T*ash of the Count’s Family

No obvious spoilers but hints. I've found my inner sad*st & fell in love with the sheer wholesomeness; for those looking for a regular mind drag to burn time, this is not for you. If you liked Omniscient Reader, this is in your lane. Platonic & as*xual characters make this story so iconic for me. No romance harems. No filler side-stories. You understand these characters & their circumstances. Everything is connected, and the plot gets so well fleshed out. The development is smooth and though there is a lot of comparison ... more>> explanations; it all benefits the readers' better understanding behind characters, developments of relationships to character growth, & parallels/ foils between worlds. For those that complain about MC, he's clearly just not your type, which is valid. I enjoy his unique narration, and our slow realization as readers that we should not trust everything from his perspective, at least when he talks about himself. He starts off as aloof & alike to Classroom of Elites Kyotaka Ayanokoji. But, he's more genuine. Similarly, they appear numb & cold with their high intelligence & seemingly OP abilities. If you don't read between the lines, he easily looks a little cliché. But you slowly realize how well he fits in, how emotional he gets, & how psychology plays a big role in how him & others become codependent. He's "lazy, " but you realize he's just tired, especially considering his past experiences (trauma). He's lazy in the sense he genuinely wants to stop surviving & working himself to death. He wants to live, actually enjoy life. He wants to enjoy retirement life, and does everything in his power to work towards it, differently yet similar to how he fought for it in his original world. With his strategies & authority, while taking everyone's free will into consideration, he manipulates them to synchronize with his goals because they all trust each other to move towards a future where they share peace together. <<less

I'm addicted. I can't stop reading this novel. And I MUST explain why YOU should read it or at least GIVE IT A TRY. I'll repeat the words of fellows who like this novel like me have said about it many times, over and over: TCF is really well-planned and well-thought novel. The "negative points" you find in the comments and reviews are mostly personal tastes, and that's why I'm writing this review for those who are hesitant to read TCF, be it your first novel or not. In fact, it would be for the best if you read this novel before reading the reviews, 'cuz if you give up on it before even trying to read at least ~100 chapters, you may be losing a incredible jewel of art. So, there ... more>> are mainly five things you should be wary about (specially if you are the impatient type of reader) : There is no romantic development The plot is slow paced in a sense you keep on your toes to discover what is it the MC or the enemy is plotting The fights are not so well described (I mean, there is no explosive, breathtaking power ups or endless battles) so you'll have to rely on your creativity to capture some scenes as epic as possible The MC isn't a reliable narrator about his own motivations Some phrases may come as repetitive along the story ("the children averagint X years old" becomes a joke for itself after 200 chapters) BUT those four things that some would consider as "errors" or "points the author should have done better" can be easily ignored if you know about the main qualities of TCF : The family and friendship building are beyond satisfying: the characters have their unique personalities, their relationship progress is heart warming to watch, and their interactions do not come as superficial or awkward... it just feels so natural! Tension building. Hangcliffs. The author NAILS at it. Every little action, every little movement, as boring as you may think, as useless you may consider, is made to give you serious GOOSEBUMPS at the end. Be it a mindblowing revelation about the enemy or the protagonist schemes, or be it a plot twist that expands the world without disposing the original informations about it, it's a EXTREMALY pleasant reward after all the patience you spent on reading those details. "The fight scenes are lacking": those who have read "Sole Leveling" or another well written (mainly) fight novels may think TCF is a piece of sh*t, but don't be fooled. As I said before, the lack of "epicness" is balanced by the author's recipe: tension building>> plot reveal, PLUS the POLITICS involved in it are the main dish. In short, the author focus on the purpose of the battle, not the battle itself. If you know anime troupes, you may think Cale Henituse is a tsundere, kind of cool, yet regular type of character HOWEVER it's actually not that simple to define this man. He is the representation of human contradiction. He is lazy, but hard-working. He is blunt and rude, but gentle and warm. He is physically feeble, but emotionally strong. He is smart when dealing with business, scams and people in general, but s*upid about his own reasons to act on something. He is not God. He is not good. He is not bad. You will have to come to your own conclusions about him through the other characters opinions, his own actions, his reasoning and his past. It's up to you to decide what is real and what is not about him. And that's what make him incredibly likable. I dunno if this is a korean language barrier thing, or something asian language have in general, or something novels consider as necessary or passable, but you will find repetitive phrases along the story. Personally, I think it's a way to fuel the comedy in this novel (which is another reason that I highly recommend read TCF), but it can be easily ignored or fast read. IF you are a sensitive literary person, if you never have read novels and only classical or decently written books, you may find it a bit hard to read. But that's why it's a novel, not a common book. Believe me, there are worse things than a repetitive phrase amidst the reading in this world of novels. EXTRA: THE PLOT IS CONSISTENT. THE CHARACTERS ARE CONSISTENT. THE UNIVERSE IS CONSISTENTLY EXPANDING. THE KIDS ARE CUTE. Now it's up to you. Will you join our faction? <<less

Definitely something you'll want to give a go. The plot is slow to pick up but as you read, the more interesting it becomes. Missing pieces from the puzzle that the author scatters throughout the chapters come together to form a beautiful story filled with beloved characters. When the plot slows down, focus is placed on character interactions and it is what keeps me engaged the most. They are heartwarming and most importantly, genuine. Characters aren't forced together and really do seem like they belong. Another highlight for me is the ... more>> wide grin on my face as I read the schemes and plots of the protagonist, Cale and also when his ultimate goal of being a slacker just gets further and further away from him as he takes on more and more responsibilities. One thing I noticed about other reviews is the complaint in regards to the lack of romance. I do agree that the relationships developed throughout the course of this novel are purely platonic (though shippers may disagree), but not all novels have to have romance in it to be enjoyable. These platonic relationships are endearing on their own and the novel doesn't even have the romance tag on it so *shrug* You end up truly caring for these 'great and mighty' characters and fall for their unique charms and personalities. Thus, I highly recommend giving it a go! <<less

Its... okay. Err... how do I explain this? After a while it just gets... boring? Its not like anything is wrong with it, it just feels like things start to drag on longer than necessary. The most interesting parts being the ones that involve the 'elemental powers' the MC received/is receiving while everything else just feels kinda dull and makes me wanna skip. Maybe it needs an actual love interest? Or maybe not making all the emotional parts that don't include the dragon feel so... forced and unnatural? Idk, I have complicated ... more>> feelings about only giving a 3 when I used to enjoy this novel so much. :/ <<less

tr*sh of counts family is kinda representing how are the downfall of most korean novels in NU. It has amazing start, pretty good premise, n interesting MC. But slowly, the lack of main plot development, the repetitive plot progression, the lackness of challenge/tension, and the shallowness of supporting characters traits, tookover and ruining the novels. tr*sh of counts family, The Novels extra, EER, Tutorial is too hard, LMS, n so many awesome korean novels suffer and ruined in later chapters because of those aspects. I am kinda sad because I actually really ... more>> love all those novels before their downfall. <<less

I can see why this novel is ranked No1. I can understand the criticism it gets. But I really really enjoyed reading this novel. There's something really charming about it. It's not a perfect novel, at some points it has plot holes but the author put a lot of work into creating a world and characters. For me it was a smooth read. I'm really glad this is not a harem novel. The relationship between all the characters and the care they have for each other is really charming. 100% recommended

English is not my native so keep this in mind. 4 - is max rating for this novel and I can explain you why: Plot itself is good, characters are good, MC is kinda good. When you read it and you feel like its a really good novel, despite the fact its about another one transmigrator cliche, but you begin enjoy it really well after you survive constant reminders of MC, how he got beaten by another MC in novel, so if you survive 10 or so chapters without rejection then you ... more>> will read it till the end... or until you will find out shoking truth: Spoiler THERE IS NO ROMANCE IN THIS NOVEL AT ALL. Not like MC has to have romantic relationships, its totally understandable if author doesnt want MC have any girfriend\wife\harem etc. Its okay to be whatewer MC is because author is korean, so I assume MC will be virg*n forever, but the problem with this novel is that nobody in this novel has any romantic relationships at all, even some distant side characters. When you realize it, you wont find this novel entertaining anymore, like it was when you started to read it. And now you cant unsee my spoiler. Basically we have here a world, where author did his best, but forgot essential points: Half of the world problems were because of womens. No offence here ladies, we all love you and thats why sometimes we do some crazy sh*t here and there, because love or lust or libido or whatever there is making our IQ decrease by 30-40% minimum. But exact same thing making our life fun and entertaining, colorful and bright, happy and blissful. None of this represented in this novel, except some funny moments on kindergarten level. Since god knows when noble families always planned future of their heirs, and marriages were MAJOR instrument in their disposal. Here we have MC, who by 18 doesnt have any fiancee. Ok he is\was tr*sh, but even so, he is RICH tr*sh, his father could find for him someone even for political marriage etc. I just cant belive it imo. OK, I accept the fact that mc`s father is richest man in the world and he doesnt want more money or power, and our MC is korean, so s*x and this there overall wasnt in his vocabulary from the start. But where gone all those poor nobles with their daugters, golddiggers, nobody wants to have silly rich young lord who seems to easy to manipulate? nodody wants to "upgrade" their status and become a noble? Nobody comes to our MC with that intentions. how "lucky" he is. MC have curious little dragon, who looks after our MC 24\7 for about 1, 5 year and there wasnt even one funny moment when Raon could see MC polishing his spear. Probably because our MC has monk class or because he is korean. Imagine a world without internet, where tiny gossips always transforming into huge news that all folk discussing. Secret lovers, shameful brothel stories and so on doesnt exist in this novel. So nobles are pure AF and the dont even talk about any dirty gossip so far. Yep, another one unbelievable fact here. Author is either child himself or this novel dedicated for audience between 6-12 y.o. [collapse] <<less

Goddamn, finally a super awesome novel who diesndo have HAREM in it!! And actually focuses on building loyalty through friendships. It feels like I just came out from s kindergarden event and came across a refreshing, calm and mature breeze. That's how this novel makes me think after reading so many similar genres. The plot is absolutely thrilling with no loopholes so far, everything naturally connects and the charatcha growth of each and every person are logical and mature. It feels great to finally be able to read a piece of Art ... more>> that is intelligent and doesn't just follow the popular demand. I do hope that it will continue like this and not turn into some shabby harem with everyone at the Beck and call of the oh-supreme-one. I actually not only FERVENTLY WISH for it to NEVER have harem, but I also think that it should continue without any romance as well. It's really a very refreshing and exciting read! PLEASE AUTHOR, DONT BREAK MY HEART AND ADD HAREM <<less