style and grammar are fantastic, I haven't noticed anything pulling my attention as far as awkward word order, pacing, sentence construction, etc. I'm certainly not the pickiest when it comes to these things, but I generally notice them and I have yet to notice a single place that didn't flow naturally.

Bigger, Better, and Bolder than the Original

TLDR: If you are looking for a LitRPG with little number crunching, a nice bit of mystery, Timeloops, and the occasional chuckle this is a story you should definitely check out.

Disclaimer 1 - I have read the first ten (? not quite sure how many exactly) chapters of the "rewrite" already.
Disclaimer 2 - While this story is a rewrite which inherently sets certain expectations, the story is not identical to its previous version either with a bunch of new and improved stuff.

Now on towards the actual review.

If you had the joy of previously coming into contact with Kraze's writing you will most likely be able to associate their typical style of lighthearted adventure, interesting and in-depth characters, and inspired world-building.

The style of writing in general is very palatable that tends to draw readers in, me included. The perfect example would be getting access to the doc and binging the available chapters till three in the morning. So with this review I officially blame you for my messed up sleep rhythm.

What I mean to say with that is, get in on this story early otherwise you might miss out on some sleep.

While I would like to touch on Grammar a bit, I am not an authority on the intricacies of English language, so I will leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine whether my score of five stars in this subject is justified. I don't think I noticed any off-putting wording and found the grammar flow to work quite well with the story.

Which is coincidentally the next point I would like to touch on. The scope is from what I have read of the rewrite - excluding information giving by Kraze himself - pretty big and shows a lot of promise.

The good thing is that this story is planned - in both scope and extend - and with Kraze's track record so far I think they will do a good job.

Now all of that hasn't really touched on the story itself, which is deliberate. I think the blurb does a good job of what to expect here and I think it is well executed. I really adore the world building in this story, but as a big delve fan I have to say I would have preferred a bulkier/crunchier system. That is not to say that the system in world doesn't work. I think it works really well and is quite organic in how it is integrated into the world. 

Who is Jessica - wait no, Jennifer? Regardless, Jen - the protagonist - is a satisfying and fun character for the most part. Now if you should be looking for a murderhobo that levels her way through countless dungeons, you are probably wrong here. But if you are looking for sometimes wholesome, sometimes hairpulling characters and interactions that feel real, look no further.

The authenticity of the characters is felicitous and satisfying. And I personally am a big fan of her teacher who doesn't get enough screen time IMO.

With that I wish you a good day, happy binging and see you in the comment section - maybe.

The first chapter have been good so far.

Let's see how it goes.

I have high hopes for this one. The original was good but there were alot of things which were really bad. And I mean bad bad. I will be hopeful for the re write.

Love the other story btw, one of the best cultivation stories on this website.

I've appreciated this story, the characters and the dialogue. The description of the magic system is intrigueing and well done. Overall if you enjoyed Mother of Learning I think this will appeal to you. The MC is less grouchy than Zorian and more wholesome, and (at least so far) she's not teleporting around the globe in 80 minutes.

...and the original was very good as well.

I read the original and enjoyed it, and was unsure if the rewrite would bring much to the table. I've been reading the rewrite for months now, and I'm very much enjoying the retelling of the story. Timeloops can be tricky to write in a serial, since the best parts of a timeloop are the little nuggets sprinkled along the earlier chapters that come to play in later chapters. By rewriting it, you get the advantage of knowing exactly where you want the story to go, and structuring it accordingly.

The only disappointing part is the time between updates, but I don't think it is fair to deduct points from the rating of the story because of that.

A budding academy mage trapped in a time loop to prevent a cataclysm.

This time the protagonist is a young girl and the story has more litrpg themes (classes, skills, levels).

Even with just 23 chapters in, there have been multiple loops, with normal events already going a bit sideways.  The world seems very well thought through, with the main characters already having distinct voices in my head.

I loved Mother of Learning, and this time loop litrpg seems to compare well to the start of that one.  It is a very similar premise, but the stories are shaping to be quite different.

It's in my top 3 of current web serials currently releasing.

good start and running well. our main character and I really liked the side characters. like i said, a series that could be very good ( stepmother of learning ). I will continue to read when there are at least 50-60 episodes in the series (probably after 1-2 years). I wish I had given my comment and rating when I first read it

As a disclaimer, I never read the pre-rewrite.
This is based on just the first book. (Nothing else is out at the time of writing.)

Overall

A very well written story, obviously taking inspiration from Mother of Learning. In my opinion that is a good thing, as MoL is one of my favorite stories in recent years. 

If you liked Mother of Learning, I would fully recommend you read Mark of Time. It (so far) has a very similar feel to it that the start of MoL had. It starts to diverge and forge it's own path around midway through the first book. Taking inspiration from great stories and building off of it is an excellent way of writing stories.

Story

The worldbuilding in particular has very much grabbed me here. I am very interested to learn more about the world and the systems that are at play.

The idea that there are still pre-system magic or races present is a refreshing one. The races are rare but hardly unheard of. The main character meets one such person about halfway through the first book. 

So often the 'lost' races/magic/systems have been gone for ages, it's very interesting to see a story where they are, while old, still relevant.

The story itself grabbed me very quickly. The pre-Mark chapters are well written and engaging. You very much feel Jennifer's tension and confusion. There are many things that happen all at once, and the reason behind it is slowly spooled out as the book progresses, and at a nice pace too. 

Near the end of the first book the pacing starts to feel a bit rushed. Things come to a head suddenly via, to be trite, a kind of deux ex machina. That is the reason for the half a star off, the ending felt a little bit underwhelming for the build-up that was happening. 

Don't let that stop you from reading it, though.

From what I understand the author was having some personal issues, so that might be the cause of it. It's nothing that can't be fixed with some editing, though.

Character

It is always challenging to write a character stuck in a time loop, I feel. The circumstances they are in are so completely different from anything we normally experience, figuring out how to portray the changes they're going through is hard.

That being said, I think KrazeKode does a good job of it, particularly at the beginning. I felt Jennifer's confusion and fear was believable and well done. 

Towards the end of the first book, though, it seemed like it started slipping. I'm not totally sure how to explain it exactly. Also maybe it was the author's intent to have her start to become more detatched, given all the terrible things have/were happening. I imagine the middle-to-ending will feel more fleshed out once we get more chapters in the start of the second book.

Style

Stylistically the story is solid, although not anything groundbreaking.

Grammar

Very solid grammar. I think I only saw less than 6 misspellings or mis-wordings.

There were a couple of phrases or word choices that came across as kind of awkward, but those were extremely few and far between.

It's a really enjoyable read.  The characterization of the various characters in the series can sometimes feel a little uneven, but I have never seen any character do anything that felt out of left field.  The basic idea behind the series is intriguing, and I'm really quite interested in the story and the world in which it is being told.  All in all, well worth a read.