Scathing Reviewer [OLD VERSION]

Information

Status

Ongoing

Year

2025

Author

BananaDragon

• Relaunch Date + Book 2 Updates!!
  Jan 1, 2025
• Hiatus Update
  Aug 10, 2024
• Side Story Ep. 1, Trick or Treat II
  Nov 6, 2023
• Side Story Ep. 1, Trick or Treat I
  Nov 3, 2023
• Scathing Reviewer out now on Amazon!
  Apr 22, 2025

What readers say about Scathing Reviewer [OLD VERSION]

• “[There is an advanced review TLDR at the bottom where I try to give a spoilers-free these are some things I enjoy about the fiction and why I gave 5 stars to things. I do feel weird about them, but I tried.] By some small wonder, a dear reader has come to f…”

  softcorebashRoyal Road5.0 / 5

• “Scathing reviewer is honestly a gem of a find. I’ve read up to chapter 8 on Scribble Hub, and was happy to reread the revised version here on Royal Road again. The Author, Banana Dragon —pretty sweet name, not gonna lie— is writing an addicting blend of  Li…”

  CoffeeInMyDreamsRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

Community Reviews(10)

• softcorebashRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  [There is an advanced review TLDR at the bottom where I try to give a spoilers-free these are some things I enjoy about the fiction and why I gave 5 stars to things. I do feel weird about them, but I tried.]
  By some small wonder, a dear reader has come to find this piece of fiction. The first thing you may notice is how much of a god complex Peijin has to directly snub a commenter's question to fix, what is honestly a glaring problem with the in-universe fiction.
  Keep going.
  The story starts off with Peijin being an absolute donkey -- this is necessary. Keep going.
  Peijin is an absolute turd during her time working -- this sets up her character. Keep going.
  Peijin is thrown into her element. We as readers finally reach the point where blue screens pop up. For those who do not like blue screens, I implore you to keep going. For those who do like blue screens the obvious answer is to keep going.
  Once her team is assembled, we've reached the point where we understand a little more of the world. We -- including Peijin -- get a small taste of karma. At least for us dear readers, karma will hardly hurt us. Drop the story and lose hardly nothing. You will not know what happens next, you have stepped off the ride before it began, you are thanked for at least trying this story out.
  [Read the next part in Tom Hardy's Bane voice if you can]
  This is when we splits. We becomes you and I. For I am submersed in the fiction, influenced by the fiction, an avid reader of the fiction. I did not see lower star reviews until I was in too deep. By then, they made no sense. This story, this review is not for those people. This fiction wasted their time. Not mine.
  [Stop reading in Bane's voice]
  Karma in the story instantly changes everything. There is no character who becomes instantly overpowered. Karma puts everything in perspective. Karma changes Peijin.
  She's haughty?
  This is her creation. She knows what to do. It's not haughtiness, it's confidence.
  She's antagonistic?
  This is her crea
• CoffeeInMyDreamsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Scathing reviewer is honestly a gem of a find. I’ve read up to chapter 8 on Scribble Hub, and was happy to reread the revised version here on Royal Road again. The Author, Banana Dragon —pretty sweet name, not gonna lie— is writing an addicting blend of  LitRPG, Fantasy/Portal Fantasy (reverse Portal Fantasy?), and Xianxia, with strong elements of Mythology and beloved tropes, mixed with a healthy dollop of satire.
  This is an excellent addition to the follow/favorites lists of fans of the abovementioned genres. The author describes the work as: ‘LitRPG meets mythology,’ and I’m genuinely impressed by the satisfying mix.
  Banana Dragon’s Style is efficient, descriptive, and reads very well. No long-winded paragraphs are wasted on inconsequential meanderings; environments are vividly described, and action scenes feel immersive and well-paced. The prose flows smoothly and has remained consistent throughout my read. Well done!
  Grammar and spelling are fine in my eyes, as nothing has detracted from my reading experience at all.
  We’re introduced to our protagonist in the opening chapter. The ‘internet-famous’ web novelist, Peijin, through a combination of a bad choice regarding an exclusive ‘Web Novel’ contract —taking the lion’s share of the revenue from her successful web novel— and her less than sociable attitude, finds herself living an unfulfilling life. At twenty-four years old, she’s single and works a dead-end job in pest control. Her snarkiness does well to flesh out her character, and she is given depth by her interactions with fans and the supporting cast. Speaking of supporting characters, it’s a trope-fest! Which fits the themes of the work (explained later in the ‘story’ section) excellently.
  We have a handsome boy-next-door, self-sacrificing pacifist, a typical Shonen protagonist, a rival/tsundere (I suspect (?)), and the young, adorable ‘I want to protect her smile’ mascot of the team.
  So far, the supporting cast hasn’t been given much screen time, yet I su
• D.J. RintoulRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  This story, covering a not quite omniscient author's viewpoint on the System apocalypse unleashed on her world, is probably the best fiction I've read on Royal Road. Just for pure storytelling, humor, and characterization so far, this is easily in the top tier of what I've read.
  Then we get into the plot, which is both fast-moving and largely unpredictable in the best way, and I'm hooked. I started out and read a few chapters. Then I came back and binged the next 8 chapters in one sitting. This story is incredible. It's a hazard; I may not be able to resist reading this when I'm supposed to be doing productive stuff!
  There were a few minor grammar mistakes, which the author corrected as soon as they were pointed out.
  The style is witty and clever, with charming banter between the characters that makes them more likable the more you read.
  As for characters, the main character is one of the lovable grump types, like House from House, M.D. The more you're exposed to her, the more you end up liking her. In the first chapter, I thought she would be an annoying and unlikable protagonist, but she's ended up becoming my favorite character very quickly. The main thing I think the author did was to ensure that the main character showed very positive qualities and real ethical growth once the apocalypse started. When the stakes are high, the protagonist becomes a better person, the way we'd all hope to do. The secondary characters have been quite endearing, too, although none are quite as fleshed out as the main character. The relationships they have with the protagonist promise to be fascinating.
  This story clearly takes some inspiration from another story, and if you're widely read in this genre, you'll probably know which one I mean. It isn't on Royal Road, but it's quite famous. But this story manages to be extremely original and entertaining despite its slight relation to that other story. Frankly, from what I've read so far, I expect this story to be better, more satisfy
• DasaniRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  The main character, Wu Peijin, is someone who is resentful and bitter, but she’s also someone that is cunning and deeply cares even if she denies this fact. I don’t think Peijin starts off as anyone’s favorite character, but she quickly ends up very lovable, hilarious, and self aware.
  In general, this whole story is very self aware. It knows Peijin is unlike able to readers and punishes Peijin for that, it understands how an artists projects themself onto their work, and it’s a very fun story to read that definitely has deeper undertones.
  There’s a lot of character development going on at the time I’m leaving this review. I am very excited to see how it progresses if it continues like this.
  Give it a shot, you won’t regret it. Good work, author!
• XtraRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Story keeps you hooked every paragraph. It is written extremely well and it all feels very natural. High quality and amazing character driven story. Highly recommend you give this book a read because it is packed with action and keeps you wanting to find out what happens next. The action is not boring but very easy to read and makes it feel excited.
• o0shad0oRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I initially rated this fiction as one star, because the author linked their ads to the first chapter of the fiction rather than the index page.  Gaming the "Rising Stars" algorithm prevents good fictions from making themselves more noticeable; and I want a chance to look at the statistics before putting the story on my (already bloated) "Read Later" list, which this was dropped onto after reading the synopsis and checking the stats.  That was a month or two ago.
  Now that I've had a real chance to start reading, I've updated my score to the five stars it deserves.  An interesting story that takes levels of abstraction and whisks them into an amusing mess, taking a fault-ridden protagonist and tossing them to their just desserts, but providing a path of redemption - which I'm sure will be flubbed because the protagonist is fault-ridden.  Will this meta-story reach the 3,649 chapters of its original?  What will happen when it reaches that chapter count?  Will it devolve into (yet more) chaos?
• Autumn KnightsRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Wu Peijin is a disillusioned web novelist working in pest control. The narrative is instantly immersive as the author does an excellent job giving us a quick snapshot of her life and making her relatable. Then, after an exchange with a supposedly well-meaning commentor, her novel comes to life here in the real world.
  Style: As mentioned, it is immersive with a relatable character. It balances comedy into the mix with bizarre and over the top foes for her to deal with that make it an easy and fun read. It is the perfect kind of story for sitting back and killing some time with.
  Story: It takes a few turns and adds some layers from the initial premise that keep it interesting and really builds on the consequences of Wu Peijin’s less desirable qualities. For example, it turns out that while she is fighting for her life in this world of her own making, commenters from her novel who she had previously blocked had been repurposed as “observers” who get to continue commenting on the now “real life” version of events. Depending on what side of the fence you find yourself on, you will either find this cathartic, or a nightmare come to life. Either way, it was a fun detail.
  Character: I feel like I covered her character a bit with the other sections. Wellp, I’m sure readers will recognize Wu Peijin as a bit of an anti-hero. She is interesting, though, and personally I couldn’t help rooting for her even though the real life version of her is someone who might get judged harshly at first glance. I think that was kind of the point, though, as her readers seem to feel the same way.
  Grammar: Nothing stood out so the author put appropriate time into editing.
  All in all it is a great read and I believe you should absolutely give it a chance!
• Falling LeavesRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Unlike most self inserts, this is not an SI into your favorite book or series, this is an author's SI into their own novel. And unlike most SI's, her readers have a direct impact on events. That should be great, who wouldn't want the author of their favorite series to kick ass? Well, this author doesn't exactly have a great reputation, and events allow her fans, who she's repeatedly abused, to turn the tables and exact some revenge.
  The style is fantastic. It is intrinsicly linked to the plot, but the author knows much of the future through knowing the past. The plot unravels both through events that happen currently and flashbacks of what had already been written, which predicts what will happen in the future. The events also start off slow, as the author lives her life, until the apocalypse happens, at which point events become action packed.
  There is a lot of elements to the story that follow the best elements of the genre, while also turning others on their head and adding entirely unique elements as well. While there are some similarities to stories like Dungeon Crawler Carl or Apocalypse Redux, there is no other story on RR that fits this mold. Scathing Reviewer truly is unique, like cold fire, dry water, or a banana dragon.
  The grammer is good and flows well. There are no major flaws and the grammer changes fluently between various cultures, but all in a way that does not confuse those without exposure to any particular culture.
  Characters are great. The MC might be controversial, as she is not someone most people would empathize with, but that is deliberate, and honestly, only adds room for her to grow. She makes bad decisions and has a bad attitude, but the author makes it crystal clear that the MC is in the wrong. In a very real way, tthe mc is an antihero with some villainous characteristics, though like most villains, she is blind to her own flawed logic and beliefs. So far, it looks like things are setting her up to face her flaws, and hopefully work on
• GGOAPRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  Something I really like about this story is that even with the protagonist having in story meta-knowledge she still has to struggle a lot to reach whatever she wants.
  Another thing, is just how deeply flawed the protagonist is while not being overly edgy, like she is selfish, lazy, doesn't take any criticism well and in general kind of a Btch, but it just kind of Works wonderfuly.
• GrapefuitRoyal Road

  ★★★★★ 5.0

  I cannot put into words how much I’ve enjoyed this story, but I will try.
  Wu Peijin gets reverse isekai’d into a litrpg novel she wrote along with the rest of the world. Stuff happens, numbers go up, tons of goblins, dungeons and all of the like. It has a similar system to ORV with sponsors, but it focuses a lot on the web novel aspect. Actual readers can comment to influence Peijin’s luck/karma in the story, and because of her nasty attitude, readers who read her original novel are out to get her. She hides her identity and decides to lie and become a god
  First, I want to say that I love the characters, Peijin especially. Peijin starts off lazy and rude, and it’s done so purposefully. It’s meant to be ironic and satirical, but most importantly, she changes significantly. She does care a lot about her readers and her story, even if she lies to herself about it, and this only makes the story more interesting because she’s an unreliable narrator. You’re constantly left questioning what is real/not real and wondering about the details that frighten her which leads to her excluding them from her narration. All the other characters are fantastic as well, and they don’t feel like fodder.
  The style is very clear, succinct, and interesting. It’s descriptive when it needs to be, but it doesn’t give unnecessary details. The chapters are a good length, and it keeps me captivated.
  In terms of the story, there’s a ton of mystery surrounding it. Peijin’s story is changing a lot from what she once knew, and so she struggles with it despite being omniscient. This is a really interesting read because, even though she should be the most powerful being, she ends up losing a lot.