- Volume 2 - 7.5/10
Last place for LOTM is still pretty good as far as stories go in general, but all the other volumes are just better in various ways. This volume does have a few of my favorite moments in the series, which makes it all worth it of course, but the majority of it feels very repetitive (Klein encounters a new “case”, immediately runs up to the fog to do an “investigation”, wow what an amazing detective, everyone claps, repeat ad nauseam).
- Volume 5 - 8/10
Despite being I believe the longest volume, I don’t remember much of it besides the admittedly cathartic ending and payoff. That alone puts it among the lower ranks. However, things were still less repetitive than Volume 2, since there was a lot more to work with I guess, and general worldbuilding and lore setup carried this volume pretty hard I feel.
- Volume 4 - 8.5/10
Very similar to Volume 5, where besides the amazing ending most of the volume is not that memorable. However, two things I think take this volume solidly above Volume 5 - exploring the “rich life” with Dwayne Dantes is quite interesting to read, and that ending is AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. I reread it like 10 times and I could still read it again. What a beautifully written ending on this one.
- Volume 7 - 8.9/10
Short setup volume for the final battles in Volume 8, but done well enough that I’d put it above even Volume 4. I think the high stakes, constant tension, and progression fantasy payoffs really carried the reading experience for this volume.
- Volume 8 - 9/10
Very short volume covering the final battles, but these battles were hella peak for real. The actual final battle with Amon and the Fool’s Gambit situation was so goated I couldn’t put this any lower despite the short length of the volume.
- Volume 3 - 9.5/10
Gehrman Sparrow is the most fun character to read by far in the entirety of LOTM in my opinion, and this volume was all about Gehrman Sparrow, so naturally the reading experience of this volume was better than most of the others, purely because of following the many hilarious and epic adventures of Gehrman Sparrow. Definitely the most fun volume to read in LOTM in a purely chaotic sense, and that insane ending just doubles down on the whole thing lmao.
- Volume 1 - 9.9/10
I don’t know why so much of the fan base hates this volume because it’s “boring” or whatever. I think it’s like the most underrated volume by far, and what they call “boring” I call “good storytelling”. The emotional impacts hit in this volume (especially at the ending) is almost never topped even in the rest of the series - definitely the most character-driven volume, and learning about the world and lore of LOTM for the first time has a certain emotional charm that again was not quite replicated in the rest of the series, sort of like the vibe of reading the first Harry Potter book or watching Episode 4/5 of Star Wars. My hot take is that this volume replicated that vibe which is enough to put it even above the super fun Volume 3.
- Volume 6 - Infinity/10
PEAK FICTION ALERT PEAK FICTION ALERT BEST WRITING OF ALL TIME THAT I’VE ACTUALLY READ, I truly don’t think I’ve ever read anything better than LOTM V6 from a pure worldbuilding, lore, plot twists, and emotional payoffs perspective and I doubt I ever will. Any hype you ever hear about Volume 6 is underselling it. Even this level of glazing is underselling it. Volume 6 makes reading the rest of LOTM (kind of hard to read from a writing perspective ngl) absolutely completely worth it. Truly a life changing volume, nothing will ever be the same now that I’ve read this already. If I could wipe my memory about this volume just to read it again for the first time I’d do it in a heartbeat. This one volume changed by mind from “LOTM is pretty cool frfr” to “LOTM is one of the best stories of all time”. And to top it off, somehow this volume has like no filler, the writing is genuinely easy to read, is gripping and exciting for like every single page - I didn’t know it was possible for LOTM to do that lmao. So TLDR - Volume 6 is a pure masterpiece of writing and no amount of glaze from me or anyone else will ever be enough for it.