| A young man named William was reborn in another world. He grew up in a fantasy land that has experienced major disasters, and only vague memories of his previous life remain. Raised by a family of three undead heroes from his previous life, he must learn how to survive in a dangerous world and begin to create for himself an adventurer’s life. |
Kanata Yanagino created “The Distant Paladin”, illustrated by Rin Kusashi. Liam Price reads the audiobook, translated by J-Novel Club. Arrangement Incorporated and Overlap Incorporated publish Paladins Far Away. |
|
 |
|
|
Comment: |
|
|
|
|
A young man named William was reborn in another world. He grew up in a fantasy land that has experienced major disasters, and only vague memories of his previous life remain. Raised by a family of three undead heroes from his previous life, he must learn how to survive in a dangerous world and begin to create for himself an adventurer’s life.
| Kanata Yanagino created “The Distant Paladin”, illustrated by Rin Kusashi. Liam Price reads the audiobook, translated by J-Novel Club. Arrangement Incorporated and Overlap Incorporated publish Paladins Far Away. |
|
|
Comment: |
|
199396 |
| |
Listening to audiobooks based on light novels is a new experience for me, and the double whammy is that it’s not me since I reviewed the first season when it aired It was the first experience as a work. This makes listening to the first two volumes a unique mix of new and rather familiar experiences.
is a simple enough story to understand. The child wakes up in a different world, turns into a baby, and grows into an adventurer. He couldn’t remember where he came from, except for a few vague feelings and hastily recalled anecdotes. At this point you already know what to do.
To make things interesting this time, our young hero, Will, was raised from birth by three undead warriors: Blood, the skeleton warrior; Gus, the ghost wizard; and Mary, the mummy priestess. They treated him well, raising him as their own, while teaching him swordplay, magic, and the belief in the god Gracefell. He spent his early years learning from them and trying to unravel the mystery of their current condition, how they became undead, and his place in the painting. Shortly after graduating from his teenage training, he set off to learn about the wider world, right his mistakes, and hopefully one day start a new family and return.
| This novel strikes an excellent balance between the familiar and the unique. As far as Otherworlds go, most of the settings and world building are generic. This makes formula changes all the more critical, and that’s where it works best. The opening hook of being raised by three undead creatures is strong, and the production takes a lot of inspiration from the mystery in it. “Why are they still walking and talking? Why are they being so nice to me? Why is the nearby city empty and where is everyone else? What’s the rest of the world like?” |
Compared to the anime adaptation and the light novel, this version is better. While the anime is inherently good, the light novels offer a depth that only long-form prose can. A great feature of these novels is Will’s internal monologue. Without his frequent observations, doubts about the world, and doubts about his own abilities, all that remains is dull standard fantasy. The audiobook/light novel provided more context on his feelings and his perspective on his experiences, which made for a richer overall experience. This is especially evident when the first season of the anime squeezes two light novels into episodes, which is a brisk pace even considering the relatively short length of these works.
The biggest disappointment is the overall risk of the two volumes. While there’s a lot going on, and there are many life-threatening fights, things never feel that tense. I’d say both volumes 1 and 2 lack meaningful climaxes because the “finale” feels perfunctory. There’s foreshadowing, but not a lot of tension, if that makes sense — the event arrives, and that’s it. They’ve delivered a solid enough production.
The audiobook itself is very well produced. I’ve listened to quite a few audiobooks and they are very professionally produced and the sound quality is crystal clear. Liam Price does a good job reading the text, but unfortunately it’s a case of reading it all by one person results in many parts that sound the same. It’s hard for anyone to imagine multiple believable voices while juggling all the settings, narration, background descriptions, etc. He’s best at reading prose sections, and the quality of the character’s voice is more varied. Despite a few hiccups – like his British accent making the part where baby Will unconsciously cries really funny – I think he does a good job, especially in the most important cases of “Bloody,” “Gus,” and “Mary.”
The books have a total runtime of over seven hours per volume. In my experience, this is short for fantasy, and some people consider length when choosing audiobooks to make the most of the monthly credits. So whether the seven-hour runtime is just right or too little will depend on your personal preferences in the field. Despite its relatively short length, it’s well-crafted enough and is your preferred way to experience the series when you watch it. I think you Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, and a major shareholder of Anime News Network, LLC . Yen Press, BookWalker Global and J-Novel Club are all subsidiaries of KWE. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
