The Mook Maker

… without a single word ever spoken.

The Mook Maker is the partial deconstruction of the portal fantasy genre, or isekai if you like, as portrayed in many manga, anime and light novels. 

Although the protagonist received a very dangerous, and very destructive power, he isn’t blessed with the cold, nearly sociopathic personality of many protagonists of such works, and has no desire to indulge in the adventure. 

The story acknowledges that most ordinary people, who aren’t psychopaths at very least, wouldn’t be used to the reality of constant violence and deaths that are most settings in the genre. 

There, the protagonist is quite shell shocked at the beginning, and really quite realistic, no one normal would immediately become a badass after basically having been shoved face first into a pool of blood which was then set on fire.

Story also portrays the cultural and especially language barrier realistically, and considers it the major obstacle protagonist has to overcome which can’t be solved by sufficiently large firepower. 

And the protagonist isn’t in shortage of firepower. However, he is not the powerful warrior or the mage. He is spawning point. His power supplies him with a nearly endless stream of fanatically loyal monsters which attempt to help their creator in the only way they know - by killing everything that they consider a threat. 

And in the fantasy country torn by war the protagonist isn’t even aware of, everything is a threat. A frequent interludes, following the perspective of the local humans, and showing hits of what could have been if the main character had a little different power. 

Unable to understand the local speech, the protagonist is forever doomed to only the company of his insane followers. 

Yes, these minions of his are all technically female, but they are also anthropomorphic animals which aren’t a default object of attraction for the normal male, with very intense personalities to boot. And there aren’t any luxuries to have either, no wonder the protagonist wants to go home, whether that might be.

But where life gives you pyromaniacal foxes, everything suddenly looks like a bonfire, and perhaps home is where your insane firefoxes lie. They are fluffy, cuddly, they are never tired, their head never hurts, have magical powers, and they are absolutely dedicated to murder every human they come across 

Without the way to communicate with natives, he gets closer to his devoted furry hordes futilely searching for the way home as the fantasy kingdom that foolishly summoned him disintegrates. 

Style 5-stars. 1st person narration is excellent to show the protagonist’s inner thoughts, and conflicting emotions, along with his struggle to come to terms with his situation.

Grammar 4-stars. The author dares to write the story despite English not being his first language, and Royal Road is upset. 

Story 5-star. An excellent deconstruction of some tropes, while playing other straight, in order to create a whole you can’t say for sure whether it is a warning tale, or wish-fulfilment.

Character 5-star. Despite the protagonist having no past, and no name, he doesn’t need to have one, not for this story. He is a reasonable everyman thrust into a situation he can’t realistically handle. Tama, Narita and Miwah, the sub-commanders of his furry hordes, aren’t complex characters either, but they also don’t have to be. Perhaps it is so for the better, as they provide more reliable justification for how an average man could get a harem - create it with your magical powers, because no human woman will roll with this. On the other hand, I can't rule out that this is intentional, and both the protagonist and his "Alphas" are aspects of the singular hive mind, so their simple personalities are actually justified.

Overall, this story simply works within its tiny niche. If the default isekai protagonist from the endless anime clones will continue to be themselves, with no variations, perhaps the world of fiction will need its Mook Maker to set in on fire.

The Mook Maker is a fantasy isekai with LitRPG elements written around the premise that in order to be a generic isekai protagonist, you need not only to be powerful, but you also need to have a correct power.

If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

If all you have is the army of insane furry foxes, everything looks like this story. 

Positives:

• Slightly unusual setting. A fantasy Korea instead of Japan or generic middle ages Europe
• Flawed protagonist. He is overpowered, but not over entitled or over competent like others.
• Unusual challenge. Protagonist’s power gives him an instant army, but no knowledge of the local language, so he can’t handle basic communication with locals. In ordinary isekai, charming the locals is usually the easiest. 
• Politics and intrigue through Interlude sections following the perspective of the native humans because he is a threat lurking in the wilderness rather than a hero. He never fits in.
• Non-hero / non-villain MC. Story is about a rather neutral aligned character trying to handle inherently evil power in neutral fashion, and not always succeeding.  
• Written by a furry for furries

Negatives: 

• Written by the furry for furries
• Unusual. Can alienate average isekai readers even if the furry aspect wouldn’t, as some of the isekai tropes are purposefully inverted or subverted, while others are not?

I haven't read much in the way of LitRPG stories, but I have watched quite a few and it's always refreshing to see a new take within the genre.  As the title suggests, the focus for progression and power is on a large army of fodder monsters.  This unique concept keeps things fresh and unexpected as the powers expands how each manifests in monster type and ability.

Style - This is a first person perspective keeping the prose light and quick.  It largely stays within the mind and view of the main character giving a detailed reaction to the world and their circumstances.  This makes it easy to follow and remain in touch with the main character through the journey.  It's simple, but effective for what it needs to deliver.

Grammar - As English isn't the author's first language mistakes do happen, but all said it doesn't stop you from being able to read it.  That being said, I think they're doing a great job as English is not a friendly language to learn.

Story - There remains a lot of mystery still even up to the chapter that I read with side chapters starting to give some hints to a larger world.  The beginning has a strong jumping start into world.  Afterwards, the pacing slows down a bit with no current sign of a goal for the protagonist.  Currently, the protagonist is breaking the common trend of personally growing stronger, which I feel keeps you wanting to read another chapter to see how things play out.

Character - Currently, the main character is lacking a name and there are some added mysteries surrounding them, leaving them with only their personality to judge them by.  Given how others in the genre go, so far they are a refreshing break from the normal.  The uncertainty and fear along with discomfort with all the fighting, but it slowly chipping away at them makes for a good through line to follow.  They feel very grounded and believable.  The monsters currently vary, but seem to mostly be given basic personalties and so it'll be interesting to see if they grow and become more naunced as the story progresses.  The side characters carry a lot of the B Plot intrigue and world building making them always interesting to return to when they appear.  They each are fleshed out with clear personalities that read well for their time on the page.

Overall:  This has been fun to read.  There is action straight out of the gate, making me worry for the MC.  However, as the story progresses and the MC begins to find their footing, I got hooked.  Along with a large cast of characters, the skills are very fun and interesting.

Style:  Mook Maker has flowed really well so far and the format is aesthetically pleasing for me.  It's also told in the 1st person POV, which can be a difficult task, but it's done well.  I also like the dialogue in this.  It's quick and makes everything flow more naturally. 

Grammar:  I could see a marked improvement as the chapters went on and there was nothing that took me out of the story. It looks like the author hired a proofreader later on, helping the writing shine.

Story:  This starts out very fast paced and I wasn't sure exactly which direction it would go.  However, the author does a wonderful job at gracefully avoiding smut and develops the characters well.

Character:  This has been the most impressive part to me.  The cast is fairly large right away, but the author manages to juggle the varying personalities well, making them all unique and easy to identify. 

Keep up the good work!  I'll continue reading this. 

Execllent delviery on the premise that drew me in so far, MC is still a bit underdeveloped so far but I'm really enjoying the Minion system and the Overlord-ish vibes of a guy out of his depth with an army of fanatic followers is quite fun.

High hopes and and exctied for more chapters.

An unusual type of story for me to read especially being new to the isekai branch of fantasy. While all these stories centre around reincarnating into a different body and lifestyle I found this story to be unique, imaginative and very fun. The author does an excellent job in making you feel immersed in his world. You can tell he’s put the work in and has a clear plan for where this story will go. 

Yes the pace does start quite quickly, with the main character being dropped right in the middle of a fight whilst still coming to terms with his predicament. But not fast enough that it leaves you flabbergasted and wondering what is going on. 

The characters are definitely the strongest part of this story. The main character only seems to get better with each chapter. 

The writing itself is great and I have no problems with the grammar. The first person style isn’t my favourite but it works well here. 

Overall it’s a decent story. I’ve never given furry culture much thought and certainly wouldn’t have ever thought about writing a story featuring it but it really works in this story and leaves you wanting more. 

Overall:

The Mook Maker follows our confused MC who stumbles into a new world and never  quite gains his footing. Or at least not yet. Keeping our mook maker alive, or rather the mook who is a maker, is an army of adorably-loyal furry killers.

Our mook becomes a maker in no time making many mooks without really meaning to. It is fun and wild to watch the chaos unfold. And yes I did google the word mook to make sure I understood what the MC was making.

11/11 furries would recommend!

Style: 

The story is written in first person narrative. The author does a great job passing the MC's confusion to the readers as we are just as lost as he is.

Grammer:

No major grammar issues. The writing isn't perfect but for the most part it is easy to read and their are no gaping holes in the writing. 

Story:

I am just at 30k words into the story and I am excited to see how the story progresses. The MC is either going to burn the place to the ground or he is going to burn the place to the ground. Either way things are going to get roasty. You might not be interested but there is no denying some people just want to watch the world burn. I, for one, am here for it.

Character:

Not much is known about our MC. I don't even think we know his name yet. Not that I have a problem with nameless MCs. Who needs a name anyway. He is confused and alone in a strange world. This gives the mc incredible room to grow.

I appreciate how the author has kept the MC (and the readers) in the dark for so long. It really conveys the feeling that the MC is standed in a new world without a clue. Adding to his confusion and dire situation is the fact that he can't communicate with anyone he meets up with.

I applaud the writer for letting the MC struggle so hard while at the same time allow him/his furries destroy so easily.

Thanks for writing a fun story!

If you're into a typical action-packed reincarnation isekai and system genre, this story is for you. 

Style: As of Ch. 5, the story is written in a 1st Person POV and incorporates a decent descriptive approach to narrative. There is also a good flow in the storytelling and a smooth transition from one chapter to the next. 

Story: It's a typical reicarnation isekai story where the hero suddenly finds himself in another world, levels up on day one and becomes an overpowered MC with powerful minions in his arsennal. What I find interesting is the battle-after-battle approach, which seems to paint quite a bleak and barbaric world for the story. The MC also experiences challenges in communication which is often resolved early on in the genre, but not for this particular story. 

Grammar: There are a few opportunities for improvement in terms of grammar, but not to a distracting degree. That said, there are some improvements in semantics and vocabularly that I feel a need to raise, particularly with regards to using stereotype terms in descriptions. There were cultural references used to describe elements of the story's world which appeared a bit confusing because it denotatively refers to a collective and not an individual (ex: the descriptive term "Asian" encompasses 48 countries, each with different cultures and physical characteristics). It's a mistake that a lot of writers in the genre, especially those who were heavily inspired by East Asian fantasy contents, commit. It's also often ignored but it's still worth revisiting especially since the work is on an online platform. There was also an instance where "annoying to listen to" was closely - if not directly - associated with a certain culture's way of speech. This may not seem like a big deal, but it can incite and potentially encourage ridicule against certain cultures. In the worst case scenario, it may upset readers who can infer an implicit meaning behind the statement. These points may all be due to limitations in vocabulary as English isn't the first language of the author so I'm putting this under grammar. 

Character: At least as of Ch. 5, there are still a lot of unknowns in the MC which makes it a bit difficult to root for him. The MC is nameless, wakes up without a backstory but somehow recognizes modern Earth terms and cultural architecture. He pretty much leaves his fate on the hands of creatures who look up to him as their leader and who admittedly are just as clueless as him about the world they are in. The MC doesn't really establish a goal or an objective, even as simple as looking for more information about the world he is in.

While it can be associated with initial shock at his situation, its persistence up to the 5th chapter makes it a bit difficult to appreciate or comprehend considering his seemingly logical response to the carnage around him. Curiosity is the generic human response after processing the initial shock of experiencing change, which is why most stories in the genre portray MCs exploring their systems or setting out on a journey to learn more about their situation; unless they supposedly had experience playing RPGs, or they were given a specific task to complete from the get go. This makes the MC's behavior a bit baffling to me. The lack of a definite back story also makes it challenging to treat the MC's complacency as a forgivable flaw. 

The "mysterious MC" setup can promise an interesting character story and development which would entice readers to proceed to the next chapters. However, crumbles should also be left behind to create an interesting trail to follow. Too much unsolved mysteries can leave a reader to think that there really isn't anything else to look forward to about a character, so I hope the MC's story is explored more in the next chapters. 

Overall, it's a decent story with the plot set up and characters typical of the genre it is under. 

I am not a fan of this genre, and it is definitely catering to a specific audience, which isn’t distasteful in any sense, just an observation.

So, style

I really dig this author’s writing style and believe it to be this story’s strongest asset. Scenes that should’ve been a slog to get through are actually entertaining to read due to well-put-together sentence structures and good use of words and descriptors that paint the picture of the world and its characters. But I must dock points because of the weird formatting regarding line spacing. It’s distracting, especially when there seem to be two different styles of paragraph spacing in the same chapter. Also, a scene change in a chapter I read perplexed me and had me rereading the bit a couple of times to understand what happened.

Grammar
Grammar looks all dandy to me. The author’s editing skills are unparalleled. I caught one minuscule error, and that’s about it.

Characters
I feel as though the characters are the weakest portion of this story, but then again, not being a zealot for the genre, there’s probably something going over my head. I suspect the MC is supposed to be bland because that’s the case with RPG/JRPGs. It’s supposed to be a self-insert, right?
The monsters the MC is blighted with are fascinating conceptually but as characters? I just don’t feel that much towards them.

Story

It’s like playing through Dark Souls and trying to piece the story together on your own. I appreciate it, but the vagueness of the fiction’s direction does bother me a bit. It is going somewhere, but the path there is pretty foggy, and nobody is offering any goggles.
The intense, bloody action is a suitable means to have readers willing to read on to understand what is going on and where the MC is going.

Verdict is a gamelit/isekai literature that achieves everything it sets out to do. Even though I am not too familiar with the genre nor much a fan of it, I believe it is doing all its beloved tropes justice, and if you like these kinds of stories, I don’t see why you shouldn’t give it a read. 

Enjoy!

I think the most important question is, is this something I'd want to read and happily so? Yes!

I gave it 4.5 overall score due to multitude of reasons that I will mention below.

Style : This one is a personal opinion of mine, I don't like blue boxes. The game like notifications in a very strange magical world are something sacred, mysterious and majestic. The blue boxes can't even begin to capture that, but they hinder one's imagination. I'd have loved if they were bolded, then I'd be able to imagine them just as described.

Grammar : I gave it full star, it was perfect. Readable and describes everything perfectly, definitely something I'd use as a learning material to improve my grammar.

Story : 4.5 Stars, only because I see that's again a personal opinion of mine and that other peope would definitely like it. It's both fast and slow paced at the same time. Why? Because a lot of things happen at the beginning and because the story is narrated through first person, we get to experience the full blow of what happened without truly understanding why. It depicted the confusion one would have in that particular situation too well that it might discourage some readers from following through.

Character: As I mentioned before how perfectly written the confusion of the MC is, we get to have an inside and realistic look into the mind of someone who has no idea what the heck is going on! As the story is just beginning, I can't truly judge the other characters. They are spiritually bound to the MC so there is that element of undying loyalty there which takes time for the character to truly shine.

I like it and I would continue reading.